Keep Driving Commercial Spaceflight: GAO to FAA

While FAA has progressed in improving its Office of Commercial Space Transportation workforce planning, and addressed weaknesses in its methodologies for evaluating third-party losses from launch and reentry mishaps, the agency should put continued attention on other past GAO recommendations, the auditor reported Wednesday. It said with FAA having updated and streamlined launch and reentry licensing rules, its next planned rulemaking has to do with revising financial responsibility regulations. Once done with that, FAA plans to respond to recommendations about improving third-party loss calculation methodologies, GAO said. Asked for comment, the FAA pointed us to testimony Wednesday by FAA Associate Administrator-Commercial Space Transportation Wayne Monteith. Aside from revising rules regarding orbital debris mitigation for launch and reentry operations, the agency anticipates a comprehensive analysis of financial responsibility rules, Monteith told the House Commercial Space Regulation Subcommittee.