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The Future of Space Tourism: August 28, 2020
The Future of Space Tourism: August 28, 2020
R46500
The Future of Space Tourism
August 28, 2020
Several private companies are developing plans to take paying customers to space on a regular
basis. Federal oversight of space tourism has been deliberately light, consistent with the Alyssa K. King
Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-492), in which Congress Analyst in Transportation
mandated a “learning period” for companies to develop business models, establish safety Policy
standards, and design spaceflight vehicles prior to establishment of federal regulations.
In that law, Congress directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop indicators
showing when the space tourism industry has matured to the point that it can accommodate a
stricter safety regulatory regime. In a 2019 report to Congress, FAA found that the sector was not yet ready for stricter
regulation. It is to provide another assessment of the industry in 2022. The “learning period” during which the agency must
forbear from regulation is currently set to expire in 2023.
At present, the U.S. government has no procedures for certifying the safety of launch vehicles for tourist passengers. Launch
providers must receive a license for their rockets from FAA, but this licensing process addresses propulsion and trajectory
aspects of spaceflight missions and public safety on the ground rather than passenger safety. For flights with passengers
aboard, FAA requires crew and pilots of commercial spaceflight vehicles to meet certain training and medical standards, but
it has no standards applicable to passengers.
Before boarding a rocket to space, or even just to the edge of space, passengers are required by FAA to sign a waiver
acknowledging known risks of spaceflight. However, aerospace medical experts recognize many health risks associated with
spaceflight are still not well understood, and very little research has been done on medical consequences of such flights on
the health of untrained participants. Known medical risks vary based on many factors, including spaceflight profile, vehicle
configuration, destination, and duration, as well as preexisting medical conditions in passengers. Participants enduring
microgravity, high speeds, and intense gravitational forces could experience vision loss, motion sickness, balance issues, loss
of consciousness, and cardiovascular complications. FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
recommended medical screening standards for tourist spaceflight participants in 2012, but these guidelines are not binding on
companies that provide launch or accommodation for space travelers.
In the event of an accident involving a commercial spaceflight vehicle and passengers, FAA’s requirement for passengers to
sign waivers absolves the government and launch operator of any liability for loss of life. However, families of spaceflight
participants are not required to sign a waiver and could sue the launch operator after such an accident. To date, no such action
has been tested in court. Responsibility for official accident investigations involving commercial space vehicles is shared
between FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
In 2018, the Department of Commerce proposed designating its Office of Commercial Space as an independent bureau with
responsibility for commercial space traffic management, in addition to other functions. Since then, several bills have been
introduced to create such a bureau and give it principal responsibility for regulating commercial spaceflight. None of those
bills has been enacted.
As the congressionally mandated learning period approaches its expiration date, Congress may consider whether the
development of the industry has progressed enough to impose a stricter governance regime for space touris m activities.
Legislators could hold hearings, direct studies, or examine expert and industry views on whether the law restricting FAA’s
authority to regulate the safety of commercial spacecraft for tourist use should be extended again or allowed to expire entirely
or in phases. Congress also has supported the development of voluntary safety standards by industry, interagency working
groups, and the aerospace medical community, and may want to consider whether the federal government should use such
standards to create a regulatory framework.
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
History and Development of a Space Tourism Sector ............................................................ 1
New Entrants ....................................................................................................... 2
Accommodations in Orbit...................................................................................... 3
Regulating Space Tourism ................................................................................................ 4
Federal Aviation Administration Oversight Responsibilities ........................................ 5
Interagency Medical Standard Recommendations ...................................................... 7
Medical Concerns for Spaceflight Participants ............................................................... 7
“G” Forces .......................................................................................................... 8
Oxygen Deprivation and Effects of Fluid Redistribution ............................................. 8
Vestibular Complications ....................................................................................... 9
Training Guidelines ............................................................................................ 10
Insurance and Liability Issues.................................................................................... 10
Accident Investigation ................................................................................................... 11
Considerations for Congress ........................................................................................... 12
Contacts
Author Information ....................................................................................................... 13
Introduction
Companies in the United States are advancing plans to offer paying customers rides into space on
a regular basis. This development has been encouraged by Congress, which passed legislation in
2004 meant to enable commercial space transportation companies to develop business models
under relatively light regulation. 1 While this approach has contributed to rapid growth in
commercial launches of private satellites and of government cargoes, it has created uncertainty
with respect to passenger transportation, as a nascent industry awaits guidance about what
measures the government will require to keep paying passengers safe not only in space but on the
way there and back to Earth.
