## Does the U.S. Finally Have a Path to Authorize Novel Space Activities?

The Department of Commerce is moving forward without Congress. On July 23, 2026, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Office of Space Commerce (OSC) Director Taylor Jordan announced that OSC will publish a "call for interest" in the Federal Register within coming weeks, inviting companies to apply for a new **Space Commerce Certification** — a clearinghouse mechanism designed to authorize novel commercial space activities that fall outside existing regulatory frameworks. The announcement ends more than a decade of legislative failure on mission authorization, though whether it fully closes the regulatory gap is a legitimate open question.

The certification is aimed squarely at the commercial activities that have multiplied in [Low Earth Orbit (LEO)](https://orbital-intel.com/glossary/leo) and beyond — on-orbit servicing, active debris removal, fuel depots, commercial space stations — none of which fit cleanly under the Department of Transportation's launch licensing authority, the FCC's spectrum management, or DOC's existing commercial remote sensing rules. For operators like [Astroscale](https://orbital-intel.com/companies/astroscale), [Orbit Fab](https://orbital-intel.com/companies/orbit-fab), [Starfish Space](https://orbital-intel.com/companies/starfish-space), and commercial station developers, regulatory uncertainty has been a persistent operational and fundraising friction point.

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## What the Space Commerce Certification Actually Does

The mechanism functions as an interagency routing service, not a standalone regulatory body. According to OSC Director Jordan's testimony to the House Science, Space, and Technology committee last week, OSC would collect information from applicant companies, circulate it to the Department of State, the Department of War, the FAA, the FCC, and NASA, and issue a certification if all agencies agree.

The critical caveat: it remains the FAA's and FCC's independent prerogative to waive — or not waive — their own regulations. OSC is offering coordination, not override authority. For a company pursuing an on-orbit servicing mission that requires both orbital maneuvering close to third-party assets and dedicated radio links, that distinction matters significantly. A DOC certification does not guarantee FAA or FCC cooperation; it only guarantees someone will make the ask in an organized fashion.

Secretary Lutnick framed the design philosophy as "presumption of approval" — the default posture is to let companies proceed unless there is a specific, articulable reason not to. That framing tracks with President Trump's August 2025 Executive Order on "Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry," which grounded the initiative and stressed that new space-based industries and defense systems must be "pioneered in America rather than by our adversaries."

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## A Decade of Regulatory Gridlock, Briefly

The backstory here matters for understanding why even this modest step is significant. Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty obligates the U.S. government to authorize and continually supervise activities of non-governmental entities in space. Congress has never passed a comprehensive law to implement that obligation for novel activities. The record of failure is consistent:

- The **2015 Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act** required the Obama Administration to submit a plan; it chose DOT. Congressional Republicans objected.
- Legislation assigning the role to DOC **nearly passed in 2018** but failed at the last minute for unrelated reasons.
- The first Trump Administration expanded DOC's scope to include Space Traffic Management via Space Policy Directive-3, but broader authority never materialized.
- The Biden Administration submitted a proposal to Congress in **2023**, but it arrived on the cusp of a House SS&T markup of a competing bill, and the effort stalled entirely.

OSC issued a draft of the Space Commerce Certification proposal in **December 2025**, gathered stakeholder feedback, and released an updated version in **March 2026**. Jordan testified to House SS&T last week on the updated framework.

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## Congressional Reception: Cautious, Not Committed

The Hill's response, at least publicly, is wait-and-see. House SS&T Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) said he needs to assess whether the proposal "fully meets the needs of the commercial space sector, or whether legislative action is needed" and whether the process "avoids establishing unnecessary or burdensome requirements." That is not an endorsement, and it signals that a legislative path remains on the table — particularly if industry feedback surfaces hard limits in the certification's practical scope.

Ranking Member Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) was blunt: "We have not yet landed on a solution and we need to."

Bipartisan dissatisfaction with the status quo is actually the strongest indicator that this executive-branch initiative has political runway, even without formal legislative backing. DOC isn't claiming to solve the problem permanently — it's claiming to move first and demonstrate feasibility.

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## Industry Implications

For operators planning missions in the regulatory gray zone, the immediate action item is straightforward: watch the Federal Register for the call for interest and evaluate whether early participation offers a strategic advantage. First movers in the process will likely have the most influence over how the certification framework evolves in practice.

**Analysis:** The clearinghouse model is pragmatic given the interagency turf dynamics that have paralyzed this issue for years. By positioning OSC as a coordinator rather than a regulator, DOC avoids a direct confrontation with FAA and FCC authority — the same confrontation that killed prior legislative efforts. The tradeoff is that the certification's actual value is only as strong as the interagency consensus it can reliably produce. If FAA or FCC routinely decline to act on OSC-routed applications, the certification becomes a procedural formality rather than a genuine authorization pathway.

For [cislunar](https://orbital-intel.com/glossary/cislunar) operators, active debris removal ventures, and in-space propellant transfer startups, the near-term question isn't whether this is a perfect solution — it isn't. The question is whether it is workable enough to support insurance underwriting, investment due diligence, and contractual commitments to customers. A credible federal certification, even an imperfect one, could meaningfully lower those friction costs.

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## Key Takeaways

- **DOC's Office of Space Commerce** will publish a Federal Register call for interest in coming weeks for its new Space Commerce Certification program.
- The certification acts as an **interagency coordination mechanism**, routing company applications through State, DOW, FAA, FCC, and NASA — not a standalone authorization authority.
- The initiative is grounded in President Trump's **August 2025 Executive Order** on commercial space competition and operates without new Congressional legislation.
- **FAA and FCC retain independent authority** to waive or maintain their own regulations; DOC cannot compel them.
- Congressional reaction is noncommittal — Chairman Babin is assessing whether legislative action is still needed; Ranking Member Lofgren noted Congress has yet to land on a solution.
- Novel activities explicitly in scope include: **on-orbit servicing, active debris removal, commercial space stations, fuel depots**.
- OSC issued a draft in **December 2025**, an updated version in **March 2026**, and is now moving toward a live application process.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is the DOC Space Commerce Certification?**
It is a new process managed by the Department of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce that consolidates interagency review of novel commercial space activities — things like on-orbit servicing, active debris removal, and fuel depots — into a single certification. DOC routes applications to relevant federal agencies and issues a certification if all agree.

**Which companies would need mission authorization for novel space activities?**
Any U.S. commercial operator conducting space activities not already regulated under existing FAA launch licensing, FCC spectrum rules, or DOC remote sensing regulations. This includes on-orbit servicing firms, active debris removal operators, commercial space station developers, and in-space propellant transfer companies.

**Does a Space Commerce Certification override FAA or FCC rules?**
No. The FAA and FCC retain independent authority over their own regulations. DOC can coordinate the review and issue a certification if agencies concur, but it cannot compel the FAA or FCC to waive their requirements.

**Why has the U.S. taken so long to establish a mission authorization regime?**
Successive Congresses and administrations have disagreed over which agency — DOT or DOC — should hold primary authority, and over how much regulation novel activities require. Legislative efforts failed in 2018 and again in 2023, leaving the current administration to pursue an executive-branch solution.

**What is the next step for companies interested in participating?**
Watch the Federal Register for OSC's call for interest, expected in the coming weeks. Companies that want to participate in the initial application cohort will indicate interest through that process.