Hello everyone. A famous rocket scientist of the Apollo era once said: Our two greatest
problems are gravity and paperwork. We can beat gravity, but sometimes, the paperwork
is overwhelming. Well today, I’m happy to say the Federal Aviation Administration
is making one giant leap for paperwork relief, as we flip the switch on our new Part 450
streamlined launch and reentry requirements rule, or SLR2. This performance-based rule
will allow us to keep pace with this innovative industry and safely oversee the dramatic growth
of the entire commercial space transportation sector. With SLR2, we can make sure launch
vehicles and their amazing payloads aren’t tethered to the launch pad with red tape.
That’s value added for the industry and ultimately, for the American people. In case
you’re confused as to why the FAA gets involved in space launches, let me explain: Since space
vehicles have to share the airspace with the rest of us on their way up or down, the FAA
is responsible for making sure the public is protected during any commercial launch
or reentry activity. The FAA licenses not only the operators and individual launches
and reentries, but also spaceports. In the U.S., our launch infrastructure is comprised
of 12 FAA-licensed spaceports, along with additional Federal government and private
launch sites. Last year, we licensed a record 41 launches and reentries, including the first-ever
NASA crewed mission licensed by the FAA. This year, we’re expecting a licensed launch
or reentry, on average, about once per week. We’ve been busy, but we’re keeping it
safe—to date, no member of the public has ever been killed or injured as the result
of a commercial space program activity, and we intend to keep it that way. SLR2 came about
because the old licensing regulations were woefully out of date and out of step with
a commercial space industry that was heating up. We heard that loud and clear three years
ago when the National Space Council asked the FAA to take a hard look at the existing
commercial launch and reentry licensing regulations. The result is a new rule that eliminates obsolete
requirements, replaces most prescriptive requirements with performance-based criteria, and establishes
a single set of licensing and safety regulations for several types of commercial space operations
and vehicles. What that means in practice is that one license can now support multiple
launches and reentries at multiple locations, a game-changing innovation—WITH LESS PAPERWORK.
Clearly, FAA is innovating, and SLR2 will allow industry to innovate too—with technological
advancements that will lower the cost of launch operations and open new markets for satellites,
space tourism, and potentially suborbital point-to-point regional and intercontinental
travel. Importantly, I want to make crystal clear that while we are all about helping
the commercial space industry achieve new apogees, the FAA is—first and foremost—
focused on public safety when it comes to launches, reentries, and launch sites, and
we’re not going to budge when push comes to shove— Safety—Will—Always—Come—First.
You have my word on that. By working together and innovating together, all of us will make
sure that space is not only the final frontier, but a stepping-stone to new adventures and
opportunities for everyone. Thanks for listening.