A report from the Associated Press notes that the University of Nebraska will be the first school in the US to offer a doctorate in space law. As reported:

The doctoral program, “much like the launch of the online (master’s program), is going to widen opportunities for experienced lawyers and legal scholars to delve into very intricate and complex issues facing the regulation of outer space activities in an in-depth manner,” said Matthew Schaefer, a law professor who directs the school’s Space, Cyber and Telecommunications Law program.

Given the specialization of space law, Schaefer said, the number of students each year will be small. He is expecting only two students to begin the program this coming semester, which begins Aug. 26.

Space lawyers and law specialists are increasingly in demand as expanded activities and actors in space make it necessary to adjudicate – or at least clarify – rules of the road. Whereas historical space disputes centered primarily around frequency allocation, it is reasonable to expect space debris collisions to spawn disputes as they become more common. There remain major disagreements in the legal community as to the basic legality of activities such as mining on the Moon or asteroids, activities now being attempted by numerous commercial entities. All signs indicate there will be plenty of jobs available for Nebraska’s future space lawyers.

 

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Merryl Azriel

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Having wandered into professional writing and editing after a decade in engineering, science, and management, Merryl now enjoys reintegrating the dichotomy by bringing space technology and policy within reach of an interested public. After three years as Space Safety Magazine’s Managing Editor, Merryl semi-retired to Visiting Contributor and manager of the campaign to bring the International Space Station collaboration to the attention of the Nobel Peace Prize committee. She keeps her pencil sharp as Proposal Manager for U.S. government contractor CSRA.

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