Title IV of the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015: A Critical Step Forward in Facilitating the Development of a Viable Space Infrastructure

Abstract

With the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (CSLCA), the United States became the first country to recognize the right of its citizens to own resources they obtain in space. Also, known as Title IV of CSLCA, the law mandates the President to actively facilitate the commercial exploration of space resources, discourage government barriers to the development of a U.S. space resource industry, and promote the right of U.S. citizens to engage in commercial recovery of space resources. The U.S. Congress drafted Title IV of CSLCA with careful and detailed consideration to ensure compliance with international law and its treaty obligations. The space resource utilization provisions of the CSLCA were vetted by various agencies of the U.S. Administration, including the Department of State, and included the input of space law and policy experts. The result was the abandonment of the initial ASTEROIDS Act and the creation of a new legislation that explicitly comported with Articles II and VI of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The passage of Title IV was not only a historic precedent but also one of the most forward-thinking space regulatory regimes, which will spur the development of an international space resource utilization industry. Before the passage of Title IV, the legal status of ownership rights in extracted space resources was unclear, effectively shuttering the ability of the nascent space resource utilization industry to secure critical financing. The passage of Title IV, however, has provided the necessary regulatory security for potential investors to assist in the development of the industry with private financing. More importantly, it has immediately catalyzed the interest of other nations, such as Luxembourg, to determine whether they too should pass similar space resource utilization legislation. As additional nations draft their own versions of Title IV of CSLCA and as technology rapidly advances, an international space resource utilization industry will organically develop.