Editing Space tourism (section)

===United States===
In December 2005, the US government released a set of proposed rules for space tourism.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/4589072.stm |title=US draws up space tourism rules |work=BBC News |date=January 8, 2006 |access-date=May 24, 2012 |archive-date=March 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325011253/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/4589072.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> These included screening procedures and training for emergency situations, but not health requirements.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the [[Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984|Commercial Space Launch Act]], which, among other things, encourages space commercialization ([https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=%2Fprelim%40title51&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title51&f=&fq=&num=0&hl=false&edition=prelim 51 U.S.C. § 20102(c)]).

Under current US law, any company proposing to launch paying passengers from American soil on a suborbital rocket must receive a license from the Federal Aviation Administration's [[Office of Commercial Space Transportation]] (FAA/AST). The licensing process focuses on public safety and safety of property, and the details can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14, Chapter III.<ref name="FAAReg">{{cite web | title=Code of Federal Regulations: Title 14, Chapter III |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url= http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=f32ec318140f194f1e3f1981d8192833&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14cfrv4_02.tpl#300 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120716073206/http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=f32ec318140f194f1e3f1981d8192833&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14cfrv4_02.tpl%23300 |archive-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref> This is in accordance with the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act passed by Congress in 2004,<ref name="SpaceTourismCongress">{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Alan |title=Private-spaceflight bill signed into law |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6682611 |date=December 23, 2004 |newspaper=[[NBC News]] |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=October 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028043412/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6682611/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which required that NASA and the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] to allow paying passengers fly on suborbital launch vehicles at their own risk.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2004 |title=Private-spaceflight bill signed into law |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6682611 |access-date=September 30, 2023 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002024244/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6682611 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2010, the New Mexico legislature passed the Spaceflight Informed Consent Act. The SICA gives legal protection to companies who provide private space flights in the case of accidental harm or death to individuals. Participants sign an Informed Consent waiver, dictating that spaceflight operators cannot be held liable in the "death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of space flight activities". Operators are however not covered in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/10%20Regular/final/SB0009.pdf |title=Committee Substitute for SB0009JUS |website=New Mexico Legislature |access-date=April 28, 2015 |archive-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119093747/http://www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/10%20Regular/final/SB0009.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2021, the FAA announced that starting in 2022, it would recognize on its official website those who travel to space.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=FAA Ends Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program, Will Recognize Individuals Reaching Space on Website |url=https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-ends-commercial-space-astronaut-wings-program-will-recognize-individuals-reaching |access-date=September 30, 2023 |website=Federal Aviation Administration |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819170720/https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-ends-commercial-space-astronaut-wings-program-will-recognize-individuals-reaching |url-status=live }}</ref> "Any individual who is on an FAA-licensed or permitted launch and reaches 50 statute miles above the surface of the Earth will be listed on the site."<ref name=":0" /> The announcement ended the [[Commercial astronaut|Commercial Space Astronaut Wings]] program, under which the FAA had offered commercial astronaut wings to individuals on private spacecraft who made it above 50 miles (80 kilometers) in altitude above Earth since 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Elizabeth Howell |date=December 10, 2021 |title=FAA ending commercial astronaut wings program as more people reach space |url=https://www.space.com/faa-commercial-wings-program-ends-astronauts |access-date=September 30, 2023 |website=Space.com |language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002024244/https://www.space.com/faa-commercial-wings-program-ends-astronauts |url-status=live }}</ref>