Office of Space Commerce to move ahead on mission authorization

WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department is moving ahead with plans to implement a voluntary mission authorization system for novel space activities that are not regulated by other agencies. In a July 23 statement, the Office of Space Commerce, or OSC, said it was “taking the next step forward” on its plans to offer certification to companies proposing space activities not currently overseen by OSC, the Federal Aviation Administration or the Federal Communications Commission. “After months of effort working with partners and stakeholders in industry, the U.S. federal government and the White House, OSC is making the next giant leap on mission authorization,” the office stated. The office rolled out its mission authorization proposal, called Space Commerce Certification, in March. Under that voluntary scheme, companies would submit information about their proposed activities to OSC, which would then coordinate an interagency review. The system would operate under a “presumption of approval,” meaning that applications would be automatically granted in 120 days if the office took no action. OSC did not disclose what prompted the agency to move ahead with Space Commerce Certification. However, at a July 15 hearing of the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee, Taylor Jordan, director of the office, said he was awaiting a White House decision on the proposal. “We submitted our proposal to the White House. We anticipate and hope for our ability to move forward with that,” he said. He added that the submission meant the office “has the interagency in a good place” regarding other agencies’ support for the proposal. “We are honored by President Trump’s trust in the Office of Space Commerce, and we look forward to building a quick path to ‘yes’ for U.S. industry,” Jordan said in the statement. With that approval, OSC said it will soon issue a “call for interest” in the Federal Register seeking initial applications from companies interested in the certification. At the hearing, Jordan suggested those initial companies would serve as a pilot for the certification, allowing the office to refine how the certification process will work. The office, he said, would “tailor our application to, first, some basic questions around things like international obligations, national security, as well as basic business structure,” then go through an interagency review. “We will work with them on how we get to yes through that process. And then at the end of that, we anticipate being able to certify and authorize these missions.” He said he had no preference on what specific kinds of novel space activities should be considered first under the new certification beyond those that would be operating in the near future. “We intend to look at mature technologies and mature missions, and really focus in on what is near to operations in space.” While the certification system is intended to ensure the U.S. government’s compliance with the Outer Space Treaty, which requires signa…