A space tourism boom has been forecast for more than a decade,2 but the current regulatory
landscape is designed for a fledgling industry that is yet to fully emerge. 3 Companies proposing to
offer space tourism, which have stayed afloat financially with the help of investors who foresee
long-term opportunities, will at least initially be dependent on a limited pool of exceptionally
wealthy customers.4 When and to what extent it should be regulated by the government remain
undecided.
This report provides an overview of the commercial space tourism industry and examines current
federal safety standards for human spaceflight, opportunities for development of oversight
frameworks, industry recommendations, medical considerations for space travelers, and other
regulatory issues Congress may face as space transportation companies begin flying and
accommodating paying customers.
1 CRS Report R45416, Com mercial Space: Federal Regulation, Oversight, and Utilization , by Daniel Morgan.
2
T estimony of NASA Deputy Associate Administrator of Space Station Michael Hawes in U.S. Congress, House
Committee on Science, Space, and T echnology, Space Tourism , 107 th Cong., 1 st sess., June 26, 2001 (Washington, DC:
GPO, 2001).
3 U.S. Congress, House Committee on T ransportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation, Commercial
Space Transportation, 111 th Cong., 1 st sess., December 2, 2009 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2 009).
4Northern Sky Research, “ Space T ourism Market About to T ake Off,” December 17, 2019, at https://www.nsr.com/
nsr-report-space-tourism-market-ready-to-take-off/.
5
Space Adventures, “For Newly Formed Space Adventures Inc., Future of Space T ourism Starts Now,” press release,
September 25, 1997, at https://web.archive.org/web/19981205021238/http:/www.spaceadventures.com/news/
launch.html.
6 T he first private astronaut to fly beyond the Karman Line, the widely recognized edge of space, was test pilot Mike
Melville in a SpaceShipOne built by aerospace engineering company Scaled Composites in 2004. Melville was not a
paying customer, and as such is classified as a private astronaut and not a tourist for purposes of this report.
7Catherine Clifford, “What it’s Like to T ravel to Space, from a T ourist who spent $30 Million to Live there for 12
Days,” CNBC, October 18, 2019 at https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/what-its-like-in-space-from-a-tourist-who-spent-
30-million-to-go.html.
requests from the company to offer seats to tourists aboard NASA’s shuttles. Space Adventures
sent a total of seven paying customers to space between 2001 and 2009, including Garriott, who
spent 12 days in orbit in 2008. Tourist visits to space came to a halt when NASA’s shuttle
program ended in 2011. Thereafter, American astronauts bound for the International Space
Station (ISS) were allocated seats aboard Soyuz rockets pursuant to a U.S. diplomatic agreement
with Russia, leaving no extra seats to accommodate tourist passengers.
While it is not currently possible for commercial travelers to fly into orbit with Space
Adventures, 8 they can come close. Space Adventures operates a modified Boeing aircraft that
takes off from a runway, reaches a certain altitude, and performs a maneuver in the shape of an
arc that allows passengers aboard to feel intense pressure almost twice that of normal gravity on
the way up followed quickly by less than a minute of weightlessness near the top of the arc. The
feeling of weightlessness is similar to what astronauts feel in the microgravity environment of the
ISS. The aircraft performs this maneuver several times within airspace designated by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA). The experience costs about $5,400 per passenger. 9
New Entrants
Several newer companies have begun selling tickets or advertising future dates for tourist flights
to space:
Virgin Galactic, a publicly traded company founded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson,
had reportedly received more than 8,000 reservation requests for travel aboard its rocket as of
February 2020. 10 The company says it has received down payments from 600 of those customers.
