Business That Are Out of This World
美國保護民間太空事業
By Kenneth Chang

Who can own the moon? Or an asteroid? Or a homestead on Mars?
誰能擁有月球？或是擁有一顆小行星？還是在火星上有座農莊？（編按：小行星是指太陽系內類似行星環繞太陽運動，但體積和質量都比行星要小得多的天體。）

According to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, no nation can claim sovereignty over any part of any celestial rock. But the treaty is less clear on what a company or an individual can do in space – possibly because in the 1960s, the drafters of the treaty might have thought it hard to imagine a space race led by entrepreneurs rather than governments.
根據1967年簽署的《外太空條約》，任何國家均不得主張對任何天體的任何部分擁有主權。這紙條約對企業和個人在外太空的行為規範，倒沒那麼清楚，或許是因為1960年代草擬條約的人認為，投入太空競賽的是企業家而不是政府，此事殊難想像。

For companies today hoping to set up a moon colony or to mine asteroids for platinum, the ambiguity is one more hurdle in attracting investors.
對於現今想在月球上建立移民區，或者想在小行星上開採鉑的企業來說，相關規範不明確為吸引投資人增添了另一阻礙。

“How do you get businesses to invest in the moon if there is no legal framework versus how do you get a legal framework if there are no business operations?” said John Thornton, the chief executive of Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, company that hopes to become the first private company to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon.
賓州匹茲堡市「太空機器人公司」的執行長約翰．松頓說：「如果沒有法律架構，你要怎麼讓企業願意投資於月球；抑或如果沒有企業做生意，法律架構又該從何建構？」「太空機器人公司」希望成為第一家派自動太空船登陸月球的民間業者。

An international agreement from 1979, the Moon Treaty, said companies could not profit from space, banning ownership of the moon and other celestial bodies, and declaring that the moon’s riches were to be shared among nations, especially developing countries. But the United States, Russia and China have not signed the treaty.
1979年推出的國際條約《月球條約》規定企業不得自太空牟利，禁止任何人擁有月球及其他天體，並宣布月球的財富由各國共享，尤其是開發中國家。但美國、俄國和中國（大陸）都還沒有簽署此約。

The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses private space launchings in the United States, sent a letter in December to Bigelow Aerospace of Nevada, saying it would make sure that American companies did not interfere with one another on the moon or elsewhere.
美國民間太空發射業務的許可由聯邦航空總署核發，該署去年12月致函內華達州的「畢格羅航太公司」，表示將確認美國各企業沒有在月球或太空其他地方相互干擾。

Bigelow had asked the F.A.A. in 2013 to review a proposal for landing one of its habitats on the moon for use as a lunar base for scientific research or mining.
畢格羅公司2013年曾要求聯邦航空總署審核讓一個加壓艙降落月球的提案，這個加壓艙將用作科學研究或採礦的基地。

“We recognize the private sector’s need to protect its assets and personnel on the moon or on other celestial bodies,” wrote George C. Nield, an agency official.
「本署知道民間業者有保護月球與其他天體上的資產與人員的需求」，該署官員喬治．倪德寫道。

Bigelow is developing inflatable habitats for outer space, and this year, a small Bigelow structure is to be added to the International Space Station. In the coming years, it plans to launch larger inflatables as private space stations to be leased by companies or nations. Robert Bigelow, the company’s founder, has said he is aiming to establish his lunar base around 2025, and the company wanted to start clarifying issues.
畢格羅公司正在開發外太空用的充氣式加壓艙，今年將送一組小型加壓艙去和國際太空站接合。未來幾年，畢格羅公司打算發射大型充氣式加壓艙當作民間太空站，租給企業或國家。畢格羅公司創辦人勞勃．畢格羅表示，計畫在2025年左右設立個人的月球基地，因此該公司想要開始釐清各種可能的爭議。

“It’s best to avoid these problems now, before operations begin,” said Michael Gold, Bigelow’s Washington director of operations and business growth.
「最好是不待作業開始，現在就避開這些問題，」畢格羅華府分公司營運暨企業願景部門主任麥可．高德如是說。

In its proposal, Bigelow suggested that the F.A.A. leverage its authority to review payloads and license launchings. In essence, Bigelow requested that the F.A.A. agree not to issue a license to another American company that would land at the same place.
在提案中，畢格羅建議聯邦航空總署充分運用職權來審核太空船的酬載和起飛許可的核發。簡言之，畢格羅要求聯邦航空總署，不要核發許可證給準備降落在同一處的其他美國業者。

With the F.A.A.s’ issuing licenses to American companies, Mr. Gold said the State Department could more easily work out agreements with other countries regulating their private companies.
高德表示，發照給美國業者的是聯邦航空總署，國務院和其他國家簽署規範各國民間業者的條約時，將更省事。

“If you don’t have that agency and that paper, then it becomes a Wild West scenario,” Mr. Gold said. “This decision has real immediate and real impact on investors who require security and predictability.”
「如果沒有主管機關和許可文件，將會出現荒野大西部的亂象，」高德說。「對於需要保障和可預測性的投資人來說，這個決策將有立即和實質的影響力。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/science/a-business-plan-for-space.html

2015-03-03聯合報/G5版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 張佑生譯 原文參見紐時週報十版下