LUNAR UPDATE: This Boston Globe story by Larry Hanlon gets it right:
Of more concern than China to many space enthusiasts, however, are some questions raised by TransOrbital’s license itself: How is it that the United States has the power to license lunar exploration? Has the country claimed ownership of the moon?
Neither is the case, says Laurie, who reports that TransOrbital’s application took two years to clear hurdles lined up by the US Department of State, Department of Defense, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ”Whenever you’re sending anything up into space it gets strict reviews,” he says. The scrutiny that led to TransOrbital’s nine-year license was more a matter of proving that Trailblazer posed no military, security, or other threats – the same as for any Earth-orbiting communications satellite, says Laurie.
As for getting permission specifically to photograph the Earth sailing over the moonscape, that came from NOAA, the agency that oversees the National Weather Service. The NOAA review was a lot like that undergone by any weather satellite, although Trans-
Orbital’s ”was a novel application,” says Tim Stryker of NOAA’s Satellite & Data Services Division. ”[But] that’s our regulatory responsibility – looking at imaging of the Earth.”
The matter of the moon’s ownership is not new. Two years before Apollo 11 set down Neil Armstrong on the Sea of Tranquility, the United Nations had adopted the Outer Space Treaty to address the matter. The treaty states that ”… outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation. …” The United States signed the treaty, and NASA worried a bit over the placing of a US flag on the moon, but in the end, no one took the flag hoisting as a ”claim” on lunar resources.
As for how all this will affect lunar science, most researchers are just glad to see more interest in the moon. ”I wish them a lot of luck,” says Spudis, the planetary scientist. The more data from the moon the better, he says, even if it is proprietary in nature. ”If these guys [TransOrbital] want to send a spacecraft to the moon – they own [the data]. That’s the whole point of making a private venture.” All he and other scientists want is more data on long-neglected Luna.
That’s a lot better reporting than Democrats.Com — which is no suprise. Advantage: Globe!