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2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Legal Aspects of Solar Power Satellites

Authors : Ram S. Jakhu, Diane Howard, Andrea J. Harrington

Published in: Private Law, Public Law, Metalaw and Public Policy in Space

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

It is an undisputed fact that the global need for energy will grow exponentially in the future and the search for alternative energy sources will intensify. One alternative source will be space- based solar power (SBSP), to be collected in space and transmitted to Earth by solar power satellite (SPS). As the appropriate technology becomes proven, the economic and operational viability for the launch of SPS system(s) will, to a large extent, depend upon favorable political and legal determinants. One such determinant relates to safety risks and the possible liability of the operator(s) of SPS system(s). This chapter identifies the safety risks of, and analyses liability for, damage caused by SPS. Issues, specifically analyzed under international law and the domestic law of the U.S., include licensing and damage caused (in outer space, in the air and on the Earth) by electronic transmission, and mechanisms to manage liability including inter alia insurance coverage, waivers of liability, and dispute settlement mechanisms. The chapter contains recommendations for taking regulatory precautions in order to avoid the risks of possible liability and thereby enhancing favorable circumstances for launch and successful operation of SPS system(s).

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previous chapter Small Is Beautiful? Legal Challenges of Small Satellites

next chapter Prospects for the Arbitration of Disputes in Public – Private Space Projects

J. Hamilton, “Causes and Consequences of the Oil Shock of 2007–08,” http://www.brookings.edu/economics/bpea/~/media/Files/Programs/ES/BPEA/2009_spring_bpea_hamilton.pdf; A.C. Eriksen, “World Oil Production Peaked in 2008,” posted 17 March 2009, available at: <http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5177>.

OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2013 Table 3.1, available at: <http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/Main.htm>.

Ibid, Table 3.16.

Molly Macaulay “Can power from space compete?” Space Policy 16 (2000) 283–285 at 284; “Clean energy to grow into 1.6 trillion euros industry: WWF” available at: <http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Clean_energy_to_grow_into_trillion_euro_industry_WWF_999.html>.

Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, available at: <http://ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/>, Chapter 10 at 6.

Ibid at 6–7.

“Latest trends in research and development of renewable energy sources” available at: <http://www.renewable-energy-sources.com/2010/02/23/depletion-of-non-renewable-energy-sources-january-2010-status/>; Financieele Dagblad “Oil will be depleted sooner that the IEA expects” Energy Bulletin (14 November 2005) available at: <http://www.energybulletin.net/print/10857>.

Nicolas Lefevre “Measuring the energy security implications of fossil fuel resource concentration” Energy Policy 38 (2010) 1635–1644 at 1635; Space-Based Solar Power As an Opportunity for Strategic Security National Security Space Office Interim Assessment (10 October 2007) at 8.

Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security, CNA, Alexandria VA, May 2009, at vii. Available at: <https://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/Powering%20Americas%20Defense.pdf>. CNA is a think tank committed to aiding government leaders in making policy driven decisions.

“The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels” Union of Concerned Scientists, available at: <http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/the-hidden-cost-of-fossil.html>.

Molly K. Macaulay and Jhih-Shyang Shih “Satellite solar power: Renewed interest in an age of climate change?” Space Policy 23 (2007) 108–120 at 110.

David Biello “World’s largest machine – the electric grid—is old and outdated” Scientific American News Blog (28 August 2008) available at:<http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post/worlds-largest-machine-the-electri-2008-08-28/>; Matthew L. Wald, “Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits” New York Times (26 August 2008) available at: < http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/business/27grid.html >.

Ibid.

Joleroy Gauger “Energy Costs Eliminated by Satellite System” 16 Online Journal of Space Communication (Alternative Energy Issue) available at: <http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue16/gauger.html>.

Wald, supra note 12.

Mark I. Wallach, Legal Issues for Space Based Solar Power, available at: <http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue16/wallach.html>.

P E Glaser “The Future of Power from the Sun,” Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference (I ECEC), IEEE publication 68C-21 – Energy, 1968, pp. 98–103. Dr. Glaser received his first patent in 1971 and the wireless power transmission for the purposes of SPS was first successfully demonstrated at the NASA Space Antenna facility at Goldstone, CA in 1975.