Its planned flight profile consists of an aircraft and a second-stage vehicle that detaches once the
main craft reaches a certain altitude and uses a rocket to propel it to suborbital space, an altitude
at which passengers will temporarily experience weightlessness without entering orbit. To date,
no paying customer has flown aboard a suborbital spacecraft.11 Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the company had publicly announced plans to begin flying tourists by 2022 from its spaceport in
New Mexico, but its operations have been delayed by the virus, according to securities filings. 12
Blue Origin, a privately held company controlled by Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos, is
building a passenger rocket and capsule to send a crew of up to six tourists to space for several
minutes from a launch site in West Texas. The company has tested the rocket, New Shepherd, a
dozen times with a dummy onboard covered in sensors to determine how trips might affect future
human customers.13 Blue Origin has not released information about when tourists might be able
to fly on the rocket, what tourist training might be required, or the anticipated price of a flight.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company controlled by Tesla Motors
founder Elon Musk that is known for launching satellites aboard reusable rockets, announced in
March 2020 that it would fly three tourists on a 10-day trip to the International Space Station in
8Space Adventures has announced an agreement with the Russian space agency to send two tourists to the ISS in 2021.
See “Roscosmos and Space Adventures Sign Contract for Orbital Space T ourist Flight,” press release, February 19,
2019, at https://spaceadventures.com/roscosmos-and-space-adventures-sign-contract-for-orbital-space-tourist-flight/.
9 Space Adventures, “G Force One Ready for T akeoff” at http://www.gozerog.com/.
10
Catherine T horbecke, “Virgin Galactic to Resume Selling T ickets to Space, Reports Skyrocketing Demand,” ABC
News, February 26, 2020.
11 Ken Davidian, “Space T ourism Industry Emergence: Description and Data,” New Space, vol. 8, issue 2 (June 2020).
12
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., SEC Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended June 30, 2020, p. 44, August 3, 2020.
13Jonathan O’Callaghan, “Blue Origin Launches its First T ourism Rocket in Seven Months – And Hopes to T ake
Humans to Space in 2020, Forbes, December 11, 2019.
2021. The price of the single trip is reportedly $55 million. 14 SpaceX intends to fly these tourists
on its Crew Dragon spacecraft, the same craft that transported two NASA astronauts to the ISS in
May 2020 from American soil for the first time since the U.S. space shuttle program ended.
Unlike other spacecraft that are in design and production for tourist transport, the Crew Dragon
will be rated and certified against NASA criteria that will formally deem it safe for human
flight. 15 SpaceX is also working with Space Adventures to send up to four private citizens into
orbit around Earth with a projected date as early as 2021. In 2018, a billionaire from Japan placed
a down payment with SpaceX for a privately chartered tourist flight around the moon in a small
vehicle that would be launched by a SpaceX rocket. 16 SpaceX has said it hopes to launch the
excursion in 2023.
Space Perspective, a private company created in June 2020, proposes to use high-altitude
balloons to transport tourists to the edge of space. 17 Space Perspective plans to launch a football-
field-sized balloon with an attached pressurized capsule, initially from a base in Florida, to float
passengers to altitudes of nearly 19 miles. During the balloon flights, passengers will not
experience weightlessness but can expect to view the curve of the Earth and blackness of outer
space from far above the altitudes at which commercial airplanes normally fly. 18 The company
envisions the balloons will descend to Earth after a several-hour journey by gradually releasing
gas, like traditional hot air balloons. The company has said it plans to launch its first uncrewed
test flight in 2021. 19
Accommodations in Orbit
Prospective space tourists may have several destinations to choose from. The providers of
accommodations in space may not be the same entities that provide space transportation.
