faa commercial space

Federal AviationAdministration

Federal AviationAdministration

What’s New in Commercial Space Transportation?

Aerospace States Association Annual Meeting

May 22, 2014

Dr. George C. NieldAssociate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation

Office of Commercial Space Transportation Federal AviationAdministration 2

50 Years of Human Spaceflight


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.


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.


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.


Ground Launch

Air Launch

Suborbital Rockets

Launch SitesSea Launch

Reusable Launch Vehicles

Examples of Licensed Operations


Recent Increase in Commercial Launch Activity*

* Note: Number of FAA Licensed or Permitted Launches per Year


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


Potential Suborbital Markets

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


• Kodiak Launch Complex

♦

♦

Vandenberg AFB

•

California Spaceport

•Mojave Airport♦Edwards AFB

♦

White Sands Missile Range

SpaceportAmerica

Oklahoma Spaceport♦Wallops FlightFacility

•

Spaceport Florida

Mid-AtlanticRegional 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


Space Shuttle Retirement


Commercial Cargo Program


SpaceX Missions to ISS


Orbital Sciences Missions to ISS


Commercial Crew Program

Sierra Nevada CorporationSpaceX

Boeing


Suborbital Space Tourism


WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo


First Powered Flight


Spaceport America in New Mexico


Zero-G Aircraft Operations


Stephen Hawking Goes “Weightless”


Centrifuge


Altitude Chamber


The Rocket Racer at Oshkosh


Orbital Debris


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


The Movie “Gravity”


Collisions in Space


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


AST Research Areas & Interdependencies2. 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 Safety3. 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


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


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.

faa commercial space

Government & Nonprofit

experimental

national airspace

commercial

commercial

commercial

reusable launch

commercial

extended authority