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Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 is a
United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as ...
authored to facilitate the
private enterprise A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
of the
commercialization of space Commercial use of space is the provision of goods or services of Commerce, commercial value by using equipment sent into Earth orbit or outer space. This phenomenon – aka Space Economy (or New Space Economy) – is accelerating cross-sector i ...
and
space technology Space technology is technology for use in outer space, in travel (''astronautics'') or other activities beyond Earth's atmosphere, for purposes such as spaceflight, space exploration, and Earth observation. Space technology includes space vehicles ...
. The
Act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...
set forth the quest to acquire innovative equipment and services offered by
entrepreneurial Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
ventures from the
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...
services,
remote sensing technology Remote may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Remote'' (1993 film), a 1993 movie * ''Remote'' (2004 film), a Tamil-language action drama film * ''Remote'' (album), a 1988 album by Hue & Cry * Remote (band), ambient chillout band * ' ...
, and
telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that ...
s industries. The Act recognized the United States private sector as having the capability to develop commercial
launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and sys ...
s, orbital
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
s, and
operate "Operate" is a song written and recorded by Peaches. The song was released as a double limited vinyl A-side with "Shake Yer Dix" to promote the release of her second studio album ''Fatherfucker''. Track listing *UK CD singlelaunch sites and services. The Act also assigned the duties of overseeing and coordinating commercial launches, issuing of licenses and permits, and promotion of safety standards to the Secretary of Department of Transportation. The H.R. 3942
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
was enacted by the 98th Congressional session and signed by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
on October 30, 1984.


History

In the 1970s, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding ...
began to look for ways to outsource the use of its launching facilities and services to private companies such as
COMSAT COMSAT (Communications Satellite Corporation) is a global telecommunications company based in the United States. By 2007, it had branches in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and several other countries in the Americas. ...
,
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
, and
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
. This search was due to the fact that maintaining, modifying, launching, and other duties required to launch expendable launch vehicles cost upwards of billions of dollars. Once the
space shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...
became operational, NASA and the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
began using it almost exclusively. In order to accommodate the heavy weight of the space shuttle launch system, the USAF spent billions of dollars modifying one launch pad in
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...
. However, it was never used.


Provisions of the Act

Title 51
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
Subtitle V and Chapter 509 was compiled as twenty-three
code of law A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
sections to vitalize commercial opportunities and space launch services for the civilian space program of the United States. :51 U.S.C. § 50901 - ''Findings and purposes'' :51 U.S.C. § 50902 - ''Definitions'' :51 U.S.C. § 50903 - ''General authority'' :51 U.S.C. § 50904 - ''Restrictions on launches, operations, and reentries'' :51 U.S.C. § 50905 - ''License applications and requirements'' :51 U.S.C. § 50906 - ''Experimental permits'' :51 U.S.C. § 50907 - ''Monitoring activities'' :51 U.S.C. § 50908 - ''Effective periods, and modifications, suspensions, and revocations, of licenses'' :51 U.S.C. § 50909 - ''Prohibition, suspension, and end of launches, operation of launch sites and reentry sites, and reentries'' :51 U.S.C. § 50910 - ''Preemption of scheduled launches or reentries'' :51 U.S.C. § 50911 - ''Space advertising'' :51 U.S.C. § 50912 - ''Administrative hearings and judicial review'' :51 U.S.C. § 50913 - ''Acquiring United States Government property and services'' :51 U.S.C. § 50914 - ''Liability insurance and financial responsibility requirements'' :51 U.S.C. § 50915 - ''Paying claims exceeding liability insurance and financial responsibility requirements'' :51 U.S.C. § 50916 - ''Disclosing information'' :51 U.S.C. § 50917 - ''Enforcement and penalty'' :51 U.S.C. § 50918 - ''Consultation'' :51 U.S.C. § 50919 - ''Relationship to other executive agencies, laws, and international obligations'' :51 U.S.C. § 50920 - ''User fees'' :51 U.S.C. § 50921 - ''Office of Commercial Space Transportation'' :51 U.S.C. § 50922 - ''Regulations'' :51 U.S.C. § 50923 - ''Report to Congress''


Amendments to 1984 Act

Chronological amendments to the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984.


See also

* * * * * * *


References


External links

* {{politics of outer space 1984 in law 98th United States Congress commercial spaceflight presidency of Ronald Reagan private spaceflight
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
United States federal legislation