One early destination is likely to be the ISS, which is controlled by NASA. In June 2019, NASA
changed a long-standing policy when it announced plans to allow private citizens to fly to the ISS
for short visits. 20 It did not, however, offer to provide transportation. It is unclear whether NASA
will insist that private astronauts and space tourists visiting the ISS meet the same medical and
training requirements as NASA astronauts aboard the ISS.
Axiom Space, a private company that has several agreements with NASA, will provide training
to private astronauts and plans to send the first fully private human spaceflight mission to the ISS.
14Sean O’Kane, “SpaceX Will Send T hree T ourists to the International Space Station Next Year,” The Verge, March 5,
2020, at https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/5/21166657/spacex-tourists-iss-international-space-station-orbit-falcon-9-
dragon.
15 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “NASA Astronauts Launch from America in Historic T est Flight of
SpaceX Crew Dragon,” press release, May 30, 2020.
16 Jackie Wattles, “SpaceX Will T ake a Japanese Billionaire on a T rip Around the M oon,” CNN Business, September
18, 2018.
17Loren Grush, “New Company Space Perspective Wants to T ake You to the Stratosphere via High -Altitude Balloon,”
The Verge, June 18, 2020.
18
Valerie Stimac, “New T ourism Company Space Perspective Aims to Make Space Ac cessible to as Many People as
Possible,” Forbes, June 18, 2020.
19 Stefanie Waldek, “T his New Company Wants to Send You to the Edge of Space in a High -T ech Balloon,” Travel
This mission is expected to include three astronauts launched aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2021. 21
According to Axiom, private astronauts will go through initial physical and medical checks, and
training modules will include 15 weeks of “expert training” in robotics, suborbital spaceflights,
preparation for extreme environments, and high performance jet flights. 22 The crew scheduled to
launch in 2021 will perform research in support of developing modules for a new, privately
funded space station Axiom plans to construct and deploy to replace the ISS after its expected
retirement in 2024. 23 The new station is intended to be open to visitors from space agencies and
the paying public. Under an agreement with NASA, the company plans to build the craft in stages
as a modular attachment to the ISS that will be released as a free-floating station in orbit once
complete.
Gateway Foundation, a California organization, announced design plans last year for a space
hotel that could accommodate hundreds of passengers. The Von Braun Station design plans look
like a giant wheel rotating in space that could provide Earth-like gravity to passengers on board.
Construction is yet to start, but the company says it expects to complete the orbiting hotel by
2027 with the support of space construction company Orbital Assembly. Gateway’s website states
that individuals can increase their chances of winning a free trip to its spaceport and will have
priority right to purchase shares in an eventual public offering by becoming “crew members.”24
Orion Span has announced a plan to build a luxury hotel in orbit. The hotel, Aurora Station,
would be able to accommodate four passengers and two crew for 12-day stays.25 The company
has been plagued by financial difficulties but claimed in February 2019 to have a seven-month
waitlist. 26
21William Harwood, “Axiom Plans First Private Flight to Space Station, with Crew Launching Aboard SpaceX
Capsule,” CBS News, March 5, 2020.
22
Axiom Space, “Preparing for Your Journey,” at https://www.axiomspace.com/private-astronauts-missions. “Private
astronauts” are distinct from spaceflight “participants” who are not trained to p ilot a spacecraft. T he Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has not issued guidance for training of private astronauts or certified them. However, it will
award astronaut wings to private astronauts aboard FAA-licensed launches who meet FAA requirements for flight crew
qualifications and training under 14 C.F.R. Part 460 and who fly higher than 50 miles above Earth’s surface.
