SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION AND SPACE WAR: THE PROBLEM IS BEING NOTICED IN ...
Ms. K.M. shared this article, and it's an important one to pass along because it's bringing to the attention of the mainstream the problems inherent with the increasing commercialization of space: how will competing international claims to mining rights on celestial bodies be ajudicated? Here's the brief article she shared from Wired magazine:
Space Mining Could Set Off a Star War
At the heart of the issue is, once again, American unipolarism versus other nations:
The big wrinkle may not be whether it’s legal to mine an asteroid but how to figure out who has permission and who owns what claims. The US has no agency or process to issue licenses for space mining. “The politics can’t be known, but there will be politics,” says Joanne Gabrynowicz, a spacelaw expert at the University of Mississippi. Licenses give clarity not only to would-be miners but also to investors and governments starting their own operations. “If you don’t have that license, the investors are taking a big chance,” she says.
The US is now drawing up a law. Problem is, it’s unilateral and incomplete. The Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 says citizens can “possess, own, transport, use, and sell” an asteroid resource once they obtain it. But the bill doesn’t establish an agency or process for issuing licenses. Worse, it says your ownership claim begins as soon as you detect the existence of metals on an asteroid. You don’t even have to plant a flag. But what if China and Russia have different ideas—and different laws for their own citizens? Commercial activity in distant space could easily cause seething international strife here on our home planet.(Emphasis added)
That's it in a nutshell, and we've pointed this out numerous times on this website, as have many others who have been following this story.
And this is precisely where the high octane speculation, or rather, speculations, of the day begin.
We can expect that what is really being orchestrated by the American Congress contemplating and passing the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (2015) is really the "enunciation of a position," the declaration of principles that the USA will and must inevitably bring to any comprehensive treaty arrangements it will negotiate in the future with other space-faring or potentially space-faring nations. And rest assured, such renegotiation is not a prediction; it is an absolute necessity, if for no other reason than to avoid the potential for conflict to arise because of misunderstandings in space. In other words, expect in the years to come a comprehensive space treaty to be negotiated, having to do precisely with commercial activities and claims. As a result of this, one must also expect that space commercialization will be one tool used to drive the creation of an international licensing and regulatory agency, having real teeth. That, in turn, is a significant step to a real and functioning global government.
Here the corporate model will, I suspect, be the driving model and philosophical assumption behind any such treaty, and we've already had some strong hints of this recently, with Mr. Putin's decision to transform the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, into a state-owned corporation. This, I suggested not too long ago in another blog on this website, was a part of a long term strategic repositioning of Russia's space assets vis-a-vis such upcoming treaty negotiation. One may therefore anticipate similar moves from other space faring nations, China at the head of the list.
Such a treaty is not going to come overnight. The complexities of negotiation will be extreme, given the different systems of jurisprudence and underlying philosophical assumptions at work in different countries. Additionally, a mechanism for the adjudication of competing claims under such a treaty will have to be established. It won't happen overnight, in other words, but by the very same token, the very complexities involved means also that it is a process that will have to be begun sooner rather than later, and it may be a process that will not even be initiated by the USA, but rather by some other space-faring nation, and I suspect that the initial moves for such a treaty will be suggested by some other nation.
Now all this is, of course, merely the terrestrial angle and perspective, which brings us to the second high octane speculation of the day.
In last year's Secret Space Program Conference in Bastrop, Texas, I suggested that there are possible or potential treaty considerations of a wholly different sort, ancient ones, that might stem from some past "cosmic interplanetary war" fought right here in our own celestial neighborhood, a kind of "cosmic Versailles" treaty, complete with its own provisions for reparations or tribute or tithe, and its own "demilitarized zones" and "cordons sanitaire" around the vamquished party(that would be us, on planet Earth). I went so far as to suggest that our placards on our spaceprobes assuring "whomever" that "we come in peace for all mankind" may not simply have been a bit of sentimentality and well-wishing, but rather, a carefully considered political statement made for the precise reason that we were intending no such violation of any such ancient treaty. While this may all seem the most bizarre and extreme high octane speculation, there is evidence of such an ancient war as I and others have pointed out, and there are also suggestive considerations that some such an ancient treaty may have been enacted.
If that be the case, then any such renegotiated space treaty dealing with commercial claims will, at some point, and howsoever obliquely, have to address it, if for no other reason than to deal with competing claims, not between terrestrial corporations and nations, but between them and "someone else."
In short, this whole process and the language used to articulate it, is going to be interesting to watch. And even if it does not begin this year(as I think it will), it must begin soon.
See you on the flip side...
