Source: https://www.federalregister.com/Browse/Document/usa/na/fr/2003/10/20/03-26373
Timestamp: 2020-02-25 05:49:53
Document Index: 241748541

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 400', 'art 431', 'art 101', 'art 101', 'art 415', 'art 431', 'arts 21', 'art 431', 'art 431']

68 FR 202 pgs. 59977-59980 - Commercial Space Transportation; Suborbital Rocket Launch
Type: NOTICEVolume: 68Number: 202Pages: 59977 - 59980
FR document: [FR Doc. 03-26373 Filed 10-15-03; 4:42 pm]
The FAA licenses launches of expendable and reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), including suborbital rockets, under regulations found in 14 CFR Ch. III, parts 400-450. The FAA is issuing this Notice to clarify the applicability of FAA licensing requirements to suborbital rocket launches, in general, and suborbital RLVs, in particular so that a vehicle operator can determine, in advance of consultation with the FAA, whether it must obtain a launch license. Some suborbital RLVs currently under development use traditional aviation technology and components, including wings, for lift and glide capability, as well as rocket propulsion for thrust to maintain their trajectory. These vehicles may be termed "hybrid" in nature, because a single vehicle system uses aviation and aerospace technology during different portions of flight. This Notice advises an operator of a hybrid suborbital RLV that a proposed mission may require other FAA flight authorization, specifically an experimental airworthiness certificate (EAC), as a condition of a launch license, to operate in the National Airspace System (NAS).
When the CSLA was enacted in 1984, only expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) and sounding rockets were available for private sector use, along with certain ballistic missiles adapted for commercial applications. A report prepared by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation accompanying passage of the CSLA recognized that vehicle and space-related technologies would continue to evolve with commercialization of space access and assets and that the regulatory program would have to adapt. The Committee "recognizes that additional requirements may be necessary to meet the requirements and consideration of future launch technologies and activities and new classes payloads that presently do not exist." S. Rept. 98-656, "Commercial Space Launches, 98th Cong., 2d Sess., at pp. 11-12.
The Committee's observations in 1984 were borne out by the development of reentry capability for commercial use in the 1990s. Increasing emphasis on efficient and lower cost space access, combined with reentry capability, prompted a range of new launch vehicle concepts that would be fully or partially reusable. This new type of launch vehicle became known as a reusable launch vehicle or RLV, in contrast to conventional one-time use expendable launch vehicles or ELVs. In 1998, Congress amended the CSLA by adding reentry licensing authority for reentry vehicles, including RLVs. "to establish the appropriate legal framework to ensure public safety is protected while minimizing regulatory burden, delay or uncertainty that could inhibit commercial exploitation of reentry capabilities." H. Rep. 105-347, "Commercial Space Act of 1997," 105th Cong., 1st Sess., at p. 21. Reentry licensing would authorize the purposeful return of a reentry vehicle and any payload from Earth orbit or outer space to Earth. A reentry vehicle is one that is designed to return from Earth orbit or outer space to Earth substantially intact.
The FAA promptly issued licensing regulations to implement its newly added statutory authority over reentry activity and RLV missions in general. The FAA covered suborbitally operated RLVs in its rulemaking. Under the licensing requirements for RLV missions, a suborbitally operated RLV may follow either a ballistic or maneuverable trajectory. The FAA explained in its rulemaking a proposal that a "suborbital trajectory is a flight path that is not closed, whereas an orbit is a closed path. A suborbital trajectory may be ballistic, that is, acted on only by atmospheric drag and gravity, or it can be controlled by external forces and therefore maneuverable." See 64 FR 19626-19666, April 21, 1999, at p. 19630, fn. 1. The FAA proposed, and codified, a uniform measure of public safety risk for an RLV that is launched and subsequently returns from Earth orbit and one that is launched and operates in suborbital fashion, where maneuvered in its return trajectory or returning through ballistic flight. The final RLV mission licensing rule (14 CFR part 431), issued September 19, 2000, clarified that all RLV missions, whether orbital (consisting of launch and reentry) or suborbital (launch and intact landing) are covered by the rule although only those RLVs that return to Earth from outer space or Earth orbit may be considered to "reenter" under the statutory definition of "reenter; reentry." See "Final Rule, Commercial Space Transportation Reusable Launch Vehicle and Reentry Licensing Regulations," 65 FR 56618-56667, September 19, 2000.
Despite the efficient development of a comprehensive regulatory regime for RLVs, vehicle development slowed in the late 1990s, with the downturn in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite market. Recently, though, mounting demand for space tourism services has prompted renewed interest in commercial RLV possibilities. To spur entrepreneurial competition and development, the X-Prize Foundation promises a $10 million purse for the first qualifying contestant to successfully conduct two piloted flights of a privately financed and built vehicle, within a two-week timeframe, to a minimum altitude of 100 kilometers. Ultimately, RLV technology may provide trans-atmospheric high-speed flight around the globe, for rapid international travel.
The Secretary of Transportation has authority to differentiate between civil aviation and launch of a launch vehicle, including a suborbital rocket. Authority under the CSLA to license suborbital rocket launches and other commercial space transportation activities was delegated to the FAA Administrator in 1995.1Licensing authority is exercised by AST, under a delegation from the FAA Administrator. Safety of air commerce and the National Airspace System (NAS) is regulated under separate statutory authority provided in 49 U.S.C. Subtitle VII, Part A, "Air Commerce and Safety."
