What Is An Experimental Permit?

An experimental permit is an authorization issued 

by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 

allow an experimental reusable suborbital rocket 

to launch or reenter. A permit is an alternative 

to licensing. A permit is valid for a one-year 

renewable term and allows a permittee to conduct an unlimited number of launches 

and reentries for a particular suborbital rocket design during that time.

How Was The Experimental Permit Created?

On December 23,2004, President Bush signed into 

law the Commercial Space Launch Amendments 

Act of2004 (CSLAA). The CSLAA established an 

experimental permit regime for experimental 

reusable suborbital rockets. The FAA published 

experimental permit regulations, 14 CFR part 437, on April 6, 2007. The new regime 

makes it easier for the industry to test new types of reusable suborbital rockets. The 

FAA can grant experimental permits more quickly and with fewer requirements than 

licenses. The table below describes several differences that the CSLAA carved out 

between licenses and permits. 

Statutory Differences Between A License And An Experimental Permit

Review Period 

Compensation or 

Hire 

Indemnification

Transferability 

Experimental Permit

FAA has a maximum of 120 days 

to review a permit application 

Carrying any property or human 

being for compensation or hire is 

prohibited under a permit

Permitted launches are not 

eligible for indemnification

Permits are not transferable

RLV Mission License

FAA has a maximum of 180 days 

to review a license application

Revenue generating launches 

are allowed under a license

Licensed launches are eligible 

for government indemnification 

for 3rd party liability greater 

than required financial

responsibility

Licenses are transferable

Suborbital Rocket means a vehicle, 

rocket-propelled in whole or in part, 

intended for flight on a suborbital 

trajectory, and the thrust of which is 

greater than its lift for the majority of 

the rocket-powered portion of ascent.

Did you know that the experimental permit regime was modeled 

on the special airworthiness 

certifi-cates granted to 

experimental aircraft?


Who Is Eligible For An Experimental Permit?

The FAA will issue an experimental permit only for:

Research and development to test new reusable suborbital rocket design concepts, new 

equipment, or new operating techniques,

Showing compliance with requirements to obtain a license, or

Crew training before obtaining a license.

How Long Does It Take To Get An Experimental 

Permit?

The FAA review period for an experimental permit is 120 days. Complying with 

the financial responsibility regulations takes an additional 30 days, so applicants 

should submit a complete enough application 150 days before their first launch. In 

addition, an applicant must allow time for pre-application consultation.

What Is The Experimental 

Permit Safety Strategy?

The safety strategy for experimental permits 

consists of three elements explained in the 

following sections: 

1. A Hazard Analysis

2. Operating Area Containment

3. Abiding by Operating Requirements

Experimental Permit Process Timeline

Pre-application consultation (submit draft application)

Submit complete enough permit application 

Start of 120-day review period

Permit issuance

Submit proof of financial responsibility

First launch

L-150+ days

L-150 days

L-150 days

L-30 days

L-30 days

L-0 days


What Is A Hazard Analysis?

A hazard analysis identifies and eliminates 

hazards and reduces the associated risk to the 

public. Typical elements of a hazard analysis 

include:

1. Identifying and describing hazards,

2. Assessing risk using qualitative severity and likelihood levels,

3. Identifying and describing risk elimination and mitigation measures to reduce the risk to 

acceptable levels, and

4. Demonstrating that the risk elimination and mitigation measures are correct, complete, 

and achieve an acceptable reduction in risk through validation and verification.

As part of the required hazard analysis, a 

permit applicant must use risk elimination 

and mitigation measures necessary to ensure 

that the likelihood and consequence of each 

hazard meets the following criteria: 

1. The likelihood of any hazard that may cause death or serious injury to the public must be 

“extremely remote.”

2. The likelihood of any hazard must be “remote” if 

it may cause

Major property damage to the public,

Major safety-critical system damage or 

reduced capability,

A significant reduction in safety margins, or 

Significant increase in crew workload.

