Arthur M. ("Art") Dula (born February 6, 1947, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

) is a

space law Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts ...

yer, a

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

, the literary executor for major science fiction author

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

and chairman, founder of the

private spaceflight Private spaceflight is any spaceflight development that is not conducted by a government agency, such as NASA or ESA. During the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pionee ...

company,

Excalibur Almaz Excalibur Almaz Limited, formerly Excalibur Almaz Inc. (EAI),is an international commercial spaceflight company based in the Isle of Man. History Excalibur Almaz had its headquarters in Douglas, Isle of Man, with offices in Houston, Los Angel ...

. Art Dula's law practice focuses on aerospace and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

law, technology licensing, business start-up and development, patents, contracts, corporations, securities, copyrights and trademarks. His clients include U.S. and Russian aerospace firms. He is admitted to practice before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and Texas State and Federal Courts. He is also a registered broker with

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Defense Trade Controls. Since 1980, Art Dula has co-founded several aerospace companies. Eagle Aerospace provided engineering expertise for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and U.S. aerospace companies. Space Services, Inc., secured the first US regulatory approval of a private space launch. In 1982, it launched the first private U.S. space vehicle, the '' Conestoga'', from

Matagorda Island Matagorda Island (), ''Spanish for'' "thick bush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately south of Port O'Connor, Texas, Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County, Texas, Ca ...

, Texas. Spacehab, Inc., builds payload bay

Spacehab Astrotech Corporation, formerly Spacehab Inc., is a technology incubator headquartered in Austin, Texas. Astrotech uses technology sourced internally and from research institutions, government laboratories, and universities to fund, manage and se ...

modules for the U.S.

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

. Space Commerce Corporation was the first U.S.-Russian aerospace joint venture. It sold a Soviet

Proton rocket Proton (, formal designation: UR-500) is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965. Modern versions of the launch system are still in use , making it ...

launch to

Hughes Aerospace The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes H-4 Hercules air ...

in 1987, and marketed remote sensing radar images. Tethers Unlimited, Inc., won seven patents on

space tether Space tethers are long cables which can be used for propulsion, momentum exchange, stabilization and attitude control, or maintaining the relative positions of the components of a large dispersed satellite/spacecraft sensor system. Depending on ...

systems, and secured over $2 million in research contracts. Starcraft Boosters, Inc., has contracts with US Air Force and NASA for the ''StarBooster'' launching system.

, Ltd., owns several

Almaz The Almaz () program was a highly secret Soviet Union, Soviet military space station program, begun in the early 1960s. Three crewed military reconnaissance stations were launched between 1973 and 1976: Salyut 2, Salyut 3 and Salyut 5. To co ...

Space System

space capsule A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other spacecraft by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surfa ...

s and

space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...

s, and intended to begin launching its spacecraft as early as 2013. Art Dula is literary executor for the major science fiction writer,

. He also serves as Trustee of the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust. In 2006, the Trust awarded the first Heinlein Prize, in the amount of $500,000, to

Peter Diamandis Peter H. Diamandis ( ; born May 20, 1961) is an American engineer, physician, and entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder and chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, and the cofounder and executive chairman of Singularity University. He is ...

, for outstanding

personal initiative Personal initiative (PI) is self-starting and proactive behavior that overcomes barriers to achieve a goal. The concept was developed by Michael Frese and coworkers in the 1990s . The three facets of PI – self-starting, future oriented, and o ...

and significant progress in commercial space activities. He has taught space law for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, and was a Visiting Distinguished Professor of Law,

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

. He consulted NASA on the Space Shuttle payload contract, and served as legal advisor to the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. He has been awarded the Space Pioneer Award from the

National Space Society The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Co ...

, and the Gagarin Medal from the Russian Federation of Cosmonautics.

Controversies

A 2012 lawsuit alleged that Dula improperly lost of Donna Beck's investment in an

asteroid mining Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extractivism, extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification ...

project. The lawsuit was dismissed in January 2014. A lawsuit was filed in 2014 against Dula by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese entrepreneur

Takafumi Horie is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested and charged with securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. His trial began ...

, alleging Horie was duped into investing into a now-defunct " space travel company, using Russian-made Almaz spacecraft".Investor Claims Houston "Space Law" Expert's Private Space Flight Company Was a Scam
Houston Press, November 13, 2014, retrieved January 2, 2016. This lawsuit was dismissed in 2017, and the subsequent appeal was denied.

Personal life

Dula was born February 6, 1947, in

. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics, from

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensi ...

, in 1970, and his Juris Doctor, in civil law, from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

, in 1975. He is married to Tamea A. Dula. They live in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. They have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dula, Arthur M. 1947 births Living people Lawyers from Arlington County, Virginia University of Houston faculty University of Akron faculty Eastern New Mexico University alumni Tulane University alumni Lawyers from Houston