Relativity Space abandoned its small satellite launch vehicle, Terran-1, in order to focus its efforts on its medium launch vehicle, Terran-R. Is it possible that they abandoned the launcher because they thought the FAA would take too long to approve its investigation?

As Robert noted during last week’s Batchelor Show interview, several launch companies that tried to launch last year, 2022, have yet to attempt another launch so far this year. Why the delay for companies that are hemorrhaging money? Can they survive if they are not able to begin revenue operations?

Then we had NOAA try to regulate photography from space, a few years ago. And the FCC seems to think it is the proper regulatory body for space travel. So, now we have at least three government agencies claiming space regulatory jurisdiction. NASA isn’t making that same claim, but it is fairly heavily influencing the designs of spacecraft that are made for doing work for that agency.

After posting my previous comment, I started to wonder, “How far behind is the NTSB in its claim for jurisdiction in space?” GeorgeC already had that answer.
https://www.ntsb.gov/about/organization/AS/Pages/Commericial-Space-.aspx

For five decades, NASA was the sole source of space transportation and exploration, a monopoly. What we expected was for NASA to quickly bring us the promises for space that Walt Disney and Werner von Braun showed us just as the Space Race was starting. Instead, we were consistently disappointed, because government was not interested in most of the benefits that we could get from space. Almost all that we got were the few things that government was interested in. When we let government be in charge, all we got was what government wanted.

However, now that We the People have some control over the access to space, we can get what we want. Just a few years ago, NASA was the major customer for commercial space companies, a monopsony, but this is already changing. NASA, as a monopsony, still had a large amount of control over the suppliers of space access, but now that so many launches are for non-governmental customers, government is losing control over the launchers, and as more companies use space for commercial purposes, government is losing its monopoly over the use of space.

Now that We the People have some control over the use of space, the rest of government feels the need to make sure that we don’t do anything that government isn’t interested in. During the time that NASA was in control, the rest of government was not vying for jurisdiction to control the access to space or the use of space, but now that NASA has less control, the rest of government is stepping all over themselves trying to be the new government gatekeeper.

If we review the Constitution and compare it with current government actions, we see that government is no longer there to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” one of the stated reasons that We the people “do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.“

In my experience, this is common. Investigations can be fairly quick, but corrections can take time, especially when a redesign is involved. It is not surprising that SpaceX had completed most of its actions and all the ones needed for the next launch, because they are a “can do,” “go for launch” company. They have a sense of urgency, and they don’t sit around when there is downtime but find other tasks to complete.

“Regardless, this new strict regulation likely means we should expect a serious slowdown in the rebirth of commercial space. The renaissance of achievement by private enterprise in the past decade in space could be ending.“.

It could be worse. We already lost Virgin Orbit to similar bureaucratic nonsense, and some of our newer space companies likewise can burn through their war chests while awaiting some delayed decisions. Virgin Orbit had expansion plans, but those plans depended upon launching five months before their license came. SpaceX has Starlink plans, which also depend upon Starship launches. Fortunately, the FCC limited the size of their next generation constellation, so — ironically — the pressure is less for them to get satellites on orbit, but the pressure is still great if they may use only Falcons for the next three years or so.

Falcon’s rapid cadence of launches is not showing off to the world what they can do, it is a desperate attempt to get 7,500 satellites into orbit in the next three years.

Rocket Lab was delayed from launches from Wallops. This didn’t do them any favors. Other space companies have shifted gears, in the past year, and regulatory foot dragging may be one reason why.