This book on the legal aspects of aerospace activities from government procurement to insurance, financing, communications, space transportation, intellectual property, trade, antitrust and technology transfer is comprehensive yet self-contained and practical. The rational distribution of materials among 11 chapters makes topics of specific interest easy to find. This guide is essential reading for executives of aerospace companies and their contractors as well as government agencies, lawyers and other professionals.
The specific materials contained in the book are introduced by a general description of the entities involved in aerospace activities and the main laws and regulations. Contracts relating to space activities are described and discussed in the second chapter which is complemented by a description of government and international agency procurement in the following chapter. The insurance needs of commercial space are discussed in chapter four. Satellite communications, a major component of commercial space, are dealt with in chapter five. The next chapter describes financing techniques for space ventures which, by their very nature, require enormous amounts of capital and are notoriously risky. Chapter seven and eight deal with launch services and space transportation both in terms of business aspects and regulatory issues. The trade issues involved in launch and other space activities are dealt with in chapter nine. Intellectual property is discussed in chapter ten. The last chapter deals with technology transfer and spinoffs. The topic is discussed in detail since it has enormous practical importance in the defense reduction environment of the nineties.