News and Updates – FAA Issues Commercial Space Reentry Site Operator License to Space Florida

After completing an assessment of potential environmental impacts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Space Floridas application for a commercial space Reentry Site Operator License (RSOL) at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) in Titusville, Fla.

The FAA determined that no significant environmental impacts would result from operations at the site. The license, which was issued after the company met all safety and risk requirements, is valid for five years.

The Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) are posted on the project web page. The RSOL is posted here.

Space Florida is expanding the capabilities of the SLF to allow commercial space operators to horizontally land reentry vehicles. It anticipates up to one reentry in 2021, and increasing to up to six reentries annually by 2025. Each commercial space operator applying to reenter at the SLF will develop a separate environmental document to support its specific vehicle requirements. These documents will be subject to FAA approval and will be tiered from the recently completed environmental assessment.

Information about the FAAs environmental review process forcommercial space transportationis posted atfaa.gov/space/environmental.