The Planet's Space Biz Portal

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS AN ARCHIVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL SITE.

In 2000 SpaceLawStation.com appeared on the internet. For anyone who is into that great unknown we call outer space, this was a site to visit, and revisit, which is what I did, until one day it was no more. Was it swallowed by a black hole. I don't think so. More likely the site's domain registration was allowed to expire and as a consequence, the site disappeared from the web. Anyway, I moved on.

When I discovered that the domain was available I bought it with the goal of recreating as much of its original content as possible from archived pages. I did not want someone else to purchase the domain and re-purpose the site for something that had nothing in common with the original website.

Perhaps my fascination with space technology, led to my interest in the tech side of the internet, which led to coding, which led to my most recent job on ateam that creates custom software for a number of companies in industries with higher-than-usual security and privacy concerns. The progressive part of a custom software company I presently work for supports every aspect of software and product development life cycles starting from from feasibility analysis, user experience design, and prototyping, to development of scalable solutions. Our data team goes beyond everyday reporting to mine, segment, and deliver potentially game-changing insights for clients. It's challenging work that is particularly rewarding when we resolve complicated issues. I told my team mates what I planned to do with SpaceBizStation.com. They were all gun ho for continuing to update the site and posting the most recent space info. But I declined that offer. I decided I would just create a time capsule of what the site was like in the early 2000's.

So now, space law rangers, let's travel back to 2003 and see what's happening

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Spacelawstation.com
The planet's space law portal
8/28/2003
Welcome aboard, space law rangers. We're orbiting webs pace to bring space lawyers, businesspeople, policy makers and other earthlings a galaxy of resources relating to civil space law and commerce. Glad you could join us! Space tourists welcome. Ready for launch? Please put on your space suits, keep your hands in the orbiter and don't feed the e-terrestrials.

Three... two... one... zero... LIFTOFF!
Per ardua ad astra...

About

Spacelawstation.com
The planet's space law portal

Spacelawstation.com® went orbital in 2000 and has been adding modules ever since. Created and piloted by New York-based lawyer, journalist and Web producer Jesse Londin, Spacelawstation (dock with us at http://www.spacelawstation.com, or use our handy wormhole at http://www.spacebizstation.com) serves as the planet's launch pad for space lawyers, business owners, policymakers, government officials, professors, students, visiting extraterrestrial dignitaries and other space loving, space-faring folks looking for U.S. and international space law resources. Jesse Londin is not with us today. He is consulting with IVC filter injury attorneys who are bringing a lawsuit against Cook, the manufacturer of a retrievable medical IVC filter, the Gunther Tulip, which was implanted in his father who was suffering from deep vein thrombosis. After a lengthy hospital stay, his father's doctor became concerned of blog clots breaking off and traveling to his patient's heart or lungs. Since Londin's father couldn't take blood thinners, an IVC filter was suggested. Since the filter was of a retrieveable design, his doctor assured them that it would be removed as soon as the danger was past. Unfortunately the filter that was chosen for implantation caused complications due to its design flaws resulting in his father's death. Apparently the filter had fractured and pieces of it had lodged in several different organs. A terrible tragedy. We wish Jesse Londin success with his pending lawsuit and look forward to his return.

- Step into the portal for information about and pointers to space treaties, regulations, legal developments and global governmental agencies, along with links to space companies, national and international space organizations, news and media, upcoming events, commerce and more.

- Spacelawstation features the Web's only directory of private practice space lawyers. And for all well-rounded galactic citizens, the Station also dodges space debris to collect noteworthy general law and business links.

- Watch this orbital slot as Spacelawstation grows. We regularly update links and resources. And of course, since this is the e-space age, cool new interactive features and gizmos are always in the works.

- Naturally, Spacelawstation welcomes user input and contributions. Send us your space law articles and documents for posting. And feel free to pop off at any time with suggestions, comments, requests, questions, space lawyer jokes, astronuat jokes, Web editor jokes, and anything else. Or leave a message at the captain's quarters, 516-721-2535. She always listens and usually calls back.

- Hitch your wagon to a digital star. And remember: space is a terrible thing to waste.

