August 21, 2008

ITAR, Coffee Tables, and Munitions

Washington, we have a problem, The Economist

Earthbound, The Economist

"In the spring of 2006 Robert Bigelow needed to take a stand on a trip to Russia to keep a satellite off the floor. The stand was made of aluminium. It had a circular base and legs. It was, says the entrepreneur and head of Bigelow Aerospace in Nevada, "indistinguishable from a common coffee table". Nonetheless, the American authorities told Mr Bigelow that this coffee table was part of a satellite assembly and so counted as a munition. During the trip it would have to be guarded by two security officers at all times."


Posted by kcowing at August 21, 2008 3:12 PM
Comments

ITAR is so out of control it's not funny anymore.

I'm Canadian and can attest to this statement in the Economist article.

"Just across the border, in Canada, the effects were just as profound. A study in 2006 of Canadian space companies found that 70% faced delays of three to 12 months because of ITAR. All of them could find non-American suppliers for the technologies they were looking for. And after 1999 in Canada, there was also a big dip in the number of American-Canadian projects."

Posted by: Marc Boucher at August 21, 2008 6:23 PM

Finally ITAR is getting some attention. The trouble is that it is vague and arbitrary ... therefor a bad law.

Here's a list of anomalies I have observed over the years: NASA JSC allows export that a major contractor restricts. Some Uber-regulator (presumably DOD or CIA) steps in, cites ITAR, to restrict export of unclassified ISS data, that although of value to an adversary, is by no means restricted legally by ITAR...ie: not design information. Export Control necessarily lacks technical skill to evaluate and so defaults to a overly restrictive stance. Technical papers written by foreign nationals from a friendly country show advanced understanding of some GPS systems issue...ITAR restricts contact because we can't discuss anything with them. ... mind the fact that ITAR is not about classified material... its about detailed design.

Posted by: Francis Flute at August 25, 2008 3:51 PM
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