**CHAPTER IX**

**COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION**

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Associate Administrator for
Commercial Space Transportation (AST) licenses and regulates U.S.
commercial space launch activity as authorized by Executive Order 12465,
*Commercial Expendable Launch Vehicle Activities*, and *49 U.S. Code
Subtitle IX, Chapter 701 (*formerly the *Commercial Space Launch Act of
1984*). AST's mission is to license and regulate commercial launch and
reentry operations to protect public health and safety, the safety of
property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the
United States. In addition, the FAA licenses commercial launch sites.
*Chapter 701* and the 1996 *National Space Policy* also direct the FAA
to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial launches.

**INTRODUCTION TO COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION**

WHAT IS COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION?

The term "commercial space transportation" refers generally to the
launch and/or reentry of an object into or from space by a private
sector, non-governmental entity. Within the United States, commercial
space launches are conducted by companies, such as Boeing, International
Launch Services (ILS), and Orbital Sciences Corporation, using
expendable launch vehicles (ELVs).[^1] Worldwide, commercial launch
services are currently offered by corporations from the United States,
Europe, Russia, China, and Japan.

The popular definition of "commercial launch" has evolved over time as
the capabilities of commercial companies and private citizens have
increased. From a legal perspective, the FAA licenses commercial
launches and reentries by U.S. citizens or U.S. companies within and
outside the United States that are, in general, privately or
commercially procured for commercial or other payloads, including
foreign payloads. The FAA may issue a launch license for a launch
vehicle carrying a U.S. government payload if the sponsoring agency
chooses not to have substantial involvement into launch activity. Most
launches of U.S. government payloads are operated by either the Air
Force or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) using
launch vehicles built under contract by commercial companies. The FAA
also regulates and licenses suborbital launches and reentries, depending
on certain launch profile factors.

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COMMERCIAL USE OF SPACE

Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, spaceflight has largely been a
government endeavor. Even though satellites serving commercial or
quasi-commercial purposes entered into service in the early 1960s, the
business of launching them was strictly a government affair. Many of the
early commercial satellites launched were telecommunications spacecraft
located in geosynchronous orbit[^2] (GSO) used to relay video and audio
signals for television and telephone services.

Commercial launches of satellites that serve commercial and other
purposes have steadily increased since the early 1980s. Until the mid-

1990s, commercial satellites were almost exclusively telecommunications
satellites located in GSO. Since 1997, new satellite markets have opened
up for commercial mobile telephones, data messaging, and remote sensing
in low Earth orbit (LEO) or non-geosynchronous orbit (NGSO).[^3] Digital
satellite radio services began in North America in late 2001. During
2002, 37 percent of launches conducted worldwide were commercial. Other
types of commercial activity are also increasing. For example, two space
tourists to date have paid for seats on Russian spacecraft for rides to
the International Space Station. Public space travel is expected to
increase in the future as current and new entrepreneurial companies
develop passenger vehicles capable of suborbital and orbital space
flights.

U.S. COMMERCIAL LAUNCH SERVICES

Until the early 1980s, all commercial satellites were launched on
rockets owned and operated by the U.S. government, including the Space
Shuttle. When Europe\'s Arianespace began offering launch services for
commercial satellites in 1983, an international launch market was
created and has since grown to over 15 vehicle families worldwide.
Following the passage of the *Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984,* the
U.S. government and industry began to transition from government to
commercial operations for ELVs. The *Commercial Space Launch Act*
authorized the Department of Transportation (DOT) to regulate and
license commercial launch activities. (The Office of Commercial Space
Transportation was later transferred from the DOT Office of the
Secretary to the FAA in November 1995, where it became AST.) Commercial
launches licensed by the DOT began in 1989, after the U.S. Government
decided to stop launching commercial payloads on the Space Shuttle
following the *Challenger* disaster in 1986. From 1989 through 2002, the
DOT licensed 146 orbital and suborbital commercial launches.

Currently active ELVs that have orbital launch operations licensed by
the FAA are:

-   Atlas II, III, and V (intermediate class), all built by Lockheed
    Martin Corporation and marketed by International Launch Services
    (ILS);

-   Delta II (medium class), III, and IV (intermediate class), all built
    by The Boeing Company and marketed by Boeing Launch Services (Delta
    IV heavy class is expected in late 2003);

-   Zenit 3SL (intermediate class), built by KB Yuzhnoye (in Ukraine)
    for the Sea Launch partnership and marketed by Boeing Launch
    Services; and

-   Pegasus XL and Taurus (small class), both built and marketed by
    Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC).

New expendable and reusable launch vehicles are also being developed for
commercial and other purposes.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="7.021527777777778in"
height="2.202777777777778in"}

![](media/image3.wmf)U.S. commercial launches to GSO are launched from
the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida or from a
Pacific Ocean platform by Sea Launch, a multinational corporation.
Launches to NGSO can take place from any launch site such as CCAFS,
Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, the Wallops Flight
Facility in Virginia, or Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska (see figure
"U.S. Launch Sites," above).