- Per ardua ad astra, everyone.

 

International Space Station

Join Spacelawstation.com as we dock with the United States and international partners on board the ISS in orbit.

Background and Updates

  • 2002 International Space Station Status Reports - by NASA, "updated weekly or as events warrant"
  • NASA International Space Station -- NASA'a main public page for the station
  • International Space Station Fact Sheet
  • Space Station User's Guide - by SpaceRef.com
  • International Space Station - Kennedy Space Center's site
  • Space Station Science Operation News - from Marshall Space Flight Center
  • ISS News and Rumors - updates on delays, malfunctions, snafus, etc.
  • Boeing 's ISS Web Page - ISS prime contractor
  • NASDA Space Station Home Page - Japanese space agency's site
  • Stationed in the Stars - coverage from NOVA Online (PBS)
  • ESA International Space Station - European Space Agency's site
  • CSA International Space Station - Canadian Space Agency's site
  • International Space Station - Discovery.com's showcase
  • City in Space - space station news and features from CNN
  • SpaceChronicle: International Space Station - coverage by HoustonChronicle.com
  • How Space Stations Work - ideally speaking that is, by Howstuffworks.com
  • ISS Congress - a project of the Space Frontier Foundation "to encourage and facilitate discussion about how the International Space Station (ISS) is to be managed after its construction is complete."

Rules for Crews

Principles Regarding Processes and Criteria for Selection, Assignment, Training and Certification of ISS (Expedition and Visiting) Crewmembers - "ISS Crew Criteria Document" applies to professional astronauts and cosmonauts as well as Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Lance Bass and tourists who follow... (No-no's for station fliers and visitors include drug or alcohol abuse, criminal backgrounds, and "notoriously disgraceful conduct." The document sets forth general medical, psychological, and language criteria, but does not detail training or medical requirements.)
Code of Conduct for the International Space Station Crew - 14 CFR Part 1214 (Federal Register: December 21, 2000 Vol. 65, No. 246). Do's and don'ts for astronauts.

 

Today's News Headlines from SPACE.com

Expedition Seven Crew Doing Well After Month in Orbit
By Jim Banke
Senior Producer,
Cape Canaveral Bureau
posted: 05:00 pm ET
29 May 2003
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- One month into their planned six-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the two-man Expedition Seven crew say they are doing fine.

"Life here is good," astronaut Ed Lu said Thursday during an interview broadcast on NASA TV. "We are having a really good time, we're doing a lot work and I think we're being productive."

Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, the current station skipper, were launched into orbit April 25 aboard a Soyuz TMA spacecraft. They docked to the ISS two days later and relieved the Expedition Six crew, who returned to Earth on May 3.

Expedition Seven was to be a three-person crew delivered via a NASA space shuttle, but the Feb. 1 Columbia disaster forced a change in plans.

With the shuttle fleet and its large cargo carrying capability grounded for the foreseeable future, NASA and its international partners decided to go with two-person crews to act as outpost caretakers, relying in the meantime on the Russian Soyuz as a crew transfer vehicle.

So far the two-person scheme seems to be working out.

"It can sometimes get a little busier and sometimes it's good to have that third set of hands doing stuff," Lu said, noting that mission managers are doing their best to keep the work load to a minimum. "Things are going pretty good."

The pair are scheduled to remain in space until relieved by the Expedition Eight crew in late October, after which they will return to Earth in the same Soyuz TMA spacecraft they flew into space with.

Both men said they were comfortable that their spacecraft would perform well, despite the troubles the Expedition Six crew had when they re-entered and landed several hundred miles short of the intended target.

Lu said they are following the progress of the Soyuz investigation, as well as the work of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

"We're keeping up with the developments up here," Lu said. "We get regular reports on what they're finding out, and obviously we're going to need some time before we fly the shuttle again."

In other station news, the complex will fire its maneuvering thrusts at 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT) Friday to raise the outpost's orbit by 1.09 miles (1.77 kilometers) in order to avoid a small communications satellite. The two spacecraft are in very different orbits but their paths are intersecting close enough to require NASA to take the precaution of adjusting the station's trajectory.

