WASHINGTON — An industry group says it is opposed to a White House proposal for regulating novel space activities, arguing it could be burdensome and confusing for companies and agencies.
The Nov. 27 letter from the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) to the chairs and ranking members of the House Science Committee and Senate Commerce Committee, obtained by SpaceNews, comes as the House committee prepares to resume consideration of a bill with an alternative approach to what is often called mission authorization.
The proposal from the White House’s National Space Council, published Nov. 15, would split responsibilities for commercial space activities not currently regulated by other agencies between the Departments of Commerce and Transportation. The Transportation Department, through the Federal Aviation Administration, would regulate human spaceflight activities beyond launch and reentry as well as transportation of items through space or to the lunar surface. The Commerce Department, through the Office of Space Commerce, would handle other uncrewed spacecraft not regulated by the FAA, such as satellite servicing and debris removal.
“We oppose the recently released National Space Council (NSPC) proposal on the topic in its current form, which fails to consider the points that CSF and many other stakeholders raised during the NSPC listening sessions last year,” CSF said in its letter to Congress.
The organization raised several concerns, including how responsibilities would be split between the two departments and the potential for “duplicative and conflicting” requirements between Commerce and Transportation. “For some operations, it is unclear which agency would hold the authority to issue a relevant license, or if multiple licenses would be needed,” it stated.
The group is concerned about giving additional responsibilities to the FAA’s commercial space transportation office without also significantly increasing…
Read the full article here