Rick Larsen: “I support the amendment being offered by the gentlewoman from Virginia. This amendment would create within the FAA…”

“I support the amendment being offered by the gentlewoman from Virginia. This amendment would create within the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Office an office of spaceports, a centralized policy office that will support and promote infrastructure improvements at FAA-licensed spaceports. This amendment also requires a report to Congress evaluating the Federal Government's national security and civil space launch demands, and offers recommendations on how we can further support and promote greater investment in commercial space infrastructure. It also requires the Comptroller General to study spaceport activities in the U.S. Commercial space transportation and enabled industries includes satellite and ground equipment manufacturing, satellite services and remote sensing, and distribution industries. In 2015, the size of the global space industry was estimated to be $335 billion; the size of the U.S. space industry was approximately $126 billion, which includes $89 billion in revenues generated by satellite services, manufacturing, ground equipment, and launch services. The commercial launch of satellites is particularly important as these technologies offer us a range of services from television and radio broadcasts to high-speed internet and weather forecasting.…”