FAA/AST has issued four launch site operator licenses to state-run
organizations to operate commercial launch sites, or spaceports. They
are:

-   Spaceport Florida at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
    (license held by Florida Space Authority);

-   California Spaceport at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
    (license held by Spaceport Systems International);

-   Virginia Space Flight Center at Wallops Island, Virginia (license
    held by Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority); and

-   Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska (license held by
    Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation), the first spaceport not
    located on a federal range.

    **REVIEW OF 2002**

The year 2002 was important for the United States, with two new launch
vehicles successfully making their debuts after seven years of
development in the joint industry-U.S. Air Force Evolved Expendable
Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Atlas V flew for the first time on
August 21, 2002. Boeing's Delta IV launch vehicle made its first
successful launch on November 20. These two new vehicles, which carried
commercial satellites for their first launches, will be used to launch
civil, commercial, and military payloads for U.S. and international
customers.

FAA/AST licensed six orbital commercial launches in 2002, up from five
during 2001. All were successful. Boeing launched a Delta II and

the first Delta IV (Medium Plus). ILS launched an Atlas IIAS, Atlas
IIIB, and the first Atlas V (401 series). The Sea Launch partnership,
led by Boeing, launched a Zenit 3SL.

The FAA also licensed one suborbital launch, a Terrier-Orion vehicle
carrying a hypersonic test payload. The launch was conducted in
Australia by Astrotech, a U.S. company.

Russian launch ranges deployed 8 vehicles for commercial missions and
Europe's Arianespace conducted 10 commercial launch campaigns from
Kourou in French Guiana. China did not launch any commercial payloads in
2002. Therefore, including the 5 launches from U.S. ranges and the
single flight for Sea Launch, a total of 24 orbital commercial launches
were conducted during 2002. There were 65 total worldwide commercial,
civil, and military launches, with commercial launches representing
about 37 percent of total launches. For more details, see the
*Commercial Space Transportation: 2002 Year In Review* report available
from the FAA/AST website at *http://ast.faa.gov/rep_study/yir.htm*.

**COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION FORECASTS**

In May 2002, the FAA and the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory
Committee (COMSTAC) published their annual forecast for commercial
launch demand, the *2002 Commercial Space Transportation Forecasts*.
This forecast combined the *COMSTAC 2002 Commercial Geosynchronousy
Launch Demand Model,* which covers satellites that operate in GSO, with
the FAA's *2002 Commercial Space Transportation Projections for
Non-Geosynchronous Orbits (NGSO).*

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The forecast projected an average of nearly 27 commercial orbital
launches worldwide annually through 2011.

The 2002-2011 forecasts project an annual average of:

-   20.5 launches of medium-to-heavy vehicles to deploy GSO satellites;

-   2.5 launches of medium-to-heavy vehicles to NGSO; and

-   4 launches to NGSO by small vehicles.

These estimates account for launching multiple manifested payloads,
since commercial NGSO and some GSO payloads could be launched in groups
on a single launch to reduce costs.

The forecast is based on inputs from across the international satellite
and launch services industry and represents the demand for launch
services for actual or projected satellite programs in a given year. The
forecast is not a prediction of what will actually be launched.

Several factors can affect the year-by-year accuracy of the forecast,
including satellite manufacturing delays, launch vehicle components
problems, launch failure investigations, or scheduling issues.
Regulatory issues, such as satellite export compliance or Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) licensing, can come into play. Also,
changes in national economies or the business environment can cause
satellite companies to alter or cancel their development plans.

The complete forecast report is available at
*http://ast.faa.gov/rep_study/forcasts_and_reports.htm*.

GENERAL MARKET TRENDS

The commercial space transportation market is driven largely by the
demand for launches of telecommunications satellites. The development of
new markets, such as satellite radio and public space travel, have yet
to significantly impact launch demand. The following trends can be
expected in the next few years in the commercial space launch industry:

-   Continued steady demand for launch of GSO communications satellite
    systems and a small but increasing demand for remote sensing
    systems;

-   A general trend toward heavier GSO communications satellites;

-   A slight increase in the number of small-mass GSO satellites;

-   Continued low demand for NGSO satellites, because of business
    difficulties faced by the first telecommunications constellations;

-   Continued international competition by Europe, Russia, and China for
    launch services and possible new entrants into the commercial launch
    market from India, Japan, and Brazil;

-   U.S. government development of a reusable space vehicle launched on
    large ELVs; and

-   Continued private sector development of expendable and reusable
    launch vehicles.

[^1]: Expendable launch vehicles are used only once, with stages falling
    back to Earth or remaining in orbit after use.

[^2]: A spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit is synchronized with the
    Earth's rotation, orbiting once every 24 hours, and appears to an
    observer on the ground to be stationary in the sky. GSO (also
    sometimes called GEO) satellites can have arbitrary eccentricity and
    arbitrary inclination to the Earth's equator and are generally at an
    altitude of 35,852 kilometers (22,300 miles).

[^3]: Non-geosynchronous orbit (NGSO) satellites are those in orbits
    other than GSO. They are located in LEO (lowest achievable orbit to
    about 2,400 kilometers), medium Earth orbit (MEO, 2,400 kilometers
    to GSO), and all other high or elliptical orbits or trajectories.