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Commercial Spaceflight Federation

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Commercial Spaceflight Federation
Founded2005
TypeNon-profit Trade Association
Purpose"To promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry."[1]
Location
  • Washington D.C.
Area served
United States
Members85+
Key people
Dave Cavossa (President)
Websitecommercialspaceflight.org

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is a private spaceflight industry group, incorporated as an industry association for the purposes of establishing ever higher levels of safety for the commercial human spaceflight industry, sharing best practices and expertise, and promoting the growth of the industry worldwide.[2][3][4] Issues that the Commercial Spaceflight Federation works on include, but are not limited to, airspace issues, FAA regulations and permits, industry safety standards, public outreach, and public advocacy for the commercial space sector.[5][6]

History

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In 2005, Peter Diamandis and John Gedmark from the X Prize Foundation convened a group of leaders in the emerging personal spaceflight industry, held at SpaceX's headquarters in El Segundo, California. Attendees at the meeting included SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Virgin Galactic's Alex Tai, aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, businessman Robert Bigelow, and entrepreneur John Carmack.[7] The goal of what was then called the Personal Spaceflight Federation was to "design and uphold the standards and processes necessary to ensure public safety and promote growth of the personal spaceflight industry."[8]

On August 22, 2006, the PSF laid out their priorities as:[9]

  • Member Coordination
  • Government Interface
    • Both with Congress and other federal agencies in order "to develop a legal and regulatory environment supportive of the growth of the human spaceflight industry."
  • Safety in spaceport operations, crew and passenger training, and vehicle manufacture, operations, and maintenance
    • Safety was highlighted as the most important concern for the PSF because safety was the common link between all the member companies
  • Insurance
  • Public Relations

On June 15, 2008, the Personal Spaceflight Federation announced a new website and a new name—the Commercial Spaceflight Federation—to emphasize "the diverse business activities of the commercial human spaceflight industry."[10] The areas the CSF now represented include:

On August 10, 2009, CSF announced the creation of the Suborbital Applications Research Group (SARG).[11] On February 18, 2010, the CSF announced a new research and education affiliates program.[12]

United Launch Alliance joined in 2010,[13] followed by Boeing's membership in 2013,[14] but both left by 2014.[15] The X Prize Foundation left by around 2016.[16]

CSF has hosted the CST Commercial Space Transportation Conference in partnership with the FAA since 2017.[17]

Lobbying efforts

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Committees and Working Groups

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The Commercial Spaceflight Federation has two organizing committees as well as several working groups composed of their members and staff that are working to address the most pressing issues facing the industry. Participation in these committees is open to Executive and Associate members.[28]

Legislative

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The Legislative Committee works to secure funding for civil space activities, NASA, the Office of Space Commerce, and FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST). Additionally, it seeks to work with congressional offices and committees to implement programmatic and language requests that establish and benefit programs that utilize commercial industry.

Regulatory

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CSF's Regulatory Committee collaborates to prepare information for and present a united position to regulators across the USG, ensuring that regulation does not needlessly hinder the advancement of the commercial space industry. To this end, the Regulatory Committee ensures that commercial perspectives are included in the regulation and standards development process to ensure the safety of spaceflight participants and provide the FAA and FCC with means of compliance.

The Committee also works with industry experts from a variety of government agencies (including The Departments of State and Commerce) to promote modernization of Export Control policy and procedures in regards to the commercial space industry. The committee aims to assist American companies to remain competitive leaders in the global market and to advance innovation and technology overall. The committee also serves as a point of reference for adherence to current legislation and policy.

Spaceports

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The Commercial Spaceflight Federation's Spaceports Working Group focuses on a wide variety of issues facing the spaceport community including environmental, infrastructure, and regulatory topics, as well as seeking to encourage and fund programs to support spaceports.

Membership

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CSF members are responsible for the creation of thousands of high-tech jobs.[29] Members include over 85 industry organizations involved in commercial spaceflight and private spaceflight, often referred to as new space.[30]

There are four tiers of CSF membership, with each having different requirements and perks. The highest tier is Executive Membership, which is generally reserved for commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports.[31] Below Executive members are Associate Members, which is composed of suppliers supporting commercial spaceflight, with recent members including suppliers of mission support services and suppliers of training, medical and life-support products and services. The third tier of membership is called Research and Education Affiliates (REM for short), and this tier is occupied by Universities, educational and student nonprofits, and other research and education institutions. The fourth tier of CSF membership is the Patrons Program. This tier is distinct from the rest in the sense that it is composed of individuals rather than corporate entities.

Executive Members

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Executive Membership is the highest level of membership offered at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. At this level, members have an exclusive seat on the CSF Board of Directors.

Current List of Executive Members

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(Updated November 30, 2024):[30]

Associate Members

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The second highest tier, Associate members are invited to participate on CSF committees and working groups.

