Senate Passes Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act
Senate Approves U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
“The U.S. Senate, today, unanimously approved S. 1297, the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, introduced by Commerce Committee Space, Science, and Competitiveness Subcommittee chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), full committee ranking member Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Space, Science, and Competitiveness Subcommittee ranking member Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and subcommittee members Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). The legislation, which the full Commerce Committee approved by voice vote with an amendment on May 20, 2015, extends the operational use of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2024, a regulatory moratorium on commercial space activity through FY 2020, and ensures stability for the continued development and growth of the U.S. commercial space sector and other space initiatives.”
Just came up with a slogan: “2024, and not one day more.”
Good on the regulatory moratorium though.
I’d like to know how anybody can plan not knowing about the regulatory environment past five years.
“You guys go ahead and be competitive but we are watching y’all”.
I’d like a few more definitions along the lines of “Government Astronaut”, please. Can anyone define the other possible categories?
Probably “Commercial Astronaut” and “spaceflight participant” aka space tourists.
Why not drop the whole term astronaut.
And just have pilots and stewards/stewardess like they do on other commercial flying vehicles.
If I paid $20 million to go to space, id want to be called “astronaut”. I bet for a lot of people, that title and the mystic that goes with it is what they are really buying.
Here on Luna, we tell all those crazy tourists they are astronauts! Lol
The historical NASA titles have included pilot-astronaut, scientist-astronaut, mission specialist and payload specialist. I think mission commander was considered a assignment for a pilot-astronaut, rather than its own category. I think the Russians have flight engineers, and I have no idea what the Chinese usage is.
Maybe they should have called this the “Let’s ignore any lessons from the NTSB Act of 2015” How can they not modify the moratorium in the wake of that report?