{"id":2785,"date":"2020-06-19T12:23:22","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T16:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/?p=2785"},"modified":"2020-06-19T12:23:22","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T16:23:22","slug":"spacex-sea-launch-and-faa-licensing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/19\/spacex-sea-launch-and-faa-licensing\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX, Sea Launch, and FAA Licensing"},"content":{"rendered":"

At this point we’re all familiar with SpaceX’s ocean landing platform for its first stage boosters.\u00a0 Very cool.<\/p>\n

Still, it was exciting to see this recent Business Insider<\/a> article about SpaceX’s plans to go further with a more robust sea-going platform.<\/p>\n

“SpaceX is building floating, superheavy-class spaceports for Mars, moon & hypersonic travel around Earth,” Musk tweeted<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

The concept of ocean-platform launches is not new. A company called Sea Launch, for example, first launched an orbital-class Zenit rocket from a platform in the middle of the … [Pacific] Ocean in March 1999<\/a>. (The company used to be managed by Boeing but is now owned by a Russian airline<\/a>.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I know the first question that pops into your head was whether either of these projects needs or needed an FAA license to launch.\u00a0 After all, if you launch from the ocean, you might be launching outside the United States.\u00a0 Sea Launch did just that, traveling to international waters at the equator in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

The law has answers.<\/p>\n

SpaceX<\/strong>.\u00a0 I don’t know where SpaceX plans to place its ocean-going platform, but let’s make the question a little harder by assuming it will be located in international waters, outside of U.S. territory.\u00a0 After all, the Commercial Space Launch Act, 51 USC ch. 509<\/a> (Ch. 509) is clear that any person* launching from the United States needs an FAA license, regardless of nationality.\u00a0 51 USC 50904(a)(1).\u00a0 What matters for SpaceX is that section 50904(a)(2) says that a citizen of the United States must obtain a license to launch outside<\/em> the United States.\u00a0 What kind of U.S. citizen?\u00a0 One defined by section 50902(1)(A) or (B) as either an individual who is a U.S. citizen or an entity organized or existing under U.S. law or the laws of one its states.\u00a0 Thus, if SpaceX is a U.S. corporation, it could need an FAA license even if it launched from international waters.<\/p>\n

Sea Launch<\/strong>.\u00a0 This one is harder to figure out.\u00a0 However, when we turn to the law’s criteria, we can see how the FAA decided that Sea Launch needed an FAA license.\u00a0 Section 50904(a)(3) says that if you are a weird U.S. citizen (meaning you’re not actually a U.S. citizen) and you launch from international waters, and no other country has agreed with the U.S. to license you, you need a license.\u00a0 Wait, you say.\u00a0 What the heck do you mean by a “weird U.S. citizen”?\u00a0 I confess it’s not exactly a statutory term, but I wanted to get your attention.\u00a0 It’s better than saying “if you’re a 50902(1)(C)<\/a> citizen,” which would just make you stop reading.\u00a0 Regardless, this so-called U.S. citizen is actually a foreign entity controlled by a real U.S. citizen.\u00a0 As the Business Insider article noted, Boeing, a real U.S. citizen, controlled Sea Launch, a foreign entity, back in the day.\u00a0 So, the FAA required Sea Launch to get a license.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lastly, if you are looking for a small e-novelette about an ocean-going platform converted to a seastead, check out Far Flung<\/a>, where I loosely modeled the seastead on the Sea Launch platform.\u00a0\u00a0 If just three of you pick up a copy, I’ll use the royalties for my Fourth of July milkshake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Any person who is not the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At this point we’re all familiar with SpaceX’s ocean landing platform for its first stage boosters.\u00a0 Very cool. 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