Informed Consent for Spacefaring Passengers

摘要

In the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA), Congress expressly stated that space tourism is inherently risky, it is comparable to adventure travel and participants are akin to daredevils, visionaries and adventurers. The Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) — the agency charged by Congress with regulating this emerging industry — responded to the congressional view of space tourism by expressly stating in its "Final Rule" on Human Space Flight Requirements mat before receiving compensation or agreeing to fly a spaceflight participant, an operator must give each participant written warnings stating mat there are known and unknown hazards to spaceflight, that participants could be injured or killed and that none of the vehicles have been certified by the U.S. government as safe for even carrying human beings.