Federal Aviation Administration Licensing and Evaluation

1. Federal Aviation AdministrationLicensing and Evaluation

2. Types of Launch and Reentry Licenses Types of licenses Expendable launch vehicles • Launch specific (good for specified launches) • Launch operators (Good for a defined range of activities for 5 years) Reusable launch or reentry vehicles • Reusable launch vehicle launch or reentry specific • Reusable launch vehicle launch or reentry operator license( Good for a defined range of activities for 2 years)

3. Licensing Launch or Reentry • Elements of a license review for launch and reentry • Policy • Payload review • Environmental • Safety review • Financial responsibility • 180 days and tolling

4. Licensing Flow Policy Review Payload Review MPL Determination Application License Environmental Determination Safety Review

5. Licensing • Consultation before application • Pre-application consultation is mandatory [§ 413.5] • Allows a prospective applicant to familiarize the FAA with its proposal • Allows the prospective applicant to become familiar with the application process and type of information required • Provides an opportunity to discuss issues and identify unique aspects of the proposal and develop a schedule for submitting an application

6. Licensing—Policy review • A policy review • determines whether a proposed launch would jeopardize U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, or international obligations of the United States. • An interagency review is part of the policy review • Department of Defense • Department of State • NASA • Department of Commerce (NOAA) • Federal Commissions Commission • Other Government agencies, as appropriate

7. Licensing—Payload review • A payload review includes • Payload safety issues • Classes of payloads • Interagency review • Relationship to jurisdiction of other agencies • The FAA does not review payloads that are subject to regulation by FCC or NOAA, or that are owned and operated by USG • Except for issues relating to safety of launch itself

8. Licensing – Maximum Probable Loss • 14 C.F.R. part 440 defines maximum probable loss as the greatest dollar amount of loss for bodily injury or property damage • Determines insurance requirements for • Government property • Third parties

9. Licensing – Maximum Probable Loss • Specifies threshold values of 10-7 for third party liability and 10-5 for U.S. Government property. • Sets $500 million maximum financial responsibility for third party liability and $100 million for U.S. Government property. • Indemnification for third party liability in excess of specified insurance.

10. Licensing--Environmental Review • An applicant must provide enough information for the FAA to analyze the environmental impacts associated with proposed reusable suborbital rocket launches or reentries. • The information must enable the FAA to follow: • The requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and • The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA, 40 C.F.R. parts 1500–1508.

11. Licensing--Safety Review • 14 C.F.R. part 415 for launches from federal launch ranges • For launches from a federal launch range, the federal launch range operator provides many of the safety services necessary to meet our regulatory requirements. • Certain requirements reference part 417. • Launch site safety assessment.

12. Licensing--Safety Review • 14 C.F.R. part 417 for launches from non-federal launch sites • For launches from a non-federal launch site, all launch safety services are obtained by or performed by launch operator. • 14 C.F.R. part 431 for RLVs and 437 for reentry

13. Safety Review Key elements of safety review • Launch description, including trajectory and staging events • Safety organization including an identified safety official • Flight safety • Ground safety • Launch plans • Launch schedule including generic processing schedule • Computer systems and software

14. Safety Review Key elements of safety review (continued) • Unique safety policies, requirements, and practices • Flight safety system design and operational data • Flight safety system test data • Flight safety system crew data • Safety at the end of launch • Accident investigation plan including agreements for notification with appropriate Air Traffic and Marine authorities.

15. Safety Review Acceptable flight risk for each of the following • Impacting inert and explosive debris 30 X 10-6 expected casualties • Toxic release 30 X 10-6 expected casualties • Far field blast overpressure 30 X 10-6 expected casualties

16. Safety Review Safety at end of launch • No unplanned physical contact. • Debris generation does not result from conversion of energy sources into energy that fragments the vehicle or components. • Stored energy removed by depleting residual fuel and leaving fuel line vales open, venting any pressurized system, leaving batteries in discharge state, and removing any remaining source of stored energy.

