Space Launch Executive Order Could Limit Duplicative Analyses: Covington
The White House's commercial space launch executive order, issued earlier this month (see 2508140004), will likely lead to the elimination of duplicative analyses that the FAA and other government agencies do, Covington staffers wrote Sunday. Space Force already does extensive analyses, such as calculating the expected casualty risks for every launch mission, and the FAA has said it would defer to federal range-safety processes for launches from the Eastern and Western ranges, wrote Stephanie Barna, Alan Estevez and Ethan Syster. However, they added, in practice the FAA still certifies those Space Force results independently, meaning launch providers and their customers can face two layers of scrutiny for the same safety models and data, which can increase confusion and delay. The FAA's ongoing review of its Part 450 space launch rules, backed by the order, "could address these pain points."
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The Covington team said the Commerce Department will need to perform a tricky balancing act as the order puts it in charge of oversight of novel space missions. Commerce will have to coordinate with the FCC, FAA, NASA and others "to ensure companies have a one-stop authorization for novel operations" alongside the spectrum and launch licenses they might also need.
The order's directives could mean "faster launch license turnarounds, less duplicative safety reviews, new launch pads, and a clear framework for novel space ventures," they said.