Federal Aviation Administration

1. Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation Experimental Permit Program By: Sherman Council Date: 15 August 2011

2. Outline • Experimental Permit Process • General Information • Requirements to Obtain an Experimental Permit • Safety Requirements • Terms and Conditions of the Experimental Permit

3. Experimental Permit Process

4. Process: Permit Review and Evaluation • Introductory Meetings • Initial communications with the potential applicant • Discussion is welcome in early phases of program • Pre-application Consultation • Encompasses discussions with prospective applicant prior to submittal of a permit application • Permit Application Submittal • AST determines when an application is complete enough • Permit Evaluation and Determination • AST has 120 days after receipt of a complete enough application to make determination • AST may toll an application

5. Process: Evaluation Flow Policy Review Payload Review Permit Financial Responsibility Determination Application Submittal Environmental Review Safety Review

6. Policy Review • To determine whether a proposed launch would jeopardize: • U.S. National Security • International Obligations • Foreign policy interests • Interagency review of launch proposal • Department of Defense • Department of State • NASA • FCC • Other

7. Payload Review • Determine if a license applicant or payload owner or operator has obtained all required licenses, authorizations, and permits, unless the payload is exempt from review • Ensure payload does not jeopardize: • Public health and safety • Safety of property • U.S. National Security • Foreign policy interests • International obligations • Does not apply to payloads under the jurisdiction of any other government agency (e.g. FCC, NOAA, etc.) • Crew and passengers are not payloads

8. Financial Responsibility Determination • Proof of financial responsibility required • Usually fulfilled by purchase of liability insurance • Value based on Maximum Probable Loss Determination • AST performs Maximum Probable Loss (MPL) Determination • Government property ($100M maximum) • The amount of insurance is based on a 1 in 100,000 chance of loss exceeding amount • 3rd party ($500M maximum) • The amount of insurance is based on a 1 in 10,000,000 chance of loss exceeding amount

9. Environmental Review • Issuing a permit for a launch or the operation of a commercial launch sites constitutes a “Major Federal Action” and is therefore subject to National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) • This process may take a significant amount of time, so its never too early to start

10. Process: Experimental Permit Regulation – Part 437 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 414 Safety Approval Part 440 Financial Responsibility Part 460 Human Spaceflight

11. General Information

12. Eligibility • Experimental permits issued only for: • Research and development to test new: • Design concepts • Equipment • Operating techniques • Showing compliance with requirements for obtaining a license • Crew training before obtaining a license for a launch or reentry

13. Scope • Experimental Permit authorizes: • Launch of reusable suborbital rocket • Reentry of reusable suborbital rocket • Authorization includes • Pre-flight operations • Post flight operations NOTE: The Permit authorization applies to reusable suborbital rocket operations ONLY.

14. Scope (continued) • Pre-flight operation includes each operation that • Takes place at a U.S. launch site • Meets specific criteria • Closely proximate in time to flight • Entails critical steps before flight • Unique to space launch, and • Hazardous enough to warrant regulatory oversight • Post flight operations • Includes each operation necessary to return vehicle to safe condition after landing or impact

15. Requirements to Obtain an Experimental Permit

16. General Requirements • Applicant must provide • Program description • Flight test plan • Operational safety documentation • Other regulations apply • Environmental • Financial responsibility (part 440) • Human spaceflight (part 460)

17. General Requirements • Inspection before issuing permit • Applicant must make each vehicle planned to be flown available to FAA for inspection • Verify vehicle built as represented in application • Occurs before FAA issues permit NOTE: No vehicle maintenance or certification requirements exist at this time.

18. Program Description • Applicant must provide • 3D drawings or photos of vehicle • Gross liftoff weight • Thrust profile

19. Program Description (continued) • Applicant must describe • All reusable suborbital rocket systems • Structural • Flight control • Thermal • Pneumatic • Hydraulic • Propulsion • Electrical • Environmental control • Software and computing systems • Avionics • Guidance

20. Program Description (continued) • Applicant must describe • Types and quantities of all propellants • Types and quantities of any hazardous materials • Purpose for which vehicle is to be flown • Each payload or payload class planned • Identify any foreign ownership • For sole proprietorship • For a corporation, any foreign ownership of 10% or more • For joint venture, association, or other entity

21. Flight Test Plan • Describe flight test program • Estimated # of flights • Key flight safety events

22. Max Height Longitudinal Boundary Operating Area Latitudinal Boundary Flight Test Plan (continued) • Identify/describe geographic coordinates of the boundaries of one or more proposed operating areas • Must provide the planned maximum altitude

23. Operational Safety Documentation • Pre-flight and post flight operations • Operator must demonstrate how it will meet requirements to: • Establish a safety clear zone • Verify public is outside the safety clear zone before/during any hazardous operations • Hazard analysis • Operator must perform all steps required by the regulation • Provide all results of each step to FAA • Verification • Applicant must identify, describe, and provide verification evidence of the methods and systems used to contain vehicle’s IIP within operating area and outside any exclusion area

24. Operational Safety Documentation(continued) • Landing and Impact • Demonstrate compliance for each location for: • a nominal landing of vehicle • a contingency abort landing of vehicle • any nominal or contingency impact or landing of a component • Agreements • Must enter into other agreements and provide copy to FAA • Identify and describe each tracking method or system used • Provide • Flight rules • Mishap response plan

25. Safety Requirements

26. Rest Rules • Rest rules for vehicle safety operations personnel • No personnel may work more than • 12 consecutive hours • 60 hours in the 7 days preceding permitted activity, or • 14 consecutive work days • Personnel must receive • At least 8 hours of rest after 12 hours of work • Minimum 48-hour rest period after 5 consecutive days of 12-hour shifts

