Private human spaceflight regulation is up in the air
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The space industry is playing a waiting game as lawmakers decide whether private companies flying paying customers to space are ready for regulation.
Why it matters: Some experts argue regulation could hamper growth of the private human spaceflight sector, while others say it's necessary to regulate these companies before a major accident occurs.
- Private human spaceflight companies generate a fraction of the space economy's revenue. However, they are the most publicly visible — and sometimes controversial — part of the industry and play an outsized role in the public's understanding of it.
What's happening: A congressionally mandated moratorium preventing the Federal Aviation Administration from enacting regulations that would govern the safety of spaceflight systems for passengers was set to expire on Sunday.
- But the stopgap spending bill passed by Congress on Saturday extended the moratorium until Jan. 1, 2024, giving lawmakers more time to figure out whether the industry is ready for regulation.
- If the moratorium expires without further action from Congress, it will open the door for the FAA to start instituting safety regulations for people aboard these space systems.
- Regulation would mark a new era of private human spaceflight, moving the industry past its infancy and into maturity.
Catch up quick: When the moratorium was first established in 2004 and extended in 2015, there were no private companies flying paying customers to space.
- Today, however, SpaceX is sending people to orbit and Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are flying customers to suborbital space. Boeing is expected to start flying passengers to orbit in the coming year or so.
- At the moment, the FAA is allowed to regulate spaceflight systems for the safety of uninvolved people on the ground.
- For people flying to space with these companies, they have to sign a waiver stating that they understand the risks associated with spaceflight, and the companies are responsible for informing them of those risks.
The intrigue: Some argue the industry — with three companies already flying paying customers to space — is ready for regulation and even needs it before the worst happens.
- Supporters of regulation argue that when — not if — a fatal accident occurs, it could be disastrous for the industry at large if there are no safety regulations in place. That will put regulators in the position of establishing rules in a moment post-crisis.
- "Then there will be a swift overreaction in which the FAA will be directed to immediately put out some regulations that would prevent that from ever happening again," predicts George Nield, the former associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA. "From my experience, rushed regulations are bad regulations."
- A report from the Rand Corporation earlier this year concluded that Congress should allow the moratorium to expire, paving the way for regulation.
Yes, but: Others argue the industry is still too young for safety regulations, stressing that prescriptive rules could slow its growth.
- Letting the learning period expire would "open the door to regulations that inadvertently freeze development before industry has had time to mature, harming safety in the long-term and our nation's competitiveness," Karina Drees, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said during testimony before Congress in July.
- Drees argued that extending the moratorium will allow space companies to get on their feet and work out the kinks even more before regulation becomes necessary.
Between the lines: Many proponents of regulation, however, suggest they aren't interested in prescriptive regulations that would force a company to redesign their systems fully to meet the specific need for a certain kind of button, lever or motor.
- Instead, some experts advocate for a framework that would help regulators use a light touch to increase the safety of these systems while keeping a more hands-off approach to design.
- Meanwhile, a regulatory framework could also help companies create a culture of safety and transparency, ultimately cultivating public trust in these companies.
What to watch: If the moratorium is allowed to expire, regulations won't be put in place the next day.
- It will likely take months or years for any regulations to be drafted and implemented, and that process will require input from the public, industry and regulators.
