The United States and Europe are taking very different approaches to regulating the emerging commercial human spaceflight industry, a divergence that could cause headaches for spacecraft operators forced to operate in very different regulatory environments.

The European Aviation Safety Administration (EASA) plans to certify winged vehicles that will fly into space under its authority to regulate aircraft.The FAA is taking a less strict approach of licensing vehicle launches without a costly certification process.

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The commercial spaceflight industry is seeking input into a European Union code of conduct for space that the Obama Administration is considering adopting due to concerns that it could negatively impact the emerging sector.

In a presentation to the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) this week, Debra Facktor Lepore of the committee’s Space Transportation Operations Working Group said that a “broader global dialogue” involving government and industry is required before the United States and other nations adopt the EU’s Code of Conduct for Space Activities.

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The above image appears in a PowerPoint presentation given by Mike Gold of Bigelow Aerospace during the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee meeting this week. Specifically, it represents the bipartisan effort by Republicans (symbolized by the elephant) and Democrats (the donkey) to find common ground on reforming the nation’s restrictive export control laws. Generally, it tells me that these guys should stick to building space hardware and not bioengineer disturbing looking animals.

On a more serious note, prospects for export reform are looking up.

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The DoD is proposing legal changes that would allow public/private partnerships to improve and expand its space capabilities and allow the military to directly support the commercial space sector as part of its mission.

Current law “limits DoD to accepting reimbursement from commercial space companies for excess capacity in the form of launch property, facilities, or direct support services,” according to a presentation made to the FAA yesterday. “DoD is not allowed to accept non-DoD funding to enable or improve operation of commercial space launch capabilities, augmentation of DoD capabilities for commercial purposes, or adding commercial requirements to DoD contracts to extend/expand services in support of commercial Space launch activities.”

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“The FAA’s role is also critical – ensuring safety. We’ve set the safety bar very high and the commercial air transportation industry has met it. We still have room for improvement and I am confident everyone here is ready and willing to do the work….

“The challenge is to find ways to accommodate speed and enable growth, but without sacrificing safety. The FAA is open to innovative approaches and new ways of doing business so we can be responsive to the needs of industry, but we owe it to everyone to do that while still ensuring public safety….

“The FAA will work with other agencies and with industry to accommodate and facilitate growth in commercial space – but we will continue to put safety first. Period.”

— FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt, May 11, 2011
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SpaceX’s hiring of Broadcom veteran Bret Johnsen as its new chief financial officer (CFO)  is a clear sign that California-based rocket company plans to go public. “Bret has an exceptional talent for financial management in high-growth, publicly held technology companies,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a press release.  “Looking at his career, he is clearly someone that always sought out tough challenges and produced impressive results.  His experience will be […]

NORTHROP GRUMMAN PR — REDONDO BEACH, Calif., May 11, 2011 — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Applied Minds, LLC announced the success of a recent launch and orbit of a Mayflower test microsatellite. Data gathered from around the world was analyzed, showing all tested systems functioned correctly including a new, previously unproven advanced solar cell deployment system. While this first flight collected baseline design data, subsequent flights at higher altitudes will demonstrate unique propulsion, communication and orientation capabilities, and novel payloads.

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The Albuquerque Journal has an investigative report on the problem plagued Spaceport America project. The Journal found that: the Terminal Hangar Facility (THF) is running 12+ months behind schedule main contractor Summit West says the delay is entirely due to the state’s failure to provide permanent power to the site, a task that won’t be completed until October outgoing project manager Procurement Solutions says there are contributing factors that are […]

New Roscosmos Head Vladmir Popovkin is a career military officer who began working as an engineer at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and eventually rose to become Commander of the Space Forces. Last month, the 53-year old retired general recently replaced Anatoly Perminov as the chief Russia’s space program.

Official Biography (via Roscosmos)

Vladimir Popovkin was born on September 25, 1957, in the city of Dushanbeh, Tadzhikskaya Republic of the Soviet Union.

In 1979, he graduated from A.F.Mozhaisky Military Academy, Moscow.

Since then he served at Baikonur cosmodrome, occupying various positions from division’s engineer to the command chief of Launch Pad 1 (Gagarin’s Launch Pad).

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Parabolic Arc’s readers are not optimistic about Chuck Lauer’s latest space tourism venture. Last month, the Rocketplane Global veteran resurfaced in Holland with a new plan to build a suborbital space plane under a new name, Spacelinq, with European partners. It’s the same design and basic plan, only without Rocketplane Global, which declared bankruptcy last year. Asked about the outcome of this effort, voters in our very unscientific poll were […]

HOUSTON, May 10, 2011 — Excalibur Almaz USA, Inc., a commercial orbital aerospace company, has appointed Buckner Hightower Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hightower, who had been Acting CEO since Feb. 6, was formally appointed to his new position by the Board of Directors effective May 5. He served the company as Executive Vice President, Business during the previous five years.

“I would like to congratulate Buckner on his appointment and wish him all the best as he assumes his new duties,” said Art Dula, Board Chairman of Excalibur Almaz, USA.
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Officials in Washington are moving forward with reforming the nation’s restrictive export laws, which have been blamed for costing U.S. companies business overseas while building up competition abroad.

Rep. C. A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD) has introduced the “Strengthening America’s Satellite Industry Act” that would allow most satellites and related components to be removed from United States Munitions List.

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