Can You Advertise In Space?

Yes, you can advertise in space but there are some key considerations and leglislations surrounding advertising in space. Also some space agencies are more open to advertising than others. NASA seems to have more strict guidelines as Pizza Hut found out when they infamously sent a pizza to the international space station in 2001.

What types of advertising are available in space?

The act of promoting goods or services in outer space is known as space advertising, often achieved through product placement during manned space missions. Examples of this can be seen, for instance, with astronaut Tony England drinking a specially designed Coca-Cola can in zero gravity.

Space advertising can be categorized as either obtrusive or non-obtrusive. The former refers to ads that are recognizable to the naked eye from Earth, while the latter includes advertisements like logos on space equipment such as suits, rockets, and satellites. International and national regulations are in place to prevent space advertising from creating space debris and obstructing views of space from the ground.

While space advertising is restricted by legal and technological limitations, it has been portrayed in various forms in popular culture.

The challenges of space advertising

One of the main challenges associated with obtrusive space advertising is the varying marketing regulations across different countries. As these advertisements orbit the Earth, they are visible in multiple jurisdictions. For example, the EU bans tobacco-related advertisements, while Ireland prohibits ads that undermine public authority. On the other hand, the US prioritizes commercial speech freedom. These discrepancies make it difficult for obtrusive space ads to remain legal across different regions.

In the US, consumers have the right to refuse advertising. However, it is uncertain whether they can effectively opt out of receiving space advertisements, as they may need to avoid looking into the sky or close their blinds or doors. Additionally, space advertising may infringe on property rights by causing a nuisance to property owners with its brightness, potentially interfering with their sleep cycles.

Obtrusive space advertising can also adversely impact astronomical observations by creating artificial reflective material that can be as bright as the moon, obstructing the view of faint distant objects from Earth. Moreover, space debris caused by these ads can lead to collisions with other space objects, resulting in an increase in space debris, also known as the Kessler syndrome. This can make space exploration and the use of LEO more challenging.

Penalties could be imposed on space advertisers if their ads contribute to space debris. They would need to comply with anti-collision measures and end-of-life deorbiting measures if their ads are approved. Since objects in orbit can remain there for extended periods, the advertising entity may no longer exist while the ad remains in orbit, leading to potential complications.

International regulations on space advertising

Regarding obtrusive advertising, there are different regulations in different countries and international treaties. The Outer Space Treaty of 1966 establishes that all states have the right to freely explore outer space, providing free access to space for commercial purposes, including space advertising. The Space Liability Convention of 1972 rules that states are fully liable for damages caused by space objects launched in their territory, including those launched for commercial purposes.

In the United States, 51 U.S. Code 50911 prohibits licenses and launches for obtrusive space advertising but allows for other forms of advertising, such as displaying logos. Japan has a licensing system for private-sector companies' launching, which supports third-party liability insurance and channels more liability onto launching companies. Russia prohibits launches that contaminate outer space and create unfavorable environmental changes, but there is no explicit ban on space advertising.

Regarding non-obtrusive advertising, Public law 106-391 in the United States does not apply to non-obtrusive commercial space advertising, including commercial space transportation vehicles, space infrastructure payloads, space launch facilities, and launch support facilities. NASA does not permit the use of its insignia and other NASA indicia in advertisements, but it is considering loosening its commercial restriction policy, including selling the naming rights of its spacecraft for financial purposes. NASA also supports filming and capturing commercials or other marketing videos, and it opened the International Space Station for short-duration commercial activities conducted by private companies' crews in 2019.

No other nation has legislative regulations on non-obtrusive space advertising explicitly, but non-obtrusive advertising of states' entities and private corporate entities is less problematic in national and international laws compared to obtrusive space advertising.