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In my mind, Elon Musk and SpaceX are rewriting the ‘cost-curves’ for space exploration. On 21 December 2015, their upgraded Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It’s first stage returned minutes-later to an engine-propelled touchdown at a site about six miles from the launch pad. Kudos for such insight and the engineering carry-through. Shame on establishment contractors for not doing that, decades ago. (We know Why…)
After many ‘tweaks’ to come, getting-to-orbit will involve mainly fuel costs and not the huge costs of throwaway vehicles. This will dramatically drive-down dollars-per-pound to orbit. If SpaceX does not take-out too much profit on each launch, we may finally see low-Earth-orbit open-up to commercialization and (God help us) tourism.
Perfect ball-bearings, with no machining needed. Composite materials made possible by no gravitational-settling-out of materials. Large-scale structures, made in space for space. Biologicals. Etc., etc. NOW is when venture capitalists need to get out into orbit…
On space wars, I remember an older anime movie that ‘set up’ the beginning of mankind as we know it. The movie portrayed males and females as essentially different species, perpetually and literally in violent interstellar-war with each other due to their different mindsets.
Two combat units got sent down to Earth to wage war for that planet.
Then, in a very poignant scene, it was revealed that each of the hostile ‘races’ had developed technology that could destroy stars…
for those of us in doubt about the wealth to make such happen, take more of a look at CAF’s notes on black economics. i think Doc’s written about it too. our tax payments are dwarfed by black op profits. our taxes are meant to contain us primarily. the only finance them secondarily and in a small way.
as to the nature and personality of this culture coming to a one world order head and then growing beyond to other worlds:
yeh well, with the level of ignorance (willful and otherwise) and hubris (starting to like that word), barney fife comes to mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Fife#/media/File:Andy_Griffith_Don_Knotts_1960.JPG
can’t ya’ll just picture this fascist machine toe shooting itself at ever step growing out into the universe and beyond
most of us probably wanna picture mr global as this kinda william shattner type who’s full of himself and crap selling cheap air fare tickets. (and alienating himself to george takei)
not me. i’m pretty sure mr global is gonna degenerate into old age after doing his damage into a semi permanent room in a playboy bunny mansion wearing one of those crappy red velvet smoking jackets trying to smile as smarmy as hugh hefner.
i’m kinda embarrassed for mr global. i bet he is too. that’s gotta be one of the major sources of his brutish ignorance. the guy has proven repeatedly to not even be as wise as the livestock he thinks he handles.
the few farmers i’ve known so inconsiderate of their animals that it’s clear to all (especially the animals) that he’s not as wise as his livestock, it never seems to end well. an early retirement to the playboy mansion of the breakaway civilians might be the best option for all of us. the breakaways gotta have someone better running the show than who they’ve shown us so far. they’ve gotta. please?
If I am an “investor” in one of these mining companies, I don’t believe the capitol needed is going to be small by any means(think about that alone)-not with the current and public space flight technology and I would wonder if my ROI is going take not just years, but decades to show a profit-not a promising business venture there.
To insure any said investment, I also would want to look at any actuarials-are there any of these available to investors? No? So how exactly would that be written up?
I haven’t even thought about the miners themselves yet but it would take an awful lot of infrastructure to be built to handle all that mining and that of course takes an awful lot of money. 😉
NASA is going to use robots called swarmies for space mining. There’s a whole industry springing forth. I think that horse may have already bolted.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/military-robots/nasa-training-swarmie-robots-for-space-mining
http://robohub.org/space-mining-robots-in-the-final-frontier/
If I make it to space and capture a platinum or gold asteroid its mine by salvage rights. The bankers and governments can claim they own the rights to it all they want but the crooks won’t be getting it without a fight. They are God created asteroids and God given to who ever can get their hands on them first. Unfortunately that won’t likely be me but you never know. I might get abducted by an alien some day and may get the opportunity to take over their ship. Then I’ll get some trusted prospecting friends together for some precious asteroid mining with or without the government’s approval.
take that analogy into a context closer to home roger. how bout if you picked up a gold brick on a sidewalk in manhattan?
If I find a brick sized gold nugget created and put in place by God then it is meant to be mine. If I found a gold brick laying on the side walk lost by someone else then I would be entering into a grey area. Proper thing would be to try and find the owner. If I knew who lost it I would return it but if I didn’t I would probably pick it up and wait for a while to see if anyone comes back to claim it. If after a suitable time no one showed up looking like they were searching for a misplaced gold brick I would assume the fates were smiling on me and carry on. Natural resources exist for everyone and its first come first serve.
About time we had another good old fashion free for all gold rush.
I definately want to be a space outlaw with a laser six shooter roaming the wild frontier.
i love fishing and now you’ve given me the idea I’m wondering what’s the best bait for catching an alien ship?
Are they still into cattle? Perhaps we need someone from a particular bloodline to put on the hook?
Okay, I’ll bite. What has been observed in the night sky with infrared technology?
