Redefining safety in commercial space: Understanding debates over the safety of private human spaceflight initiatives in the United States

This chapter examines the dynamic of the major actors in today's new space race. The initial space race featured nation-states as the primary actors. However, the current space race has undergone privatization and now features corporations as additional key players, along with developing nations. The result is the semi-private commoditization of a public good that crosses through different hemispheres, as well as competition between actors from both the firm and state level. Building on world systems theory and institutional theory, this chapter argues that the privatization of space exploration mandates the construction of inter-hemispheric institutional frameworks that apply globally. A descriptive case study that juxtaposes India and SpaceX offers foundational insight into how inter-hemispheric institutions are created. Given the challenging parity between state sovereignty and global consensus and its influence on firm behavior, this chapter proposes an exploratory examination of the processes and strategic choices behind inter-hemispherization to incite future scholarship.

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Redefining safety in commercial space: Understanding debates over the safety of private human spaceflight initiatives in the United States

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

Bibliography of Space Policy Publications 2014

Bibliography of Space Policy Publications 2014

Normal accident theory and learning from major accidents at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Developing Institutions for the New Space Race

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