NASA is commonly thought of as the federal space agency, but President Trump is prepping another agency to be launched into a major role outside of the earth’s atmosphere: The Commerce Department.
In a series of “space policy directives,” Trump is consolidating most of the federal authority that deals with private, commercial space use under the umbrella of Commerce to ensure that the U.S. remains the leader in the commercialization of space.
For now, the main duty of the Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise (SPACE) Administration will be that of a traffic cop to deal with the more than 800 functioning satellites and 20,000 pieces of debris in orbit around the earth. But the office is expected to have authority over every private-sector space activity that crops up, including mining, salvage and commercial passenger flight.
The new agency is part of a broader push by the administration to focus on space. Trump also has proposed creating a sixth “Space Force” branch of the military. ” When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space,” Trump said last week.
It’s a move that has been called long overdue by the growing commercial space industry.
“The level of attention this administration has had for commercial space interests is unlike anything we have seen … It’s really going to promote this industry,” Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, a trade association, told the Washington Examiner.
The administration views the move as a crucial opportunity for the U.S. to remain dominant in the field. “To remain the flag of choice for commercial space activity, it is imperative that the United States lead this effort and enhance U.S.-based space activities,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote in an op-ed last week in the Washington Post. Ross said the administration envisions “journeys to Mars, asteroid mining and space tourism.”
The move is similar to President George W. Bush’s creation of the Department of Homeland Security, except the new Space Administration will be purely regulatory.
The Trump administration has made clear that it intends to have a light regulatory touch, though. “We are the friend-of-business agency. We work hand in hand with multiple industry sectors. And Commerce fully understands the value of public-private collaboration,” Ross wrote.
Current licensing for commercial use of space, which primarily involves launching radio and photographic satellites, is split among several agencies, with the main ones being the Federal Aviation Administration, the Air Force, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, depending of the type of activity. And the process is different for each agency.
“The FAA takes a lot of pride in saying that they’ve never denied a launch license or held anything up. The same is not true of the FCC and NOAA, and the FCC license costs about a half million dollars now,” said Josh Wolny, project director at the Secure World Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes peaceful and sustainable use of outer space.
Under the administration’s plan, the FAA will remain in control of the actual launching of rockets into space, but Commerce’s Space Administration will cover all activities once outside the earth. “We’re not there now, but eventually the issuance of permits to mine asteroids will fall under its jurisdiction,” Stallmer said.
It makes sense to consolidate potential commercial activities under a common agency, Wolny said, partly because new businesses are starting to crop up, and it is not clear whose rules — U.S. or international — apply. Some of the practices have potential military applications, too, such as salvaging derelict satellites that orbit earth.
“If you remove it, you have to own it. There are no salvage laws in space yet. It’s an international legal problem. Because if you can grab a satellite, you can also move it off its orbit,” Wolny said. That has countries with space capability such as China and Russia wary since it means their satellites could be interfered with. The administration’s decision to put the authority under a civil agency and not the Department of Defense was also a good diplomatic move, since that will lessen tensions, Wolny argues.
The administration has been running the new agency with a skeleton crew because Congress needs to appropriate funds for it. The House has been supportive, passing the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act in April by a bipartisan voice vote.
The Senate has moved slower. Some lawmakers aren’t convinced that Commerce is the right place for the agency and are taking their time in thinking it over.
In a June speech, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told the Transportation Department’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, “There is a great debate that is raging between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, in who should have the lead in principal role. And at this point I would say I think there are good and serious arguments that can be made on both sides.”