Even fossil fuels originate from the sun. “The ultimate source of energy is the sun. Its energy is found in all things, including fossil fuels. Plants depend on the sun to make food, animals eat the plants, and both ended up becoming the key ingredients for fossil fuels. Without the sun, nothing on this planet would exist.” Eric McLamb “Fossils Fuels vs. Renewable Energy Resources: Energy’s Future Today” www.ecology.com, available at: <http://ecology.com/features/fossilvsrenewable/fossilvsrenewable.html>.

P E Glaser “Power from the Sun: Its Future” 162 Science No. 3856 (22 November 1968) at 857; Peter E. Glaser “Space Solar Power for Earth” available at: <http://www.nss.org/settlement/manufacturing/SM13.059.SpaceSolarPowerForEarth.pdf>.

Space-Based Solar Power As an Opportunity for Strategic Security National Security Space Office Interim Assessment (10 October 2007) at 7.

Aleksey Shtivelman, “Solar Power Satellites: The Right to a Spot in the World’s Highest Parking Lot” (2012) 18 Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law 435; Royce Jones, Alternative Orbits: A New Space Solar Power Reference Design, 16 Online Journal of Space Communication (2010), available at: <http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue16/jones.html>.

Ibid; F. Shahrokhi, et al. Space Commercialization : Launch vehicles and programs (Washington D.C.: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1990) at 126; “Absorbing fluid receiver for solar dynamic power generation and solar dynamic power system”, United States Patent 4945731 available at: <http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4945731.html>.

Darel Preble “The Sunsat Act – Transforming our Energy, Economy and Environment” 16 Online Journal of Space Communication, available at: <http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue16/preble.html>.

Don Flournoy “SUNSATS: The Next Generation of COMSATS” 16 Online Journal of Space Communication available at: <http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue16/flournoy.html>; Ina Jaffe “Company Plans to Pull Solar Energy From Orbit” (17 December 2009) National Public Radio available at: <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121531373>.

National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 7.

Preble, supra note 23 at 2. However, lasers implicate other concerns that are further discussed in Section I on Identification of Safety Risks, infra.

Flournoy supra note 24 at 2.

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, National Research Council, Laying the Foundation for Space Solar Power: An Assessment of NASA’s Space Solar Power Investment Strategy (2001) at 44; National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 21.

Kathleen E. Lusk-Brooke & George H. Litwin, “Organizing and managing satellite solar power” Space Policy 16 (2000) 145–156 at 146; “Let the sun shine in” The Economist (4 December 2008); National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 2.

Mark A. Skinner, in his email to the authors.

National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 3.

Kevin Reed & Harvey J. Willenberg, “Early commercial demonstration of space solar power using ultra-lightweight arrays” Acta Astronautica 65 (2009) 1250 – 60 at 1255.

R.B. Erb, “Power from Space – The Tough Questions” The 1995 Peter E. Glaser Lecture 38 Acta Astronautica 4–8 (1996), pp. 539–50 at 547.

National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 3, 12–13, 34; Hideo Matsuoka “Global environmental issues and space solar power generation: promoting the SPS 2000 project in Japan” Technology in Society 21 (1999) 1 – 17, 11.

John C. Mankins “A Fresh Look at Space Solar Power: New Architectures, Concepts and Technologies” (Mankins I) 41 Acta Astronautica, Nos. 4–10 (1997), 347 – 359, at 349.

D. Kassing, “The role of international organizations in SPS” Space Policy, 16 (2000) 129–37, at 133–34.

Tommaso Sgobba, Joseph N. Pelton and Ram S. Jakhu, “Introduction to space safety regulations and standards” in Joseph N. Pelton and Ram S. Jakhu, (eds.) Space Safety Regulations and Standards, (2010) Elsevier, XXXIX.

Quoted by Jeremy Singer in, “Pentagon Considering Study on Space-Based Solar Power” Space News (11 April 2007) available at: <http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070411_tech_wed.html>.

“Solar Power Satellites and the Ionosphere: The Effect of High Power Microwave Beams on the Ionosphere and the Chemical Effects due to Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicles” CCIR Document 6/46-E (3 March 1980) Adv. Space Res. (1982) Vol. 2, No. 2, 104–09, 104.

R. B. Erb, et al., “International coordination of space solar power related activities” Space Policy, 16 (2000) 123–28 at 124; John M. Osepchuk “Microwave policy issues for solar space power” Space Policy, 16 (2000), 111–115 at 112.

