Commercial Human Space Flight, Per The FAA

For the typical person, the first thing that pops into one's mind when thinking about human space flight is probably NASA. Right?

Well, maybe not for those who are regular Aero-News readers. You know that the US space program is more than NASA or the Air Force - right? - with three distinct sectors: civilian, military, and commercial.

And you are familiar with Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites and SpaceShipOne; Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic; and other pioneers who have entered the commercial human space flight industry.

Names you know, like XCOR Aerospace; Rocketplane Kistler; Space Adventures (whose most famous orbital client, Charles Simonyi, is currently aboard a Soyuz capsule and bound for the International Space Station); the X PRIZE Foundation; ProSpace, the citizens' space lobby dedicated to opening the space frontier; and PoliSpace, a political consulting firm dedicated to helping space entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs succeed at the nexus of space business, technology, and public affairs.

And the spaceports! From California, to Florida; New Mexico to Oklahoma; Alaska to Wisconsin; and let's not forget Texas, which has three (they think big in Texas) under development.

But back to the task at hand: to explain the new rules for this emerging industry. Just this past Friday, the FAA issued regulations, 24-pages worth, governing the issuance of experimental permits for launching reusable suborbital rockets. This allows vehicle developers to experiment and test their vehicles prior to applying for an FAA launch license. Huh?

First, for those confused by who oversees what, the commercial sector of the US space program currently falls under the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) within the FAA, although it had, at one time, been under jurisdiction of DOT. With me so far?

The new April 6 guidelines, which you'll find below, come right on the heels of FAA requirements for crew and passengers involved in private space travel, reported by ANN, which went into effect December 31, 2006.

So what does all this mean to you and me?

First let's put it into perspective. As Patricia Grace Smith, associate administrator, Office of Commercial Space Transportation, FAA, said in Washington, DC, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on March 28, "What a remarkable development that is people who are not pilots, not scientists, not military officers, not specialists and, so far, not astronauts, will be able to take a ride to space."

"It will all be made possible by private entrepreneurs, investing their own resources in their own dreams and inviting the public to buy a ticket and join them."

If you have been following the new commercial space enterprises, as we know that you have as good Aero-News readers, be forewarned that these new rules will have a significant impact on space tourism vehicle operators' flight testing, including Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, with its inaugural flight scheduled to fly by May 2008, and others in this emerging industry.

But feel the warmth of the FAA, who asserts the goal of all these new rules is to streamline the launch authorization process during a launch vehicle's development phase. And to help facilitate testing of those vehicles, the allowable processing time for making a determination on a permit has been reduced, by law, to 120 days compared to 180 days for a license.

Sit back for more details

• A single experimental permit will cover multiple launch vehicles of a particular design and allow an unlimited number of launches.
• The FAA will identify the type of design changes that may be made without invalidating the permit.
• The one-year permit is renewable following an FAA review.
• None of the test flights covered by an experimental permit can be conducted for compensation or for hire.
• The new rules establish criteria for the physical area in which a launch vehicle with an experimental permit can operate. The area, among other things, must be large enough to contain planned trajectories. It cannot contain nor be adjacent to a densely populated area. (Do I hear a "Duh?")
• As part of the application for a permit, a vehicle developer will need to provide a program description, a flight test plan, and operational safety documentation, including a hazard analysis and a plan for response to a mishap.

The new rules also call for launch vehicle operators to provide certain safety-related information and identify what an operator must do to conduct a licensed launch with a human on board.

Launch providers must also inform passengers of the risks of space travel, in the operator's vehicle in particular. Protocols include training and general training and general security requirements for space flight participants.

"These rules represent another step forward for commercial human space flight. To help move this exciting industry from concept to reality, our goal is to streamline and facilitate the licensing process for flight testing under the experimental permit while maintaining public safety," said FAA administrator Marion Blakey.

Have a few minutes? Take a look back at ANN's Year in Review for 2006 and what transpired in the commercial human space flight industry.

The new rules were mandated by Congress in the commercial space launch amendments act 2004. Recognizing that this is a fledgling industry, the law required a phased approach in regulating commercial human space flight, with regulatory standards evolving as the industry matures.

Stay tuned. There's more to come as this new industry reacts to Friday's announcement.

Space "Tourists" To Date

• #1: May 2001, Dennis Tito, a multimillionaire who paid $20 million and spent 8 days in space as an "independent researcher."
• #2: April 2002, Mark Shuttleworth, a 28-year old South African entrepreneur traveled to the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz TM-34 mission and reportedly paid $20 million for the trip. Left April 25, returned to earth May 5.
• #3: October 2005, Gregory Olsen, a 60-year old entrepreneur, started his flight to the ISS onboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 capsule and reportedly paid $20 million for the 12-day flight
• #4: September 2006: Iranian-born but now American citizen Anousheh Ansari, the first female space tourist who had an 8-day expedition aboard the ISS as part of the Expedition 14 crew of the Soyuz TMA-9
• #5: April 2007: Charles Simonyi, Hungarian-born, but now a US citizen, billionaire and ex-Microsoft employee who helped develop Microsoft Word, reportedly paid $25 million for his trip to the ISS onboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-10, which is currently in progress.

Significant Milestones in Commercial Human Space Flight

• April 1, 2004: AST issues first launch license for a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) to Scaled Composites
• April 8, 2004: Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne RLV completes the first private sector human commercial rocket launch
• June 17, 2004: AST issues the first license for an inland Spaceport to Mojave, CA
• June 21, 2004: AST awards Mike Melville the first commercial astronaut wings for his successful flight of SpaceShipOne
• October 4, 2004: The XPRIZE, an international competition established to award private industry a $10 million award for completing two successful commercial human space flights in the span of two weeks, is awarded to Scaled Composites for its successful flights of SpaceShipOne. Brian Binnie, the pilot of the vehicle, is awarded FAA's second set of commercial astronaut wings
• May 25, 2005: FAA briefed to its Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee the new guidelines for obtaining experimental launch permits. Guidelines were publicly released the same day. Modeled on experimental airworthiness certificates used in aviation, the permits will allow vehicle developers the opportunity to experiment and test their vehicles prior to applying for an FAA launch license.
• December 31, 2006: New FAA requirements went into effect for crew and passengers involved in private space travel.
• April 6, 2007: FAA finalized the new guidelines for obtaining experimental launch permits. Modeled on experimental airworthiness certificates used in aviation, the permits allow vehicle developers the opportunity to experiment and test their vehicles prior to applying for an FAA launch license.

FMI: www.faa.gov