From Interstate to Interstellar Commerce: Incorporating the Private Sector into International Aerospace Law
Volume 87, No. 1, Fall 2014
This Comment explores the underlying tension between the res communis principle, with its goal of communal access, and private actors’ interest in exploiting extraterrestrial resources. Commercial exploitation of such resources has the potential to create significant positive externalities that could improve the standard of living for all of mankind. Therefore, this Comment argues that the interests of private actors should be incorporated into an amended body of international aerospace law, one that encourages capable entities—whether public or private—to engage in spacefaring missions for economic gain.