John C. Mankins, Space Solar Power: The First International Assessment of Space Solar Power: Opportunities, Issues, and Potential Pathways Forward (Mankins II) (Paris: International Academy of Astronautics, 2011) at 77.

Erb et al., supra note 40 at 124; Osepchuk, supra note 40 at 112.

Gerard K. O’Neill 2081: A Hopeful View of the Future ISBN 0-671-24257-1 (1981) at 182–83.

Erb, supra note 33 at 545.

Osepchuk supra note 40 at 112.

Erb, supra note 33 at 545.

Richard M. Dickinson, “Safety issues in SPS wireless power transmission” Space Policy, 16 (2000) 117–22 at 117–18.

One method proposed to address this issue involves avian detectors, screens blocking fly-through and noise makers to direct birds to detour. Beam-shut-off capability is another idea, and one that could be used to avoid problems with low flying aircraft, ultra-lights and hang gliders. Ibid.

Osepchuk, supra note 40 at 113.

Dickinson, supra note 47, at 117–18.

Ibid.

Ibid at 119.

Paul B. Larsen, “Current legal issues pertaining to space solar power systems” Space Policy, 16 (2000) 139–144 at 142.

Encyclopedia, Faraday Cage, available at: <http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Faraday-Cage>.

Paul G. Dembling & Delbert D. Smith, “Solar Power Satellites and Security Considerations: The Case for Multilateral Agreements” 11 Journal of Space Law 73 (1983), at 74.

John C. Mankins, The Case for Space Solar Power (Mankins III) (Houston: Virginia Edition Publishing, 2014) at 352.

For a discussion of various options for construction of a SPS system, see International Union of Radio Science, White Paper on Solar Power Satellite (SPS) Systems, September 2006 (Version01Sept06), available at: <http://ursi.ca/SPS-2006sept.pdf>.

Susumu Sasaki, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, “Space Transportation for SPS” (presented in Kobe, Japan as part of SPS 2014 on April 15, 2014).

Donald Rapp, “Solar Power Beamed from Space,” Astropolitics, (2007), 5:1, 63–86 at 65–67.

For details, see the Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts adopted by the International Law Commission at its fifty-third session (2001), printed in the Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its Fifty-third session, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth session, Supplement No. 10 (A/56/10), chp.IV.E.1, November 2001. Article 1 of these Articles specifies that: “Every internationally wrongful act of a State entails the international responsibility of that State.”

Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies (“the Outer Space Treaty”); opened for signature on 27 January 1967, 610 UNTS 205, (as of 1 January 2014, there are 103 States Parties to this Treaty); The Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (“the Liability Convention”) opened for signature on 29 March 1972, 961 UNTS 187 (as of 1 January 2014, there are 91 States Parties to the Convention).

The term space object in both the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention includes the component parts of a space object. The liability for damage caused by a piece of space debris was confirmed by the settlement of dispute between Canada and the U.S.S.R. when the Soviet COSMOS-954 dead satellite fell to Earth. See: Canadian Department of External Affairs Communiqué “Disintegration of Cosmos 954 Over Canadian Territory In 1978.” No. 27, Issued on: 02.04.1981.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 23 May 1969, 1155 UNTS 331 [hereinafter VCLT], art 30(4)(a). Though the VCLT entered into force after both the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention and is therefore not technically applicable to either, the provisions of Article 30(a) are “no more than an application of the general principle that a later expression of intention is to be presumed to prevail over an earlier one.” International Law Commission, Draft Articles on the Law of Treaties with Commentaries, 1966 available at: <http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/1_1_1966.pdf> at 217.

VCLT, ibid, art 30(4)(b). This rule is also an expression of a customary practice and, in fact, reflects the same rule applied in international law for the purpose of amending multilateral treaties. Draft Articles on the Law of Treaties with Commentaries, ibid.

Chorzów Factory (Germany v. Poland), (1928) PCIJ (ser. A) No 17 at 47.

Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty does not utilize the term “launching state” but refers to the state which “launches or procures the launching of an object into outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and each State Party from whose territory or facility an object is launched.” This formulation was incorporated into Article I(c) of the Liability Treaty as the definition of “Launching State”.

