The White House has laid out a possible regulatory framework for humanity’s spaceflight future.
On Wednesday (Nov. 15), the National Space Council (NSC) released a draft bill that assigns oversight responsibility for novel space activities and infrastructure, including private space stations, off-Earth manufacturing and space junk removal.
That responsibility can be split between the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Commerce (DOC).
“U.S. industry leads the world in bringing the advantages of space to Earth,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said in an emailed statement from the White House. “This laws ensures that our government will construct a regulatory environment that supports industrial expansion to learn all Americans.”
Related: Private space station: How Axiom Space plans to construct its orbital outpost
Under the US’ existing framework, the DOC regulates private, remote-sensing satellite systems while the DOT handles industrial launches and reentries, including the security of humans on such flights (via the Federal Aviation Administration). The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, manages satellites’ use of the electromagnetic spectrum.
But there is no clear “mission authorization” for a lot of upcoming industrial activities in the ultimate frontier. The proposed bill from the NSC — a policy-shaping body chaired by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris — seeks to fill within the gaps.
For instance, the brand new rules would extend the DOT’s safety charge to people in Earth orbit in addition to those on (or around) the moon and other celestial bodies. The DOT would even be answerable for licensing in-space transportation efforts, reminiscent of missions that deliver goods to the lunar surface.
The DOC would have authority over “all novel space activities that will not be human-rated or assigned to DOT,” in response to the emailed statement. “Examples include in-space assembly and manufacturing missions, and satellites answerable for removing space debris.”
The DOC would even have the authority to coordinate space traffic and supply warnings that help prevent off-Earth collisions.
The NSC’s proposal is not the only possible regulatory outline for future space activities. The U.S. House of Representatives’ Science, Space and Technology Committee is working by itself laws, often called the Business Space Act, noted Marcia Smith of Space Policy Online.
“Amongst other things, it puts the Department of Commerce (DOC) accountable for regulating recent kinds of space activities not already regulated by other agencies, known as mission authorization,” Smith wrote on Wednesday.