23 NASA, “NASA Selects First Commercial Destination Module for International Space Station,” press release,
29Federal Aviation Administration, “Guidance on Informing Crew and Spaceflight Participants of Risk,” FAA Office of
Commercial Space Transportation, April 4, 2017, at https://www.faa.gov/space/licensing_process/regulations/media/
Guidance_on_Informing_Crew_and_Space_Flight_Participants_of_Risk.pdf .
30
Federal Aviation Administration, “Human Space Flight Requirements for Crew and Space Flight Participants,” 71
Federal Register 75615, December 15, 2006.
31 Ibid.
32
14 C.F.R. §460.45.
33 Ibid.
While the Office of Commercial Space Transportation is responsible for enforcing these informed
consent requirements, it is prohibited by CSLAA from imposing any further safety requirements
on launch companies flying commercial spaceflight participants. 34 In particular, it is restricted
from imposing new regulations, such as issuing design requirements for seatbelts or escape
hatches, which could affect the ability of commercial entities to innovate freely in areas of
spacecraft design and development. This prohibition, which was originally set to expire in 2012,
was extended to 2015 under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 201235 and then to
October 2023 under the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015. 36 According to
2016 testimony by the Government Accountability Office, experts believed that determining
whether and when to regulate the safety of crew and spaceflight participants was one of FAA’s
most significant challenges. 37
This Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act required FAA to submit an initial report to
Congress in March 2018 and a follow-on report in 2022 on the commercial space industry’s
progress in developing voluntary safety standards for human spaceflight. These reports must be
prepared in coordination with an industry advisory group and include observable metrics that
would indicate readiness of the commercial space sector to transition to a more regulated safety
regime without undermining the growth of the industry. The reports are also to include a
framework for transitioning to a new regulatory regime.
FAA submitted its first report, “Evaluation of Commercial Human Space Flight Safety
Frameworks and Key Indicators,” to Congress in 2017. The report identified four types of metrics
FAA proposes to use in determining whether greater federal regulation is appropriate:38
Indicators of changes in the purpose of commercial space travel, such as moving
beyond adventure travel to providing regular transportation to orbital space
stations.
Indicators of the size and complexity of the commercial spaceflight industry,
such as the number of suppliers of orbital and suborbital commercial services and
the existence of multiple suppliers of similar vehicles.
Indicators of the industry’s progress in developing voluntary safety standards,
such as consensus safety standards and voluntary reporting.
Indicators of FAA’s readiness to provide expertise in human spaceflight safety
and legal authorities to develop and implement a regulatory safety framework.
In February 2019, the Secretary of Transportation submitted a report to Congress recommending
activities and regulatory action that would support establishment of a new safety framework and a
proposed transition plan for the industry. The report found that, based on the readiness indicators,
as of 2019, no commercial human spaceflight activities were ready to transition to a new safety
framework that would involve regulatory action. This finding was based on the fact that, since the
34
P.L. 114-90, §111(5).
35
P.L. 112-95, §827.
36 P.L. 114-90 §111(9).
37 U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Commercial Space: Industry Developments and FAA Challenges,”
T estimony before the Subcommittee on Aviation, Committee on T ransportation and Infrastructure, House of
Representatives, June 22, 2016.
38Federal Aviation Administration, Report to Congress: FAA Evaluation of Commercial Human Space Flight Safety
Frameworks and Key Industry Indicators, October 2017, at https://www.faa.gov/about/plans_reports/congress/media/
CSLCA_Sec111_Report_to_Congress.pdf.
2017 report identifying indicators of readiness, there had only been three FAA-licensed
commercial launches carrying trained crew and no commercial launches with tourists aboard. 39
39
Department of T ransportation, “Report to Congress: U.S. Department of T ransportation Evaluation of Commercial
Human Space Flight Act ivities Most Appropriate for a New Safety Framework,” February 26, 2019, at
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/advisory_committee/meeting_news/media/2019/may/
Section_111_Report_Summary_v3.pdf.