‘Responsibility’ is broader than ‘liability’. Ben Cheng asserts that: “Responsibility means essentially answerability, answerability for one’s acts and omissions, for their being in conformity with whichever system of norms, whether moral, legal, religious, political or any other, which may be applicable, as well as answerability for their consequences, whether beneficial or injurious. In law, it applies in particular to a person’s answerability for compliance with his or her legal duties, and for any breaches thereof ………… The term liability is often used specifically to denote the obligation to bear the consequences of a breach of a legal duty, in particular the obligation to make reparation for any damage caused, especially in the form of monetary payment ….”: Ben Cheng, “Article VI of the 1967 Space Treaty Revisited: ‘International Responsibility’, ‘National Activities’, and ‘The Appropriate State’”, 1998, 26 Journal of Space Law 7, at 9.

Ibid at 13–14.

Ibid at 15.

Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, supra note 61, arts. 35 and 36.

The Liability Convention supra note 62, art II.

“Disintegration of Cosmos 954”, supra note 63.

According to the testimony of the Secure World Foundation, the “owner or operator of a particular satellite usually has excellent knowledge about the position of that satellite in space, but little to no information about the locations of other objects around them. This situation was the root cause behind the collision of two satellites in February – the owner of the Iridium satellite, which could have potentially maneuvered it out of the way, did not know about the impending close approach.” See: “Keeping the Space Environment Safe for Civil and Commercial Users” Testimony of Secure World Foundation. U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Hearing on 28 April 2009. For a detailed legal analysis of the Iridium-Cosmos collision, see Ram S. Jakhu, “Iridium-Cosmos Collision and its Implications for Space Operations” in the Schrogl, Kai-Uwe et al. (eds.) Yearbook on Space Policy: 2008/2009, Springer Wien New York, 2010 at 254–275. One notable organization in the effort to strengthen SSA capability is the Space Data Association, founded following the Iridium-Cosmos collision by Inmarsat, Intelsat, and SES to share data and technical support for the purpose of ensuring safety and integrity of space operations, including the creation of an automated SSA system; available at: <http://www.space-data.org/sda/about/sda-overview/>.

For detailed discussions of various aspects of Space Traffic Management, see W. Gaubatz, R. Smiljanic, P. Sterns, L. Tennen, International Rule Planning for Governing Space Transportation, Proceedings of the 43^rd Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 220 (2001); Schrogl, Kai-Uwe. “Space Traffic Management. The New Comprehensive Approach for Regulating the Use of Outer Space: an International Perspective.” October 2007. ESPI Perspectives 3. 2 Sept. 2009, available at : <http://www.espi.or.at/images/stories/dokumente/flash_reports/stmflashrep3f2.pdf>.

The Liability Convention, supra note 62, art I(a).

Nicholas M. Matte (ed.), Space Activities and Emerging International Law, 1984, CRASL, McGill University, Montreal, 497.

Barcelona Traction (Belgium v Spain), [1970] ICJ Rep 3.

For details, see International Union of Radio Science, supra note 58.

For details, see Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union, 1994 (as amended in 2014) and ITU Radio Regulations, 2012 Edition; Ram Jakhu, “Regulatory Process for Communications Satellite Frequency Allocations,” in Pelton J., Madry S., Camacho Lara S. (eds.), Handbook of Satellite Applications: Springer Reference, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2013 at 272–292.

ITU, World Radiocommunication Administrative Conference, Geneva, 1979, Recommendation 3, entitled “Relating to the Transmission of Electric Power by Radio Frequencies from a Spacecraft” decided to “undertake appropriate studies on all aspects of the effects of such radio transmissions of power from space on radio communication services and to make appropriate recommendations taking into account the ecological and biological implications.” This Recommendation is reprinted in Dembling & Smith, supra note 56, at 82.

Under footnote 5.138 of the ITU Radio Regulations, in addition to others, bands “6 765–6 795 kHz (center frequency 6 780 kHz), 433.05-434.79 MHz (center frequency 433.92 MHz) in Region 1 except in the countries mentioned in No. 5.280, 61–61.5 GHz (center frequency 61.25 GHz), 122–123 GHz (center frequency 122.5 GHz), and 244–246 GHz (center frequency 245 GHz) are designated for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) applications. The use of these frequency bands for ISM applications shall be subject to special authorization by the administration concerned, in agreement with other administrations whose radio communication services might be affected. In applying this provision, administrations shall have due regard to the latest relevant ITU-R Recommendations.”

