/sci/ - Science & Math

Stopgap spending bill includes FAA learning period extension

https://spacenews.com/stopgap-spending-bill-includes-faa-learning-period-extension/
> WASHINGTON — A short-term funding bill passed at the last minute includes a three-month extension of the “learning period” limiting regulations on commercial spaceflight participant safety.
> The House of Representatives and the Senate passed Sept. 30 a continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through Nov. 17. The bill passed by wide margins in both chambers and was signed into law by President Biden hours before the federal government would have faced a shutdown from a lapse of appropriations at the start of the 2024 fiscal year.
> Included in the CR was a three-month reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, whose previous authorization was also expiring at the end of September. Congress has been debating, but has yet to finalize, a long-term reauthorization for the agency.
> The expiration of the learning period would not instantly lead to any regulations regarding the safety of spaceflight participants on commercial spacecraft. In an interview in September, Kelvin Coleman, associate administrator of commercial space transportation at the FAA, envisioned a long-term process to develop regulations, starting with a space-related aerospace rulemaking committee established this summer that includes members of industry and academia to begin studies of potential future regulation.
> “Regulations take years to really do, and do right,” he said. “In my view, really to get it right you need somewhere between three to five years.”