Faa commercial space

1. Federal Aviation
Administration
What’s New in
Commercial Space
Transportation?
Aerospace States Association Annual
Meeting
May 22, 2014
Dr. George C. Nield
Associate Administrator for
Commercial Space Transportation

2. Office of Commercial Space Transportation Federal Aviation
Administration 1
50 Years of Human Spaceflight

3. Office of Commercial Space Transportation Federal Aviation
Administration 2
Background
• The U.S. space program today has 3 sectors:
• Civil
• Military
• Commercial
• The commercial sector had its official start in 1984 with the
passage of the Commercial Space Launch Act.
• Regulatory oversight for the commercial sector was given
to the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which
was originally a staff office within the Department of
Transportation.
• Today, the office is one of four lines of business within the
FAA.

4. Office of Commercial Space Transportation Federal Aviation
Administration 3
Mission
To ensure the protection of the public, property, and
the national security and foreign policy interests of the
United States during commercial launch and reentry
activities, and to encourage, facilitate, and promote U.S.
commercial space transportation.

5. Office of Commercial Space Transportation Federal Aviation
Administration 4
Who Needs a Launch License?
• Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 requires U.S.
citizens to obtain a license prior to conducting the launch of
a launch vehicle.
• Only exception is for missions conducted by and for the
government (such as launches by NASA or the U.S. Air
Force).
• All together, there have been 223 licensed launches, all
conducted without any fatalities, serious injuries, or
property damage to the uninvolved public.

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Ground Launch
Air Launch
Suborbital Rockets
Launch SitesSea Launch
Reusable Launch Vehicles
Examples of Licensed Operations

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Recent Increase in Commercial
Launch Activity*
* Note: Number of FAA Licensed or Permitted Launches per Year

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Projected Increase in Commercial
Launch Activity*
* Note: Projections are based on the Suborbital Market Forecast
prepared by the Tauri Group, August 2012
Key driver for the increase in
launches is the start of
commercial operations for
reusable suborbital vehicles.
Potential missions include:
• Space Tourism
• Scientific Research
• Technology Development
• Point-to-Point Transportation

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Potential Suborbital Markets
Source: “Suborbital Reusable Vehicles: A 10-Year Forecast of Market Demand,” The Tauri Group, August 2012

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• Kodiak
Launch
Complex
♦
♦
Vandenberg
AFB
•
California
Spaceport
•
Mojave Airport
♦
Edwards AFB
♦
White Sands
Missile Range
Spaceport
America
Oklahoma Spaceport
♦
Wallops
Flight
Facility
•
Spaceport Florida
Mid-Atlantic
Regional Spaceport
♦
•
Key
Federal Launch/Landing Site
FAA-Licensed Launch Site
•
Cecil Field
Spaceport•
•
•
U.S. Spaceports
-Kennedy Space
Center
-Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station
Potential Future Spaceports
• Texas
• Georgia
• Alabama
• Colorado
• Hawaii
• Florida

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Space Shuttle Retirement

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Commercial Cargo Program

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SpaceX Missions to ISS

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Orbital Sciences Missions to ISS

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Commercial Crew Program
Sierra Nevada Corporation
SpaceX
Boeing

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Suborbital Space Tourism

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WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo

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First Powered Flight

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Spaceport America in New Mexico

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Zero-G Aircraft Operations

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Stephen Hawking Goes “Weightless”

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Centrifuge

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Altitude Chamber

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The Rocket Racer at Oshkosh

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Orbital Debris

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National Space Transportation Policy
The Secretary of Transportation
is specifically directed to:
“Execute exclusive authority
… to address orbital debris
mitigation practices for U.S.-
licensed commercial
launches…”
Office of Commercial Space Transportation

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The Movie “Gravity”

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Collisions in Space

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FAA Strategic Initiative
• As part of his published statement in response to the National
Space Transportation Policy, the FAA Administrator directed AST
and the Air Traffic Organization to collaborate in determining how
best to safely integrate commercial space operations into the
National Airspace System.
• The FAA Administrator has also approved a new strategic initiative
to transform the National Airspace System.
• One of the sub-initiatives deals with the integration of new user
entrants, including commercial space and UASs.
• The initial focus will be to implement a pilot program to demonstrate
space traffic management capabilities.
Office of Commercial Space Transportation

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AST Research Areas & Interdependencies
2. Space Transportation Ops,
Technologies & Payloads
2.1 Ground System &
Ops Safety Techs
2.2 Vehicle Safety
Analyses
2.3 Vehicle Safety
Systems & Techs
2.4 Payload Safety
2.5 Vehicle Ops Safety
3. Human Spaceflight
1. Space Traffic Management
& Operations
1.1 Orbital
1.2 Suborbital
1.3 NAS Integration
1.4 Spaceport Operations
1.5 Integrated Air/Space
Traffic Management
3.1 Aerospace Physiology
& Medicine
3.2 Personnel Training
3.3 ECLSS
3.4 Habitability &
Human Factors
3.5 Human Rating
4. Space Transportation
Industry Viability
4.1 Markets
4.2 Policy
4.3 Law
4.4 Regulation
4.5 Cross-Cutting Topics

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FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space
Transportation (COE CST)

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Conclusions
• With the Space Shuttle having been retired, the next 1-2 years
will be a critical time for our nation’s space program.
• During this period, we will be seeing:
• Regular commercial cargo deliveries to the Space Station
• The start of Suborbital Space Tourism
• A significant increase in commercial space activities
• As part of this increase in activities, there is an opportunity for
government, industry, and academia to play important roles in
space-related research, training, and operations.
• The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation is
committed to doing our part to enable this exciting new industry.