Commerce loosens regulations, allowing American space companies easier use of international facilities
The Commerce department today announced that it has issued three new rulings that will ease the regulations and licensing procedures that American rocket and satellite companies have to go through in order to launch from international facilities.
The first rule will ease licensing for launches from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This will make it easier for American rocket companies to launch from the new spaceports being built in these nations, as well as allow satellite and orbital tug companies to launch their spacecraft from these nations using non-American rockets.
The second rule, still in its interim stage of approval, would ease the export licensing for satellites and spacecraft “to over 40 allies and partners worldwide, reducing licensing requirements for the least sensitive components for most destinations, and broadening license exceptions to support additional National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cooperative programs.” It appears this ruling focuses specifically on the countries who have signed the Artemis Accords, joining NASA’s Artemis program.
The third rule, which is at present only proposed, will remove from the State Department’s strict ITAR regulations many space-related defense technology, transfering their licensing to the much more relaxed Commerce department. This ruling appears aimed at helping the new burgeoning orbital tug, refueling, and satellite servicing industry, which uses rendezvous and proximity technology that was previously considered military in nature.
While it appears this easing of regulation goes against the Biden administration general policy of tightening regulations, the changes make sense if we recognize that these regulations also loosen access to American technology for many international partners, something this administration favors.
All in all, however, the changes are thoughtfully worked out, and will likely help energize the American space industry without releasing important technology to the wrong nations.
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The Commerce department today announced that it has issued three new rulings that will ease the regulations and licensing procedures that American rocket and satellite companies have to go through in order to launch from international facilities.
The first rule will ease licensing for launches from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This will make it easier for American rocket companies to launch from the new spaceports being built in these nations, as well as allow satellite and orbital tug companies to launch their spacecraft from these nations using non-American rockets.
The second rule, still in its interim stage of approval, would ease the export licensing for satellites and spacecraft “to over 40 allies and partners worldwide, reducing licensing requirements for the least sensitive components for most destinations, and broadening license exceptions to support additional National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cooperative programs.” It appears this ruling focuses specifically on the countries who have signed the Artemis Accords, joining NASA’s Artemis program.
The third rule, which is at present only proposed, will remove from the State Department’s strict ITAR regulations many space-related defense technology, transfering their licensing to the much more relaxed Commerce department. This ruling appears aimed at helping the new burgeoning orbital tug, refueling, and satellite servicing industry, which uses rendezvous and proximity technology that was previously considered military in nature.
While it appears this easing of regulation goes against the Biden administration general policy of tightening regulations, the changes make sense if we recognize that these regulations also loosen access to American technology for many international partners, something this administration favors.
All in all, however, the changes are thoughtfully worked out, and will likely help energize the American space industry without releasing important technology to the wrong nations.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Some of this is welcome news. I wonder what a Starship launch pad in Australia could do? Also there are vast swaths of land in the interior of Australia which are very lightly inhabited. The Australian Defense Agency operates the longest continuous overland test range in the free world. The test ranges possible are eye watering to someone used to testing at Army White Sands Missile Range. I wonder what Elon could do with such freedom? Conduct a jump test (like the early SN series of tests done at Boca Chica) of a Lunar or Mars landing Starship?
One thing I worry about, especially with the current regime, is the loosening of ITAR restrictions which could allow the regime to effectively give away technology to the Chinese, in much the same manner as the Clinton regime did.
I am against this because we don’t know if the companies in those nations are fronts for hostile nations, like China.
Thank you Doubting Thomas for that last sentence. The amount of technology that was transferred over to China during Bubba’s reign was criminal.
I deal with ITAR on a daily basis with my projects by the way.
When high-profile companies start conducting regular operations outside the US, the Congressional reaction is not going to be “Let’s loosen the regulation to encourage the domestic launch industry.”, but “Let’s prohibit US companies from launching outside the US.”
”When high-profile companies start conducting regular operations outside the US, the Congressional reaction is not going to be ‘Let’s loosen the regulation to encourage the domestic launch industry.’, but ‘Let’s prohibit US companies from launching outside the US.’”
That will depend on which companies, which operations with which technology, and which countries, but that will probably not be the reaction.
The Ukraine war has united Europe and brought it closer to America than it’s ever been. With China and North Korea cozying up to Russia, the same is starting to happen to the Asian allies. And with Russia hosting the leaders of Hamas at the Kremlin just a few weeks after 10/7, even Israel is joining the fold. That’s pretty much the entire technological world joining together in a united block to stand against the new Axis of Evil.
Add to that the cubesat revolution making it pretty easy for small institutions even in small countries to make meaningful contributions to the space ecosystem — and to profit from them — and you have much of the third world wanting to play in that sandbox. But it’s partially restricted. To play in that sandbox you have to pick a side — the right side. The Artemis Accords are the countries picking that side.
I think you’ll see this play out over the next couple of decades. Done right, it has the potential to swing much of the world to the West.
To Doubting Thomas,
The damage has already been done. As an open society, people are free to research rocketry here, and China has its own launch infrastructure now.
I think ITAR should be done away with…as it is a boat anchor on SpaceX to keep it from going overseas.
I know Mr. Z chafe’s at the mention of that.
Doubting Thomas,
The current regime we seem increasingly likely to be rid of shortly. The PRC may well follow not too awfully long thereafter. The PRC’s foundations are showing more and more visible cracks and it has no real friends willing – never mind able – to help it out. Xi would have been well-advised to heed an old show business saying, to wit, “You should be nice to people on your way up – because you might meet them again on your way down.”
Jay,
Same song, second verse. I don’t foresee long futures for either the PRC or Russia. Once both of them are gone, the remaining small-fry bad national actors on the world stage will be, at worst, minor nuisances – and easily squashed should they be unwise enough to make any serious trouble. The practical importance of ITAR will, in consequence, diminish over time. Meanwhile, we run few risks by loosening up a bit anent at least our close allies.
Blair Ivey,
There will certainly be such sentiments among some Congresscritters. I suspect not enough, though, to seriously impede, say, SpaceX from establishing Starbase Oz should it be so inclined. I think it will likely be awhile before any other U.S.-based launch provider has either the inclination or ability to launch really big rockets from foreign soil. And, of the small rocket firms that might want to, the foreign launch sites at issue will be places like the UK, Norway, Canada or Australia where security is not a serious issue.