On April 24, the US House of Representatives passed the Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act, a reworking of the international Outer Space Treaty catered to US interests.

The bill effectively absolves the United States from responsibility for the actions of US companies in orbit, including SpaceX, Boeing, and Blue Origin. The bill is part of a wider effort to deregulate and militarize space under the Trump administration.

Deliberately undermining a treaty that has been a standard of international relations in orbit since the beginning of the space race sets a dangerous precedent. If this bill is signed into law by the US congress and President Donald Trump it will be remembered as the opening salvo in the war against mutual aid and cooperation in the final frontier. Deregulated markets have proven to be detrimental to democracies on Earth and there is no reason to think that similar damage won’t be done by deregulating commerce in outer space.

Please sign the ASAN petition against the Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act

The full vote was not recorded for this bill, so below is a list of all the sponsors of the Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act and their contact information. An email template is available here.

You can also contact your Senators directly to voice your opposition ahead of the Senate vote. All Senator contact information is available here.

COSPONSORS OF THE SPACE COMMERCE FREE ENTERPRISE ACT

Brian Babin [R | Texas]

(202) 225–1555

Email

Jim Bridenstine [R | Oklahoma]

(202)-225–2211

Email

Clay Higgins [R | Louisiana]

(202)-225–2031

Email

Randy Hultgren [ R | Illinois]

(202)-225–2976

Email

Derek Kilmer [D | Washington]

(202)-225–5916

Email

Ed Perlmutter [D | Colorado]

(202)-225–2645

Email

Dana Rohrabacher [R | California]

(202)-225–2415

Email

Randy Weber [R | Texas]

(202)-225–2831

Email

Doug Lamborn [R | Colorado]

(202)-225–4422

Email

Ken Calvert [R | California]

(202)-225–1986

Email

Neal Dunn [R | Florida]

(202)-225–5235

Email

Mike Coffman [R | Colorado]

(202)-225–7882

Email

Darren Soto [D | Florida]

(202)-225–9889

Email

Ami Bera [D | California]

(202)-225–5716

Email

Kevin McCarthy [R | California]

(202)-225–2915

Email

Interested in writing for the Journal of Critical Space Studies or looking for other ways to donate your talent to autonomous space exploration?

Visit www.asan.space