DeSantis Signs Bill to Protect SpaceX from Crew Safety Lawsuits
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that essentially gives private space companies legal protections in the event a crew member is injured or killed during their flights.
The Draft law on the liability of space companieswhat was legally signed on Thursday, space companies would exempt “in certain circumstances from liability for injury or death of a crew resulting from space activities”. It requires space companies”to have a crew sign a specific warning statement,” the bill reads reads.
The law would essentially protect companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin from civil lawsuits affecting the welfare of their crew members. A day later, DeSantis signed the bill into law announces his presidential campaign through a broken live stream with Musk on Twitter Spaces.
Florida has several launch pads for commercial rocket launches, and the state appears to want to keep its space billionaires happy. The space industry is rapidly evolving, opening up orbit to affluent citizens willing to pay a high price for a ticket to space. This poses a risk that said wealthy passengers could turn their backs and sue the companies for possible bodily harm Damage.
That is, the The law would not protect companies that have committed “gross negligence”. knew beforehand about dangerous conditions, or intentionally trying to cause harm Team members. Instead, it targets the “inherent risks” of the particular space activity and in cases where a According to the law, the company is acting “simply negligently”. The crew members now learn how to do it Sign a waiver before commencing space activities, thereby relieving the space companies of any responsibility for their safety beyond the conditions above.
The waiver reads: “WARNING: Under Florida law, there is no liability for injury or death to a participant or crew in a space activity conducted by a space agency if such injury or death is a result of the space activity.”
That is a This is a fairly explicit warning, but assumes that ordinary citizens are already aware of the risks associated with space travel, which may not always be the case. While private crews undergo some training before embarking on a rocket flight, in many cases, equipping space workers with the right tools is simply not enough. It seems unfair to make them responsible for the safety of crew members.
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