Spaceflight Now reports that the three companies that “have flown people to space and back, Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, joined two experts at a Congressional hearing to press for regulatory improvements, warning the US risks losing its lead in spaceflight.” The 1.5-hour-long hearing “before the US Senate Subcommittee on Space and Science was mainly focused on a regulatory framework called ‘Part 450,’ which was designed to help streamline the process of issuing launch licenses under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which goes by the acronym AST.” The five witnesses “argued that not only is the current regulatory framework not achieving its ideal goals, but it is stifling growth and innovation in the commercial launch market.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Tag: Commercial Space Companies
Commercial Space Companies to Perform Launch Range Upgrades
Space News reports, “The U.S. Space Force awarded Jacobs Technology a contract worth up to $4 billion over 10 years to provide engineering and technical services at the nation’s primary space launch ranges, as the military seeks to modernize aging infrastructure and boost capacity amid a surge in commercial space activity. The Space Systems Command selected the Tullahoma, Tennessee-based contractor on May 31 for the so-called ‘Space Force Range Contract,’ which covers maintenance, sustainment, systems engineering and integration services for the Eastern and Western ranges until 2035.”
Full Story (Space News)