FAA sets up plan for spaceflight permits

By Leonard David

Senior space writer

updated 7:35 p.m. ET May 25, 2005

The Federal Aviation Administration is set to unveil a special permit aimed at helping the reusable suborbital rocket industry grow, while speeding up the development of passenger-carrying spaceships.

The “experimental-class” permit rules are to be open for public comment and discussed Thursdayt at an open meeting of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, known as COMSTAC, at FAA Headquarters in Washington.

Spearheading the guidelines is the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, or AST, the only space-related line of business within the FAA and under the wing of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Last Dec. 23, President Bush signed into law the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. That act advances the development of the emerging commercial spaceflight industry and makes the Transportation Department and the FAA responsible for regulating private human spaceflight.

The spaceflight law establishes, among other functions, an experimental permit regime for developmental reusable suborbital rockets. Before the law came into force, a license was the only mechanism available to the FAA to OK launch or re-entry. Under the new law, an experimental permit may be used.

Go out and fly
The guidelines fulfill the FAA’s requirement to provide direction on the implementation of the law with respect to experimental permits before issuing regulations. The guidelines are not binding, and until the regulations called for in the law are issued, the FAA will issue permits on a case-by-case basis.

“We’re hoping that this allows the reusable launch vehicle developers to build their vehicles and start flying without too much regulatory burden,” said Randy Repcheck, deputy manager in AST’s Systems Engineering and Training Division. He is the team leader on the experimental permit project.

“That’s the goal of these guidelines. We’re protecting public health and safety, but we’re trying to do so in a reduced manner so that reusable launch vehicle developers can go out and fly,” Repcheck told Space.com.

Permit guidelines
In part, the FAA “Guidelines for Experimental Permits for Reusable Suborbital Rockets” apply to a person proposing to launch a reusable suborbital rocket or bring it back through re-entry solely for the following reasons:

• Conducting research and development to test new design concepts, new equipment, or new operating techniques.
• Showing compliance with requirements as part of the process for obtaining a license.
• Crew training prior to obtaining a license for a launch or re-entry using the design of the rocket for which the permit would be issued.

The wide-ranging guidelines to be issued allow the FAA to issue a permit to an applicant, under a set of terms, including:

• The FAA has found that the applicant is capable of conducting its proposed launch or re-entry without jeopardizing public health and safety, the safety of property, or any national security or foreign policy interest of the United States.
• The FAA issues an experimental permit authorizing an unlimited number of launches or re-entries for a particular suborbital rocket design.
• One permit may be issued to an applicant to operate multiple vehicles of a particular reusable suborbital rocket design.
• The FAA will identify in the experimental permit the type of changes that the “permittee” may make to the reusable suborbital rocket design without invalidating the permit.

The duration of an experimental permit will be one year from the date the permit is issued. A permittee may apply to renew its permit.

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