Location
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/Enterprise Rooms
Start Date
23-4-1992 1:00 PM
Description
The commercial development of space is an important new space frontier. Achieving a robust family of domestic space industries depends on many factors, but it has been said within both government and industry that governments role can be the enabling factor or the show-stopping obstacle.
Federal policy has increasingly emphasized commercial development of space, and the role of government as a venture capitalist or provider of physical resources (such as launch ranges, the Shuttle, and test facilities) has been widely discussed. Less attention has been paid in recent years to the role of government as regulator of space-related industries. This role is critical because it will be the main type of government involvement in commercial space activities in a truly commercial environment of the future.
This paper examines the potential effects on the commercial development of space of federal regulation of space-related industries. It offers the establishment of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST) as a policy success, in that OCST serves as the "one-stop-shopping" point for commercial launch firms, and examines other areas for federal action to reduce regulatory barriers to industry growth. In particular, it will consider the obstacles to doing business with foreign entities, including limitations on technology transfer, multiple agency authority, and the effect of national foreign policy objectives on business opportunities.
Paper Session III-C - The Commercial Development of Space and the Federal Regulatory Process
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/Enterprise Rooms
The commercial development of space is an important new space frontier. Achieving a robust family of domestic space industries depends on many factors, but it has been said within both government and industry that governments role can be the enabling factor or the show-stopping obstacle.
Federal policy has increasingly emphasized commercial development of space, and the role of government as a venture capitalist or provider of physical resources (such as launch ranges, the Shuttle, and test facilities) has been widely discussed. Less attention has been paid in recent years to the role of government as regulator of space-related industries. This role is critical because it will be the main type of government involvement in commercial space activities in a truly commercial environment of the future.
This paper examines the potential effects on the commercial development of space of federal regulation of space-related industries. It offers the establishment of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST) as a policy success, in that OCST serves as the "one-stop-shopping" point for commercial launch firms, and examines other areas for federal action to reduce regulatory barriers to industry growth. In particular, it will consider the obstacles to doing business with foreign entities, including limitations on technology transfer, multiple agency authority, and the effect of national foreign policy objectives on business opportunities.
