House Speaker Proposes Longer Freeze on FAA Commercial Spaceflight Safety Rules

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has put forward the Space Transformation and Reliability Act, a bill that would extend restrictions on Federal Aviation Administration human spaceflight safety regulations to September 2031.

Dubbed a “learning period,” the freeze on rules to protect commercial space vehicle passengers was introduced in 2004 and is currently set to expire at the end of September.

In a statement on the bill, McCarthy said the STAR Act would give space companies more time to innovate and grow.

Commercial space activities are unlikely to be affected even if the bill is not signed before the end of the month, SpaceNews reported Friday. According to FAA officials, lifting the restrictions would only commence a long-term policymaking process.

Kelvin Coleman, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, explained in a recent interview that the agency does not have safety regulations on hand. He noted, however, that the FAA is preparing to draft such policies, including through a rulemaking committee that was founded earlier in 2023.

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