Office of Space Commerce Selects four companies for licensing pilot

Via Satellite reported that on Nov. 13 the Office of Space Commerce picked Cowboy Space, Portal Space Systems, SpaceMD and Starcloud for a pilot program to upgrade commercial-space licensing requirements.

SpaceMD is a Redwire subsidiary. More than 40 companies sought to join. From that pool, the Office of Space Commerce named Cowboy Space, Portal Space Systems, SpaceMD and Starcloud as the participants.

The pilot grew out of an Office of Space Commerce initiative unveiled during SATShow Week in March. The office framed the March announcement as a way to streamline federal authorization for commercial space activities. It said it would build the tool with industry participants to create a transparent path for government approval of new commercial space ventures.

The Office of Space Commerce will work with the chosen firms to improve the first Space Commerce Certification form. The form is the inaugural version of the tool, and the office plans to refine it alongside the selected companies. A certification form is an application that businesses submit to regulators to describe a planned activity.

The document shows federal officials the plans an applicant has for a commercial space mission. The Office of Space Commerce described the form as a way for the government to understand an applicant’s proposed mission parameters. The office said the form could cover parts of the licensing rules used by other federal agencies that regulate space activities.

The office said the form connects to requirements from several federal agencies that regulate space activities. The Office of Space Commerce plans to keep developing the certification application for work such as in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing; orbital data centers, or data-processing facilities in orbit; and lunar surface activity. In-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing refers to repairing, combining and building hardware in orbit.

Over time, the office wants to grow the application to cover types of commercial space work outside the first group of companies. The Office of Space Commerce will gather public feedback on how the certification process operates. The office said it will accept public comment as it develops the certification process with the chosen companies.

Taylor Jordan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director of the Office of Space Commerce, said the office welcomes industry interest and is prepared to approve innovative capabilities. Jordan made the comment in connection with the Office of Space Commerce’s pilot announcement.