Sam Schrader

I am a 2L at Duke University School of Law. Before coming to law school I got a Bachelor's from Washington University in St. Louis, with a major in Psychological & Brain Sciences and a minor in Writing. Professionally, I hope to practice business and commercial law.

The most peaceful way for people to reach space may be through commercial ventures that are either entirely private or joint projects between private companies and governments. Consequently, my research for "Bass Connections: Going to Mars" is tailored towards exploring two questions. First, how would companies and/or states resolve disputes in space? And second, what role--if any--would governments have in supporting those commercial ventures?

My hypothesis for the first question is that current ISDS and other existing international arbitration mechanisms could be extended to cover modest disputes, but more major disputes implicating the interests of major state powers would likely need to be handled at the diplomatic level. My hypothesis for the second question is that public-private partnerships are a way for the government to speed up the development of risky but potentially very rewarding space technologies.