Building a Successful U.S. Mission Authorization Framework to Enable Future Commercial Space Activities

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden co-authored a SpaceNews op-ed urging the United States to adopt a mission authorization framework to enable future commercial space activities. Dr. Weeden was joined by Kevin O’Connell, Space Economy Rising, and former director, Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce; Ken Hodgkins, International Space Enterprise Consultants, LLC; Chris Kunstadter, AXA XL; Sandra Magnus, AstroPlanetview, LLC, and former executive director, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA); Steve Oswald, Association of Space Explorers; and Chris Stone, Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence.

The authors make the case for why mission authorization is important to close the gap between existing U.S. oversight authorities and future commercial space activities. The article also provides examples of how such a framework might look for satellite refueling, commercial space hotels, space nuclear power, and lunar mining and what policy and regulatory questions might need to be addressed.