Kozo Hashimoto and Naoki Shinohara, “Requirements and Challenges of International Spectral Management for Future Space Solar Power”, a paper presented at the International Symposium on Solar Energy from Space, Toronto, September 8–10, 2009 (a copy on file with the authors of this paper). Also see, Takeshi Hatsuda, Kenji Ueno and Kakoto Inoue, “Solar Power Satellite Interference Assessment”, (2002), IEEE, Microwave Magazine, Vol. 3, No.4, 65–70.

Mankins III, supra note 57 at 338.

International Union of Radio Science, supra note 58.

Ibid.

Mankins II, supra note 41 at 71.

51 USC §§ 50901 et seq. The corresponding regulations issued pursuant to Chapter 509 can be found in 14 CFR at chapter III, parts 415, 420, 431 and 435.

51 USC § 50904 (a).

51 USC § 50904 (a)(3).

42 USC § 4321.

Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Guidelines for Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and Related Environmental Review Statutes for the Licensing of Commercial Launches and Launch Sites available at: <https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/licenses_permits/media/EPA5DKS.pdf>.

14 CFR § 431.25.

14 CFR § 431.23.

14 CFR § 431.35.

14 CFR § 415.51.

51 USC § 50905(b)(3); 14 CFR § 404.5(b).

Review of Existing National Space Legislation Illustrating How States are Implementing, as Appropriate, Their Responsibilities to Authorize and Provide Continuing Supervision of Non-governmental Entities in Outer Space: Note by the Secretariat, COPUOS, 40th Sess, § 1(2), UN Doc A/AC. 105/C.2/L.224 (2001), § II(I)(68).

100

14 CFR § 415.56.

101

U.S. Department of Commerce & Federal Aviation Administration, Introduction to U.S. Export Controls for the Commercial Space Industry (2008), available at <http://www.space.commerce.gov/library/reports/2008-10-intro2exportcontrols.pdf>.

102

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, U.S. Pub. L. 112–239.

79 FR 22740 (2013).

79 FR 34 (2013).

22 CFR § 120.17.

22 CFR § 120.

Joosung J. Lee, “Legal Analysis of Sea Launch License: National Security and Environmental Concerns” Space Policy 24 (2008) 104 at 104.

108

“The Chapter 11 Reorganization of Sea Launch, LLC”, Alston and Bird LLP, available at: <http://www.alston.com/files/docs/3-23-11-Items-Insert.pdf>.

109

“Eutelsat 3B Mission Overview”, Sea Launch, available at: <http://www.sea-launch.com/missions>.

110

“About Sea Launch”, Sea Launch available at: <http://www.sea-launch.com/about/11398>.

111

John Sloan, “Introduction to FAA Officer of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) and International Outreach” (18 Oct. 2012) available at: <https://www.gwu.edu/~spi/assets/docs/John%20Sloan%20charts.pdf> at 7.

112

“About the Office, Frequently Asked Questions”, Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation, available at: <https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/about/faq/>.

113

The FCC Online Table of Frequency Allocations, 47 CFR § 2.106 (updated 13 April 2013), available at: <http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf>.

114

Communications Satellite Act art. 201(c) (11) (1962); Communications Act titles I-III (1934).

115

Regulating Satellite Networks: Principles and Process, FCC, available at: <http://transition.fcc.gov/connectglobe/sec8.html>.

116

Ibid.

117

47 CFR §§ 101.4-101.97; Wallach, supra note 16.

118

47 CFR §§ 25.157-25.158.

119

47 CFR § 25.158(c).

120

47 CFR § 25.157.

121

Unlike the provision noted in supra note 119 regarding GEO-like systems, there is no provision in 47 CFR § 25.157 prohibiting transfer, therefore enabling the text of 47 CFR § 25.119; see also, Satellite Space Station Licensing Reform, FCC, available at: http://transition.fcc.gov/ib/sd/ssr/ssslr.html> for further details on transfer of control application requirements.

122

47 CFR §§ 25.130-25.139.

47 CFR §§ 25.130.

47 CFR §§ 25.131.

47 CFR §§ 25.137.

Mankins II, supra note 41 at 71.

127

51 USC § 50901 et seq.

128

51 USC §§ 50914–50915. Statement of Alicia Puente Cackley, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, “COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCHES FAA’s Risk Assessment Process Is Not Yet Updated,” Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Space, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives, United States Government Accountability Office, 4^th February 2014, at 2, available at: <http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/660635.pdf>.

129

51 USC §§ 50914–50915.

130

Matthew J. Kleiman, Jennifer K. Lamie & Maria-Vittoria Carminati, The Laws of Spaceflight (Chicago: American Bar Association, 2012) at 86.

131

Deliana Ernst, “Beam It Down, Scotty: The Regulatory Framework for Space-Based Solar Power” (2013) 22:3 Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law 354 at 360–361.

132

Smith, Marcia S., House Hearing Reveals FAA-COMSTAC Rift on Learning Period for Commercial Human Spaceflight (Feb. 4, 2014) Space Policy Online available at: <http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/house-hearing-reveals-faa-comstac-rift-on-learning-period-for-commercial-human-spaceflight>.

133

Ernst, supra note 131 at 365.

134

Kleiman et al., supra note 130 at 86.

135

Ernst, supra note 131 at 360–361.

136

Ibid.

137

Allocation of risk is a necessary factor in setting up public-private partnerships. The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, available at: <http://www.pppcouncil.ca/aboutPPP_definition.asp>.

138

The launch service provider as an additional named insured often adds the operator. Sometimes the operator purchases in-orbit third party coverage which comes into operation when the launch coverage expires. Operators and insurers would like to see manufacturers assume more financial responsibility for the performance of hardware. Peter B. de Selding “Buyers, Insurers Want Satellite Makers to Take on More Financial Risk” Space News (18 April 2005).

139

These can apply even with a finding of gross negligence.

140

Issues of concern include: (i) credit risk, (ii) technology risk, (iii) market risk, (iv) asset risk, (v) political risk and (vi) legal risk.

141

Kleiman et al., supra note 130 at 113–114.

142

“Covers” is a term of art in insurance and widely used to refer to a contract for insurance or a type of coverage, available at: <http://www.aami.com.au/customer-service/insurance-glossary.aspx#cc>.

143

The total premium for 2007 was estimated at $ 500-550 M US, while the first two quarters of 2008 garnered approximately $411 M US in premiums. “Aon, Inmarsat in Space Partnership” “Insurance Journal” available at: <http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international /2008/09/19/93857.htm>. In the face of short-term policies, exorbitant rates, and disputed terms, some satellite operators chose to rely on self-insurance in the early 2000s. Michael A. Taverna, “Back in Business: As private equity influence wanes, satellite operators turn again to space insurance market” Aviation Week & Space Technology (23 April 2007) 26–27. However, in 2007, companies appeared to reconsider more traditional risk management. New coverage, including third-party and product liability for private space ventures, are in the works; however, the cost of maximum probable loss (MPL) coverage is a sensitive issue which can handicap the small launch startups planning entry into the suborbital flight market. “Space Activities and Relevant Insurance Implications” available at: <http://www.pagnanellirs.com/index.html?pg=10&id=2&itszn=2&idpress=22>.

144

Sophie Moysan, Aviation and Space Department, Marsh SA The Insurance Point of View presented at Project 2001 Plus Workshop “Towards a harmonized approach for National Space Legislation in Europe” Berlin 29–30 January 2004.

145

Federal Aviation Administration/Office of Commercial Space Transportation “Study of the Liability Risk-Sharing Regime in the United States for Commercial Space Transportation” (1 August 2006) at 2.

146

The text of the promulgated changes reads:

(c)(1) Cross waiver of liability: Each Party agrees to a cross waiver of liability pursuant to which each Party waives all claims against any of the entities or persons listed in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this section based on damage arising out of Protected Space Operations. This cross waiver shall apply only if the person, entity, or property causing the damage is involved in Protected Space Operations and the person, entity, or property damaged is damaged by virtue of its involvement in Protected Space Operations. The cross waiver shall apply to any claims for damage, whatever the legal basis for such claims, against:

(i) Another Party;

(ii) A Partner State other than the United States of America;

(iii) A related entity of any entity identified in paragraph (c)(1)(i) or (c)(1)(ii) of this section; or

(iv) The employees of any of the entities identified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iii) of this section.

14 CFR Part 1266, available at: <http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2008-02-26-E8-2868>; “NASA Notice of proposed rulemaking: Cross-Waiver of Liability” available at: <http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=22414>.

147

14 CFR 1266; 48 CFR 1852.228-76; 48 CFR 1852.228-78. See also NASA Procurement Notice, 27 September 2012 available at: <http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/pn04-73.html>.

148

National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 3.

149

Jeff Foust, Making the case, again, for space-based solar power, The Space Review (28 November 2011) available at: <http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1978/1>.

150

Peter Garretson, Solar Power in Space? (Spring 2012) Strategic Studies Quarterly 97 at 111.

151

Lusk-Brooke & Litwin, supra note 29 at 147.

152

National Security Space Office, supra note 20 at 41; Mankins I, supra note 35 at 349; “Japanese to pursue space-based solar power plant” (4 September 2009) available at: <http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2009/09/02/japanese-to-pursue-space-based-solar-power-plant/>; Tyler Hamilton, “Space-based solar power back in play” (15 October 2007) The Star available at: <http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/266738>.

153

Erb, et al., supra note 40 at 126.

154

Robert Taylor, “Independent Regulation and Infrastructure Reform”, available at: <http://www.ip3.org/ip3_site/independent-regulation-and-infrastructure-reform.html>.

155

Ibid.

156

Jerome Donovan, “Don’t Want to Privatize? Then Corporatize (But Do it Right)” available at: <http://www.ip3.org/ip3_site/don-t-want-to-privatize-then-corporatize-but-do-it-right.html>. Although privatization and public-private partnerships have often been used interchangeably in the US, this paper will treat the two as separate, discrete entities found at different points along the public – private continuum, with privatization referring to the furthest point on the private side, and the PPP falling somewhere along the spectrum, depending on the one-off characteristics of each particular project.

157

Cici Brown, Empowerment Plus Institute, “President’s Welcome” available at: <http://empin.org/address.html>.

158

Jumoke Jagun, Isabel Marques de Esa, “The Role and Importance of Independent Advisors in PPP Transactions” available at: <http://www.ip3.org/ip3_site/the-role-and-importance-of-independent-advisors-in-ppp-transactions.html>.

159

Jacques Cook, “US PPP Market on the Upswing: Some Thoughts from Abroad” available at: <http://www.ip3.org/ip3_site/us-ppp-market-on-the-upswing-some-thoughts-from-abroad.html>.

160

Interview with Barry Anderson, Deputy Director of the Congressional Budget Office (Fall 1999) 5 Georgetown Public Policy Review 23 at 5.

161

Cook, supra note 159.

162

Definitions, The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, available at: <http://www.pppcouncil.ca/aboutPPP_definition.asp>.

163

International PPP Schools Survey Report, Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, available at: <http://www.pppcouncil.ca/pdf/schools_survey.pdf> at 6.

164

A. Ng & Martin Loosemore, “Risk Allocation in the private provision of public infrastructure” (2007) 25 Int’l J of Project Management at 66, 67.

165

Xiao-Hua Jin and Hemanta Loloi, “Risk Allocation in Public-Private Partnership Projects – An Innovative Model with an Intelligent Approach”, presented at The Construction and Building Research Conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Georgia Tech, Atlanta U.S.A., 6–7 September 2007 at 3.

166

Ibid. at 3–4.

167

Ng & Loosemore, supra note 164 at 67.

168

Matthew H. Hoy, “The Information Superhighway: The Road to Rural Economic Development?” (1996) 6-Fall Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy 217; Nicholas P. Miller and Kenneth A. Brunetti, “Using Public-Private Partnerships to Develop Intelligent Transportation Systems: Potential Legal Barriers” presented at Intelligent Transportation Systems and the Law, October 23 – 24, 2000, Chicago, Illinois; Ronald Paul Hill, “Service Provision Through Public-Private Partnership: An Ethnography of Service Delivery to Homeless Teenagers” (2002) 4 J. of Service Research 4, 278; Clavio Valenca Filho and Joao Bosco Lee, “Brazil’s New Public-Private Partnership Law: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back” (2006) 22(5) Journal of International Arbitration, 419; Jagun and Marques de Esa, supra note 158.

169

National Security Space Office Interim Assessment, supra note 20 at 34; Kassing, supra note 36 at 133.

