It is never too early to start talking about outer space labor law
It is never too early to start talking about outer space labor law
Like even NASA has been guilty of treating astronauts like organic robots in the past (see SkyLab Strike). You really think someone like Elon Musk will care about their employees working in microgravity beyond their ability to continue performing their job?
For example, NASA astronauts are currently required to work out two hours a day to keep up their bone and muscle mass. This helps prevent irreparable damage/loss and lets them eventually return to living their normal lives on Earth. But exercise equipment is heavy, and it costs $10000 per pound when you’re shooting something into orbit. That’s a lot! Can a company be trusted to send enough equipment into space for each of their employees to get that two hours in when the benefit is for the employees after they’ve served their time?
How long will these companies expect their employees to stay in microgravity when it’s cheaper for them to leave a single person up there for a long period of time than to bring them down and switch them out? If someone gets sick or wants to quit?
These are questions and concerns that will need to be addressed in the near future as the space industry becomes further and further commercialized and companies begin to break away from merely contracting for government space agencies.