Stellar Property and Land Rights

Part V of the Science Behind Settling the Stars series

By Earl Wynn

When we think about colonizing other planets around other stars, we think of the future, we think of shows like Star Trek where mankind has progressed to some level of enlightenment that is beyond the petty greed of corporate commerce gone haywire, but the fact is we are there, and we haven’t. Using technology that has been available to us since the 1960's (yeah, we could have started that early) we can set up sustainable colonies on any number of local planets and moons (travel time can be awfully prohibitive, though) and build an entire network of orbiting installations capable of doing everything from collecting solar energy to providing housing for some of the world’s already overflowing population– but even in the case of these floating islands waiting to be born just beyond the blue embrace of our little world, the question will always raise its ugly head above the waves of good intention: Who owns it, pays for it, and maintains it?

The ISS (International Space Station) is a classic example of this. When looking at the breakdown of ownership for each module, we see that everything comes down to a list of percentages, each tied to a different Space Agency. Our own NASA (predictably) takes 100% ownership of a few parts of the station, including the original “Zarya” module that was manufactured by the Russians and placed in orbit as the foundation for the station in 1998. Other organizations like JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) the ESA (European Space Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) have cut themselves a piece of the orbiting pie as well, with each taking less than half of the other modules not (yet) wholly owned by NASA. It figures then that, thus far, the United States also leads the other nations involved with the ISS project in the number of permanent crew members and visiting guests from each country, with Russia coming in second ...

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Offworld and Orbitals

By Earl Wynn

While the expansion of the Human race beyond the borders of our world to orbiting and offworld “space stations” might seem like science fiction to some, many see it as the next step, the next frontier just waiting to be tapped by the corporations and entrepreneurs of the future on our journey to the stars and, of course, the greater beyond.

And it seems that a future of the corporate development of space isn’t as far off as most people might be inclined to believe. Already, major entertainment and aerospace companies like the under-publicized Virgin Galactic (mindblowing, isn’t it?) are gearing up to make some of the first affordable (relatively speaking) orbital flights for civilian passengers in 2008– that’s next year, and it doesn’t stop there.

Major developers of casinos and hotels have already begun testing designs for modular orbitals in the vein of inflatable space habitats and other forms of sealed environments– Robert Bigalow, the man who made his fortune through the Budget Suites of America hotel chain and Hilton International are at the forefront of this operation, with stiff competition coming up from behind from none other than the aforementioned Virgin Galactic, who just might end up being the first company to offer not only orbital space flight to the consumer, but a stay at a luxurious orbital hotel between earthbound spaceports as well. Rumors of Steve Wynn’s space casino project also run rampant alongside these very real, very definitive plans, but as yet remain unsubstantiated at this present time ...

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