Home » “Mission Authorization” – E.O. 14335

“Mission Authorization” – E.O. 14335

Background:

Section 5 of Executive Order 14335, “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry,” directs the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to develop and “propose a process for individualized mission authorizations for activities that are […] not clearly or straightforwardly governed by existing regulatory frameworks, with the goal of expediting and streamlining authorizations to enable American space competitiveness and superiority.”

As it develops a concept for the eventual U.S. regulatory authorization of “novel space activities,” the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) is seeking input and feedback from industry stakeholders. 

This webpage will be updated with additional resources, materials, and details as the process moves forward.

OSC’s Draft Concept (December 2025):

The Office of Space Commerce’s current draft concept entails a single opt-in process for novel activities – a “space commerce certification.”

Under this approach: 

  • OSC identifies light-touch commitments that applicants must make to protect fundamental national interests, including but not limited to national security, international obligations, and safety of third parties.
  • Industry applies through the OSC process and makes the relevant commitments to their planned operations.
  • OSC circulates the application and commitments to the U.S. Government interagency with firm deadlines to be notified of additional identified commitments, while conducting basic due diligence.
  • OSC reviews and may choose to “certify” the proposed operations under these commitments [while reserving the right to not certify, thereby sending applicants back through the “traditional” regulatory process].
  • FAA expedites their statutory payload review process and accepts the OSC certification as a sufficient pre-review for novel space activity. While the FAA holds statutory authority to make determinations, the FAA would accept OSC analysis as part of an expedited review process under a predetermined timeline.
  • The FCC would likewise accept this certification as sufficient to meet non-frequency requirements.

The result: a single process for novel activities.

NOTE: This is an OSC working draft that is subject to changes and will still require senior political sign-off. The express purpose for sharing this early draft is to solicit and consider the perspectives of U.S. commercial space industry stakeholders. 

Request for Stakeholder Feedback:

The Office of Space Commerce is seeking the perspectives, inputs, and feedback regarding this draft concept from the public stakeholder community. Feedback will be collected on a rolling basis.

Feedback form: Access the Mission Authorization Stakeholder Feedback Questionnaire here.

In addition to this feedback questionnaire, submissions may be made via email to space.commerce@noaa.gov with the email header “Mission Authorization Feedback.” The Office of Space Commerce is particularly interested in:

  • Organization/Name.
  • What sector of industry does your organization represent (e.g., ISAM; LEO Destinations; Launch; Orbital Refueling)?
  • What specific feedback do you have to particular elements of this draft concept?
  • Do you have any feedback on conditions that OSC should incorporate/consider to meet current U.S. statutory requirements? 
  • What general feedback/comments regarding “mission authorization of novel space activities” do you have?

Responses and submissions to this call for feedback are purely voluntary. This call does not solicit recommendations nor consensus positions for the United States Government. Responses to this questionnaire are strictly for informational purposes for the United States Government. Do not submit proprietary nor business confidential information in your response.

Additional Resources: