The House Space and Aeronautics subcommittee recently held a hearing on commercial space utilization and public safety (https://science.house.gov/2024/9/space-aeronautics-subcommittee-hearing-risks-and-rewards-encouraging-commercial-space-innovation-while-maintaining-public-safety). A key issue at this hearing was the tension between preserving public safety as a priority and also facilitating innovation and more rapid changes. You can read the chair and witness statements at the link above. The increase in the pace of commercial space launches and overall utilization puts pressure on the existing regulatory apparatus to appropriately review these operations, and it certainly seems like increased investment whether funded through general appropriations or through increased fees on the part of the launch service companies would be appropriate to not compromise the historically high safety standards in this industry.
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