40
Federal Aviation Administration, Center of Excellence for Commercial Space T ransportation, “Flight Crew Medical
Standards and Spaceflight Participant Medical Acceptance Guidelines for Commercial Space Flight,” June 30, 2012, at
http://coe-cst.org/flight-crew-medical-standards-and-spaceflight-participant-medical-acceptance-guidelines-for-
commercial-space-flight.
41 Ibid.
“G” Forces
To get to space, commercial space companies use two methods: vertical and horizontal launch. A
vertical launch is one in which a rocket blasts off from a launchpad and carries its occupants
directly to space using propulsion. NASA’s space shuttle program and the May 2020
NASA/SpaceX launch of astronauts to orbit used this method. A horizontal launch, usually used
for suborbital flight, entails a traditional airliner-like vehicle that takes off from a runway and
gradually builds elevation with a spaceflight vehicle attached. At a certain altitude, the spaceflight
vehicle detaches from the airplane and its engines generate additional thrust to propel it into
space. Virgin Galactic’s tourist spacecraft uses this method. 42
During both a rapid ascent to space from a vertical launch and a parabolic flight profile flown by
suborbital flights, crew and participants will encounter forces several times that of normal gravity
to get through Earth’s atmosphere. These are commonly referred to as “G” forces. An untrained
flight participant can sometimes withstand about five times the force of normal gravity, or 5G,
but others may lose consciousness at 3G. 43 During a launch and a reentry through Earth’s
atmosphere, spaceflight participants are likely to experience forces from 3G to 6G or higher. 44
Under high G forces, humans can experience tunnel vision, loss of vision, motion sickness, or
loss of consciousness, as the heart must pump harder to circulate blood to the brain. 45 Individuals
who smoke have diminished tolerance of high-altitude travel and G forces. Dehydration, fatigue,
alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle, and illnesses such as cardiovascular disease can also reduce a
person’s tolerance of G forces.46
FAA offers physiological training programs for pilots and one-day classes for prospective
spaceflight participants that include altitude chambers and vertigo demonstrations to simulate
human physiological responses to high-altitude travel. Additionally, a centrifuge could be used to
test a spaceflight participant’s tolerance of increased gravitational pressure, or G forces, and
could assist in resistance training on Earth, but a commercial spaceflight operator would need to
make arrangements for participants to gain access to one. 47
42
Adam F. Dissel, Ajay P. Kothari, and Mark J. Lewis, “Comparison of Horizontally and Vertically Launched
Airbreathing and Rocket Vehicles,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 161-163, January-February
2006.
43 Federal Aviation Administration, “Acceleration in Aviation: G Force,” FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute.
44
Rebecca S. Blue, Jon M. Riccitello, Julia T izard, Richard J. Hamilton, and James M. Vanderploeg, “Commercial
Spaceflight Participant G-Force T olerance During Centrifuge Simulated Suborbital Flight,” Aviation Space and
Environmental Medicine, October 2012, at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23066613/.
45
Marck HT M Haerkens, Ries Simons, and Andre Kuipers, “Doctor, May I T ravel in Space? Aeromedical
Considerations Regarding Commercial Suborbital Space Flights,” National Institutes of Health, National Library of
Medicine, 2011.
46 Pierre Bienaime, “Here’s How U.S. Fighter Pilots Learn to Survive Under Inhuman Levels of G Force,” Business
humans at high altitudes without requisite oxygen supply, the body’s tissues are deprived of
oxygen, causing numbness, confusion, nausea, hallucinations, breathing problems, irregular
heartbeat, and, if left untreated, heart failure, brain damage, and death.