1 Certain small-scale unmanned rocket launches have traditionally been subject to FAA flight authorization under 14 CFR part 101, and are not subject to licensing under the CSLA. FAA authority over those small recreational and hobby rockets was not affected by enactment of the CSLA, nor was delegation of CSLA licensing authority to the FAA Administrator intended to place launch vehicle licensing under 14 CFR part 101 or aircraft certification regulations.
A license under the CSLA is required to launch a suborbital rocket. The CSLA defines a "launch vehicle" to mean a vehicle built to operate in, or place a payload in, outer space, and a suborbital rocket. "Launch" means to place or try to place a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle and any payload from Earth-in a suborbital trajectory; in Earth orbit in outer space, or otherwise in outer space. 49 U.S.C. 70102. for a suborbital rocket, "launch" under the CSLA means placing a suborbital rocket on a suborbital trajectory.
This Notice informs the public of the criteria used by the FAA to differentiate civil aircraft subject to aircraft certification and operating standards for flight in airspace from a suborbital rocket launch subject to licensing under the CSLA. The FAA considers use of rocket propulsion for thrust, as opposed to wing-generated lift, in determining whether a vehicle that flies through airspace is a suborbital rocket under the CSLA, or an aircraft. Quite simply, a vehicle that relies principally upon rocket-propelled thrust to maintain its intended flight trajectory during powered flight is a launch vehicle, or rocket, subject to licensing under the CSLA unless exempt. A vehicle that relies chiefly upon lift generated by its wings in maintaining its intended course during powered flight is an aircraft subject to regulation under the Federal Aviation Regulations. A rocket-propelled civil aircraft that relies upon wing-borne lift for the majority of its powered flight is not a suborbital rocket requiring a license for operation. The "E-Z Rocket," flown by X-COR, is an example of a rocket-propelled aircraft.
The FAA rulemaking regarding RLV missions, concluded in 2000, addressed "suborbital trajectory" in the context of RLVs. The FAA regards a suborbital trajectory as the intentional flight path, or any portion of that flight path, of a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle, whose vacuum instantaneous impact point (IIP) does not leave the surface of the earth. The IIP of a launch vehicle is the projected impact point on Earth where the vehicle would land if its engines stop or where vehicle debris, in the event of failure and break-up, would land. The notion of a "vacuum" IIP reflects the absence of atmospheric effects in performing the IIP calculation. If the vacuum IIP never leaves the Earth's surface, the vehicle would not achieve Earth orbit and would therefore be on a suborbital trajectory.
The FAA has an established regulatory framework governing launches of suborbital rockets, both expendable and reusable. Suborbital ELVs are regulated under license requirements contained in 14 CFR part 415.2Suborbital RLVs, including those that employ traditional aviation characteristics, such as wings and landing gear, are regulated under RLV mission licensing requirements contained in 14 CFR part 431.
2 AN FAA rulemaking is pending that would revise licensing and safety requirements for licensed ELV launches, including suborbital ELVs. See Docket No. FAA-2000, accessible through the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket Management System (DMS), for the most current rulemaking proposal and public comments. You can access the DMS using the following Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.
Certain suborbital RLVs, described in this Notice as "hybrid," that employ aviation characteristics are also regulated under FAA aircraft regulations. Where operation of a launch vehicle includes operation of a civil aircraft for any portion of flight, an EAC may be required, in addition to a launch license, in order to obtain complete flight authorization for operation in the national airspace system. Where appropriate, obtaining and complying with an EAC under 14 CFR parts 21 and 91, with special operating conditions, would be made a condition of a suborbital RLV mission license. During pre-license application consultation, AST will refer an applicant proposing a hybrid suborbital RLV mission to the FAA's Aircraft Certification Service and Flight Standards Service to obtain the required certificate if the applicant has not already done so.
AST has issued an advisory circular (AC) regarding test flight launch licensing to illustrate acceptable means of satisfying safety requirements of 14 CFR part 431. Test flights may be a desirable means of validating performance capabilities of a new vehicle under increasingly demanding flight parameters. AC 431.35-3, "Licensing Test Flight RLV Missions," issued August 2002, explains how a license applicant can streamline its submissions under the safety requirements of part 431, when seeking authorization to conduct a series of suborbital RLV test flights that are subject to licensing under the CSLA.
Not all test flights will require licensing under the CSLA. A license will be required only for those vehicles that operate as a suborbital rocket and that are launched. In addition, the Commercial Space Transportation Licensing Regulations exempt from licensing certain low-powered rocket launches known as "amateur rocket activities." Test flights of a hybrid suborbital RLV that fit the definition of "amateur rocket activities" are not licensed by the FAA, although an EAC may be required. The term, "amateur rocket activities," is defined in 14 CFR 401.5. It means launch activities conducted at private sites that satisfy all three of the following characteristics:
• Powered by a motor(s) having a total impulse of 200,000 pound-seconds or less;
• Total burning or operating time of less than 15 seconds; and
• A ballistic coefficient- i.e., gross weight in pounds divided by frontal area of rocket vehicle-less than 12 pounds per square inch.