Because the hazard analysis is an integral part of the permit process, the FAA 

developed an advisory circular to provide further guidance to applicants, AC 437.55-

1, Hazard Analysis for the Launch or Reentry of a Reusable Suborbital Rocket Under 

an Experimental Permit.

A hazard is an activity or 

condition that poses a threat 

to persons or property.

Risk means a measure that 

accounts for both the probability 

of occurrence of a hazardous event 

and the consequence of that event 

to persons or property.

A hazard analysis is one of several 

components of the system safety 

process required for a license.


What Is An Operating Area?

An operating area is a three-dimensional region proposed by a permit applicant 

where permitted flights can take place. The FAA will approve an operating area 

based on the following criteria:

Must be large enough to contain each planned trajectory 

and all expected vehicle dispersions,

Must contain enough unpopulated or sparsely populated 

area to perform key flight-safety events,

May not contain or be adjacent to a densely populated area or large concentrations of members 

of the public, and

May not contain or be adjacent to significant automobile traffic, railway traffic, or waterborne 

vessel traffic.

What Is Operating Area Containment?

The FAA requires an applicant to demonstrate, at a minimum, either that there are 

physical limits on the ability of the reusable suborbital rocket to leave the operating 

area, or that the operator will use abort procedures and other safety measures derived 

from a system safety engineering process to 

contain the instantaneous impact point (IIP). The 

FAA requires a permittee to operate its reusable 

suborbital rocket such that its IIP remains within 

an operating area and outside any FAA designated 

exclusion areas. 

An instantaneous impact point 

means an impact point, following 

thrust termination, of a launch 

vehicle, calculated in the absence 

of atmospheric drag effects.

Key flight-safety event means a 

permitted flight activity that has 

an increased likelihood of causing 

a launch accident compared with 

other portions of flight.


What Operating Requirements Must A Permittee 

Abide By?

The operating requirements with which a permittee must comply while conducting 

permitted activities are outlined below.

Follow rest rules for vehicle safety operations personnel.

Establish safety clear zones during pre-flight and post-flight hazardous operations.

Implement safety requirements derived from the hazard analysis. 

Maintain validity of the hazard analysis based on experience.

Contain vehicle IIP within an operating area and outside any exclusion area.

Conduct all key flight-safety events over unpopulated or sparsely populated areas.

Use appropriately sized landing locations that are cleared of the public.

Comply with agreements with the launch site, Air Traffic, and any other party providing access 

to or use of property and services required to support the launch or reentry.

Perform a collision avoidance analyses for launches with altitudes greater than 150 kilometers.

Provide real time tracking of vehicle position and velocity.

Maintain communications with Air Traffic Control during all phases of flight.

Record any communications affecting the safety of the flight.

Confirm the operation of all systems and operations necessary to ensure that safety measures 

are within acceptable limits before initiating launch.

Abort the launch if it would endanger the public.

Prevent careless or reckless operations. 

Record and report anomalies.

Report, respond to, and investigate any mishaps.

Abide by any additional requirement the FAA believes 

is necessary to protect public safety.

Anomaly means a problem that 

occurs during verification or 

operation of a system, subsystem, 

process, facility, or support 

equipment.


What Other Regulations Apply To A Permit 

Applicant?

Other regulations may apply to permitted operations including: 

Application Procedures – An applicant must use the procedures in part 413 to apply for an 

experimental permit.

Environmental - An applicant must provide enough information for the FAA to analyze the 

environmental impacts associated with proposed reusable suborbital rocket launches or 

reentries, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Financial Responsibility – During the application process, an applicant must provide the 

information required by part 3 of appendix A of part 440 for the FAA to conduct a maximum 

probable loss (MPL) analysis. After permit issuance, a permittee must demonstrate compliance 

with part 440 by showing evidence of financial responsibility.

Human Space Flight - An applicant proposing launch or reentry with flight crew or a space 

flight participant on board a reusable suborbital rocket must demonstrate compliance with part 

460.

