Regulating Commercial Spaceflight
on March 4, 2013 at 8:09 amShould the industry take a page from the book of maritime law, and self regulate?
Classification Societies originated in the 18th and 19th centuries at the initiative of English ship insurers. Their purpose is to serve the public interest and the needs of their clients by promoting the security of life, property and the natural environment.1 They are impartial organizations consisting of technical experts that have established a system of public safety based on private law contracts. They are often described as the unofficial “policemen” in the marine world. Classification Societies enter into contracts primarily with ship owners and shipyards, which enable them to determine and control whether a ship conforms to their rules. Although Classification Societies do have economic interests, these interests are not the primary reason for their existence. Because of this, they often take the form of non-profit corporations.2
Classification Societies set the standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of maritime vessels. They accomplish this through rules and standards formulated through a committee process. In developing these rules, a Classification Society’s staff relies upon prudent marine engineering principles, theoretical research, and experience.
This is something that the Commercial Spaceflight Federation should be considering.
Rand,
There is a reason you don’t see such classification societies today, because federal regulations give providers a fig leaf to hide behind when the lawyers come for them.
When there is an accident the first thing firms claim as a defense, and there first line of defense, in a lawsuit is that they follow ALL required government rules and regulations and so are not at fault because they complied with the law. Then the battle comes down to the lawyers looking for evidence they didn’t follow the law.
But you do see such classification societies today. The American Bureau of Shipping is a major one, a tax-exempt NGO employing over 3,000 people whose influence on shipping is hard to overstate.
Check out their almost 200 published rules (standards) found in the above link. They even have detailed standards on submarine hulls that allow you to design subs for a particular crush depth (along with Excel spreadsheets to let you run the design numbers).
An equivalent for space would let you plug in everything you need for structural design, heat shields, life support, and guidance. It would even cover hatch and window dimensions (structures) in such a way that high-school kids could design a certifiable Mars craft.
George,
Yes, there are many competing one, but they are about as limited as auditors were in finding problems in firms like Enron and World Com.
http://www.navlaw.com/articles/v5/an-admiralty-law-viewpoint-on-the-changing-role-of-classification-societies.html
Also their function is to protect the insurers, not the owners or public. So the burden in a court case falls on the owner, as I noted above. In a mature industry like shipping this works well, but it will create problems in a new one like spaceflight. And even in shipping there are calls being made to modify their role for greater safety.
Also their function is to protect the insurers, not the owners or public.
How is that relevant? Insurers don’t normally insure against positive events. Most things that harm the owners and public in this area are insurable and hence, those insurers and their classification societies have an interest in reducing the incident of such things.
I don’t know about maritime industry, but there are many such organizations in other areas. Underwriters Laboratories, National Fire Protection Association, International Code Council, Green Seal, SafeSurf, the American Heart Association, the Better Business Bureau, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Ultralight & Light-Sport Aircraft Council, etc.
Edward,
Yep, and they are all voluntary.
There is a reason you don’t see such classification societies today
Actually, I see one every time I glance at the data plate on any of my small appliances. Underwriter’s Laboratories is a “classification society” by the definition provided. It is a cooperative creature of the insurance industry. There are also fully private sector organizations that combine the characteristics of a classification society and an insurance company. The best known is probably the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company which has been inspecting and insuring fixed and maritime steam power plants since right after the U.S. Civil War.
The introduction of any new technology always seems to engender an initial “era of wonderful nonsense” in which every hair-brained scheme imaginable is tried out and most are found wanting. This happened with stationary steam plants, steamships, railroads, automobiles, aircraft and even personal computers. As PC’s didn’t involve massive natural forces in close proximity to fragile human beings, the body count during the personal computing era of wonderful nonsense – which I would identify as roughly the decade from 1974 to 1984 – was virtually nil; not at all like, say, the pre-Civil War era of steamboat races and frequent boiler explosions (e.g., Robert E. Lee vs. Natchez) or the pre-WWI experimental era of powered aircraft.
The world, though, including America, is moving very much more in the direction of what I like to call the “Hall Pass Model” of social organization, in which the default is to need to get bureaucratic permission for every non-trivial act in one’s life before doing it. The current ruling party is entirely devoted to universalizing “Hall Pass America” and the nominal opposition party includes a sizable “Hall Pass Caucus” also. That being the case, there is some question in my mind as to whether private sector spacefaring will actually be permitted anything resembling a classic era of wonderful nonsense. To the extent such an era can be identified by future historians, it may wind up consisting entirely of the X-Prize competition of nearly a decade ago and little or nothing else.
Dick,
Yes, but it is supported by the numerous building codes and product liability laws that exist.
Sorry, Tom, but building codes are established by private organizations as well.
Edward,
True, but those are voluntary. You don’t need to follow UL standards, it only means you won’t be able to get insurance or a mortgage.
Its the ones the government creates that you haven’t any options on.
You are right, but the amazing part is that people just accept that the government has the right to regulate you. Even Bork didn’t understand the 9th amendment.
Around 1978 when I was responsible for getting gear (for which I had written the software and worked extensively with the electronics as well), I only dealt with 2 organizations and their standards. NFPA and UL. That was for a fire and life safety signaling system for large buildings. At no point did we ever intersect with the government or government regulations. It was 100% private.
That was supposed to say, ‘getting gear certified’