Two senators sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) requesting answers on how the agency is dealing with delays in its launch and reentry licensing regulations in order to keep pace with the demands of commercial spaceflight activities and the threat of American adversaries in space.
"It is no secret that the United States is in a space race with China — our chief economic and military adversary. We cannot be our own worst enemy when it comes to beating China to the moon and Mars," said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Space and Science Subcommittee.
Schmitt said further agency delays and turf wars "only further put our nation at a disadvantage — regulatory certainty and clarity is essential to allow our nation and commercial space industry plan for the future. I will continue to be a voice for responsible innovation in space here in Washington.”
Schmitt sent the letter with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
Schmitt took part in a hearing last month in which he emphasized the importance of streamlined, light-touch regulations in leveraging the U.S. commercial space industry to winning a 21st century space race.
In the letter, the senators sought to find out if AST has a list of additional resources needed to more effectively meet its public safety responsibilities and if there are specific IT systems or automated processes that AST could use to better expedite licensing reviews.
The senators specifically wanted to know what actions are being taken to expedite licensing and environmental reviews, in order to ensure that timelines for approving test flights are aligned with national policy goals.
In addition, the letter insisted on knowing the steps being taken to ensure that the federal government is able to keep pace with predicted increases in operational flight rates for mature vehicle systems necessary for furthering space endeavors of the United States.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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