Abstract

The international space station has been deemed a success by space scientists, engineers, policymakers, elected officials, and others knowledgeable about outer space activities. After more than 10 years of experiments, humankind now possesses sufficient knowledge about sustaining human life in outer space. Thus, decisions have been made recently to take the next steps to develop the final frontier. Attracting innovative talent from all disciplines will be crucial for the successful development of outer space. This paper will provide research highlighting space laws and space policies which have initiated economic incentives for the newly emerging industries including space tourism, private spaceship development, commercial spaceports, space mining and orbital and other space hotels. This paper suggests that architectural design can serve as a creative impetus for outer space development. Challenges and opportunities for teaching online and virtual outer space development and space law courses to architectural design students will be discussed.