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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 146 (Monday, July 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44707-44708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18555]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee--Public 
Teleconference

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee 
Teleconference.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 5 U.S.C. App. 2), notice is hereby given of three 
teleconferences of the Systems Working Group of the Commercial Space 
Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). The teleconferences will 
take place on: Tuesday August 14, 2012, Tuesday September 18, 2012, and 
Tuesday October 23, 2012. All teleconferences will begin at 1:00 p.m. 
Eastern Daylight Time and will last approximately one hour. Individuals 
who plan to participate should contact Susan Lender, Designated Federal 
Officer (DFO), (the Contact Person listed below) by phone or email for 
the teleconference call in number.
    The purpose of these three teleconferences is to assist the FAA 
early in its development of regulations to protect occupants of 
commercial suborbital and orbital spacecraft. Although the FAA has not 
yet targeted a date for proposing regulations to protect the health and 
safety of crew and space flight participants, the FAA believes that the 
development of sound and appropriate regulations for human space flight 
can only be achieved with a deliberate, multi-year effort. Moreover, 
the FAA believes that early industry input into this regulatory effort 
before any formal proposal by the FAA is critical.
    Thus, the FAA would like to engage with COMSTAC on a periodic 
basis,

[[Page 44708]]

approximately once per month, on specific topics. The topics for the 
first three teleconferences are as follows:
    (1) What Level of Safety Should FAA Target? We will discuss whether 
the FAA should regulate to one or multiple levels of space flight 
safety, what level or levels of safety the FAA should attempt to 
achieve, and whether the level or levels of safety should be 
quantified. We will also discuss what level of care, short of a 
fatality, the FAA should be concerned with.
    (2) What Should FAA Oversight Look Like? Aircraft-like 
certification is not feasible at this time, due to current technology 
and the FAA's statutory mandate only to pursue minimal regulations that 
take into consideration the evolving standards of safety in the 
commercial space flight industry. 51 U.S.C. 50905(c)(3). We will 
discuss what a licensing process should look like in terms of FAA 
oversight, whether such oversight could or should be called a 
``certification,'' and for how long informed consent should remain in 
effect.
    (3) What Types of Requirements and Associated Guidance Material 
Should FAA Develop? In general, the FAA favors space transportation 
regulations that are performance or process based. We will discuss the 
level of empirical or analytical data necessary to justify any 
performance-based human space flight regulation, the possible use of 
Advisory Circulars to add clarity to regulations, and what place 
government and industry standards should have in FAA licensing.
    Interested members of the public may submit relevant written 
statements for the COMSTAC working group members to consider under the 
advisory process. Statements may concern the issues and agenda items 
mentioned above or additional issues that may be relevant for the U.S. 
commercial space transportation industry. Interested parties wishing to 
submit written statements should contact Susan Lender, DFO, (the 
Contact Person listed below) in writing (mail or email) by August 7, 
2012, for the August 14 teleconference, September 11, 2012, for the 
September 18 teleconference, and October 16, 2012, for the October 23 
teleconference. This way the information can be made available to 
COMSTAC members for their review and consideration before each 
teleconference. Written statements should be supplied in the following 
formats: one hard copy with original signature or one electronic copy 
via email. The FAA may schedule up to 10 more teleconferences in the 
coming months to allow the U.S. commercial space transportation 
industry to share views with the FAA on a number of specific topics 
related to commercial human space flight safety.
    An agenda will be posted on the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov/go/ast.
    Individuals who plan to participate and need special assistance 
should inform the Contact Person listed below in advance of the 
meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Lender (AST-5), Office of 
Commercial Space Transportation (AST), 800 Independence Avenue SW., 
Room 331, Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-8029; Email 
susan.lender@faa.gov. Complete information regarding COMSTAC is 
available on the FAA Web site at: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/advisory_committee/.

    Issued in Washington, DC, July 23, 2012.
George C. Nield,
Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2012-18555 Filed 7-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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