This book on the legal aspects of aerospace activities from government procurement to insurance, financing, communications, space transportation, intellectual property, trade, antitrust and technology transfer is comprehensive yet self-contained and practical. The rational distribution of materials among 11 chapters makes topics of specific interest easy to find. This guide is essential reading for executives of aerospace companies and their contractors as well as government agencies, lawyers and other professionals.

The specific materials contained in the book are introduced by a general description of the entities involved in aerospace activities and the main laws and regulations. Contracts relating to space activities are described and discussed in the second chapter which is complemented by a description of government and international agency procurement in the following chapter. The insurance needs of commercial space are discussed in chapter four. Satellite communications, a major component of commercial space, are dealt with in chapter five. The next chapter describes financing techniques for space ventures which, by their very nature, require enormous amounts of capital and are notoriously risky. Chapter seven and eight deal with launch services and space transportation both in terms of business aspects and regulatory issues. The trade issues involved in launch and other space activities are dealt with in chapter nine. Intellectual property is discussed in chapter ten. The last chapter deals with technology transfer and spinoffs. The topic is discussed in detail since it has enormous practical importance in the defense reduction environment of the nineties.

The book is an up-to-date and comprehensive description of the institutions involved in the aerospace field. It discusses the activities of the main space powers, the United Nations and other international organizations. Without listing figures and budgets, the author conveys a clear idea of the relative importance of those institutions. The novelty of this work is that, in bringing together national and international entities, it explains how those organizations interrelate and coordinate their programs. A complete picture emerges which is more than the sum of its parts.

The field of aerospace, which depends heavily on government funding and direction, has been particularly effected by the shifting alliances and recent financial troubles of the space powers. In a book which is both comprehensive and simple to understand, d'Angelo has collected the many pieces of a complex institutional mosaic to draw a clear picture of the entire framework. In addition to being up-to-date, the book is also a novelty in the sense that it describes the work of both national and international entities and explains how those organizations interrelate and coordinate their programs. Without making a list of figures and budgets, d'Angelo gives a clear idea of the relative weight of the various government activities. From the discussion of those activities the reader gains an understanding of the current state of affairs as well as future trends.