Congress·In Committee·H.R. 5602

LAUNCH Act

House Committee Reviews LAUNCH Act to Speed Up Space Launch Permits and Cut FAA Delays

9 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: Congress Proposes New DOT Administration to Streamline Space Launch Licensing

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

Directs the Transportation Department to review current space launch licensing rules and recommend ways to cut delays and confusion.
Requires a new online system so companies can submit space launch permits, track where their application is, and get updates; limited to $5 million from existing FAA funds.
Pushes the Transportation Department to speed up reviews by accepting reasonable safety plans from companies and assigning a team lead to guide each application.
Creates a new Commercial Space Transportation Administration inside Transportation, led by an administrator reporting to the Secretary.
Streamlines licensing for some satellite “imaging” tools by clarifying that certain self-check and safety cameras are not treated like remote-sensing systems. Also requires a study of Commerce’s licensing practices.

TransportationTechnologyTelecommunicationsNational SecurityInfrastructure

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(1)

Federal Employee

Neutral

Positive Impacts(1)

Small Business Owner

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Sep 26, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Sep 26, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

Related News

1 article

Aerospace America·over 1 year ago

Permission to launch

The U.S. space industry is pushing for regulatory changes to speed up licensing as FAA delays mount. The article highlights the LAUNCH Act (S. 1961) as a potential solution, noting its provisions for a $5 million digital licensing system and more transparent application tracking.

Center

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

LAUNCH Act

Bill NumberHR 5602

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

D: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.