Draft Trump EO would loosen commercial space regs, citing national security links
The draft EO would eliminate, waive and/or loosen federal environmental protection reviews required for launch licenses, including for those from Space Force ranges.
The draft EO would eliminate, waive and/or loosen federal environmental protection reviews required for launch licenses, including for those from Space Force ranges.
Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, where Boeing is headquartered, continues to raise concerns about potential interference with civil and military aviation.
“One of the key things about Falcon Peak is it offers not just the opportunity to look at the technology that's being tested, but also at our processes," a senior DoD official told reporters.
While Pentagon launches are not covered by FAA rules, a healthy and, importantly, diverse rocket industry base is important to the Space Force for keeping its launch costs down.
The Space Force today circulated a fact sheet explaining what the service called a "proactive" and "collaborative" effort to keep tabs on Starlink re-entries as SpaceX begins to de-orbit some 100 early variants.
"This oversight regime will balance economic competitiveness together with safety, security, sustainability, and responsibility," states the new United States Novel Space Activities Authorization and Supervision Framework.
Michigan’s defense ecosystem and expertise makes it a special asset for production.
The Space Development Agency has won International Telecommunication Union approval to test the Transport Layer birds over international waters and the territory of an unnamed allied nation.
Mike Gold, a former NASA official and member of the study team, told Breaking Defense that if any UAP proves to be extraterrestrial, "that would probably be the best case scenario, because if these systems are from terrestrial adversaries, that is really terrifying."
"And as weird as that sounds, you know, from an industry guy, I absolutely need regulation and enforcement," said Tory Bruno, CEO of rocket maker ULA. "Because one bad actor can ruin that entire common environment for all of us."
"China is a major space player and will be a major space player. They are not participating in the global dialogue, and in global information sharing on SSA. That's unsustainable," said Richard DalBello, head of the Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce.
The ongoing White House-level review of what is often called "mission authorization and supervision" responsibilities has not been simple, according to several government officials involved, with the key agencies with current legal say over space regulations jockeying for a piece of the regulatory pie.
"Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 is designed to serve the responsive space needs of commercial, civil, defense, and national security customers, supporting up to 12 missions per year," the company said.
There are a host of open questions bedeviling national and international policy- and law-makers as they struggle to get a better grip on both the explosion of commercial players with innovative ideas for space utilization and the growing military interest in space as a tool of, and venue for, war.
Military flight operations over the US will largely be business as usual — even though the Pentagon won’t understand the impact 5G interference could have on military aircraft until this summer at earliest.