Federal regulations applicable to any pressurized aircraft operating above 25,000 feet require
commercial space transportation vehicles to be equipped with oxygen supply systems, but
participants in suborbital and longer-duration spaceflight need to be aware of signs and symptoms
of oxygen deprivation in order to request supplemental oxygen if needed. 48 Oxygen starvation
first effects the brain; judgment is impaired, so a participant may not realize the dangerous
situation. Within five minutes of being deprived of oxygen, brain cells begin to die and
significant, life-threatening brain damage occurs.49
The human body is made up of more than 60% water; in microgravity where humans are
weightless, these fluids redistribute themselves throughout the body. 50 Flow of blood through
vessels changes, and the position and shape of organs change absent the gravitational forces
pulling them toward Earth. 51 For example, the heart and eyeballs both change shape in
microgravity; without gravity, the back of the eyeball flattens and has caused vision problems in
astronauts who have stayed in space for extended periods. The heart becomes rounder and
slightly less elongated than on Earth, as it does not have to work against gravity and blood no
longer pools in the lower extremities. 52 Changes like these can cause cardiovascular
complications for healthy individuals as well as those with certain preexisting conditions. 53
Vestibular Complications
The vestibular system is contained in the inner ear and enables the human body to sense and
respond to changes in internal and external environments. These functions are used to determine
the body’s orientation, sense body movement changes in velocity and direction, and maintain
balance. When there is no visual reference, as is often the case during gravitational conditions in
spaceflight or weightlessness aboard spacecraft in orbit, vestibular systems often have difficulty
determining spatial orientation, and even short-term weightlessness can cause complications such
as motion sickness, vomiting, vertigo, headaches, and lethargy. 54 Disruptions to the vestibular
system in space often result in symptoms similar to seasickness on Earth, where the combination
of a boat’s forward motion, speed, and rocking caused by swells incapacitate the vestibular
system’s ability to determine orientation and balance. 55
4814 C.F.R. §135.157 requires any pressurized aircraft operating above 25,000 feet be equipped with at least a 10-
minute supply of supplemental oxygen for each occupant .
49 Federal Aviation Administration, “Hypoxia: T he Higher You Fly, the Less Air in the Sky,” FAA Civil Aerospace
Medical Institute, April 29, 2020.
50 Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, “T he Water in You: Water and the Human Body,” at
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body?qt-
science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects.
51
Arnauld E. Nicogossian et al., “Chapter 13: Musculoskeletal Adaptations to Space Flight ,” Space Physiology and
Medicine: From Evidence to Practice, 4 th Edition (New York: Springer, 2016).
52 Seema Yasmin, “Preparing Bodies for Liftoff: NASA Doctors Studying T ravel that Can T ake T oll on Organs, Skin,
Spaceflight participants who spend several days in space could also experience health
complications upon return to Earth. Vestibular disturbances and balance issues can occur in
individuals transitioning from living and sleeping in a microgravity environment back to a G1
environment on Earth. 56 Additionally, medical research indicates travelers may be more
susceptible to infection and illness due to a suppressed immune system caused by changes in
cellular function during even short trips to space. 57
Training Guidelines
Commercial crew and private astronaut pilots licensed by FAA to fly to space—or the edge of
it—must meet certain training and medical standards, but those standards do not currently extend
to spaceflight participants paying for a trip. Often, private astronauts that serve as pilots on space
launch vehicles such as those flown by Virgin Galactic have significant NASA or military test
pilot experience and thousands of flight hours. However, some private astronauts may need
additional specialized training for certain missions such as docking with the ISS or using specific
technologies. This year, NASA signed an agreement to partner with a private contracting firm to
train such private astronauts at federal facilities 58 and provide aeromedical services prior to,
during, and after private astronaut spaceflight missions. 59 While NASA works with private
contractors on many mission support activities, this is the first NASA-sponsored contract for
private astronaut training.
Article VII of the Liability Convention would likely apply to an accident involving a vehicle
launched from U.S. soil with foreign spaceflight participants aboard. However, the article
stipulates that the provisions of the treaty do not apply to damage caused by a space object of a
launching state to nationals of that state. In other words, compensation for injury to U.S. citizens
and damage to property in the United States caused by a spacecraft launched from the United
States would be entirely a matter of U.S. law and is not subject to the Outer Space Treaty.
