Comment Re:FAA? When did the Moon become part of the USA? (Score 1) 283
This is an area of unsettled law. The wording of the Outer Space Treaty did not contemplate non-governmental entities. It also leaves ambiguous the status of material removed from a body. Some experts believe that because every corporation is a creation of a government, the prohibition on possession governments extends to corporations. Others disagree, leaving it open for corporations to take ownership. If there is no ownership, then the other ambiguity implies that, while nobody can establish, for example, a mining claim, any material removed and processed does belong to the miner. This could create a 'Wild West' scenario where protection of a mine requires the miner to exert whatever force is required.
In the long run, most folks whether libertarian or otherwise, believe that as soon as it is feasible to operate in space without the need for constant replenishment from Earth, the legal system will fairly rapidly evolve to a pure space-based law, established and managed by those who live in space. I.e. a new revolution. The best way to prevent that would be for Earth authority to have a very light hand, and to emphasize the advantages of things like a single mine registry. Corporations, all other things being equal, generally prefer a stable and reliable legal and economic structure within which to work. But such an authority would not have any teeth to enforce, unless there is a fleet capable of arriving at any necessary locale and exerting the necessary enforcement activity.