170

14 CFR § 1266.104.

171

Steve Mirmina, “Cross-Waivers of Liability in Agreements to Explore Outer Space: What They Are and How They Work” (2012) 9 SciTech Lawyer 1.

172

“Intelsat” available at: <https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Intelsat.html>.

173

Leland L. Johnson “Issues in International Telecommunications: Governmental regulation of COMSAT” (RAND January 1987) at iii.

174

The Liability Convention, supra note 62, arts XIV – XX; Article XIV reads:

If no settlement of a claim is arrived at through diplomatic negotiations as provided for in article IX, within one year from the date on which the claimant State notifies the launching State that it has submitted the documentation of its claim, the parties concerned shall establish a Claims Commission at the request of either party.

175

Klaus Peter Berger “The Nature of the International Arbitral Process” in Understanding Transnational Commercial Arbitration (edited by the Center for Transnational Law 2000) UTCARB 1.II.

Ibid.

Ibid, 1.II.2.a.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Section 2 of the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act states:

A written provision in any … contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or transaction … shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract. 9 U.S.C. § 2.

Section 2 “declare[s] a national policy favoring arbitration” of claims that parties contract to settle in that manner. Southland Corp. v. Keating, 465 U.S. 1, 10, 104 S.Ct. 852, 79 L.Ed.2d 1 (1984); Preston v. Ferrer, 552 U.S. 346, 349, 128 S.Ct. 978, 983, 169 L.Ed.2d 917 (2008). For an in depth discussion, see Patricia Sterns and Leslie Tennen, Resolution of Disputes in the Corpus Juris Spatialis: Domestic Law Considerations, Proceedings of the 36th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 172 (1994); Jean-Gabriel Castel “The enforcement of agreements to arbitrate and arbitral awards in Canada,” Canada-United States Law Journal, 17 (January 1991) 491.

181

The ICC model arbitration clause is:

All disputes arising out of or in connection with the present contract shall be finally settled under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with the said Rules.

Available at: <http://madaan.com/arbitrationicc.html>.

182

Gary H. Barnes “Drafting an Arbitration Clause – A Checklist” HG.org: Worldwide Legal Directories available at: <http://www.hg.org/adradd1.html>.

183

Ibid.

184

W. Mark C. Weidemaier “The Arbitration Clause in Context: How Contract Terms Do (and Do Not) Define the Process” (2006 – 2007) 40 Creighton Law Review 655 at 660.

185

Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities, Permanent Court of Arbitration (6 Dec. 2011) available at: <http://pca-cpa.org/shownews.asp?ac=view&pag_id=1261&nws_id=323>, Annex.

186

Ibid, art 1.

187

Ibid, Introduction.

188

Sarah R. Cole, et al. “Mediation: Law, Policy and Practice” § 1:1 (2d ed.).

189

For a good, if amorphous, definition of mediation, see, Mediation Definition available at: <http://terryharris.com/Mediation%20Definition.htm>.

190

Deborah Lynn Zutter “Incorporating ADR in Canadian Civil Litigation” (2001) 13 Bond L Rev. Issue 2, article 11, available at: <http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1215&context=blr>; Edward P. Davis, Jr. “Mediation in the US Legal System” The Institute for the Study and Development of Legal Systems available at: <http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/adr_conf/DAVIS5.pdf>.

191

The Price Anderson Act, Background Information, available at: <http://www.ans.org/pi/ps/docs/ps54-bi.pdf>; “Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage” (January 2010) available at: <http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf67.html>.

192

Syed Ali Mujtaba Syed “Wakeup to Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill” Ground Report (12 March 2010) available at: <http://www.groundreport.com/Opinion/Wakeup-to-Civil-Liability-for-Nuclear-Damage-Bill/2919665>.

193

David Whalen The Rise and Fall of COMSAT: Technology, Business, and Government in Satellite Communications (Palgrave Macmillan 2014) at 3.

194

Frank Morring Jr., “Low Cost Launches May Boost Chances for Space Solar Power” (April 21, 2014) available at: ≤ http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_04_21_2014_p24-678947.xml&p=1>.

Title: Legal Aspects of Solar Power Satellites
Authors: Ram S. Jakhu
Diane Howard
Andrea J. Harrington
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: Private Law, Public Law, Metalaw and Public Policy in Space
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27085-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-27087-6

Copyright Year: 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27087-6_2

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