FAA Officials Update COMSTAC on Regulatory Issues
FAA Officials Update COMSTAC on Regulatory Issues. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still anticipating publication of FAR Part 450 regulating commercial space activities by this fall, the end of a year-long process.
The National Space Policy released in May of 2018 requires a single license for all types of commercial space flight, replaces prescriptive requirements with performance-based criteria, and coordinates with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the
(NASA) to minimize requirements that would conflict with DOD streamlining efforts.
"The government wanted to ensure that this nascent industry wouldn't be overburdened by rules, and would have an ample learning period to develop. That prohibition, which was mandated by Congress in 2004, expires in 2023. But Congress also encouraged the FAA to work with the commercial space industry on spaceflight safety."
Steve Dickson _ FAA Administrator
Speaking at the recent Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) meeting, which was held virtually in mid June, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson noted that the FAA does not have the same regulatory authority when it comes to setting safety standards for human spaceflight as it does for commercial and general aviation. "The government wanted to ensure that this nascent industry wouldn't be overburdened by rules, and would have an ample learning period to develop. That prohibition, which was mandated by Congress in 2004, expires in 2023. But Congress also encouraged the FAA to work with the commercial space industry on spaceflight safety."
Dickson said that Safety Management Systems have made U.S. commercial air transportation the safest in the world, and he advocated to the COMSTAC members that they should develop similar systems to ensure the safety of commercial space travelers, both orbital and sub-orbital.
The FAA is in the process of developing Part 450, which will streamline and increase flexibility in the FAA's commercial space launch and reentry regulations, and remove obsolete requirements. This action aims to consolidate and revise multiple regulatory parts and apply a single set of licensing and safety regulations across several types of operations and vehicles. The proposed rule would describe the requirements to obtain a vehicle operator license, the safety requirements, and the terms and conditions of a vehicle operator license.
To satisfy proposed performance-based regulations, operators would be able to use a means of compliance that has already been accepted by the FAA or propose an alternate approach. To retain the maximum flexibility to adjust to dynamic industry changes, the FAA would continue to offer operators the choice to request waivers of regulations and equivalent level of safety determinations.
FAA Executive Director of Operational Safety Lirio Liu said that there had been 154 total comments to the Part 450 NPRM, which was published in March of 2019. Of those, 55 were considered "substantive" and 2 were "proprietary". Based on the comments received, Liu said that the agency has produced what she considers a "pretty functional" rule.
"We still have a lot of work ahead of us. This was a challenging task, but I would say that I'm pretty impressed with where we've come from the time we published the NPRM to where we are now with the final rule. I see that it has extensively changed so that it is reflective of comments, and I think allows us to do the intent of the National Space Policy."
Lirio Liu _ FAA Executive Director of Operational Safety
Liu said that the agency is also working on a number of advisory circulars that will be put out for public comment at the appropriate time.
As always, the wheels of government turn slowly, but it appears that a final rule will be issued this year. The speakers at COMSTAC agreed that publication of the rule will go a long way towards facilitating future rapid growth in the space launch industry, while assuring that launches are safe for astronauts, passengers, payloads and those on the ground.
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