[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29853-29855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10586]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing

[[Page 29854]]

information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on February 8, 2022 and February 18, 2022 (correction) during 
a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days 
for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0174.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (revision and extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 100.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 hours for the submission of a 
license application; 1 hour each for the submission of a license 
amendment, notification of disposal of on-orbit component, notification 
of detection of anomaly, and notification of financial insolvency or 
dissolution; 2 hours each for notification of launch or deployment of 
spacecraft and the annual compliance certification; 20 minutes for the 
Initial Contact Form; 10 minutes for the Data Availability 
Notification; and 15 minutes for the Licensee Notification Form.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 388.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of an 
approved information collection.
    The Department of Commerce (DOC), through the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory 
Affairs (CRSRA), has the authority to regulate private space-based 
remote sensing under the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, 51 
U.S.C. 60101 et seq. (the Act) and regulations at 15 CFR part 960. The 
regulations facilitate the development of the U.S. private remote 
sensing industry and thus promote the collection and widespread 
availability of remote sensing data, while preserving essential U.S. 
national security interests and observing international obligations.
    Applications are made in response to the requirements in the Act, 
as amended, and NOAA sends applicants an Application Guide, which walks 
the applicant through the application questions and criteria listed in 
Appendix A to 15 CFR part 960. The application information received is 
used to determine if the applicant meets the legal criteria for 
issuance of a license to operate a private remote sensing space system, 
i.e., the proposed system will be operated in accordance with the Act, 
U.S. national security concerns and international obligations. 
Application information includes information about the applicant (such 
as corporate information), the launch dates of any components going to 
space, and technical specifications of all components (especially the 
components in space that are capable of collecting imagery data).
    If a licensee wishes to modify its license, either to reflect 
changes in its business practices or technical changes to its system, 
or to request different license conditions, it may submit such a 
request to CRSRA and explain why the change is sought. CRSRA needs this 
information to be able to keep licenses accurate and to respond to the 
regulated community's needs.
    Licensees are required to notify CRSRA when a spacecraft launches 
or deploys; upon disposal of an on-orbit component of the licensed 
system; upon detection of an anomaly; and upon the licensee's financial 
insolvency or dissolution. This information is critical to fulfilling 
one of the United States' key international obligations, which is to 
authorize and continually supervise U.S. nationals' activities in 
space. CRSRA, therefore, must be notified when spacecraft are deployed 
and disposed of so that CRSRA can supervise the space activities of 
U.S. nationals. Similarly, anomalies may indicate loss of control of a 
spacecraft, so CRSRA must monitor any anomalies to meaningfully 
supervise the activities of U.S. nationals in space. Finally, the 
financial insolvency or dissolution of a licensee may indicate that a 
change in control of the spacecraft will follow, because an insolvent 
licensee may go through a bankruptcy process that might put the 
licensed system's ownership in question. It is critical that CRSRA be 
able to intervene as early as possible in this process so that a 
sensitive system does not pass into the ownership of an entity who 
might jeopardize national security or international obligations.
    CRSRA will require licensees to submit an annual compliance 
certification, which requires the licensee to verify that all facts in 
the license remain true. Facts that must be verified in this 
certification include the technical specifications of the system and 
other foundational facts that CRSRA relies upon in reviewing license 
applications. This information is critical to ensuring that only those 
entities who are legally fit to obtain a license do so.
    NOAA is proposing to add three additional forms to this information 
collection. The optional information is being collected to reduce the 
total paperwork required to support regulation of the private space-
based remote sensing industry, which involves (1) determining whether 
an applicant is required to apply for a license; (2) comparing the 
capabilities of remote sensing systems to other foreign and domestic 
remote sensing systems; and (3) recording important events in the 
lifecycle of licensed systems.
    The optional Initial Contact Form (ICF) information includes 
contact information and general remote sensing system information. The 
ICF may be submitted electronically through the NOAA website prior to 
the submission of a full application. The ICF information received is 
used to determine if the applicant is required to submit a full 
application for the issuance of a license to operate a private remote 
sensing space system i.e., the proposed system falls under the 
authority defined in the Act and the regulations. If NOAA determines 
after reviewing the ICF that an application is not required, the 
potential applicant will save 40-50 hours of paperwork by not 
submitting the application. Additionally, the ICF gives NOAA the 
opportunity to provide early feedback and guidance on an application 
package, lowering the likelihood of time-consuming rewrites and edits 
to an application before it can be deemed complete. Therefore, the ICF 
can save significant time for industry and private entities, as well as 
government time.
    The optional Data Availability Notification (DAN) information 
includes contact information and general data availability information. 
The DAN may be submitted electronically through the NOAA website during 
the application process, while an applicant holds a license, or by any 
interested party. The DAN information received is used to help 
determine the availability of unenhanced data from a foreign or 
domestic remote sensing system, which may then be compared to 
unenhanced data produced by an applicant's system for the purpose of 
adjusting the conditions and/or restrictions in a license. The DAN form 
ensures that only required information is submitted, thereby reducing 
unnecessary paperwork and/or follow-up correspondence.
    The optional Licensee Notification Form (LNF) information is not a 
new information collection, but is instead an optional form that 
streamlines the reporting of the four Notifications described above. 
The LNF form includes contact information and the option to report one 
of four types of events, including (1) the launch or deployment of a 
system component; (2) the disposal of a system component; (3) the 
detection

[[Page 29855]]

of an anomaly in a system; and (4) the financial insolvency of the 
licensee. The existing IC already allows for the collection of this 
information, the collection of which is required by statute and 
regulations. The LNF will ease the burden on licensees when reporting 
this already-required information. The LNF may be submitted 
electronically through the NOAA website throughout the term of a 
license. The LNF information received is used to record events in the 
lifecycle of the system and to help determine if modifications to a 
license are required. The LNF ensures that only required information is 
submitted, thereby reducing unnecessary paperwork and/or follow-up 
correspondence.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Once per year.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, 51 U.S.C. 
60101 et seq; and 15 CFR part 960--Licensing of Private Remote Sensing 
Space Systems.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0174.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-10586 Filed 5-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HR-P