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Amazon<\/a> CEO Bezos, a lifelong space enthusiast, has been vying with Elon Musk<\/a> and Richard Branson to become the first billionaire to fly beyond the earth's atmosphere.
And while insurers are well known for offering cover for even the most outlandish of risks, at a price, potential accidents in space are not yet among them.
\"Space tourism involves significant risk, but is not an issue life insurers specifically ask about as yet because it is so rare for anyone to travel into space,\" Insurance Information Institute (III) spokesperson Michael Barry said.
There is a nearly $500 million market to insure satellites, rockets and unmanned space flight, but no legal requirement for an operator such as Blue Origin<\/a>, which Bezos founded, to insure passengers for injury or death or for space tourists to have life cover, brokers and insurers said.
\"We're not aware of a case where anybody is insured against passenger liability,\" Neil Stevens, senior vice president, aviation and space at Marsh, the world's biggest insurance broker, told Reuters.
Assuming they lift-off as planned next month, Bezos and the other wannabe astronauts on Blue Origin<\/a>'s New Shepard spacecraft will not only spend several minutes 62 miles (100 km) above the earth in a truck-sized capsule, they also have to get back.
The only group that has regularly flown humans sub-orbitally since the 1960s is Branson's Virgin Galactic. All have been tests, with one failure in 2014 resulting in a death. Blue Origin has flown 15 unmanned sub-orbital flights with no failures, Seradata SpaceTrak<\/a> data showed on June 10.
Bezos, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters on their insurance plans and flight records.
'DIFFERENT RISK PROFILES'<\/strong>
Being uninsured in space is nothing new.
NASA<\/a> and the U.S., in general, do not buy liability cover, with government launches<\/a> basically insured by taxpayers, Richard Parker of Assure Space, a unit of insurer AmTrust Financial that provides space insurance, said.
NASA<\/a> astronauts are eligible for government life insurance programs, a NASA spokesperson said in an emailed response.
Charles Wetton, underwriting manager for space policies at insurer Global Aerospace<\/a>, said astronauts on government-funded missions are carefully selected for their knowledge, skills and fitness and train for several years before blast off.
\"They and their families understand the risks of the work they do, Wetton said.
But commercial space cadets may only get a few days of training for a sub-orbital flight or a few months for a ride to the International Space Station<\/a> (ISS), Wetton said, adding: \"These represent two very different risk profiles that insurers will take into account\".
Blue Origin on its website says the spaceflight passenger will receive training the day before the launch, including mission and vehicle overviews, safety briefings, mission simulation and instruction on in-flight activities.
Virgin Galactic said participants will get three days of training and preparation before the launch.
Insurers expect iron clad waivers and contracts from commercial space travel firms, stating they will bear no burden if a passenger dies during a flight.
NASA has called for responses from the industry for its plans for a liability framework for privately-funded astronaut missions to the ISS. NASA's plans include requiring private astronauts to buy life insurance.
It is still early days, but cover for space tourists may be the next step, said Tim Rush, senior vice president, U.S. space, at insurance broker Gallagher, adding that the life insurance market currently provides individual cover of $2-5 million for private astronauts.
The only mandatory insurance in place for commercial space operators is third-party liability, mainly to cover property damage on earth or to a flying aircraft, said Akiko Hama, client executive, space and aerospace<\/a> underwriting at Global Aerospace.
Blue Origin plans for its six-seater spacecraft to take off on July 20 and fly for four minutes beyond the boundary between the earth's atmosphere and outer space, where passengers will experience total weightlessness.
Safety record of orbital human space flights https:\/\/graphics.reuters.com\/SPACE-EXPLORATION\/INSURANCE\/xklpyawokpg\/chart.png
MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION<\/strong>
A key question for how the sector develops is whether risks related to tourism fall under space or aviation insurance lines, insurers and brokers told Reuters.
The U.N. Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention of 1972 governs all activities in space and very few countries have a legal framework for commercial human spaceflight, they said.
The first-ever aviation insurance policy was written by Lloyd's of London in 1911. A few years later the market insured Charles Lindbergh and his single-engine plane for $18,000 on its non-stop flight from the United States to Europe.
Space trips are different, said Marsh's Stevens, because the passengers are returning to the same place as they left, making it technically a domestic trip to which international aviation insurance cannot be applied, meaning there will also be no limitation to liability.
\"The aviation, aircraft insurance market, and the like, are less keen to take on risks that involve spacecraft,\" he said, adding that whether space tourism trips fall under aviation or space insurance is a \"million dollar question\".
While air travel is governed by rules that establish airline liability in the case of death of passengers, Stevens said he was unaware of plans for similar rules for space tourism.
However, Wetton said Global Aerospace had started to receive enquiries from companies for sub-orbital missions.
\"In 10 years' time, maybe the two lines, aviation and spaceflight will look very similar,\" said Assure Space's Parker.
\"Some legislative somewhere will say, look, we're now having average Joes flying on these launch vehicles and need to protect them,\" Parker added.
