As the US commercial spaceflight industry gathers momentum, Congress and the administration are rewriting the rules. Most of these changes will likely help the fledgling industry flourish; some may not. This year is on track to be the busiest yet for the industry—and it will likely be the busiest from a legislative and regulatory perspective as well.
Over the past decade, some of the world’s most successful business leaders – Paul Allen, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk among them – have assembled some of the best minds in aerospace to build a new generation of commercial spaceflight companies. These companies have begun to do what was recently within the reach of only a handful of national governments: launch people and high-value cargo into space.
