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The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) has announced their expanded proposal for a voluntary one-stop mission authorization for novel space activities.1 The proposal sets forth a streamlined approval process for a wide range of commercial activities that currently fall within existing regulatory gaps including: satellite servicing, nuclear-space activities, lunar missions, commercial space stations, and more.
As the firm explored2 last December, this new process would mark a paradigm shift in how the United States approves these projects. Novel mission authorization will fill a significant gap in the US's obligations under the Outer Space Treaty while encouraging the US space industry to grow and develop novel space technologies.
The cornerstone of the proposal is the "Space Commerce Certification." OSC, along with other agencies, would develop "light touch" requirements for projects seeking approval. OSC would then run interagency review for projects seeking certification using those requirements. The review process would include a presumption of approval. This presumption is supported by a requirement that applications will be approved unless OSC finds one of four explicit grounds for denial.3
OSC's vision is that the three regulatory space agencies (the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the office for Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) would incorporate reliance on the certification to waive aspects of their regulatory reviews.
Other highlights include: A strict 120-day decision timeline, with limited extensions and a defined appeals process, and, incorporated interagency review.
OSC does not rely on notice-and-comment rulemaking, which the agency highlights as a strength that will allow them to quickly change and develop procedures over time. In this vein the OSC is not releasing mission-type specific requirements in the current process to establish a certification procedure. Instead, OSC opts to develop mission-type requirements through the implementation of the process and based on "emerging industry standards."
OSC is currently seeking industry comments and input on the proposal.
Our Policy and Regulatory lawyers are closely monitoring developments and are ready and able to help the space industry navigate this rapidly changing regulatory landscape.
Footnotes
1 OSC Releases Updated Mission Authorization Proposal – Office of Space Commerce
3 These basis are: (1) "the applicant is unlikely to or incapable of complying with commitments in a certification; (2) the proposed mission has a likelihood and capacity to harm national security interests, which cannot be satisfactorily mitigated by certification conditions; (3) the proposed mission has a likelihood and capacity to cause the United States to violate its international obligations or deleteriously impact the foreign relations of the United States, which cannot be satisfactorily mitigated by certification conditions; or (4) the proposed mission has a likelihood and capacity to cause unacceptable dangers to the safety of space operations, assets, or to public safety which cannot be satisfactorily mitigated by certification conditions."
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