The Government Accountability Office has recommended the Transportation Department’s secretary to call on the Federal Aviation Administration chief to analyze whether FAA’s regulatory structure is applicable to space support vehicles. DOT should also suggest modifications to regulations to FAA if it finds that the regulatory framework is not suitable for such vehicles, …
Read More »CBO: Senate Bill on Licensing Framework for Updated Nuclear Reactors Would Cost $47M Over 5 Years
The Congressional Budget Office has said a Senate bill that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to create a regulatory licensing structure for nuclear reactors that have undergone technology and design updates would cost approximately $47 million from fiscal years 2017 through 2021. CBO said in a report published Wednesday that the …
Read More »White House to Ask FAA to Oversee Asteroid Mining, Lunar Surface Missions; George Nield Comments
The White House has proposed a “mission authorization” framework that would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to oversee asteroid mining, transportation of payloads to the lunar surface and other emerging commercial space missions, Space News reported Monday. Jeff Foust writes the White House’s office of science and technology policy included …
Read More »New FAA Committee to Help Agency Expand ‘Micro’ UAS Safety Requirements
The Federal Aviation Administration is organizing an aviation rulemaking committee to recommend guidelines for the classification and operation of “micro” unmanned aircraft systems as part of the agency’s efforts to ensure safe UAS integration into the national airspace. FAA said Wednesday the committee will explore safety standards to help the agency classify which drones …
Read More »FAA Issues Drone Policy Guide for State, Local Regulators
The Federal Aviation Administration has published a fact sheet to inform state and local government agencies of FAA’s proposed framework for the regulation of small unmanned aircraft systems, Fedscoop reported Friday. Alex Koma writes the FAA developed the guide in order to prevent differing UAS restrictions that it believes could hamper the …
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