Location
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel
Start Date
28-4-1998 2:00 PM
Description
The Commercial Space Launch Act, known by the abbreviation CSLA, was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Reagan in 1984. The CSLA was later amended in 1988 and was recodified into Public Law 103-272 of the U.S. Code in 1994, the most recent act accomplished without making any real changes in the law.
The CSLA and its amendments deal with a variety of issues, including government agency responsibilities, licensing of commercial space launch activities, requirements for liability insurance, and charging policies for private acquisition of government property and services. Most importantly, the legislation clearly indicates that the U.S. Government has the responsibility to support and encourage the commercial space launch market. U.S. Government agencies must allow commercial launches to occur and allow commercial launch firms access to U.S. launch ranges, facilities, and excess launch property except under a very limited set of circumstances.
The CSLA was the enabling legislation for the development of the U.S. commercial space launch industry. By requiring that commercial firms have access to government owned launch infrastructure and by limiting the costs charged by the government for the use of the infrastructure, commercial space launch operations became technically and financially viable. The first truly commercial operations began in 1987 with the launch of the commercial Delta Palapa B mission. The Delta program's success was followed by the launch of various commercial Atlas and Titan III missions, and in 1993 the first commercial Pegasus flew from the Eastern Range.
Paper Session I-C - What's Wrong With the Commercial Space Launch Act: A Launch Base Perspective
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel
The Commercial Space Launch Act, known by the abbreviation CSLA, was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Reagan in 1984. The CSLA was later amended in 1988 and was recodified into Public Law 103-272 of the U.S. Code in 1994, the most recent act accomplished without making any real changes in the law.
The CSLA and its amendments deal with a variety of issues, including government agency responsibilities, licensing of commercial space launch activities, requirements for liability insurance, and charging policies for private acquisition of government property and services. Most importantly, the legislation clearly indicates that the U.S. Government has the responsibility to support and encourage the commercial space launch market. U.S. Government agencies must allow commercial launches to occur and allow commercial launch firms access to U.S. launch ranges, facilities, and excess launch property except under a very limited set of circumstances.
The CSLA was the enabling legislation for the development of the U.S. commercial space launch industry. By requiring that commercial firms have access to government owned launch infrastructure and by limiting the costs charged by the government for the use of the infrastructure, commercial space launch operations became technically and financially viable. The first truly commercial operations began in 1987 with the launch of the commercial Delta Palapa B mission. The Delta program's success was followed by the launch of various commercial Atlas and Titan III missions, and in 1993 the first commercial Pegasus flew from the Eastern Range.
Comments
Session Chairman: Lt. Col. Robert Wayne Eleazer, III, USAF
Session Organizer: Carol Johnson