Company Asks DDTC to Expand USML Spacecraft Carveout

The State Department should expand a carve-out in the U.S. Munitions List to make it easier for U.S. companies to export spacecraft that refuel other ships in space, said Orbit Fab, a company that develops in-space refueling systems. Orbit Fab said the existing exemption may be outdated, and an update could better support “U.S. and allied nations efforts in space.”

The company is asking the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to update paragraph (a)(12) under USML Category XV (Spacecraft and Related Articles), which places license requirements on any spacecraft or “payloads” specially designed to service another spacecraft “via grappling or docking.” That paragraph currently includes a note that exempts exports of spacecraft that “dock exclusively via the NASA Docking System (NDS),” but Orbit Fab said the exemption should also apply to spacecraft that use other “cooperative docking systems.”

“We believe that the note to paragraph (a)(12) should be expanded to apply to any cooperative docking system,” said the company, which sent its comments this month to DDTC’s Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy in response to the agency’s request for feedback on a proposed exemption for certain exports to Australia and Canada (see 2404300050). “Removing the restriction for cooperative or prepared spacecraft will accelerate the development of a standard refueling interface, allowing partner nations to support free and uncontested use of their orbital slots.”

Since DDTC wrote paragraph (a)(12), there has been a “significant increase in the number of companies that are developing” in-space fuel servicing, Orbit Fab said, and “cooperative docking systems are a key technology to enable these activities and enhance interoperability.” The company included a proposed definition for “cooperative docking with prepared spacecraft” that it said DDTC can issue as a frequently asked question. That definition would cover the “GRIP and RAFTI architecture” that Orbit Fab designs.

“We recognize the importance of protecting docking abilities generally,” the company said. “We believe that these changes will strike the right balance of protection against nefarious docking while promoting the types of interoperability that the U.S. desires.”