Passengers on flights to the Moon or Mars will be subjected to the same anti-terror security checks as flyers to Muleshoe, Texas or Mud Lick, Kentucky, under the FAA's proposed federal regulations for commercial space flight.
Formulated by the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), the proposed rules would apply the same security restrictions currently applied to airline passengers prohibiting persons carrying explosives, firearms, knives, or other weapons from boarding an airplane. AST says these types of security procedures to commercial space launch or reentry vehicles would "contribute to the safety of the public by preventing a space flight participant from potentially interfering with the flight crew’s operation of the vehicle."
The FAA notes that one means of satisfying part of this requirement would be for commercial space flight operators to consult the same global '‘no-fly" list used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to screen airline passengers for persons possibly tied to terrorism.
The majority of the proposed regulations address the minimum qualifications, certification and training of flight crew members.
The Era of Commercial Space Flight Approaches
The commercial sector of the U.S. space program was launched in 1984 with the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Act. The law requires U.S. citizens to obtain a license prior to conducting the launch of a rocket. The only exception is for missions conducted by and for the government (such as NASA or the U.S. Air Force). Over the last 20 years, licenses have been issued for over 170 launches, as well as the operation of five "spaceports" throughout the country to conduct commercial space launches. There have never been any public casualties or significant property damage associated with licensed commercial space launches.
Based on a poll of affluent Americans, the FAA estimates that space tourism could generate more than $1 billion per year in revenues by 2021. The largest share of the emerging market, says the FAA will be suborbital flights, with the potential for 15,000 passengers and $700 million in revenues per year. Orbital flights could include up to 60 passengers and generate $300 million per year.