17. Key U.S. Federal Launch Site Non-Federal FAA-Licensed Launch Site Proposed Non-Federal Launch Site ¨ · * U.S. Spaceports · Kodiak Launch Complex Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport California Spaceport · ¨ Mojave Airport Wallops Flight Facility Oklahoma Spaceport · · ¨ Spaceport America ¨ Edwards AFB · Vandenberg AFB Cecil Field Spaceport · ¨ White Sands Missile Range • Kennedy Space Center • Cape Canaveral Air Force Station * ¨ * Spaceport Florida

18. Licensing Launch Operator • Elements of a license review for launch or reentry site operator • Policy • Launch site location review • Agreements • Explosive site plan • Environmental • 180 days and tolling

19. Launch Site Location Review • Launch site boundary - Maximum distance from a launch point that debris could travel given a worst-case launch vehicle failure in the launch area • Flight corridor - Area that contains nearly all of the hazardous debris from a nominal and non-nominal flight of the launch vehicle • Risk analysis - Demonstrate that the collective risk to populations within flight corridor does not exceed Ec  30 x 10-6 • Unproven vehicles - Requires a clear and convincing demonstration of an equivalent level of safety for unproven vehicles

20. Explosive Site Plan • Provides safe distances to the public.

21. Other Responsibilities of Site Operator Security and Access Control Plan • Both for public safety and security Scheduling of Launch Site Operations • Carried out by customer Agreements • Airspace • Marine

22. Hazardous Materials • A scaled map that shows the location of all proposed explosive hazard facilities • A listing of the maximum quantities of liquid and solid propellants and other explosives to be located at each explosive hazard facility • A description of each activity to be conducted in each explosive hazard facility • Assurance that the public is not exposed to hazards due to the initiation of explosives by lightning

23. Accident Investigation Plan The launch site accident investigation plan must provides for: • Procedures for reporting, responding to, and investigating accidents • Immediate notification to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Washington Operations Center • A written report to the FAA within five days of any accident • A Response Plan that ensures the consequences of a launch site accident are contained and minimized • Cooperation with FAA or National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations • Identification of preventive measures for avoiding recurrence

24. Permits • Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 established an experimental permit regime for reusable suborbital rockets flown for: • Research and development; • Showing compliance with requirements for a license; or • Crew training prior to obtaining a license. • Compensation or hire is not allowed. • CSLAA legislative history suggested that an experimental permit should be granted: • More quickly and with fewer requirements than a license, and be more like an aircraft special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category.

25. Permits • Differences between permits and licenses • 120 days vs 180 days • No compensation or hire • For reusable suborbital rockets only • No “indemnification” • No quantifiable risk requirements

26. Safety approvals • A safety approval allows the use of an approved launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, safety system, process, service, or personnel without requiring re-examination of its suitability for a particular launch or reentry proposal for FAA licensed activities. • The decision to apply for a safety approval is a voluntary one on the part of an eligible applicant.

27. Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 • On December 23, 2004, President Bush signed into law the CSLAA, which: • Promotes the development of emerging human space flight industry and • Makes the FAA responsible for regulating commercial human space flight • Establishes an “informed consent” regime for space flight participants

28. Definitions • Suborbital Rocket – a vehicle, rocket propelled in whole or in part, intended for flight on a suborbital trajectory, and the thrust of which is greater than its lift for the majority of the rocket-powered portion of its ascent. • Crew - employee of a licensee, or of a contractor or subcontractor of a licensee, who performs activities in the course of that employment directly relating to the launch, reentry or other operation of or in a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle that carries human beings. • Space flight participant - an individual, who is not crew, carried within a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle.

29. CSLAA (cont’d) • Provides FAA responsibility for crew and space flight participant safety • Limits that responsibility for eight years • Unless there has been a death, serious injury or close call • Prevents even individualized license conditions to protect passengers or crew absent regulations • Leaves unchanged the FAA’s ability to protect the public on the ground

30. CSLAA (cont’d) • Under section 70105, a holder of a license or permit must inform any crew and space flight participants that the U.S. Government has not certified the launch vehicle as safe. • An RLV operator must inform a space flight participant in writing about • the risks of the launch and reentry • the safety record of the vehicle type, including government launches