Current List of Associate Members

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(Updated November 30, 2024):[30]

Research and Education Affiliates

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The Research and Education Affiliates is primarily for "Researchers, engineers, and educators."[12]

Current list of research and education affiliates

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(Updated November 30, 2024):[30]

Patrons Program

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The Patron Program is unique in that it allows for individual membership, unlike other membership categories, which are reserved for corporations, and organizations.[32]

Suborbital Applications Researchers Group

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The Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) was created on August 10, 2009, to "increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science and R&D communities, to work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and to further develop ideas for the uses of these vehicles for science, engineering, and education missions."[11]

Members of SARG (Updated August 7, 2019)[33]
Member Affiliation
Michael Banish University of Alabama in Huntsville
Steven Collicott Purdue University
Marsh Cuttino Orbital Medicine
Adrienne Dove University of Central Florida
Steve Heck The Arete STEM Project and Foundation
Anna-Lisa Paul University of Florida
Bobby Russell Questforstars
Mark Shelhamer Johns Hopkins University
H. Todd Smith JHU Applied Physics Laboratory
Constantine Tsang Southwest Research Institute
Charlie Walker Independent Consultant & Speaker

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About Us - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". Commercial Spaceflight Federation. CSF. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  2. ^ David, Leonard (2005-02-09). "Personal Spaceflight Leaders Eye New Federation". SPACE.com. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  3. ^ Boyle, Alan (2005-02-08). "Space racers unite in federation". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  4. ^ "Commercial Spaceflight Federation Unveils New Name and New Website" (PDF) (Press release). Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  5. ^ Messier, Doug (April 29, 2010). "Cecil Field Joins Commercial Spaceflight Federation". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  6. ^ "Airspace usage a priority for new commercial industry group chairman - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  7. ^ Davenport, Christian (2 August 2018). The space barons : Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the quest to colonize the cosmos (Large print ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-4328-5378-5. OCLC 1031407885.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ "Space Entrepreneurs Resolve To Create Industry Group to Promote Safety Standards and Growth of the Personal Spaceflight Industry" (PDF) (Press release). Personal Spaceflight Federation. February 8, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  9. ^ "Personal Spaceflight Federation Announces Future Plans" (PDF) (Press release). Personal Spaceflight Federation. August 22, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  10. ^ "Newly Renamed Commercial Spaceflight Federation Launches New Website" (PDF) (Press release). Commercial Spaceflight Federation. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Commercial Spaceflight Federation Creates Scientific Advisory Panel Focused on Suborbital Research Applications" (PDF) (Press release). Commercial Spaceflight Federation. August 10, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  12. ^ a b "Commercial Spaceflight Federation Announces New Research and Education Affiliates Program, Initial Participating Universities" (PDF) (Press release). Commercial Spaceflight Federation. February 18, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  13. ^ "United Launch Alliance Joins the Commercial Spaceflight Federation". The Commercial Spaceflight Federation. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  14. ^ "Commercial Spaceflight Federation Announces New Members". The Commercial Spaceflight Federation. 2013-01-08. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  15. ^ Membership list:
  16. ^ "Membership - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2020-08-31.:X Prize Foundation not present.
  17. ^ "Media Advisory–20th Annual Federal Aviation (FAA) Administration Commercial Space Transportation Conference".
  18. ^ Foust, Jeff (November 3, 2015). "Senate Holds Up Final Passage of Commercial Space Bill". Space News. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  19. ^ "Sen. Cruz Calls Subcommittee Hearing on Space Exploration". U.S. Senate Committee On Commerce, Science, & Transportation. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  20. ^ "The Commercial Space Launch Industry: Small Satellite Opportunities and Challenges | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology". science.house.gov. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  21. ^ Rein, Gabrielle (May 28, 2016). "Plan to Sell Old ICBMs Stirs Controversy". Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  22. ^ "The ISS after 2024: Options and Impacts | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology". science.house.gov. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  23. ^ Davenport, Christopher (February 16, 2018). "As Elon Musk antagonized rival, the space industry battled over who will host a cocktail reception for the vice president". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  24. ^ "SENATE COMMERCE SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING RE APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY AND NASA'S FUTURE EXPLORATION PLANS, JULY 2019". spacepolicyonline.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  25. ^ "House Hearing On NASA's ISS Plans - NASA Watch". nasawatch.com. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  26. ^ "Subcommittee: Space Situational Awareness, Space Traffic Management, and Orbital Debris: Examining Solutions for Emerging Threats". U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation. 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  27. ^ "Full Committee Hearing - Continuing U.S. Leadership in Commercial Space at Home and Abroad". House Committee on Science Space & Tech - Republicans. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  28. ^ "Committees - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". www.commercialspaceflight.org. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  29. ^ "2022 CSF Award Winners Announced in Recognition of Milestone Accomplishments in Commercial Space". spaceref.com. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  30. ^ a b c d "Members - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". www.commercialspaceflight.org. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Members - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". www.commercialspaceflight.org. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  32. ^ "CSF Launches Patron Program To Represent Growing Commercial Space Ecosystem - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". www.commercialspaceflight.org. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  33. ^ "Suborbital Researchers Group (SARG) - Commercial Spaceflight Federation". CSF. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
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