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handle is hein.crs/goveeps0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service 0 October 1, 2021 Commercial Human Spaceflight Recent commercial flights to space by wealthy businesspeople and other private individuals have attracted interest both in Congress and among the general public. This In Focus summarizes current capabilities and plans for commercial human spaceflight, explains how it is regulated and licensed, defines some commonly used terminology, and discusses selected policy issues that may be of interest to Congress. Capabilities and Plans The first nongovernmental flight to carry a human into space took place in 2004. An experimental rocketplane called SpaceShipOne, launched from beneath a carrier aircraft, briefly reached an altitude just above 100 kilometers (62 miles), which is one common definition of the boundary of space. SpaceShipOne, developed by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, made two additional suborbital flights later in 2004 but was then retired. In 2020, SpaceX became the first company to launch humans into Earth orbit, using its Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Crew Dragon's first non-NASA mission, a three-day flight carrying four private individuals, took place in September 2021 (see Figure 1). SpaceX is also developing a larger spacecraft called Starship for future human flights to Earth orbit and beyond. In December 2018, Virgin Galactic flew an aircraft- launched rocketplane called SpaceShipTwo, carrying a crew of two, to an altitude just above 50 miles (80 kilometers), another definition sometimes used for the boundary of space. In July 2021, a subsequent flight of SpaceShipTwo drew public attention because it carried, among others, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson. The anticipated future market for SpaceShipTwo is space tourism. Also in July 2021, Blue Origin flew its New Shepard spacecraft to an altitude just above 100 kilometers, carrying, among others, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. Like SpaceShipTwo, New Shepard's anticipated future market is space tourism. As a competitor to SpaceX's Crew Dragon, Boeing is developing the Starliner spacecraft, to be launched into orbit atop an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance. The first crewed demonstration flight of Starliner is anticipated in 2022, under contract to NASA. Regulation and Licensing In the United States, commercial space launch and reentry-whether carrying humans or just cargo-are regulated and licensed by the Department of Transportation, via the Office of Commercial Space Transportation in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These functions are authorized by the Commercial Space Launch Act (P.L. 98-575), as amended (51 U.S.C. Chapter 509). Implementing regulations are at 14 C.F.R. Chapter III. Commercial space launch operators must obtain a license from the FAA. There is no fee for this. Most of the requirements for obtaining a launch license are similar, whether or not the planned launch will carry humans. In most cases, the FAA is explicitly prohibited from issuing regulations to protect the health and safety of humans aboard commercial spacecraft. That prohibition, which the law describes as a learning period, was intended to avoid burdening a nascent industry. The learning period was initially scheduled to expire in 2012. It has been extended several times, most recently to October 1, 2023. In lieu of FAA regulations for occupant safety, the Commercial Space Launch Act takes an informed consent approach. Operators must notify spaceflight participants (i.e., occupants who are neither government astronauts nor crew employed by the operator) about the risks of launch and reentry and inform them in writing that the U.S. government has not certified their spacecraft as safe. Participants must then provide written informed consent. In anticipation of the end of the learning period, the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (P.L. 114- 90) directed the FAA to facilitate the development of voluntary industry consensus standards to improve human occupant safety; report to Congress on the progress of those standards; and by December 31, 2022, report on its assessment of the industry's readiness to transition to a safety framework that may include FAA regulations. ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt

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