Space Access Update #106 11/19/04 Copyright 2004 by Space Access Society ________________________________________________________________________ Do not hit "reply" to email us - it'll be buried in tides of spam, and we may not ever see it. Email us at space.access@space-access.org ________________________________________________________________________ URGENT! Call your Congressman TONIGHT, Friday 11/19, and ask them to support HR 5382, The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, when it comes up for a vote by the full House - probably late tonight. If you don't know who your Congressman is, or if you don't have the phone number of their DC office handy, log on to http://www.vote-smart.org and enter your nine-digit zip code in the Find Your Representatives box. Then phone their Washington DC office (the area code 202 number) IMMEDIATELY - minutes may count - and tell whoever answers that you're from, and you're calling to ask Representative to vote for HR 5382. If they ask you for more info, do your best to provide it (take a quick look at the info below - the short version is "because it's important for the success of the new commercial space flight industry") then thank them for their time and ring off. EVERBODY reading this who votes in the US needs to do this - every vote counts, as the way to get the Senate to also pass HR 5382 in the very short time remaining in this Congress is for the House to pass it by an overwhelming margin. As soon as we've sent this out, we're going to go look up the number and make the call - you do it too! Background HR 3752, which provided important regulatory support for a new commercial space flight industry, has widely been reported dead in the last day or two, and it almost was. It has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives as HR 5382, it was debated today, and it should be up for a vote by the full House sometime in tonight's extended session - possibly as early as 8 pm EST, possibly well into the small hours of tomorrow morning. For more info on the history and content of HR 3752, see http://www.space-access.org/updates/sau105.htm. HR 5382 is the latest hard-fought compromise version of HR 3752 that everyone interested had finally agreed on. The current problem is largely a matter of a few who hadn't been following the issue closely not understanding why certain features of the bill are necessary for the healthy birth of the new industry. A letter from the head of the House Science Committee summarizing the issues follows: Dear Colleague: A few minutes ago you received a letter from congressman Oberstar about H.R. 5382 which will be before the house shortly. Mr. Oberstar’s objection to the bill is well intentioned but reflects fundamental misunderstandings about the bill. Here are some facts: The house passed earlier this year by a vote of 402 to 1 and earlier version of this bill (HR 3752) that gave the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) less regulatory authority over commercial human space flights than does the bill before us today. The Science Committee which has primary jurisdiction over this bill which was given the sole initial referral had several hearings on the bill and has talked about it frequently with the press, engendering more public discussion. This bill concerns the commercial space flight industry, an industry that is now of interest only to entrepreneurs and daredevils and should not be regulated as if it were a commercial airline acting as common carrier, which is basically what Mr. Oberstar is advocating. The bill does give FAA unlimited authority to regulate these new rockets to ensure that they do not harm anyone on the ground and to ensure that the industry is learning from any failures. The bill also gives FAA additional authority after 8 years by which time the industry should be less experimental. The Oberstar approach would be the equivalent of not letting the Wright Brothers test their ideas without first convincing federal officials that nothing could go wrong. Without this Bill the FAA will continue to license private space flights without adequate authority to protect either the safety of the public or the finances of the government. Please support HR 5382, just as you voted for the initial version in March. Today’s bill is an equivalent of a conference report as it reflects bipartisan negotiations with the Senate. Sincerely, SHERWOOD BOEHLERT So - again, we ask you ALL to call, tonight, and ask your Congressman to vote for HR 5382. This is important. Thanks! Addendum, Saturday Afternoon, 11/20/04 HR 5382 Passes House - Thanks! Things ran a bit slower than expected and the House recessed Friday night without voting on HR 5382. They're back in session and voting on "A Motion To Suspend The Rules And Pass" 5382 right now - this looks like passing by a healthy but far from unanimous margin; the current tally is 269 for, 117 against, 47 not yet voted. OK, the motion got the required 2/3rds majority; the House has passed HR 5382. Our thanks to everybody who called and helped out - we'll be writing about what comes next (presumably Senate action) as soon as we have details. PS - our website seems to be down for the moment, but we expect to have it back up soon, with details of next April's Space Access '05 conference as soon as we nail them down. ________________________________________________________________________ Space Access Society's sole purpose is to promote radical reductions in the cost of reaching space. You may redistribute this Update in any medium you choose, as long as you do it unedited in its entirety. You may reproduce sections of this Update beyond obvious "fair use" quotes if you credit the source and include a pointer to our website. ________________________________________________________________________ Space Access Society http://www.space-access.org space.access@space-access.org "Reach low orbit and you're halfway to anywhere in the Solar System" - Robert A. Heinlein