Legal aspects of private launch services in the United States

The last decade has witnessed the development of a private launch industry. Under international space law, in particular the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, States shall supervise and authorize the activities of their nationals, including private launch companies, in Outer Space. In the United States, a substantial set of regulations has been elaborated to exercise this control over the activities of the private launch industry. This thesis analyzes, in a first chapter, the evolution which led to these regulations. The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and the subsequent regulations issued by the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, regarding the licensing process are dealt with in the second chapter. The third chapter examines the most important practical legal issue relating to private launch services, namely liability and insurance