Safety Recommendation A-15-023

We note that, on December 18, 2023, the FAA published AC 413.11 and AC 413.13-1, “Guidance on Submitting a Complete Enough and Complete Application for a Vehicle Operator License,” which includes guidance on completing a license application in accordance with sections 413.11 and 413.13. Although the FAA reported that AC 413.5-1, “Pre-Application Consultation,” would be published by the end of calendar year 2024, on March 7, 2025, your staff informed my staff that the FAA now anticipates publishing this guidance before the end of calendar year 2025.

The Board believes AC 413.11 and AC 413.13-1 contain useful guidance for launch and reentry vehicle applicants and operators that is responsive to this recommendation. Pending our review of the published guidance for meeting the pre-application coordination goals and requirements specified in section 413.5, the Board has voted to keep Safety Recommendation A-15-23 classified OPEN-- ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

-From Michael G. Whitaker, Administrator: The FAA published AC 413.13-1, Guidance on Submitting a Complete Enough and Complete Application for a Vehicle Operator License, on December 18, 2023. The AC provides guidance on demonstrating compliance with the requirements of completing a license application in accordance with 14 CFR §§ 413.11 and 413.13. It also details what constitutes a complete enough submission for application acceptance and a complete submission of an application for a license determination under 14 CFR part 450 (available at drs.faa.gov).

Additionally, the FAA continues to develop AC 413.5-1, Pre-Application Consultation, to provide clear guidance to meet the pre-application coordination goals and requirements. It is now anticipated this AC will be ready for publication by December 31, 2024.

We note that you are still developing AC 413.5-1 and AC 413-13, which will replace AC 413-1 and will include guidance for meeting the pre-application coordination goals and requirements specified in section 413.5, Pre-application Consultation. Pending our review of the published guidance, Safety Recommendation A-15-23 remains classified OPEN-- ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

-From Polly Trottenberg, Acting Administrator: The FAA continues to develop two new ACs: AC 413.5-1, Pre-application Consultation, and AC 413-13, Guidance on a Complete Application. These ACs will provide clear guidance to meet the pre-application coordination goals and requirements of 14 CFR 413.5, Pre-application Consultation. The delay in publishing the ACs is due to incorporating CST information to provide to the CST industry. Currently, the FAA is working through the first CST licensing under Part 450, so there are lessons to incorporate into the new ACs. It is anticipated that the ACs will be ready for final publication by December 31, 2023.

We note that you still intend to replace AC 413-1 with two preapplication consultation ACs. You reported that the first AC will focus on payload and policy reviews and the second will focus on compliance planning, including information about the overall preapplication process; entrance and exit criteria for applicants seeking vehicle licenses, site licenses, and safety element approvals; and the flexibilities of Part 450 that must be planned for during the preapplication consultation.

You anticipated publishing both of these ACs for public comment by June 2022; however, your staff informed us that the ACs were delayed due to incorporating changes that resulted from the Streamlined Launch and Reentry License Requirements final rule, which was published on December 10, 2020. We look forward to commenting on the proposed guidance once published. Pending completion of the recommended action, Safety Recommendation A-15-23 remains classified OPEN--ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

-From Steve Dickson, Administrator: On March 8, 2018, the FAA chartered the Streamlined Launch and Reentry Licensing Requirements Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), providing a forum to discuss current and potential regulations. As stated in the ARC’s final report, the FAA tasked the ARC “to develop recommendations for a performance-based regulatory approach in which the regulations will state safety objectives to be achieved, and leave design or operational solutions up to the applicant.” In its report, the ARC provided the following recommendation to improve the efficiency of pre-application consultation:

Pre-application consultation should only be required for new operators or new vehicles, and pre-application requirements for experienced operators with new vehicles should be minimized to focus on identifying specific application content that might be novel or different from the operators’ prior submissions. Pre-application should have clearly defined entrance and exit criteria focused on determining operator experience, vehicle type, hazards, and public exposure to identify the applicable requirements and appropriate level of verification data required.

The ARC’s final report can be found here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FAA-2019-0229-0006

In addition, during the comment period of the Streamlined Launch and Reentry Licensing Requirements Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (84 FR 15296), the FAA received industry feedback regarding the pre-application process.

The comments are listed on the following website: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FAA-2019-0229-0111

Finally, the FAA continues to develop advisory circulars (AC) to replace AC 413-1, Licensing Application Procedures (canceled), to provide a flexible and efficient means to meet the pre application coordination goals and requirements of 14 CFR § 413.5, Pre-application Consultation. The FAA now intends to publish two pre-application consultation ACs in 2022. The delay is due to the FAA focusing on higher priority ACs in 2021:

1) The first pre-application AC will focus on payload and policy reviews, with an anticipated publication date of April 30, 2022.

