Hello, Space Law Students!

I look forward to our semester together in the study of the law of outer space. It is an extraordinarily exciting time in the space industry and many issues of law are implicated -- from private manned space travel, to the military use of space, to enviromental issues, to asteroid mining, to the fair allocation of radio spectrum and geosynchronous orbital slots, and beyond...

As a first assignment I ask that you spend a couple of hours searching the Internet for space-related news and information. Look at the websites of Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, the European Space Agency, the Indian Space Agency (ISRO), Nanoracks, and SpaceX. See where your interest takes you. The purpose of the assignment is this. Each of you will be writing a research paper on space law. The most difficult part of this is finding a topic. I want each of you to find an issue that really interests you. Then you will study it and develop some original ideas that you can add to the ongoing debate regarding the regulation of space activity. The first week, I'll give you a crash course overview of the space industry and space law. Then we'll take a step back and start drilling down into specific issues. I will be creating a course website with reading materials. 

Enjoy exploring space -- and Happy Holidays!

MJS