Senate Hearings on Commercial Space, April and May 2017

The Space, Science and Competitiveness Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held two hearings on further actions Congress could take to assist companies seeking to engage in commercial space activities, especially non-traditional ventures such as placing habitats in Earth orbit or on the Moon, satellite servicing, or asteroid mining.  Witnesses at the April 26, 2017 hearing represented four commercial space companies:  Bigelow Aerospace, Blue Origin, Made in Space, and Galactic Ventures (Virgin Orbit, Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company).   Three more companies were represented at the May 23, 2017 hearing:  Space Systems Loral, Moon Express and Planetary Resources.  Also testifying on May 23 were three space law experts (James Dunstan, Mobius Legal Group; Laura Montgomery, Ground Based Space Matters; and Matthew Schaefer, University of Nebraska College of Law).  SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the two hearings on May 30, 2017.