As the FAA kicks off a committee to study ways to refine launch and reentry regulations, two members of Congress are asking the agency to move even faster.

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A defense authorization bill includes language to extend a “learning period” limiting commercial human spaceflight regulations as well as indemnification for commercial launches.

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An environmental review brings SpaceX one step closer to increasing the launch rate of its Starship vehicle from Texas.

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The Federal Aviation Administration is moving ahead with a long-awaited committee to evaluate ways to improve launch licensing regulations as one executive calls for far greater changes.

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Inversion, a startup developing systems to return cargo from space to Earth, has received a license for its first mission launching in November.

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SpaceX launched its fifth Starship vehicle Oct. 13, successfully making an unprecedented “catch” of its Super Heavy booster back at the launch site.

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The FAA will allow SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 flights after an upper stage anomaly nearly two weeks ago as the company awaits approval for its next Starship launch.

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The FAA has granted approval for the Falcon 9 launch of ESA’s Hera asteroid mission, but is keeping the vehicle grounded for now for other missions.

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The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said safety was the reason why it recently fined SpaceX and delayed an updated Starship launch license, comments that drew a sharp rebuke from SpaceX.

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SpaceX fired back at the FAA over the agency’s proposed fines for launch license violations, blaming the FAA for dragging its heels on what the company considered minor changes.

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The FAA announced its intent to fine SpaceX more than $633,000 for violating its launch licenses on two occasions in 2023, a decision SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he will fight in court.

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A day after harsh criticism from Congress and industry, the FAA defended its approach to launch licensing and, specifically, its work with SpaceX.

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Members of Congress and the space industry criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for implementation of launch licensing regulations they claim threaten American competitiveness in space.

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The FAA is moving ahead with efforts to develop rules for the disposal of upper stages as another Centaur upper stage breaks apart in orbit.

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SpaceX resumed launches of its Falcon 9 rocket early Aug. 31 after the Federal Aviation Administration ended a brief grounding of the vehicle.

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Falcon 9 launches are temporarily on hold as the Federal Aviation Administration looks into any public safety implications of the failed landing of a booster early Aug. 28.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has postponed a set of public hearings on an environmental review linked to SpaceX’s plans to increase the number of Starship launches from its South Texas facility.

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SpaceX is ready to resume launches of its Falcon 9 rocket as soon as July 27 after completing an investigation into an upper stage anomaly two weeks earlier.

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A reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration passed by Congress will extend current restrictions on the agency’s ability to regulate commercial spaceflight occupant safety through the end of the year.

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The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to start an environmental review of SpaceX Starship launches from a pad at the Kennedy Space Center, reflecting changes in the vehicle since a 2019 assessment.

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An advisory committee for the Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial space office has recommended that the office be moved out of the FAA.

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The FAA is revising its licensing regulations to prevent a repeat of a situation last year where a spacecraft launched without approvals to return.

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A Federal Aviation Administration official said April 10 that the Biden administration has no plans for the time being to levy taxes on commercial launches, similar to those on airlines, to address the launch industry’s impact on airspace.

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Two bills recently introduced into the Senate would reform regulation of commercial space activities, including putting into motion an eventual end of the “learning period” limiting human spaceflight safety rules.

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