Lawmakers Mull Needs of Commercial Space Industry
Lawmakers must ensure that the commercial space industry can thrive and grow the nation’s economy in terms of communications, space launch, weather monitoring and other areas, said Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Space. Palazzo on Wednesday urged his colleagues during a subcommittee hearing on commercial space to ensure that export controls and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) are “rational and productive.” Agencies like the FCC and Federal Aviation Administration must provide stable, certain and competitive regulatory environments, he said.
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The commercial satellite industry’s overall growth is driven by satellite services for consumers, said Patricia Cooper, president of the Satellite Industry Association. Satellite TV services had nearly $90 billion in global revenue last year, she said. Satellites also “deliver hundreds of channels of media and broadcasting content everywhere,” she said, and are an “instant infrastructure that is reliably available every day, everywhere around the world and we look to governments to maintain certain policy and market conditions to sustain our industry.”
Dramatic changes in government regulations and policies put at risk the funds required to finance the manufacture, launch and operation of commercial satellites, Cooper said. The changes in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, which include updating U.S. export controls on satellite technologies, “will assist the long-term competitiveness of U.S. satellite manufacturers,” she said.
The witnesses also called for continued changes to ITAR. ITAR is “more than a speed bump to expanding the markets internationally,” said Stuart Witt, CEO of the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It affects opportunities for space tourism and other ways of working with other nations in space, he said in response to a question from Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla. Tourism in space is possible, “but unless we find some relief on ITAR regulations … I don’t think we're going to be able to extend these things internationally and we need to,” Witt said.
For the commercial satellite industry, orbital slots and satellite spectrum allow companies to be competitive and grow, Cooper said. Spectrum is the biggest challenge, she said. “We've become almost so ubiquitous and relied upon that the communications industry may forget that we're delivering these services from 22,000 miles away and that there are significant considerations when you figure out how you may be able to share that spectrum.” Satellite frequencies are being targeted for sharing or wholesale repurposing, she said. Changes to satellite spectrum policies “require respect for existing critical services and an understanding of the demands of communicating with spacecraft tens of thousands of miles away,” she added.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., suggested having the government approach the mitigation of space debris as a commercial program since the private sector is already engaging in it voluntarily. He asked about orbital debris and how it limits the nation’s ability to use space. The orbital debris doesn’t limit ability to deploy new satellites, but it affects operation, Cooper said. The commercial satellite industry assists in mitigating debris, especially through the Space Data Association, where companies share information about what they see in orbit and discuss interference issues with U.S. Strategic Command, she said.
Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., ranking member, urged lawmakers to hold oversight hearings to give the commercial space industry “the kind of certainty that we need with respect to indemnification.” The witnesses requested an extension of the regime, which is set to expire Dec. 31. Launches are primarily done by Russian satellite operators, Cooper said. There’s an emerging interest in using launch providers in the U.S., she said. “Absent the commercial launch indemnification, we expect the prices of foreign launches would have to incorporate additional risk assumed by the launch providers, perhaps affecting the competitiveness of U.S. providers in that international launch community,” she said.