We note that, since 2018, you have been engaged in a high-priority rulemaking to combine and streamline launch and reentry licensing requirements, which have delayed this AC. We note, however, that, in December 2020, the new pre-application consultation AC was sent to the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee and the CSF Regulatory Reform Task Force for industry comment, and that you intend to publish the AC this year. Pending our review of the published guidance, Safety Recommendation A-15-23 remains classified OPEN-- ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

-From Steve Dickson, Administrator: As noted in our December 6, 2016, response, the FAA is developing an Advisory Circular (AC) that will replace AC 413-1, Licensing Application Procedures, with the publication of the Streamlined Launch and Reentry Requirements Final Rule. The new AC will provide a flexible and efficient means to meet the pre-application coordination goals and requirements of § 413.5, Pre-Application Consultation. The FAA sent the new pre-application consultation AC to the COMSTAC for industry comment. The FAA also sent this draft AC to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation Regulatory Reform Task Force for industry comment.

We anticipate publishing the AC by March 31, 2021.

We note that the COMSTAC’s Operations Working Group is currently reviewing your AC 413 1 draft revisions. Pending issuance of AC 413-1 revisions that satisfy Safety Recommendation A-15-23, it remains classified OPEN—ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

-From Michael P. Huerta, Administrator: The FAA is actively taking steps to make pre-application consultation even more effective, which will benefit both the operator and the FAA. In addition to issuing the P-0 11 document, Pre-Application Consultation Process, in March 2015, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) developed and issued compliance checklists for applicant use in October 2015. These checklists facilitate the rapid and efficient summary of applicable requirements and the corresponding means of compliance.

In addition, the development of a new Advisory Circular (AC) that will replace AC 4 13-l is well underway. The new AC is intended to provide a flexible and efficient means to meet the pre-application coordination goals and requirements of 14 CFR § 413.5. The FAA intends to seek stakeholder comments on the draft AC and is on track to do so before the end of Calendar Year 2016.

We note that you issued Procedure P-011, “Pre-application Consultation Process,” an internal procedure to guide AST staff in the conduct of pre application consultation with applicants for licenses, safety approvals, and experimental permits issued by AST. We further note that, as part of a review that you conducted of all of your commercial spaceflight regulatory guidance, including AC 413-1, you developed a plan for revising these documents, and that you plan to use the pre-application consultation procedure, with references to the checklists and other guidance, as the basis for issuing a new AC that will replace AC 413-1.

This new AC will outline a means of compliance with Part 413.5, “Pre-application Consultation.” Pending issuance of the new AC, Safety Recommendation A-15-23 is classified OPEN—ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

-From Michael P. Huerta, Administrator: The FAA agrees that an early and robust pre-application consultation process is beneficial to both the applicant and the FAA. Robust pre-application consultation provides an opportunity to highlight novel and unique features of a new vehicle or its operational concepts, and it ensures the applicant has the guidance and clarification necessary to submit a complete application that meets the associated regulations.

As a component of its September 2014 business plan, AST issued an internal procedure to guide its staff in the conduct of pre-application consultation with potential applicants for licenses, safety approvals, and experimental permits. Procedure P-01 1, Pre-application Consultation Process, was completed in March 2015 and shared with Board staff during the course of the investigation. The FAA conducts pre-application consultation with prospective applicants to enable a more effective and complete application.

Pre-application consultation is a series of meetings and information exchanges appropriately seeped and executed based on the maturity and understanding of the prospective applicant and the unique features of the proposed application.

Pre-application consultations are conducted through specific stages designed to allow both the applicant and the FAA to gain a mutual understanding of the proposed vehicle and its operation, enable the applicant to gain a thorough understanding of the applicable CST regulations and their associated policies and acceptable means of compliance, and to identify and resolve any other potential issues that could affect the applicant's ability to develop a license or experimental permit application that can be accepted for review.

Additionally, in an effort to facilitate a more efficient review, evaluation, and approval process, AST has developed checklists as a supplement to the pre-application process. These checklists are available to assist applicants in developing a comprehensive, compliant, and complete application for FAA review and approval. The organizational format of the checklists is specifically intended to facilitate a rapid, efficient summary of the applicable regulatory requirements with the corresponding means of compliance that will be used by the applicant.

Further, the FAA has reviewed all CST regulatory guidance material, including Advisory Circular (AC) 413-1 , "License Application Procedures," for currency and completeness and has developed a prioritized plan for revising these documents. The FAA intends to use the framework of the pre-application consultation procedure, with references to the checklists and other guidance material, as the basis for issuing a new AC that will replace AC 413-1. This new AC will outline a means, but not the only means, of compliance with § 4 13 .5, Pre-application Consultation, and we have included this in our 2016 business plan.