Commerce Department Approves Satellite Remote Sensing Regulations
The U.S. Department of Commerce recently released new regulations to improve the licensing process for private U.S. satellite remote sensing operations, helping ensure continued U.S. leadership in a critical commercial space industry.
American industry is driving innovation in commercial remote sensing at an increasingly rapid rate. These streamlined and updated rules are critical to ensuring U.S. regulations keep up with the speed of innovation and ensure the United States remains the flag of choice for commercial space businesses
Scott Pace, Ph.D.,
Deputy Assistant to the President and
Executive Secretary of the National Space Council.
The new rules, which become effective July 20th, will have several important effects on this segment of the industry.
The new final rules:
Increase openness and transparency in the licensing process
Eliminates most restrictions on how licensed remote sensing systems may be operated, such as limits on the resolution of imagery,
Prohibits the government from imposing additional conditions after a license has been issued.
For existing licensees, the new regulations require the U.S. government to assess the remote sensing data already planned or available in the market to determine whether any conditions should be applied to U.S. licensees. This is considered to be a very important development.
“American industry is driving innovation in commercial remote sensing at an increasingly rapid rate. These streamlined and updated rules are critical to ensuring U.S. regulations keep up with the speed of innovation and ensure the United States remains the flag of choice for commercial space businesses,” said Scott Pace, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council.
The new rules are a result of extensive discussions with U.S. industry and other federal agencies, reflecting a greater understanding of the speed, direction, growing importance, and economic value of commercial remote sensing data. The new regulations further advance the objectives in the Administration’s Space Policy Directive-2, “Streamlining Regulations on the Commercial Use of Space,” to improve the regulatory environment for U.S. commercial space activities.
The new rules apply to both current and future licensees.