Asteroid Mining And Space Refueling Stations May Become Reality By 2025 - One day in the not-too-distant future, we’ll see more asteroid mining
American companies and startups (if we’re still alive) that mine
asteroids for profit - and according to the president of a now existing
asteroid mining company, that “distant future” is by year 2025.
In an interview with Space, Planetary
Resources president and chief engineer Chris Lewicki says that they
have “every expectation” that the human civilization will enjoy water
delivery system involving asteroids and some spaceship refueling
stations, also involving small solar system rocks, “in the next ten
years.”
After that, says Lewicki, “it’s going to be how the market develops.”
For instance, asteroid mining companies will establish more fuel
depots (from hydrogen and oxygen) if there’s demand for additional space
refueling stations. On the other hand, startup space miners can accept
gold or platinum orders on Earth and hunt rocks that contain such
resources.
Lewicki’s optimistic prediction is linked to the recently passed
United States Space Act of 2015 which allows private companies to mine
and own resources of asteroids and other cosmic rocks.
According to the U.S. Space law, or the H.R. 2262, any resources
obtained in outer space, either from a comet or asteroid and so on, “are
the property of the entity that obtained such resources” - and the
entity “shall be entitled to all property rights thereto,” - meaning,
the company or startup can sell these resources on Earth, or use them to
manufacture products.
Futurists cheered after the U.S. Congress passed the Space Act
because they believe that asteroid mining is a giant leap towards our
civilization reaching the “Type I” civilization level - a planetary “type” civilization that can harness the power of the planet and surrounding planets and objects (Solar System objects).
But wait, says critics of the Space Act of 2015.
This law, which is limited to the United States, is dangerous and “illegal” says a new article at The Conversation.
Asteroid Mining Law In U.S. Illegal?
Gbenga Oduntan, a University of Kent senior lecturer in international commercial law, asks: “Who owns space?”
In a nutshell, Professor Oduntan said the first space act of the United States is illegal and potentially dangerous.
The Space Act passed earlier this month, according to Prof. Oduntan,
is violating several treaties and global customary law which already
cover the entire universe. He also added that the U.S. law is simply a
“classic rendition” of Wild West philosophy, the “he who dares wins.”
Even without the Space Act of the United States, Professor Oduntan
said corporations can already mine resources in space — but the very
first provision of the Outer Space Treaty to which the United States is a
signatory, is that such mining in cosmos “shall be carried out for the
benefit and in the interests of all countries”, and not the United
States alone, or just one corporation.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar