AST 101

Greetings. My name is Kelvin Coleman. I'm the Associate Administrator for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. I want to share with you information about the important work we do in the office to ensure safe space transportation. The office's mission is to enable safe space transportation, and our principal responsibility is to regulate all launch and reentry operations of U.S. launch and reentry service providers, even if the launch or reentry occurs outside the U.S. We provide a wide range of products and services intended to protect people and property, as well as U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. These include licenses to conduct launches, reentries, spaceport operations, flight and safety system analyses, and safety inspections. Simply stated, safety is our North Star. And since the first licensed launch back in 1989 to now, we've achieved a perfect public safety record to the tune of more than 600 operations without a public injury or significant property damage. We are now experiencing some very exciting times in commercial space transportation because of the fast-growing number of launches and the diverse types of operations. Just a decade ago, there were only a few launches taking place on a yearly basis. However, we are now consistently seeing multiple launches take place every week on the average. We're seeing so many unique and interesting vehicles and concepts of operation as more companies buy to join companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, United Launch Alliance, and Virgin Galactic, just to name a few, in this exciting and growing arena. These operations typically take place from federal ranges, including Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, or one of the 14 FAA-licensed spaceports that are dispersed throughout the United States. The U.S. is the global leader in commercial space transportation, and we welcome and seek opportunities to share our regulatory expertise with countries looking to establish regulatory regimes of their own. We believe these efforts help broaden global market opportunities for the U.S. commercial space transportation sector and lead to enhanced space collaboration between the U.S. and our allies around the world. Our partnerships also extend to other government agencies, like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, and the Space Force. The FAA manages commercial launch and reentry safety. NASA handles research and development. And the Space Force oversees military and national security operations. We are intertwined by our respective space missions and operate collaboratively with the very important goal of safety in mind. So, who are the people that do all of this great work? We accomplish our mission with a dedicated cadre of phenomenal men and women. Our team consists primarily of aerospace engineers, management and program analysts, and environmental protection specialists. Their expertise ranges from conducting safety analyses prior to a launch, working as a safety inspector before, during, and after a launch, reviewing environmental documents to protect people, property, and endangered species, and developing regulatory and advisory information to help ensure safety. The Office of Commercial Space Transportation works daily to achieve our commitment to be an agile leader working to ensure safety while addressing the needs of industry. So, what's next? Well, the possibilities are limitless. But rest assured that whatever the future brings for the commercial space transportation industry, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation is ready for the journey to safely propel commercial space transportation into the next frontier.