The Federal Aviation Administration has reorganized its Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) and updated performance-based regulations for launch and reentry operations in an effort to streamline commercial launch activities.
Wayne Monteith, associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA, said in a memo dated April 3 that he established the offices of Operational Safety and Strategic Management as part of the AST reorganization effort.
The restructuring is meant to help the FAA scale its procedures to meet increasing licensing demands over the next few years, according to Monteith.
In addition, Monteith said the FAA is working to consolidate its launch and reentry regulations to allow the issuance of one license for multiple launches. The agency is slated to publish the new regulation by fall.
Other agency efforts that Monteith cited include updating internal procedures, implementing automated licensing, launching organic training efforts and accelerating hiring.
The memo notes that FAA expects a 100 to 500 percent increase in commercial launch activity by 2021, which could lead to over 100 human spaceflight missions every year.
