The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has agreed to help the U.S. Space Force promote safety across commercial space operations at the service branch's facilities.
The Department of the Air Force said Monday that it partnered with FAA to implement common safety standards and eliminate redundant processes for commercial space activities at Vandenberg Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
FAA will approve the department's ground safety standards, studies and processes if they align with the former's regulations. In exchange, the department will accept FAA's licensing actions and will not implement its own requirements during a commercial mission's flight and reentry segments.
“The launch licensing standards provided in the agreement will support a rapidly expanding commercial launch sector and strengthen our space industrial base, bolstering our economy and enhancing our security as a nation," said John Roth, acting secretary of the Air Force.