Google it and view the videos, it’s quite intriguing. Looks as if battles are being fought in space; or maybe it’s just fireflies…
Since our Western oligarchs have not advance beyond China’s Warring States period. If their even at that state mentally we in for a hell of a ride think Wild West-Dark Age-Tribal Warfare. And Star Wars is a insurrection against a centralize empire this would more likely take on the look of savages with rayguns blasters with human sacrifice and cannibalism thrown in lets raze the black flag of piracy as well. Piracy has always been a cover for mercenary navies. Or as in old television spy use to say should you or your operatives be captured or killed the secretary will disavow knowledge of your actions.
Wrong word it’s raise the black flag and the closing remark is from Mission Impossible sixties spy series.
Realistically, they know that if history is any indication; than mankind is going to weaponize space and beyond.
No question about it.
Israel just launched its fifth Dolphin class nuclear submarine. Precision engineering made in Germany; a formidable war machine, the most advanced, complex and most expensive military hardware Israel possesses according the President Reuven Rivlin.
This is the culture being seeded by man into the cosmos and beyond.
There are too many unknown variables.
So if we consider the previous Cosmic War then what was the conflict about? Did it come about because of a right versus wrong kind of scenario? Or a mere might makes right power struggle? was it a revolution/rebellion?
Was it a returning authority inflicting punishment?
And then there’s the question of how big is this universe? Is there room enough for all? or, or some merely obsessed with control and order on their terms? Or, are some above the law? Or, are some masters to all the encounter?
Or, are some entirely different and simply do not wish any contact?
What is certain though, is that here on earth are an elite whose will is imposed on the vast majority and at everyone’s expense. I, for one, do not wish to carry this terminator seed mentality into the stars, and beyond, in the name of mankind. We are much better, and more than – gangsters for capitalism, or whatever ism is in fashion[fascism? or the like].
If not, then I’ll be flying under the Jolly Roger,
in spirit,
through this coming mercantile galaxy,
until…?
hell freezes over
I wanted to write until… .
[sound like]
…until sell freezes over.
But the illudium PU-36 space modulator has the exclusive rights to that underworld realm.
sell freezes over seems to work better. stick with it.
yes, zenodogbreath
they do go hand in hand.
zendogbreath
My computer has a mind of its own?
Subject to algorithmic whims.
Caught it this time!
oops typo
zengogbreath.
I was thinking of Captain Nemo while typing.
Notice 11:24 comes before 11:27.
It was placed last; instead of next to last?
I’m one of those that has seen enough coincidental evidence to believe there are off world interests involved. And that these off world influences have stealthily entrenched themselves in governments across the globe. How, much of Earth’s resources are going elsewhere is the big question?? How they influence us everyday is another?? My guess is we are exposed to their Atlatean Scientist / Egyptian Priestcraft style technologies on a daily basis (IMHO).
If we assume that there may possibly be some ancient treaty; there doesn’t seem to be a “no fly” zone implied with it, so far. Since we are sending probes and have a virtual cloud of satellites around the planet, one might assume that any “no fly” zone may not apply to unmanned craft whose purpose would be for planet side communications, etc. Such a treaty would only come into effect once we started sending manned missions throughout the system.
Should anyone else be out there, I’m sure they would be monitoring events on the earth (think Black Knight) and are well aware of the current geopolitical situation. Given that, would you believe “we come in peace for all mankind”? I certainly wouldn’t; and apparently “they” don’t either; if what has been observed in the night sky with infrared technology is real. This, of course, depends on whether there actually is a secret space program with advanced propulsion systems currently in place. If there is, one might well assume it has military involvement, which doesn’t fit well with the “we come in peace” statement on those disks attached to those probes, assuming “they” even bothered to read them.
Treaties are always backed up by military power as well as international laws. Since the West doesn’t seem to recognize any of these laws or treaties and does as it pleases to the detriment of the rest of humanity, that would have to change; and it may be about to change, despite the Wests arrogance. “Might makes right” only applies if you can back it up, and we can no longer do that.
We really need to get our house in order before we go spreading ourselves throughout the solar system or we run the risk of carrying our malignant behavior with us. Should that happen, then we would be right back where we were in high antiquity, on the short end of the stick, and sentenced to a prison planet.
Black knight is a fav of mine. I lean towards the theory it was launched by a pre modern civilisation based in Sri Lanka, until hanuman raised it to the ground.
I also found it odd that Arthur c Clarke, father of satellites, lived out the later part of his life in Sri Lanka. Also the region has slightly lower gravity making it a good place to launch from.
The “Wired” article talks about “bringing the resources home” but they are still a little behind if we consider the possibility of automated off-planet processing and manufacturing, perhaps direcly on those asteroids. Unless, of course, there are other parties out there who may have objections.