Lawmakers Tout More Support For Private, Public Effort in Next-Gen Commercial Space Exploration
For the commercial space and aviation sectors to move forward in next-generation technology and missions, it’s critical for government and commercial entities to work together, said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., vice chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. It’s critical that “we do not create regulations in the absence of the data that we need to know if those regulations are going to be effective,” he said Wednesday at the Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington. “It’s critical that we don’t limit the activities of these private sector companies without clear and compelling reasons to do so,” he said. But “it’s just as critical that the FAA and these companies communicate in very clear ways about safety, design, about the development within the industry and about the future,” he said.
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Commercial space sometimes has been oversold, “because people can expect too much too soon,” Rohrabacher said. The government must make sure there’s a strong and viable commercial space sector “that is doing its share and its part in lifting … humankind into this new era that we're clearly entering,” he said. “I think we're going in the right direction and we continue to have successful launches,” he said. President Barack Obama’s approval of export control reform included in the National Defense Authorization Act last month was “a noteworthy step,” he said. Congress is considering enacting a reauthorization of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, through the FAA reauthorization bill, HR-658, he said. “It’s becoming evident that this industry’s critical and we need to reauthorize that legislation,” he said.
The FAA culture is based on a mandate to protect passenger safety, Rohrabacher said. That’s a very different mandate from commercial space transportation, he said. Unlike aviation, commercial space is essentially a brand new industry, he said: “It’s crucial for everyone involved to realize this industry requires a supportive government partner which focuses, not just on the safety of those directly involved, but the safety of third parties."
The FAA has licensed missions that demonstrated the viability of the commercial space industry, said George Nield, FAA commercial space transportation administrator. It licensed 213 commercial space launches and reentries, he said. The agency also licensed the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches last year, “which was the first time a commercial company delivered cargo to the international space station,” he said. Nield said the agency plans to work with NASA and the private sector to prepare for next-generation capabilities: Like civil aviation, “commercial space will move forward with government and industry working together toward common goals."
The commercial industry is a nascent industry, said Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., a member of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. It’s unclear “what the pathway is,” she said. Edwards said she hopes the industry will help the government figure out liability, indemnification and other issues of importance, she said. The subcommittee is looking to focus on what lawmakers are doing to make sure they're producing the next generation “that looks at the private sector industry and looks at the work that NASA and the FAA do in a way that builds on the future and grows our economy,” she said. “There’s a sense that we'll return the [House] Science Committee to one that really does think about the future and does that in a way that we can cross a lot of different lines without the traditional bipartisan fights,” she said. The agenda includes authorizing NASA to expand, develop the research and development and energy portfolio, and the technology needed to expand commercial space exploration,” Edwards said.
Hopefully, this Congress can take up the reauthorization of the commercial space transportation office and the NASA authorization, said Tony Detora, an aide to Rohrabacher. This process will likely be “less contentious than the 2010 process,” he said. “I think we had this big, vacant hole in 2010 and everybody was rushing to fill that void because it wasn’t being filled very clearly.” Many people agree with today’s policy direction in general, he said. “I would be very surprised if there were significant changes in that as we move forward with this authorization process.” However, Rohrabacher disagrees with the legislation, Detora said: Rohrabacher is “trying to put into place what he believes to be the best thing for NASA [and] for our national space program."
Congress will consider the international component when drafting the next NASA Authorization Act of 2013, said Ann Zulkosky, a staffer at the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Space. “We certainly mention it in the 2010 authorization and so I think there will be an international component,” she said. There is no draft of the bill, she said. As resources become more limiting, a consensus is harder to maintain, she said. Gaining a consensus view will be challenging this Congress, she said. The authorization appropriations in the current NASA Act expires at the end of this fiscal year, “but the policy direction does not,” she said. This year’s authorization will build off the 2010 Act and make any necessary policy updates, she said. There also is an interest in updating the Commercial Space Launch Act, she added. The subcommittee has always been in support of a commercial expansion of commercial activity in space, said Jeff Bingham, minority staff director of the subcommittee. “The primary business case for commercial space right now and for the foreseeable future is heavily dependent on space station availability.” It’s because the Office of Management and Budget “insists on a flatline budget for NASA that we are faced with a situation of competition for resources,” he said: NASA needs to have more than one half of 1 percent of the federal budget.”