Cruz Urges Space Regulatory Reforms

Haridopolos said subsidizing rural broadband connectivity “makes sense,” but satellite technology can provide connectivity for “a fraction of the cost." Leaning heavily on LEO would free some of the $42 billion appropriated to BEAD for debt reduction or other purposes, the Florida Republican said.

Cruz said a chief problem that the commercial space industry faces is federal policy uncertainty on such issues as NASA’s procurement strategy, DOD’s launch needs and FAA launch and reentry licensing. Uncertainty “keeps capital on the sidelines and industry from investing,” he said, adding that AST has struggled with licensing new vehicles. He said the FAA is built on a safety mission and culture, which needs to be the primary emphasis for commercial airplanes. But that risk intolerance doesn’t lend itself to timely spaceflight approvals, he said, and AST being housed somewhere other than the FAA would help curtail extraneous delays.

Cruz complained that the nation's regime of space activity mission authorizations is overly complex and scattered across a patchwork of regulatory agencies, which discourages innovation. He said mission authorizations should include clear guidelines for how to apply, and shot clocks for agencies processing applications, as well as penalties for those missing deadlines.

House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Brian Babin, R-Texas, said he would soon reintroduce his Commercial Space Act (HR-6131), which could have Commerce's Office of Space Commerce as the sole regulator of in-space activities. The aim is to reduce duplicative and burdensome regulations that could push space operators to seek foreign authorizations instead, he said.

Though President Joe Biden's administration favored an approach that would see the departments of Commerce and Transportation divvying up in-space activity oversight, the lack of broad support for that "spoke volumes," said Brent Blevins, staff director for the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.

Babin said he and Science, Space and Technology ranking member Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., were directing the Government Accountability Office to review the FAA's implementation of its 5-year-old Part 450 launch and reentry licensing rules. In addition, he said GAO is being asked to assess the nation's space activity supervision. Blevins added that the goal is to get an impartial sense of what's happening, given conflicting messages from industry and the FAA about how implementation is going.

The FAA said last fall that it was assembling a committee to look at updating its Part 450 rules, with a report of recommended changes expected by summer 2025 (see 2411140014).

With the FAA having licensed 157 commercial launches in 2024 and with nearly 300 expected this year, the agency has “a lot of challenges facing us,” said Katie Cranor, acting deputy director-AST Office of Operational Safety. She said AST wants to move away from mission-by-mission approvals to a review of a launch provider’s overall safety program, which will mean less direct oversight and a faster approval process. For now, though, she said AST is keeping pace with increased licensing demand. Blevins indicated that agencies shouldn't hold out hope for budget increases, adding that there's a strong possibility of the U.S. operating under a full-year continuing resolution.

Notebook

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said heavy launch vehicles like its New Glenn rocket should play a role in helping to dramatically lower the cost of going to orbit. Pointing to last month’s inaugural New Glenn launch, Limp said the focus now needs to be on determining the cadence of launches and producing more New Glenns. Late spring remains likely for a second launch, he said, with Blue Origin making some “not-complicated” modifications based on data gleaned from the unsuccessful landing.