National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) 

Part 413 Application 

Procedures 

Part 437:

• Subpart A – General Information

• Subpart B – Requirements to Obtain an

Experimental Permit

• Subpart C – Safety Requirements

• Subpart D – Terms and Conditions of an

Experimental Permit 

Part 440 

Financial

Responsibility

Part 460 

Human

Spaceflight


What is Maximum Probable Loss?

The FAA requires financial responsibility for 

losses to the US government and third parties 

resulting from a permitted activity based on 

a maximum probable loss (MPL) analysis. 

Maximum probable loss is the greatest dollar 

amount of loss for bodily injury or property 

damage that is reasonably expected to result 

from a permitted activity. The table below 

summarizes all of the MPL determinations we 

have issued for experimental permits.

Maximum Probable Loss Determinations For Permits

Company Vehicle

Blue Origin PM-1

Armadillo MOD

Armadillo MOD

Armadillo MOD 

Armadillo QUAD

Armadillo QUAD

Armadillo QUAD

Armadillo QUAD

Operating Area

West Texas

Oklahoma

Holloman AFB without 

concurrent operations

Holloman AFB with concurrent 

operations

Las Cruces Int’l Airport

Oklahoma

Holloman AFB without 

concurrent operations

Holloman AFB with concurrent 

operations

US Gov Property

$0

$0

$1.5M

$1.5M

$0.5M

$0

$1.5M

$1.5M

Third Party

$3M

$3M

$3M

$6M

$9M

$3M

$3M

$6M


What Activities Are Authorized Under An 

Experimental Permit?

Launch and reentry activities are authorized under the experimental permit. Our 

regulations define launch to include the flight of a launch vehicle and pre- and postflight ground operations as follows.

Launch begins when any pre-flight ground operation at a U.S. launch site meets all of the 

following criteria:

Is closely proximate in time to flight,

Entails critical steps preparatory to initiating flight,

Is unique to space launch, and

Is inherently so hazardous as to warrant the FAA’s regulatory oversight.

Launch ends after reaching apogee if the flight includes a reentry, or otherwise after vehicle 

landing or impact on Earth, and after activities necessary to return the vehicle to a safe condition 

on the ground. 

How Many Experimental Permits Have Been 

Issued?

We have issued four experimental permits as shown in the table below.

Visit our website for the most up to date information on what permits have been 

issued: http://ast.faa.gov >> Launch Data & Vehicles>> Active Permits

Experimental Permits Issued

Company Vehicle

Blue Origin PM-1

Armadillo QUAD

Armadillo QUAD

Armadillo MOD

Permit

EP06-001

EP06-002

EP07-003

EP07-004

Issued

9/15/06

10/17/06

2/27/07

10/18/07

Effective

10/2/06

10/18/06

3/1/07

10/18/07

Expiration

10/2/07

10/21/06

3/1/08

10/18/08


How Many Permitted Launches Have There Been?

As of May 2008, FAA has overseen fifteen permitted launches as shown in the table 

below.

Visit our website for the most recent data on number of permitted launches:

http://ast.faa.gov >> Launch Data & Vehicles>> Recently Completed & Historical 

Launch Data

Historical Permitted Launches

#

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Date

10/19/06

10/20/06

10/21/06

10/21/06

10/21/06

11/13/06

3/22/07

4/19/07

6/2/07

6/2/07

10/20/07

10/27/07

10/27/07

10/28/07

10/28/07

Vehicle

Pixel

Pixel

Pixel

Pixel

Pixel

PM-1

PM-1

PM-1

Pixel

Pixel

MOD-1

MOD-1

MOD-1

MOD-1

MOD-1

Company

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Blue Origin

Blue Origin

Blue Origin

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace

Site

Las Cruces Int’l Airport

Las Cruces Int’l Airport

Las Cruces Int’l Airport

Las Cruces Int’l Airport

Las Cruces Int’l Airport

West Texas Site

West Texas Site

West Texas Site

Oklahoma Spaceport

Oklahoma Spaceport

Oklahoma Spaceport

Holloman Air Force Base

Holloman Air Force Base

Holloman Air Force Base

Holloman Air Force Base
1

How Do You Apply for An Experimental Permit?

