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Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Abstract

Currently, the laws governing property in outer space are inadequate and underdeveloped, yet space exploration by private entities is rapidly growing. In this legal vacuum, private companies’ actions heavily influence, and in some cases, provide the basis for, legal precedent. The policies that for-profit corporations prefer are different from those that most government actors will prefer and are much different from those that support the common heritage of mankind doctrine. Rewarding entrepreneurship, innovation, and investments by governments, while balancing the interest all mankind has in outer space is why this Article proposes a tiered, patent land system that would grant private entities, governments, and humanity (in the form of a global trust) the property rights of space resources for a set period of time before the rights pass to the next group. Many papers have analyzed certain aspects of property rights in outer space, but this Article analyzes the issue from a different perspective: comparing it to westward expansion in the United States. Much like the current landscape of space exploration, settling the Wild West was a venture fueled with government funding, led by private sector corporations, and powered by the labor of common folk. It led to one of the greatest economic booms in the history of the United States. Analyzing the policies, history, and people that drove westward expansion gives insights into the current actions that entities can take, policies that can be adopted to shape space exploration, and the likely economic boom that will come with it. This Article sets forth that analysis and contributes a novel land rights system based on lessons from cowboys, outlaws, rail tycoons, and homesteaders to balance property rights and justice in a new age of space exploration.

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