A coalition of rocket entrepreneurs, citizens' groups, and public policy experts has been formed to assure that civilian-oriented reusable launch vehicles can cut through red tape to see wide blue yonder.
The groups is calling on the United States' Congress to confirm the authority of the Federation Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) to license the commercial reusable launch vehicle industry.
Coalition members include the Aerospace States Association, the X Prize Foundation, and the National Space Society, as well as such notables as Dennis Tito, the first space tourist.
Paperwork and bureaucracy
The blossoming private rocket business -- encompassing an armada of suborbital space tourism vehicles now being prepped for first flight -- is attempting to overcome stacks of paperwork and bureaucratic entanglements.
A numbers of firms, many stimulated by the $10 million X Prize purse to build suborbital passenger-carrying craft, are busily working on hardware, with first countdowns for flight on the horizon.
"The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 is clear. The law directs the Secretary of Transportation to license suborbital rockets and says that no permission from any other executive agency is required," said Jeff Greason, CEO of XCOR Aerospace, a rocket engines and rocket powered vehicles company based in Mojave, California. Currently, licensing responsibility is delegated to AST.
"After working with AST, we are confident they have the resources and expertise necessary both to protect the public and get American business flying into space," Greason said in a coalition press release.
Space tourism at risk
The U.S. suborbital rocket industry has the potential to develop a world-dominating business base in commercial space tourism, said Brian Chase, executive director of the National Space Society (NSS), and a coalition member.
"In the near future, space will be open to the public, changing how citizens view space transportation and exploration. NSS is committed to helping ensure government policies and regulations help, not hinder, this fledgling industry," Chase said.
Coalition members assert that the current tussle over regulatory authority is negatively impacting investment in their industry. Investors and potential partners are reluctant to risk capital in an environment where governmental licensing uncertainty still remains.
Clear solution
According to the coalition press release, a clear, simple, effective solution is available. That is for Congress to clarify and strengthen the original intent of the Commercial Space Launch Act by defining key terms such as "suborbital rocket" in law and putting these vehicles exclusively under the jurisdiction of AST.
"We aren't asking for government money," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures Ltd, a coalition member and a leading company in providing space tourism services. "Just a clear and stable regulatory environment in which we can create new jobs, new launch vehicles, and new opportunities for Americans to fulfill their dreams of flying into space."
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