Before applying for a permit, a prospective applicant must consult with the FAA. 

This process allows a prospective applicant to familiarize the FAA with the proposed 

vehicle and operations and the prospective applicant to become familiar with the 

FAA’s application process and information requirements. Early consultation helps an 

applicant identify possible regulatory issues at the planning stage when changes to 

an application or to proposed activity are less likely to result in significant delay or 

costs to the applicant. To begin pre-application consultation, contact the AST-100, 

Space Systems Development Division Manager (http://ast.faa.gov >>Contact Us).

The FAA has developed a number of tools to help you prepare your application 

including:

Sample Format

Sample Application

Hazard Analysis Advisory 

Circular

Anomaly Reporting 

Advisory Circular

Workshop Materials

Experimental Permit 

Checklist

Helps you organize your application, ensures all application 

requirements are addressed, and facilitates a faster FAA 

review

Provides an example of a permit application

Provides guidance for applying a systematic and logical 

hazard analysis to the identification, analysis, and control 

of public safety hazards and risks associated with the 

launch and reentry of a reusable suborbital rocket under an 

experimental permit

Provides guidance for reporting anomalies under an

experimental permit

Materials from an FAA workshop on the Experimental 

Permit

Ensures that you have addressed all of the applicable

regulations
What Are The Challenges The FAA Faces With 

Experimental Permits?

There are a number of challenges facing the FAA with respect to issuing experimental 

permits. The table below summarizes the most pressing issues we are currently 

working to resolve.

Allowable Changes vs. 

Application Modifications

Methodology for

Determining MPL

Safety Clear Zones

Operating Areas

Buffer Zones

Regression and Software 

Testing

1st party vs. 3rd party

The FAA identifies in an experimental permit the type of changes a permittee 

may make to a reusable suborbital rocket design without invalidating the 

permit. This is intended to reduce the burden of applying for and evaluating 

requests for permit modifications. The proper scope of allowable design 

changes is, however, difficult to establish.

Before establishing the experimental permit, the FAA’s MPL methodology was 

based on probabilistic risk assessments. The reduced application requirements 

of a permit combined with the developmental nature of experimental vehicles 

is forcing the FAA to explore alternative methods.

The FAA requires a permittee to establish a safety clear zone and verify that the 

public is outside that zone before and during any hazardous operation.

Determining the appropriate size of a safety clear zone, as well as when a 

safety clear zone is necessary is sometimes difficult to determine.

Although not required, many permit applicants propose a minimum-size 

operating area. Determining whether such an operating area is large enough 

to contain a vehicle’s instantaneous impact point can be challenging, 

particularly when the uncertainty of input parameters is considered.

An operating area may not be adjacent to a densely populated area or large 

concentrations of members of the public. An operating area may also not be 

adjacent to significant automobile traffic, railway traffic, or waterborne 

vessel traffic. Accordingly, the FAA may establish a buffer zone around an 

operating area to protect densely populated areas and significant automobile, 

railway, or waterborne vessel traffic. The FAA is currently developing 

procedures for determining appropriate buffer zones. 

In its hazard analysis, a permit applicant must identify and describe hazards, 

including those that result from software errors. Software is often used to 

mitigate risks to acceptable levels. The FAA is currently developing guidance on 

the scope and depth of what an applicant must do to demonstrate the 

adequacy of software in its permit application.

FAA licensing and permitting is designed to protect public safety, not launch 

participants. Historically, discriminating members of the public from personnel 

involved with a launch was relatively straightforward. However, the

entrepreneurial nature of many permit applicants, as well as the advent of the 

“rocket show,” complicates this determination. 
Photographic Credits

Virgin Galactic Armadillo Aerospace

XCOR Aerospace Blue Origin Armadillo 

Aerospace

For more information,

See the FAA Experimental Permit Webpage:

http://ast.faa.gov >> Licenses & Permits >> Experimental Permits

Michelle Murray

Experimental Permit Program Lead

Michelle.Murray@faa.gov

(202)267-7892