S. 1961: LAUNCH Act

Licensing Aerospace Units to New Commercial Heights Act or the LAUNCH Act

This bill makes changes to, and requires certain evaluations of, regulatory processes for licensing commercial space launch and reentry activities and private remote sensing systems.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation regulates the launch and reentry of commercial spacecraft. In 2020, the FAA consolidated launch and reentry licensing requirements for all types of space vehicles into a single set of regulations, known as Part 450.

The bill requires the FAA to evaluate and report on the implementation of Part 450 and its impacts on the commercial spaceflight industry, including whether the rule has resulted in uncertainty or operational delays. The FAA must also continue an aerospace rulemaking committee comprised of launch and reentry service providers.

Further, the FAA must develop a digital system to accept commercial space launch and reentry applications and provide status information and notifications to applicants.

The bill elevates the Office of Commercial Space Transportation to a modal administration reporting directly to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The administration must exercise all of DOT’s authorities related to commercial space launch and reentry.

Finally, the bill revises the licensing process for private remote sensing systems and requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the Department of Commerce’s regulation of the private remote sensing industry. (Remote sensing generally refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth’s orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth’s surface.)