CSTART Social Contract

From CSTART Wiki

CSTART's social contract (inspired by the Debian GNU/Linux project's social contract) is an attempt to codify the ideals and practices which the CSTART organization shall endeavor to abide by at all times. It is not a formal, legally binding contract, but rather a promise made in good faith to our members, supporters and the public, which we shall do our best to uphold at every opportunity.

Dedication to Openness

• All computer files used in the planning, design and construction of CSTART missions, rockets and spacecraft shall be released as soon as practicable under a Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike license. This includes spreadsheets, conceptual sketches/renderings, CAD files, electronic circuit diagrams, etc.
• A genuine effort will be made to ensure that all computer files used in the planning, design and construction of CSTART missions, rockets and spacecraft shall be in non-proprietary formats which can be meaningfully viewed and modified using software which satisfies the Free Software Foundation's Free Software Definition. Should this not be achievable without significantly impairing CSTART's ability to achieve its mission, a genuine effort will be made to ensure that the software required to meaningfully view and modify these files shall be available to the public free of charge. Dependence on software which is both proprietary and expensive shall be considered only as a last resort.
• When selecting off-the-shelf hardware for use in construction of rockets and spacecraft, in situations where other practical concerns (cost, mass, reliability) are equal, CSTART shall exercise a preference for hardware which makes minimal use of patented designs, proprietary firmware, etc.
• All data recorded from all CSTART rocket launches and space expeditions, manned and unmanned, shall be released as soon as practicable under a Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike license. This includes video, photo and audio recordings and measurements from onboard sensors such as inertial measurement units, GPS receivers, etc.
• All computers onboard CSTART rockets and spacecraft which run operating systems will run operating systems whose kernel and basic userland utilities satisfy the Free Software Foundation's Free Software Definition.
• All computer code written by CSTART for planning its operations and installation on rocket and spacecraft computers or on ground control computers will be available under licenses such that it satisfies the Free Software Foundation's Free Software Definition.

Dedication to Safe and Responsible Operation

• All rocket launches organized and-or financed by CSTART shall be conducted in full accordance with the requirements of all relevant regulatory bodies whose jurisdiction applies to the launch sites and airspace to be used (e.g. US Federal Aviation Authority).
• All rockets and spacecraft whose construction or launch are organized or financed by CSTART shall contain materials which are flammable, explosive, poisonous, toxic, corrosive, radioactive, carcinogenic or infectious only when their presence can be justified by legitimate engineering or scientific concerns, and then only when alternatives without these properties are for some reason unsuitable. Where used, these materials shall be present in the minimum quantities practical and their transport, storage and use shall be in accordance with industry standard safety procedures.

Dedication to International Unity

• All rockets, spacecraft and spacesuits whose construction, launch or use are organized or financed by CSTART shall display the "Blue Marble" flag, in support of the ideals of the One Flag In Space movement.
• No flag of any Earth nation shall be displayed on any rocket, spacecraft or spacesuit whose construction, launch or use is organized or financed by CSTART.

Dedication to Peaceful Use of Space

• CSTART shall not organize or finance any space related research or activities which are of purely military interest or applicability.
• No rocket or spacecraft whose construction or use is organized or financed by CSTART shall have any firearms or military weapons onboard.

Dedication to Preservation of Space Heritage

• For the purposes of the CSTART Social Contract, a "space heritage site" shall be any region on the surface of any planet or moon other than Earth which contains artificial objects or structures placed or created as a result of past manned or unmanned space flight.
• CSTART shall not organize or finance any activity which involves a significant risk of damaging, displacing or impairing future access to any space heritage site.
• CSTART shall not organize or finance any activity which involves leaving any manmade artifacts within a 1km radius of any space heritage site.
• Exceptions to the above two stipulations may be made only with the express written permission of the owners of those objects or structures which define a space heritage site.