John Sloan, Megan Mitchell FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) May 10, 2011

1. International Outreach UpdateFAA Office of CommercialSpace TransportationCOMSTAC RLV Working Group John Sloan, Megan Mitchell FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) May 10, 2011

2. AST International Activity 2011 • International Astronautical Federation - Spring meeting • Commercial Spaceflight Safety Committee • http://www.iafastro.org/index.html?title=Commercial_Spaceflight_Safety_Committee • Entrepreneurship and Investment Committee • http://www.iafastro.org/index.html?title=Entrepreneurship_and_Investment_Committee • European Union Briefing • EC Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry • European Aviation Safety Agency • AST briefings at law events in Paris, Lincoln Nebraska, United Nations (Vienna) • Inter-agency Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) in Berlin

3. Commercial Spaceflight Safety Committee International Astronautical Federation (IAF) • March 22, 2011 IAF Planning meeting and selection of abstracts for October International Astronautical Congress (IAC) • Seven papers selected for CSSC & seven papers selected for a joint session with Transportation Committee • CSSC abstracts included topics on: Role of ICAO, Best Practices or Standards, NASA Ares, NASA COTS, Curaçao Spaceport, Risk Hazard Analysis Toolkit • Just enough abstracts for 2011 but not enough to warrant expansion to an additional presentation session for Naples IAC in 2012 • Plan to ask for more technical oriented papers • Suggestions: emergency escape & abort; propellant choices; safety of joint space missions with people and experiments onboard • Members to promote CSSC to increase number of papers including universities • Possible Young Professional Program Virtual Forum for 2012

4. ISU Beacon Study • FAA study idea on beacons/transponders for commercial space vehicles presented to the IAF Commercial Space Flight Safety Committee in March 2011. • International Space University offered to assist the committee • The study, at minimum, should include the following: • Is a beacon or transponder needed for safety reasons? • Is it practical from a commercial and government perspective? • Orbital, suborbital, reentry and upper stages • Interviews with commercial vehicle providers • ISU President began a scoping effort and schedule- very optimistic. • Could be an interdisciplinary Team Project during 2012 Summer Studies Program (hosted in Florida). • Possibly 40 students from approximately 20 countries to work the research • Possible Master’s student project or prep literature for Team Project • If you want to volunteer to be potential research source – notify john.sloan@faa.gov

5. European Aviation Safety Agency Rulemaking • EASA plans to certify “winged vehicles” “An aircraft as ‘any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth's surface.’ Thus, Sub-orbital Aeroplanes (SoA) generating aerodynamic lift during the atmospheric part of their flight are considered to be aircraft.”* • EASA rulemaking document is scheduled to be published for comment this summer “Potential applicants are encouraged to route their request for proposed rulemaking as soon as possible via their representatives in EASA consultative bodies” (from EASA IAC paper 2010)

6. AST International Outreach New Tri-Fold Brochure to share with Int’l Partners, Companies, etc. New International Affairs website on AST Homepage

7. Guidance for International FAA Reps • FAA has worldwide representatives that work for the FAA International Aviation office (API) • AST prepared guidance for international representatives in 2011 including: • FAA/AST is willing to meet with other governments and companies to discuss FAA regulations • The FAA is promoting its commercial space transportation regulations. • If a U.S. company wants to launch a U.S.-operated commercial vehicle outside the United States, it would need an FAA launch license and if necessary, also need to comply with any foreign safety regulations. • Therefore, it is possible some kind of memorandum of understanding would be useful between the FAA and the host country.

8. Guidance for International FAA Reps (continued) • Because of U.S. export policy restrictions on space technology transfer, the U.S. cannot cooperate in space transportation to the level it can with aviation. • The U.S. State Department encourages all countries to sign the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Outer Space Treaty provides the basic framework on international space law. About 69 countries are “non-party” to the treaty. • Avoid mixing air and space together —historically, the U.S. State Department position has been to avoid mixing air and space law and policy together. This approach has worked for over 50 years. • This includes attempting to define “where space begins” (also known by the term “delimitation”)

9. Interoperability • At an April 2011 Lincoln, Nebraska law conference, AST gave a presentation on international interoperability that included the following: • Interoperability could be defined as: the ability to operate a vehicle in multiple regulatory regimes without major changes • U.S. launch industry prefers the term “interoperable” instead of “harmonization” • The FAA would like to see U.S. industry drive any needed changes • U.S. industry can learn what works and what does not through experience. • Early decisions by the Government could hinder industry growth • Learn as you go. • FAA would have to issue new rulemaking to change its existing regulations • Two year process, minimum • Interoperability is the long term goal

10. Interoperability (continued) • What would be a “triggering event”? • An operational vehicle wants to operate in two different regulatory regimes? • An orbital reentry to a country that is different from the launch site country? • An orbital reentry to an unplanned location? • A point-to-point intercontinental vehicle? • An accident?

11. Contact FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) Room 325, 800 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20591 http://www.faa.gov/go/ast John Sloan Program Lead for International Outreach 1 202 267-7989 john.sloan@faa.gov Megan Mitchell International Program Specialist 1 202 267-7183 megan.mitchell@faa.gov Mahamane Touré International Program Specialist 1 202 267-8464 mahamane.toure@faa.gov