Space News 6/11/2018 by Jeff Foust
As the White House puts the finishing touches on a new space policy dealing with space traffic management issues, the House is considering legislation of its own on the topic.
During an appearance at a Secure World Foundation panel discussion on the subject June 11, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science Committee, said legislation was in development to address the issue of monitoring objects in orbit and providing warnings to satellite operators of potential collisions.
“We also have another bill coming up on some of the same subjects that you are going to be discussing here,†he said after mentioning the passage in April of another commercial space bill, the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act.
Smith didn’t go into details about the bill, but Mike Mineiro, staff director of the space subcommittee, said later during the panel discussion that he is currently talking with various stakeholders about issues regarding space traffic management they would like to see in the bill.
“We’re here to listen and learn, and ultimately to provide the chairman and the members the best recommendations and advice for their consideration on how legislation should be crafted to address this policy area,†he said.
He added he didn’t know the timeline for developing the bill but said the committee would attempt to pass something this year. Smith is retiring from Congress at the end of the year.
The House’s plans for space traffic management legislation comes as the administration is expected to soon release a final version of a new space traffic management policy that Vice President Mike Pence announced April 16 at the 34th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. That policy could be announced at the next meeting of the National Space Council, scheduled for June 18 at the White House.
More:
http://spacenews.com/congress-considering-space-traffic-management-legislation/