In order to launch a rocket in the United States, a commercial launch operator must receive a
license from FAA. One of the requirements for approval of a license is carriage of third-party
liability insurance. 63 FAA requires an assessment of maximum probable financial loss (MPL)
from any accident claim and proof that the operator either has financial reserves equal to the MPL
estimate or has purchased that amount of liability insurance. Federal law places a statutory cap of
$500 million on third-party liability. 64 The original Space Launch Amendments Act, passed in
1988, makes the U.S. government responsible for covering damage beyond the $500 million
cap. 65
It is not clear whether that government coverage would extend to families of individuals aboard a
commercial space vehicle that experiences an accident. Under informed consent agreements
required by FAA, space tourists effectively waive the right to hold the launch operator liable for
loss of life or injury. However, the families of spaceflight participants are not required to sign any
such form and in theory could still sue the launch operator in the event of a catastrophic accident.
Whether the informed consent waiver would preclude the award of damages in such a case has
not been tested in court. 66
Accident Investigation
There are no current federal guidelines delineating accident investigation jurisdiction should a
commercial spaceflight accident occur with passengers on board. According to a nonbinding
2004 memorandum of understanding between FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB), and the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. military will investigate any accident that occurs during
a space launch aboard its rockets, and FAA and the NTSB will be responsible for investigating
commercial accidents. 67
FAA’s Office of Space Transportation is responsible for overseeing investigations of all accidents
associated with FAA-licensed space operations. However, by statute, the NTSB, an independent
agency, could also have jurisdiction to investigate a commercial space accident when the board
determines an accident related to the transportation of individuals is “catastrophic.”68 For
example, the NTSB conducted the investigation into the crash of SpaceShipTwo, a Virgin
Galactic-operated spacecraft that broke up in the air during a test flight, resulting in the death of
the craft’s copilot in 2014. 69 That spacecraft was insured under an aviation hull and liability
policy by AIG for losses of $40 million to $50 million. 70 There has been debate in Congress since
that time about whether the NTSB’s authority over commercial spaceflight accident
investigations needs to be more clearly codified in law and how jurisdiction should be shared
between FAA and the NTSB.
69 Alwyn Scott, “Spacesuit? Helmet? Life Insurance? Space T ourist Loophole May End,” Reuters, November 5, 2014,
at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-crash-virgin-insurance-analysis/spacesuit-helmet-life-insurance-space-
tourist-loophole-may-end-idUSKBN0IP2XO20141106.
70 Carolyn Cohn and Richa Naidu, “Virgin Galactic Spaceship Insured for $40 - $50 million, lead underwriter, AIG:
In 2018, the Department of Commerce proposed designating its Office of Commercial Space as
an independent bureau with responsibility for commercial space traffic management, in addition
to other functions. A bill to create such a bureau and assign it responsibility for regulating
commercial spaceflight was introduced in the 115th Congress (H.R. 2809), but it did not advance.
The bill was reintroduced in the 116th Congress (H.R. 3610), with no further action to date. A
September 2019 Senate Appropriations Committee report expressed concern that an independent
space commerce bureau might not be equipped to fully replace the military’s space traffic
management role, and the committee recommended an independent review by the National
Academy of Public Administration. 74
Congress may at some point judge that the industry’s progress is sufficient to justify a formal
safety standard regime. In that circumstance, it could direct FAA to establish a licensing process
for launch vehicles carrying human occupants.
Another option for congressional action would be hearings to examine expert or industry views
on the need for closer government oversight of space tourism activities, to include launch and
reentry as well as accommodations in orbit, if other than the ISS. Congress could also direct
additional studies on some of these topics by organizations such as the National Academy of
Public Administration, the National Academy of Sciences, or NIST.
Author Information
Alyssa K. King
Analyst in Transportation Policy
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74
S.Rept. 116-127.