Space Commerce Act Very 'Industry Friendly,' Secure World's Weeden Says
Changes in federal oversight of commercial space activities under the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act (HR-2809) coming to vote a Tuesday are "about as 'light touch' and industry friendly as you can get," Secure World Foundation Director-Program Planning Brian…
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Weeden said in a series of tweets Saturday. He said the legislation lines up with White House proposals to move most licensing authority to Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce (OSC), though the FCC would keep spectrum licensing and the FAA would keep launch and re-entry licensing. It also gives OSC new authority to provide "certification to operate" new types of commercial space activities not covered by the current licensing regime, he said. Companies will have to submit space debris mitigation plans, though Commerce's ability to require mitigation steps "is very limited," he said, saying the legislation creates civil penalties of up to $500,000 for a company that doesn't comply with the requirements or operates without a permit or certificate. The bill authorizes but doesn't appropriate "a paltry" $5 million for OSC to carry out the work "which is far more than they currently get but far less than what they likely need," he said.