Apr 6 2007
From The Space Library
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a final rule, effective 5 June 2007, governing experimental permits for launching reusable suborbital rockets for space tourism. Under the rules, which the U.S. Congress had mandated in the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 (Pub. L. No. 108-492), a single experimental permit would cover multiple vehicles of a particular design and allow an unlimited number of launches. The FAA would identify the type of design changes that it would permit the licensed launch company to make without invalidating the permit; renew the one-year permit after conducting a review; prohibit companies conducting test flights covered by an experimental permit to carry passengers for compensation or hire; establish criteria for the physical area in which a company could operate a vehicle with an experimental permit; and require a vehicle developer applying for a permit to provide a program description, flight-test plan, and operational-safety documentation.
Rob Coppinger, “Space Tourism Vehicle Flight Test Rules Published by FAA,” Flightglobal.com, 9 April 2007, http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/04/09/213108/space-tourism-vehicle-flight-test-rules-published-byfaa.html (accessed 2 March 2010); “Experimental Permits for Reusable Suborbital Rockets,” 72 Fed. Reg. 17,001 (6 April 2007).
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