27. Pre-Flight and Post Flight Operations • Must protect public from adverse effects of hazardous operations and systems • Preparing vehicle for flight at a launch site in U.S. • Returning vehicle and any support equipment to safe condition • Establish safety clear zone to contain adverse effects of each operation involving a hazard • Verify the public is outside the safety clear zone • Before hazardous operations • During hazardous operations

28. Hazard Analysis • Permittee must • Identify and characterize each of the hazards • Assess the risk • Carry out the risk elimination and mitigation measures derived from its hazard analysis • Ensure the continued accuracy and validity of its hazard analysis

29. Experimental Permit Hazard Analysis - Qualitative Severity Classifications

30. Experimental Permit Hazard Analysis - Qualitative Likelihood Classifications Consistent with FAA AC 23.1309, Class I aircraft (highest acceptable aircraft risk)

31. Experimental Permit Hazard Analysis - Risk Acceptability High (1-9):Unacceptable - Controlling/mitigating actions should be taken to reduce risk Low (10-20): Risk is acceptable

32. Experimental Permit Hazard Analysis - Example

33. Hazard Analysis (continued) • Hazard analysis must • Demonstrate that the risk elimination and mitigation measures achieve the risk levels through validation and verification • Verification includes • Test data • Inspection results, or • Analysis

34. Operating Area Containment • Operating area • Must contain the vehicle’s instantaneous impact point (IIP) • Must be large enough to contain each planned trajectory and all expected vehicle dispersions

35. Operating Area Containment (continued) • Operating area • Must contain enough unpopulated or sparsely populated area to perform key flight safety events • May not contain or be adjacent to a densely populated area or large concentrations of members of the public • May not contain or be adjacent to significant • Automobile traffic • Railway traffic • Waterborne vessel traffic

36. Nuclear Power Plants Hospitals Sport Stadiums Operating Area Containment (continued) • FAA may prohibit IIP from traversing certain areas within an operating area • Designating one or more areas as exclusion areas • Exclusion area may be confined to a specific phase of flight Examples of possible Exclusion Areas

37. Key Flight-Safety Event Limitations • Permittee must conduct any key flight-safety event so that the IIP, including expected dispersion, is over an unpopulated or sparsely populated area • Key flight-safety events include: • Ignition of any primary rocket engine; • Any staging event, or • Any envelope expansion • Permittee must conduct flight so that reentry impact point does not loiter over a populated area

38. Landing and Impact Locations • For nominal or any contingency abort landing of vehicle, or for any nominal or contingency impact or landing of a component, a permittee must use a location that: • Is big enough to contain impact, including debris dispersion; and • At time of landing, does not contain any members of the public

39. Agreements with Other Entities • Must have an agreement in writing with: • Federal launch range operator • Licensed launch site operator • Any other party that provides access to or use of property and services required to support safe launch/reentry

40. Agreements with Other Entities (continued) • Must have an agreement in writing with: • US Coast Guard district • For overflight of navigable water • For issuing a notice to mariners before flight • Responsible Air Traffic Control authority • For airspace through which flight/reentry will occur • For measures necessary to ensure safety of aircraft

41. Collision Avoidance • Must obtain collision avoidance analysis: • From USSTRATCOM • For planned maximum altitudes greater than 150 km • Analysis must establish each period during which permittee may not initiate flight • Ensure vehicle and jettisoned components do not pass closer than 200 km to manned or mannable orbital object • Distance less than 200 km may be used if distance provides an equivalent level of safety, and distance accounts for all uncertainties in analysis

42. Tracking • Permittee must: • During flight, measure in real time the position and velocity of its reusable suborbital rocket; and • Provide position and velocity data to FAA for post-flight use

43. Communications • Must be in communication with Air Traffic Control during all phases of flight • Must record communication affecting the safety of the flight

44. Flight Rules • Must confirm that all systems and operations necessary to ensure that safety measures derived are within acceptable limits • Must (during all phases of flight) • Follow flight rules that ensure compliance • Abort flight if it would endanger the public • May not operate vehicle in a careless or reckless manner that would endanger any member of the public during any phase of flight

45. Flight Rules (continued) • May not operate vehicle in areas designated in a NOTAM unless authorized • Air Traffic Control, or • A Flight Standards Certificate of Waiver or Authorization • Comply with provisions of part 91 • For any phase of flight • Where rocket operated like an aircraft in the NAS

46. Anomaly Recording • Permittee must: • Record each anomaly that affects a safety-critical system, subsystem, process, facility, or support equipment • Identify all root causes of each anomaly • Implement all corrective actions for each anomaly • Report to FAA any anomaly of any system that is necessary for complying with requirements • Report to FAA the corrective action for each anomaly • Implement each corrective action before the next flight

47. Mishap Reporting • Permittee must report, respond to, and investigate mishaps that occur during permitted activities • Reporting requirements • Immediately notify FAA WOCC if there is a launch or reentry accident or incident or a mishap that involves a fatality or serious injury • Notify within 24 hours FAA/AST if there is a mishap that does not involve a fatality or serious injury • Submit within 5 days of the event a written preliminary report to FAA/AST if there is a launch or reentry accident or incident during permitted flight

48. Terms and Conditions of the Experimental Permit

49. Public Safety Responsibility • Permittee must ensure any launch or reentry under an experimental permit is safe, and must protect public health and safety and the safety of property

50. Allowable Design Changes • FAA identifies type of changes a permittee can make to the vehicle design without invalidating the permit • Permittee must ask FAA to modify permit if: • It proposes to conduct permitted activities in manner not authorized by permit • Any representation in permit application that is material to public health and safety or safety of property is no longer accurate or complete NOTE: The type of changes allowable, without invalidating the permit, will be explicitly identified in the Terms and Conditions of the Experimental Permit