FAA Readies to Regulate Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety

The existing Congressional prohibition on regulating commercial human spaceflight is set to expire in October.

Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 03:46 PM ET

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The FAA's 25-member rulemaking committee includes representatives from the FAA and industry, including Virgin Galactic, Boeing, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. Here, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule stand ready for launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in early 2023. [Photo: Axiom Space]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is beginning to develop new safety regulations for commercial human spaceflight, prompted by the sector's growth.
This move is critical as a Congressional "regulatory learning period," which currently prohibits the FAA from enacting occupant safety rules, is set to expire in October.
A new rulemaking committee, comprising FAA and industry representatives, has been launched to gather recommendations for a future regulatory regime on occupant safety.

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The recent rise in commercial space flights is prompting the FAA to take new steps related to passenger safety.

The agency has launched a rulemaking committee to examine the cost and development of possible future regulations related to occupant safety during commercial space flights, it announced Thursday. The 25-member committee includes representatives from the FAA and industry, including Virgin Galactic, Boeing, SpaceX, and Blue Origin.