Would Up The Budget For The Office By Over $1.7 Million

A spending bill under consideration by the House Appropriations Committee would boost the budget for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transport by $1.7 million.

That would make the overall budget for the AST $21.58 million in fiscal year 2018, according to a report from Space News.

The markup hearing was held Tuesday. The White House had requested only $17.9 million for the office, which would have brought it back down to its 2016 budget figure. That idea was rejected by House Appropriators.

The FAA says it needs more for the AST office to help it deal with the rapidly-growing commercial space industry. The office is responsible for approving licenses for commercial launches and re-entries, as well as safety reviews. It is also charged with encouraging, facilitating, and promoting the commercial space transportation industry in the U.S.

George Nield, associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA, said in a speech in February that he expected there would be between 36 and 43 launches and reentries which would require licenses of permits from his office in fiscal year 2017, more than double the number in 2016. “That could double again in 2018,” he added.

(Image from file)

FMI: appropriations.house.gov, Original Report