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贝佐斯2021太空漫游一个风险为保险公司太远
亚马逊首席执行长贝佐斯一生的太空爱好者,一直与Elon Musk竞争,成为第一个亿万富翁理查德·布兰森的飞行超出地球大气层。
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亚马逊首席执行长贝佐斯一生的太空爱好者,一直在竞争Elon Musk和理查德·布兰森成为第一个亿万富翁飞行超出地球大气层。
虽然保险公司是众所周知的提供掩盖风险,即使是最古怪的代价,潜在的事故在太空尚未在他们中间。
“太空旅游涉及重大风险,但不是问题寿险公司专门询问还因为它是如此罕见,任何人进入太空旅行,“保险信息研究所(III)的发言人迈克尔·巴里说。
有近5亿美元的市场,确保卫星、火箭和无人驾驶的太空飞行,但没有法律要求操作员等蓝色的起源贝佐斯创立,以确保乘客受伤或死亡或太空游客生活封面,经纪公司和保险公司说。
“我们没有意识到的情况下任何人都保了乘客的责任,”尼尔·史蒂文斯,高级副总裁,航空和空间在沼泽,世界最大的保险经纪人,对路透表示。
假设他们下个月按计划发射,贝佐斯,另一个想要成为宇航员蓝色的起源的新谢泼德飞船不仅会花几分钟在地球上空62英里(100公里)特胶囊,他们也必须回来。
唯一的组织,定期飞自1960年代以来人类亚轨道是布兰森的维珍银河。所有被测试,2014年的一个失败导致死亡。蓝色起源飞15无人亚轨道飞行,没有失败,SeradataSpaceTrak数据显示,6月10日。
贝佐斯,蓝色起源和维珍银河没有回应记者的置评请求来自路透社的保险计划和飞行记录。
“不同的风险概况”
没有保险的空间并不是什么新鲜事。
美国国家航空航天局和美国总的来说,不买责任覆盖,政府发布基本保险由纳税人,理查德•帕克保证空间的单位保险公司AmTrust金融保险,提供空间,说。
美国国家航空航天局宇航员有资格获得政府的人寿保险计划,美国宇航局发言人回复记者的电子邮件中说。
查尔斯•Wetton承保保险公司全球经理空间政策航空航天宇航员说,政府资助的任务精心挑选的知识、技能和健身和训练升空之前好几年了。
“他们和他们的家人理解他们所做的工作的风险,Wetton说。
但商业太空学员可能只有几天的训练亚轨道飞行或几个月兜风国际空间站(ISS), Wetton说,并补充道:“这些代表两种截然不同的风险概况,保险公司会考虑”。
蓝色的起源在其网站上说,太空飞行的乘客将接受培训的前一天发布,包括任务和车辆概述、安全简报,任务模拟和指令飞行活动。
维珍银河公司表示,参与者将得到三天的培训和准备发射。
保险公司预计铁壳豁免和合同从商业太空旅行公司,声明他们将无法负担如果飞行期间的一名乘客死亡。
NASA已经呼吁反应行业的责任框架的计划为私营部门资助的国际空间站宇航员的任务。美国宇航局计划包括要求私人宇航员购买人寿保险。
它仍然处于初期阶段,但封面太空游客可能是下一步,高级副总裁蒂姆•拉什说,美国空间,在保险经纪人加拉格尔,人寿保险市场目前为私人提供个人的封面2 - 5美元百万宇航员。
唯一强制性第三方责任保险在商业空间的地方运营商,主要覆盖地球上的财产损失或飞行的飞机,客户经理、空间和作者哈马说航空航天在全球航空保险。
蓝色起源计划7月20日六人座的飞船起飞和飞行四分钟超出地球大气层和太空之间的界限,在乘客总失重体验。
人类太空飞行轨道https://graphics.reuters.com/SPACE-EXPLORATION/INSURANCE/xklpyawokpg/chart.png的安全记录
百万美元问题
该行业如何发展的一个关键问题是旅游相关风险属于空间或航空保险,保险公司和经纪人告诉路透。
联合国外层空间条约和1972年责任公约管理所有活动空间和很少的国家商业载人航天的法律框架,他们说。
第一航空保险政策是由伦敦劳合社在1911年写的。几年后市场保险查尔斯·林德伯格和他的18000美元的单引擎飞机在其直达航班从美国到欧洲。
沼泽的史蒂文斯说,太空旅行是不同的,因为乘客回到同一个地方,因为他们离开,使其技术国内旅行,国际航空保险不能应用,意义也将没有限制的责任。
“航空、飞机保险市场等,更乐于承担风险,包括宇宙飞船,”他说,补充说,太空旅游行程是否属于航空航天保险是一个“百万美元问题”。
而空中旅行是由规则,建立航空公司责任对于死亡的乘客,史蒂文斯说他不知道太空旅游的计划类似的规则。
然而,Wetton表示全球航空已经开始从公司收到询盘的亚轨道飞行任务。
“在10年的时间,或许两行,航空和航天看起来非常相似,“保证空间的帕克说。
“一些地方立法会说,看,我们现在在这些运载火箭和普通人的飞行需要保护他们,”帕克说。
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