Reimagining Icarus: Defining the physical, cultural, legal and ethical parameters for human spaceflight

Abstract

Commercial human spaceflight inherently raises numerous medical, legal and ethical considerations with regard to the health and safety of civilian spaceflight participants (SFPs) and commercial crew. Nascent and emerging space companies are currently proposing a diverse range of commercial suborbital, orbital and eventually point-to-point transportation services that challenge the status quo of transportation service providers today. Bioethical and legal issues therefore arise throughout the course of private/commercial (nongovernmental) spaceflight activities to include preflight selection procedures, medical monitoring, and informed consent among others. In addition, concerns involving medical, technological and scientific uncertainty raise issues in developing effective governance for spaceflight. This is particularly evident with regard to how to regulate innovative space technologies and mission architectures, establishing appropriate risk assessment and management procedures, incorporating moral decision-making frameworks into commercial spaceflight operations, and understanding the cultural values and moral relationships inherent to these space actors, the general public, and prospective space activities. This thesis raises pertinent issues, arguments, implications and applicable approaches for commercial human spaceflight to better assist in establishing a foundation for dynamic and forward-looking ethical, legal and practical frameworks on spaceflight and human expansion into space.