Provides Protection For Companies Engaged In Commercial Spaceflight

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law the Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act, AB 2243.  This law provides the necessary liability protections for compliant companies in the state, should any spaceflight participant who has acknowledged the risks sustain any bodily injury during spaceflight activities. Currently, Florida, Virginia, and Texas also provide spaceflight companies liability protection.

“California aerospace pioneers like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and the Spaceship Company are blazing a path to the stars with commercial space travel,” said Governor Brown (pictured). “This bill allows commercial space-travel companies to innovate and explore without the worry of excessive liability.”

“California has long been known as a place that breaks down barriers and fosters innovation – from social movements like environmentalism to the start-up culture of Silicon Valley,” said Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson. “The teams at Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company are forging entirely new paths in travel, science and exploration, and this legislation will ensure that California continues to be a place that looks forward – and not back.”

“I am very pleased to see this bill signed into law. With the space shuttle Endeavour’s arrival in California closing the door on one era, this bill is opening the door to another," said Commercial Spaceflight Federation president Michael Lopez-Alegria. "Commercial companies will soon begin to open up access to space for the public and preserve America’s leadership in spaceflight. This bill will provide the required liability protections needed for the companies in this developing sector to operate in an efficient and effective manner, while acknowledging that spaceflight is not a risk-free activity. I applaud the hard work put into getting this legislation on the Governor’s desk from Assemblyman Steve Knight and the commercial spaceflight companies in California.”

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry.

FMI: http://gov.ca.gov/home.php, www.commercialspaceflight.org