Office of Commercial Space Transportation Experimental Permit Program Report

1. Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation Experimental Permit Program Report Presented to: COMSTAC RLV Working Group By: Michelle Murray, AST-300, Experimental Permit Program Lead Date: May 15, 2008

2. Outline • Introduction To Experimental Permits • What Is A Permit? • How Was It Created? • How Long Does It Take To Get A Permit? • What Is The Permit Safety Strategy? • What Other Regulations Apply? • Maximum Probable Loss Determinations • Experimental Permits Issued • Permitted Launches • Challenges

3. What Is An Experimental Permit? • Authorization issued by the FAA to allow an experimental reusable suborbital rocket to launch or reenter • Alternative to licensing • Valid for one year renewable term • Permits are only issued for: • Research and development • Showing compliance with requirements to obtain a license, or • Crew training

4. How Was The Experimental Permit Created? • The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 established an experimental permit regime • The FAA published experimental permit regulations in April 2007 • Statutory Differences Between A License And An Experimental Permit

5. How Long Does It Take To Get An Experimental Permit? • The FAA review period for an experimental permit is 120 days • Complying with financial responsibility regulations takes an additional 30 days • Applicants should submit a complete enough application 150 days before their first launch

6. What Is The Experimental Permit Safety Strategy? The safety strategy for permits consists of three elements: • A Hazard Analysis • Operating Area Containment • Abiding by Operating Requirements

7. What Is A Hazard Analysis? • A hazard analysis is an integral part of a system safety engineering process to: • Identify and eliminate hazards • Reduce the associated risk to the public • Typical elements of a hazard analysis include: • Identifying and describing hazards • Assessing risk using qualitative severity and likelihood levels • Identifying and describing risk elimination and mitigation measures to reduce the risk to acceptable levels • Demonstrating that the risk elimination and mitigation measures are correct, complete, and achieve an acceptable reduction in risk through validation and verification

8. What Is Operating Area Containment? • Operating Area • An operating area is an FAA approved three-dimensional region proposed by a permit applicant where permitted flights can take place • Operating Area Containment • A permittee must operate its vehicle such that its instantaneous impact point (IIP) remains within an operating area and outside any exclusion areas • The FAA requires an applicant to demonstrate, at a minimum, either that • there are physical limits on the ability of the reusable suborbital rocket to leave the operating area • the operator will use abort procedures and other safety measures to contain the IIP

9. Follow rest rules Establish safety clear zones Implement safety requirements derived from the hazard analysis Maintain hazard analysis validity Contain vehicle within the operating area Conduct all key flight-safety events in appropriate areas Use appropriately sized and cleared landing locations Comply with agreements Perform collision avoidance analyses above 150km Provide real time tracking of position and velocity Maintain communications with Air Traffic Control Record any communications affecting safety of the flight Implement launch commit criteria Abort the launch if it would endanger the public Prevent careless or reckless operations Record and report anomalies Report, respond to, and investigate any mishaps Abide by any additional requirement the FAA believes is necessary to protect public safety What Are Operating Requirements? The operating requirements with which a permittee must comply while conducting permitted activities are outlined below:

10. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • Part 437: • Subpart A – General Information • Subpart B – Requirements to • Obtain an Experimental Permit • Subpart C – Safety Requirements • Subpart D – Terms and Conditions of an Experimental Permit Part 413 Application Procedures Part 440 Financial Responsibility Part 460 Human Spaceflight What Other Regulations Apply? Other regulations may apply to permitted operations, including: • Application Procedures • Environmental • Financial Responsibility • Human Space Flight

11. What is Maximum Probable Loss? • The FAA requires financial responsibility for losses to the US government and third parties resulting from a permitted activity based on a maximum probable loss (MPL) analysis • MPL is the greatest dollar amount of loss for bodily injury or property damage that is reasonably expected to result from a permitted activity MPL Determinations for Permits

12. What Experimental Permits Have Been Issued? • We have issued four experimental permits as shown in the table below: • For the most up to date information: • http://ast.faa.gov >> Launch Data & Vehicles>> Active Permits Experimental Permits Issued

13. How Many Permitted Launches Have There Been? http://ast.faa.gov >> Launch Data & Vehicles >> Recently Completed & Historical Launch Data

14. Challenges • There are a number of challenges facing the FAA with respect to issuing experimental permits • Below are the most pressing issues we are currently working to resolve • Allowable Changes vs. Application Modification • Methodology for determining MPL • Safety Clear Zones • Operating Areas • Buffer Zones • Regression and Software Testing • 1st party vs. 3rd party

15. For More Information Michelle Murray Experimental Permit Program Lead Michelle.Murray@faa.gov http://ast.faa.gov >> Licenses & Permits >> Experimental Permits

16. Experimental Permits Report to COMSTAC • Eight Maximum Probable Loss Determinations • Third Party Ranged from $3-9M • Government Ranged from $0-1.5M • Four Experimental Permits Issued • Fifteen Permitted Launches • Challenges • Allowable Changes vs. Application Modification • Methodology for determining MPL • Safety Clear Zones • Operating Areas • Buffer Zones • Regression and Software Testing • 1st party vs. 3rd party