BREMEN, Germany — The White House has unveiled its long-awaited proposal for regulating novel industrial space activities, splitting those responsibilities between the Commerce and Transportation Departments.
The National Space Council released a draft bill or “legislative proposal” Nov. 15 that will give the 2 departments the authority to authorize and oversee activities not currently licensed by other agencies, like launches, satellite communications and industrial distant sensing. Such oversight is required to comply with the “authorization and continuing supervision” provision of Article 6 of the Outer Space Treaty.
Moderately than giving that authority to a single agency, the proposal would divide those responsibilities between two departments, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Commerce (DOC).
DOT, through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Business Space Transportation, would handle oversight of human spaceflight activities beyond its current role in launch and reentry. It might license all other human spaceflight activities, including industrial space stations and missions to the moon and other celestial bodies. That office would also regulate transportation of things through space or to the lunar surface through a brand new “in-space transportation license.”
DOC’s Office of Space Commerce, which handles industrial distant sensing regulations, would expand its oversight to other uncrewed spacecraft not regulated by DOT. That will include the emerging field of in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) and debris removal.
That office can also be developing a civil space traffic coordination system, taking on that work from the Defense Department. The proposed bill would formally authorize that work and direct the 2 departments to take space sustainability under consideration as a part of the licensing process. The bill also requires the departments to coordinate with other agencies with expertise, like NASA’s experience with human spaceflight, as a part of their latest licensing processes.
In a press release, officials with each departments expressed their support for the proposal. “U.S. industry leads the world in bringing the advantages of space to Earth. This laws ensures that our government will construct a regulatory environment that supports industrial expansion to profit all Americans,” said Don Graves, deputy secretary of commerce.
“The FAA stays committed to making sure novel in-space activities occur safely and efficiently. We stay up for supporting an all-of-government approach working with industry,” said Polly Trottenberg, deputy secretary of transportation.
The space industry within the U.S. has been waiting years for a possible resolution to the regulatory uncertainty latest space applications face. That uncertainty regarding which agency, or agencies, could formally approve their missions threatened to delay progress on them, corporations argued.
Last September, Vice President Kamala Harris announced at a National Space Council meeting that she wanted agencies to submit proposals for mission authorization—the term often utilized by the industry to explain that oversight responsibility—inside six months. Nevertheless, there had been little public progress on the deliberations amongst government agencies since then.
The necessity for mission authorization was emphasized in an Oct. 25 speech by NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, who noted it was vital to the industrial elements of the Artemis lunar exploration effort. “Our industry needs a transparent, timely and consistent path to success and safety,” she said, citing “the danger to all space activities of not having some type of coordinated oversight that has clarity for each NASA and the industry.”
Reps. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Brian Babin (R-Texas), the chairs of the House Science Committee and its space subcommittee respectively, introduced a bill called the Business Space Act of 2023 Nov. 2 that addresses mission authorization. That bill would create a “certification” process for spacecraft not licensed by other agencies today, handled by DOC’s Office of Space Commerce. The House Science Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill Nov. 15.