Cross-waiver of liability for international space station activities (OCT 2012)

(a) The Intergovernmental Agreement Among the Government of Canada, Governments of Member States of the European Space Agency, the Government of Japan, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the Government of the United States of America concerning Cooperation on the Civil International Space Station (IGA) for the International Space Station (ISS) contains a cross-waiver of liability provision to encourage participation in the exploration, exploitation, and use of outer space through the ISS. The objective of this clause is to extend this cross-waiver of liability to NASA contracts in the interest of encouraging participation in the exploration, exploitation, and use of outer space through the International Space Station (ISS). The Parties intend that this cross-waiver of liability be broadly construed to achieve this objective.

(b) As used in this clause, the term:

(1) “Agreement” refers to any NASA Space Act agreement that contains the cross-waiver of liability provision authorized by 14 CFR 1266.102.

(2) “Damage” means:

(i) Bodily injury to, or other impairment of health of, or death of, any person;

(ii) Damage to, loss of, or loss of use of any property;

(iii) Loss of revenue or profits; or

(iv) Other direct, indirect, or consequential Damage.

(3) “Launch Vehicle” means an object, or any part thereof, intended for launch, launched from Earth, or returning to Earth which carries Payloads or persons, or both.

(4) “Partner State” includes each Contracting Party for which the IGA has entered into force, pursuant to Article 25 of the IGA or pursuant to any successor agreement. A Partner State includes its Cooperating Agency. It also includes any entity specified in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NASA and the Government of Japan to assist the Government of Japan's Cooperating Agency in the implementation of that MOU.

(5) “Party” means a party to a NASA Space Act agreement involving activities in connection with the ISS and a party that is neither the prime contractor under this contract nor a subcontractor at any tier.

(6) “Payload” means all property to be flown or used on or in a Launch Vehicle or the ISS.

(7) “Protected Space Operations” means all Launch or Transfer Vehicle activities, ISS activities, and Payload activities on Earth, in outer space, or in transit between Earth and outer space in implementation of the IGA, MOUs concluded pursuant to the IGA, implementing arrangements, and contracts to perform work in support of NASA's obligations under these Agreements. It includes, but is not limited to:

(i) Research, design, development, test, manufacture, assembly, integration, operation, or use of Launch or Transfer Vehicles, the ISS, Payloads, or instruments, as well as related support equipment and facilities and services; and

(ii) All activities related to ground support, test, training, simulation, or guidance and control equipment and related facilities or services. “Protected Space Operations” also includes all activities related to evolution of the ISS, as provided for in Article 14 of the IGA. “Protected Space Operations” excludes activities on Earth which are conducted on return from the ISS to develop further a Payload's product or process for use other than for ISS-related activities in implementation of the IGA.

(8) “Related Entity” means:

(i) A contractor or subcontractor of a Party or a Partner State at any tier;

(ii) A user or customer of a Party or a Partner State at any tier; or

(iii) A contractor or subcontractor of a user or customer of a Party or a Partner State at any tier. The terms “contractor” and “subcontractor” include suppliers of any kind.

(9) “Transfer Vehicle” means any vehicle that operates in space and transfers Payloads or persons or both between two different space objects, between two different locations on the same space object, or between a space object and the surface of a celestial body. A Transfer Vehicle also includes a vehicle that departs from and returns to the same location on a space object.

(c) Cross-waiver of liability:

(1) The Contractor agrees to a cross-waiver of liability pursuant to which it waives all claims against any of the entities or persons listed in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this clause based on Damage arising out of Protected Space Operations. This cross-waiver shall apply only if the person, entity, or property causing the Damage is involved in Protected Space Operations and the person, entity, or property damaged is damaged by virtue of its involvement in Protected Space Operations. The cross-waiver shall apply to any claims for Damage, whatever the legal basis for such claims, against:

(i) A Party as defined in (b)(5) of this clause;

(ii) A Partner State other than the United States of America;

(iii) A Related Entity of any entity identified in paragraph (c)(1)(i) or (c)(1)(ii) of this clause; or

(iv) The employees of any of the entities identified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iii) of this clause.

(2) In addition, the contractor shall, by contract or otherwise, extend the cross-waiver of liability set forth in paragraph (c)(1) of this clause to its subcontractors at any tier by requiring them, by contract or otherwise, to:

(i) Waive all claims against the entities or persons identified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this clause; and

(ii) Require that their subcontractors waive all claims against the entities or persons identified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this clause.

(3) For avoidance of doubt, this cross-waiver of liability includes a cross-waiver of claims arising from the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, which entered into force on September 1, 1972, where the person, entity, or property causing the Damage is involved in Protected Space Operations and the person, entity, or property damaged is damaged by virtue of its involvement in Protected Space Operations.

(4) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this clause, this cross-waiver of liability shall not be applicable to:

(i) Claims between the Government and its own contractors or between its own contractors and subcontractors;

(ii) Claims made by a natural person, his/her estate, survivors or subrogees (except when a subrogee is a Party to an Agreement or is otherwise bound by the terms of this cross-waiver) for bodily injury to, or other impairment of health of, or death of, such person;

(iii) Claims for Damage caused by willful misconduct;

(iv) Intellectual property claims;

(v) Claims for Damage resulting from a failure of the contractor to extend the cross-waiver of liability to its subcontractors and related entities, pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of this clause;

(vi) Claims by the Government arising out of or relating to the contractor's failure to perform its obligations under this contract.

(5) Nothing in this clause shall be construed to create the basis for a claim or suit where none would otherwise exist.

(6) This cross-waiver shall not be applicable when 49 U.S.C. Subtitle IX, Chapter 701 is applicable.