[Via Satellite 04-08-2016] U.S. regulators are grappling with how to ascribe the most appropriate policies for small satellites as their proliferation becomes more significant. Agency representatives and private sector executives, the latter of which have already orbited or plan to orbit hundreds of SmallSats, discussed ways to craft the best regulatory regime to preserve and protect the space environment at the Washington Space Business Roundtable in Washington, D.C April 7.<\/p>\n
Government officials admitted off the bat that they are currently playing catch-up with the commercial sector. U.S. startups, universities and other players have introduced swarms of SmallSats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) well ahead of a fully rounded out regulatory framework for all of their operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the State Department<\/b> perspective, we work on a daily basis to push forward possible norms of responsible behavior in space so we can work to catch up to the present space environment,\u201d said Mallory Stewart, deputy assistant secretary for emerging security challenges and defense policy, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification & Compliance at the U.S. Department of State<\/b>.<\/p>\n
George Nield, associate administrator of commercial space transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration <\/b>(FAA), said the United States\u2019 current regulatory framework was not designed to handle some of the \u201cnontraditional\u201d operations that have grown in popularity. Citing the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which more than 100 countries have since ratified, Nield said signers of the treaty have agreed to authorize and supervise the activities of non-governmental entities from their countries in outer space. In the U.S., different agencies handle different aspects of this responsibility. The FAA handles launch and reentry, the Federal Communications Commission <\/b>(FCC) covers radiocommunications, and NOAA <\/b>addresses remote sensing. NASA <\/b>and the Department of Defense <\/b>(DOD) are not regulatory agencies, and Nield said neither do they want to be, but some oversight of the commercial industry has fallen on their shoulders, particularly the DOD.<\/p>\n
Through the Air Force\u2019s Joint Space Operations Center <\/b>(JSpOC), much of industry receives updates about collision risks between satellites and space debris. This, however, falls outside of JSpOC\u2019s primary mission to serve U.S. military needs. Nield said the FAA is open to handling regulatory requirements for satellite operators, particularly of SmallSats, to both fill the void that no other agencies are in, and to address aspects of managing the space environment that fall outside the domain of agencies that are handling them today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FAA has expressed our willingness to take on responsibility for overseeing commercial activities in space that are not already regulated by the FCC or NOAA, should the White House and Congress decide that that would be appropriate,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal would be to enable those new nontraditional operations in space without creating a huge new regulatory burden that would make U.S. companies less competitive, or in the worse case, would actually drive them off shore in search of a more business-friendly regulatory environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nield said there is much greater awareness of the \u201ccontested\u201d and \u201ccongested\u201d space environment today, but reminded that debates on some of these issues go back for several years now with limited tangible progress. In light of this, representatives of new commercial operators said they have borne the mantle of handling many of their affairs in space as their own responsibility.<\/p>\n