WASHINGTON — Two bills recently brought up in the Senate would alter rules for commercial space activities, and would also lead to the eventual end of the “learning period” that limits human spaceflight safety regulations.
The Commercial Standards Paramount to Accelerating Cosmic Exploration (SPACE) Leadership Act was introduced on March 22 by Sens. Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), who lead the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee.
The bill would lengthen the learning period, which restricts the ability of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) to create regulations for the safety of people on commercial spacecraft, by five years. The learning period, established in late 2004, was initially meant to last eight years but has been extended multiple times, and currently runs until early May.
However, the bill would also prompt the industry to develop voluntary industry consensus standards for occupant safety during that period. This effort would support an aerospace rulemaking committee, or SpARC, set up by the FAA, to guide the development of regulations to be put in place after the learning period ends.
“By allowing private companies the flexibility to lead and provide input on future commercial human space flight regulations, we are enabling a new era that preserves and enhances our competitiveness in space,” Schmitt said in a statement. “Maintaining the ‘light touch’ approach provided by the learning period and creating new opportunities for industry to provide input is crucial to supporting the commercial space sector and our nation’s broader space endeavors.”
Industry officials, including those involved in commercial human spaceflight, expressed their support for the bill. “This bill’s focus on sustained collaboration will ensure that the Office of Commercial Space Transportation benefits from the experience gained by human spaceflight providers,” said Megan Mitchell, vice president of government relations at Blue Origin, in a statement. “An extended learning period will allow us to build on our strong foundations of safety and innovation as the industry continues to expand.”
“SpaceX backs this bill, especially its attention to efficient licensing modernization to keep pace with commercial innovation and the industry’s proven dedication to safety,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX.
This refers to a section of the bill that prevents the FAA from issuing regulations until it has shown it has approved or denied all license applications within deadlines set in law over a two-year period. At a hearing by the Senate subcommittee in October, Gerstenmaier cautioned that the licensing process was reaching a “breaking point” as the FAA struggled to keep up with SpaceX and other companies.
A second bill brought up three days earlier also deals with commercial launch licensing. The Licensing Aerospace Units to New Commercial Heights (LAUNCH) Act was presented by a group of senators including Sinema, John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.)
The bill instructs the FAA to simplify the process for approving commercial launches by taking into account input from the industry. It also requires the Office of Space Commerce to do the same for commercial remote sensing licensing. Both offices would need to help license applicants as per the bill.
“Our bipartisan bill reduces bureaucracy to enhance commercial space launches and eliminate obstacles in the licensing process,” Sinema stated.
The FAA is already addressing industry concerns about a new set of regulations for launch and reentry licenses, known as Part 450, which were put in place in 2021 to streamline the process. FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, Kelvin Coleman, made the announcement at a conference on Feb. 21. stated at a conference on Feb. 21 that the FAA will set up a SpARC later this year to study how to improve Part 450.
“We knew there would be some initial learning and we would need to come back to the drawing board,” said Coleman about the effort at the Space Capitol III event by Payload on March 18. “This will give us an opportunity to do that.” He said the SpARC should be established by this fall.
House bills
The House is approaching the extension of the learning period differently. The Commercial Space Act of 2023 has a provision extending the learning period to October 2031 without mentioning setting up a SpARC or other preparatory work to eventually create regulations for commercial human spaceflight occupants.
The bill, which also establishes a mission authorization system for new space activities to be handled by the Office of Space Commerce, was reported favorably by the committee on a party-line vote in November. The mission authorization approach in the bill differs from one released by the White House in November, which would divide mission authorization responsibilities between the FAA and Office of Space Commerce. The Senate has not yet introduced a bill on mission authorization.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chair of the House Science Committee and a sponsor of the bill, said at the Space Capitol III event that industry stakeholders “almost overwhelmingly” support the mission authorization approach in his bill. “Whether we can get time on the floor in this hectic summer,” he said, “or motivate the other body, remains to be seen, but it is one of the high-priority issues of the committee.”
Another priority, he said, is an authorization bill for NASA. There has not been a standalone NASA authorization bill enacted since 2017, although an authorization was included in the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022. “To go seven years without guidance is an incredible amount of time in the world we live in. That is, in essence, an eternity.”
He didn’t delve into specifics about what he aimed to include in the bill but argued that passing it will require bipartisan cooperation with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), ranking member of the committee, to use suspension of the rules. That allows expedited consideration of bills on the House floor but also requires approval by two-thirds of members rather than a simple majority.
"We will approve our laws using the suspension calendar," he said. "Is it doable for NASA? I believe it's achievable. Can it be achieved for commercial space? Well, you will see my effectiveness as a chairman and the effectiveness of my respected colleague from California, Ms. Lofgren."
