WASHINGTON — The White House is releasing a policy framework to accompany its proposal to provide oversight of novel commercial space activities.
The framework, to be announced at a Dec. 20 meeting of the National Space Council, is intended to accompany a separate legislative proposal for mission authorization it released Nov. 15. That proposal would split responsibility between the Department of Commerce and Department of Transportation for authorization and continuing supervision of those commercial space activities not regulated today.
The policy framework, which the White House describes in a fact sheet as a companion to that legislative proposal, “will enable the Executive Branch to better prepare for and shape the future space regulatory environment.”
A key element of the framework is the creation of a Private Sector Space Activities Interagency Steering Group co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation in consultation with the chair of the Federal Communications Commission. The group would include several Cabinet-level departments as well as NASA and other federal agencies “with expertise or equities pertaining to private sector novel space activities.”
That steering group will coordinate strategies for issues “pertaining to emerging private sector space capabilities that are nascent or in development,” the framework states. That includes working with the private sector on best practices, standards and information sharing protocols regarding the U.S. government’s core interests for novel space activities.
That information, in turn, would inform the guidance that the Commerce and Transportation Departments provide industry and incorporate into their regulatory processes. The document adds that other agencies should consider incorporating those best practices, standards and protocols into their own processes, and that the State Department should promote them internationally.
While a full-fledged…
Read the full article here