This "evasive action" will mark the sixth time since November 1998 that the station has had to move out of the way of potentially damaging objects of one kind or another. The last time was on May 15, 2002.

This is slightly less than the number of evasive maneuvers originally predicted for the ISS program, said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring. That number was two times per year.

Meanwhile, mission managers have declared that the microgravity science glove box inside the Destiny laboratory module is now fully functioning again and science experiments can resume within the container.

The device hasn't been properly working since it was delivered into orbit during the December 2002 shuttle mission. Troubleshooting by the station crews and the delivery of spare parts by a Russian spacecraft resulted in the success.

A so-called "smart fluid" experiment is scheduled next week in which researchers will study the way a new kind of vibration dampening substance works in the near weightlessness of Earth orbit.


Launch Info

Shuttle Launch Schedule

Upcoming Space Shuttle Launches  -  NASA Kennedy Space Center

Call 321-867-4636 for recorded launch information.
All times listed are Eastern Time. Target launch and landing dates are based on Kennedy Space Center assessments. Note: Official launch dates are set at the Flight Readiness Review, held approximately two weeks prior to the targeted liftoff date. However, launch dates and times are subject to change up to the time of launch due to weather, technical issues or other reasons.

 

Today's 2003 News Headlines from SPACE.com

 

  • Antarctic Astronomy: Exoplanet Hunt Moves Way Down Under
  • A Hat, by Hubble
  • Tech Today: Flight of the Navigator
  • Dream Machine: Quantum Step to Mars Set for 2005
  • SPACE.com Exclusive: Mars Agenda Needs Work, Report Concludes
  • Europe's SMART-1 Lunar Probe Ignites Ion Engine
  • The Sky Isn't Falling, But Pieces Sure Are
  • SPACE.com: More News Headlines
  • The Reality of Antimatter
  • NASA Chief Says Station Can Operate With Small Crews

 

What's Hot in 2003

 

(Got a hot space law or biz announcement, cool new link or other noteworthy item? Send it here for posting.)

Upcoming Events

  • Space Law Conference 2003 - "Asia: A Regional Force in Space" (previously scheduled for April 6-8, Beijing, China, POSTPONED due to SARS: new dates to be announced) - presented by the International Institute of Space Law
  • Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 46th Session - June 11-20, meeting, United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna International Center, Austria
  • Commercial Remote Sensing: Applications, Policy Issues and Workforce Development - Sept 8-12; Barcelona, Spain
  • 46th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space (IISL) - at the 54th International Astronautical Congress, Sept 29 - Oct 3, Bremen, Germany
  • International Space Symposium: "Where Space Means Business" - Oct 28-30; The Space Foundation, Washington D.C.

 

Recent Events

If you missed these, check the sites for transcripts or recaps ...

  • Space Law Symposium - May 6; Sydney, Australia, hosted by the School of Law, University of Western Sydney
  • The Legal Applications of Geospatial Data and Information - April 16; The National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center, University of Mississippi School of Law
  • 19th National Space Symposium - April 7-10; The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO; hosted by the Space Foundation
  • March Storm 2003 - March 8-12; ProSpace, Washington, D.C.
  • Satellite 2003 - Feb 26-28; organized by Via Satellite magazine, Washington, D.C.
  • Space at the Crossroads - Feb 19; presented by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Space News, the Space Foundation and the Satellite Industry Association, Washington, D.C.

 

Documents

  • European Space Policy - Green Paper - adopted by the European Commission on January 21, 2003.
  • Market Opportunities in Space: The Near-Term Roadmap - Dec 2002 (released Feb. 2003), Dept. of Commerce
  • Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles and Applicable Markets - Oct 2002, Dept. of Commerce
  • Report of the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization - assessment of the organization and management of space activities in support of U.S. national security, Jan 2001

 

Other Stuff

  • Columbia Accident Investigation Board - official site
  • Journal of Space Law will resume publication in the second half of 2003, according to the U. of Mississippi
  • The Space Review - a new e-zine, launched Feb 2003 (from spacetoday.net)
  • Where is the International Space Station? - look up, it's there; update every minute
  • Space Fact - fascinating facts about spaceflight
SpaceBizStation.com