Private commercial operators are launching more rockets into space, carrying more people and pursuing more ambitious missions than ever before.

Space tourism is part of this growth, with 140 paying tourists taking off since American entrepreneur Dennis Tito took the first tourist flight to the International Space Station 25 years ago.

The industry is driven by private companies, including Blue Origin, whose recent rocket explosion was a reminder that commercial spaceflight remains a risky business.

Despite the industry expansion, international space law still relies on treaties drafted in the 1960s and 1970s for a very different era of state-led exploration.

The result is a widening gap between the rapid growth of the sector and the fragmented frameworks overseeing its risks, responsibilities and accountability.

Spectacle, risk and a legal vacuum

US singer Katy Perry’s Blue Origin joyride on board a ten-minute all-female mission in April 2025 received considerable backlash despite its claims of feminist empowerment.

Other celebrities questioned whether a billionaire-backed space hop for famous passengers could seriously be marketed as progress for women or humanity.

However, the criticism was not only about celebrity culture. It exposed a deeper problem. At present, space tourism offers spectacle with little meaningful legal accountability.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty states outer space must be used “for the benefit and in the interests of all........

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