Senator Schmitt’s Launch Communications Act Passes House, Heads to President’s Desk

WASHINGTON – Senator Eric Schmitt applauded the House of Representatives passage of S.1648, The Launch Communications Act, a bill Sen. Schmitt introduced with Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) that passed the Senate late last year. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk. This is the first bill that Senator Schmitt has introduced that has passed both chambers:

“It is encouraging to see the House of Representatives pass my Launch Communications Act. I will continue to advocate for common sense legislation that reforms and modernizes outdated government processes. As Ranking Member of the Space and Science Subcommittee on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I have made it a priority to make it easier, not harder, for the commercial space industry to continue to innovate. America must maintain its edge in our 21^st Century space race against China, and this bill is an essential step in maintaining American space dominance. I also thank Reps. Soto, and Dunn for their years of leadership and assistance on these issues, and I look forward to the President signing this important legislation,” said Senator Eric Schmitt. 

“We can’t lead space innovation with outdated processes and regulations holding us back,” said Senator John Hickenlooper. “Our bipartisan Launch Communications Act cuts the red tape. And now it’s heading to President Biden’s desk.”

BACKGROUND:

• As the commercial spaceflight industry continues to innovate, the need for more launches is expected to grow exponentially. Data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reveals that 79 commercial launches occurred in the year 2022. That number increased to a record 117 launches in 2023. 
• This makes it all the more necessary that regulatory processes at federal agencies are modernized to keep pace with a rapidly innovating commercial space industry.
• However, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) current process for licensing spectrum for commercial space launches was created decades ago when there were few to no such launches.
• As the United States’ presence in space expands, the FCC must modernize the spectrum licensing process for commercial space launches to ensure the United States and not China or any of our other adversaries is the global leader in space.
• The FCC’s licensing rules have not kept up with the growing demand for commercial space launches which bolster the United States’ scientific, economic, and national security objectives. In fact, as commercial space launch providers face enough issues with mission cancellations due to weather and other factors, the FCC’s current process further strains the agency’s ability to predict and properly perform critical launch missions.  

• The Launch Communications Act provides an immediate solution to resolve current challenges in the FCC’s licensing process by:
  • Requiring the FCC to allocate temporary spectrum access for commercial space launch and reentry activities on a secondary basis within the following frequency bands if approved.
  • Allowing launch providers to bundle spectrum applications for multiple similar launches in order to streamline the application process and decrease the administrative burden on providers and the FCC.
  • Instructing the FCC to modernize the agency’s current process to better automate the review process for license applications instead of the current manual review process which has unfortunately culminated in a ground stop of critical launches that are critical towards preserving U.S. leadership in space.
  • Requiring the FCC to issue new regulations to improve coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) which will expedite the authorization process.
• A similar version of the Launch Communications Act, sponsored by Representatives Soto and Dunn, had passed the House of Representatives unanimously in July 2023. Representatives Soto and Dunn also helped to usher the Senate-passed version of the Launch Communications Act through the House.