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1 [1] (February 4, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesjf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congre <anal Research Scrib infon ing I Iej~ live d~ )ate o I~ 14 0 Updated February 4, 2025 Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety Regulations The Department of Transportation (DOT), acting through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has regulatory authority over commercial space launch and reentry, including for spacecraft with human occupants. The FAA's authority allows it to regulate the safety of human occupants, but a statutory moratorium-or learning period-limits its ability to do so until January 1, 2028. This In Focus identifies considerations for Congress as the end of the statutory learning period approaches. Currently, private companies hope to create a market for commercial human spaceflight. In addition to contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to support federal missions, companies such as SpaceX plan to transport private citizens into space. Other companies such as Axiom Space are developing orbital platforms with the intent to host both government astronauts and tourists in space. Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have carried tourists on suborbital launches, and SpaceX has launched both government astronauts and space tourists to the International Space Station. No commercial spaceflight mission has yet resulted in a fatality of a tourist or government astronaut. However, an atmospheric test flight of a crewed commercial spacecraft in 2014 resulted in the death of one pilot and injuries to another. Several uncrewed commercial launches have failed in the past decade. Given the potential risks, oversight for these missions may be an area of continued congressional concern. Le s at e -ackground The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-492) gave DOT the authority to regulate the launch and reentry of commercial spacecraft, including those carrying humans, after the learning period noted above. The FAA has authority to impose licensing requirements after the learning period on commercial launches expires in order to protect human occupants of spacecraft. The authority is implemented by the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST). Operations in orbit, following launch and prior to reentry, are not under FAA jurisdiction. For launch and reentry regulations, the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 set a statutory moratorium of eight years (the learning period) before the FAA could promulgate commercial human spaceflight regulations, beyond its statuary authorities described below. The learning period moratorium was intended to allow the nascent commercial spaceflight industry to develop without potential regulatory burdens. FAA regulatory authority under 51 U.S.C. §50905(c) is not subject to the learning period moratorium. This authority allows FAA regulation of commercial operators when restricting or prohibiting design features or operating practices that have resulted in serious or fatal injury or contributed to an event posing a high risk of serious or fatal injury. The FAA can also impose requirements on spacecraft crew in support of the agency's mission to protect public safety under 14 C.F.R. §460, as the FAA considers crew to be part of the flight safety system. To that end, the FAA has created requirements that focus on crew qualifications, medical screening, life support, and similar basic safety elements. Additionally, under its regulations (14 C.F.R. §§460.41-460.53), the FAA requires licensees to inform all human occupants of commercial spacecraft, in writing, of potential risks. The learning period has been extended several times, most recently until January 1, 2028, by P.L. 118-159 (Title LVI §5702). Two bills in the 118th Congress-H.R. 5617 and H.R. 6131-would have extended the learning period to October 1, 2031. The 2015 U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA; P.L. 114-90) directed the FAA and its Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) to facilitate the development of voluntary industry consensus safety standards and a safety framework that may include regulation. It also directed the FAA to provide updates on progress every 30 months and to deliver two separate reports on a new safety framework and transition plan in 2018 and 2022, respectively. The FAA was instructed to consider industry standards identified within these reports when developing regulations after the expiration of the learning period. The FAA, in consultation with COMSTAC, was also required to provide a report (1) addressing the commercial space industry's progress toward developing and adopting the aforementioned standards and framework, (2) identifying metrics that could indicate the readiness of industry and the FAA to transition to the new framework, (3) discussing whether further standards development or regulation would be appropriate, and (4) outlining a transition plan. In 2017, the FAA delivered a report to Congress that identified possible safety framework features, including standards, a voluntary reporting system, and compliance mechanisms; detailed industry progress toward the development and adoption of voluntary consensus standards; and identified several indicators that could be used to assess industry and FAA readiness to transition to a new safety framework. The FAA contracted with the RAND Corporation to conduct the independent assessment required by P.L. 114- 90. In its 2023 report, RAND noted that the commercial