The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is a

private spaceflight Private spaceflight is spaceflight or the development of spaceflight technology that is conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Unio ...

industry group, incorporated as an industry association for the purposes of establishing ever higher levels of safety for the commercial

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

industry, sharing best practices and expertise, and promoting the growth of the industry worldwide. Issues that the Commercial Spaceflight Federation work 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.

History

In 2005,

Peter Diamandis Peter H. Diamandis (; born May 20, 1961) is a Greek Americans, Greek-American engineer, physician, and entrepreneur best known for being founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, cofounder and executive chairman of Singularity University a ...

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 Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...

's Alex Tai, aviation pioneer

Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record- ...

, businessman

Robert Bigelow Robert Thomas Bigelow (born May 12, 1944) is an American businessman. He owns the hotel chain Budget Suites of America and is the founder of Bigelow Aerospace. In 2011, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth to be $700 million. Bigelow has provi ...

, and entrepreneur

John Carmack John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games ''Commander Keen'', ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Doo ...

. 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." On August 22, 2006, the PSF laid out their priorities as: :*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." The areas the CSF now represented include: :* Cargo and crew to the International Space Station :* Flight of private individuals (

space tourism Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. During the period from 2001 to 2009, seven space tourists made eight s ...

) :*Science Research Missions :*Technology Research and Development :*

Astronaut training Astronaut training describes the complex process of preparing astronauts in regions around the world for their space missions before, during and after the flight, which includes medical tests, physical training, extra-vehicular activity (EVA) tra ...

:*Education and Outreach Activities :* National Security Applications On August 10, 2009, the CSF announced the creation of the Suborbital Applications Research Group (SARG). On February 18, 2010, the CSF announced a new research and education affiliates program.

United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, a ...

joined in 2010, followed by

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

's membership in 2013, but both left by 2014. The X Prize Foundation left by around 2016.

Lobbying efforts

* The Commercial Spaceflight Federation lobbied for passage of the 2015 Commercial Space Bill. * Former Commercial Spaceflight Federation President Eric Stallmer testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Competitiveness on February 24, 2015 * Former CSF President Eric Stallmer testified alongside Elliot Pullham, CEO of the

Space Foundation The Space Foundation is an American nonprofit organization whose mission is to advocate for all sectors of the global space industry through space awareness activities, educational programs, and major industry events. It was founded in 1983. Loca ...

at a House Science, Space and Technology hearing on April 19, 2016 * CSF opposed the sale of excess

ICBMs An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons ...

for use in space launch. * Eric Stallmer testified for the House's Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee in a hearing entitled "The

ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...

After 2024: Options and Impacts." on March 22, 2017 * The Commercial Spaceflight Federation hosted a cocktail party for members of the

National Space Council The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration, disbanded in 1993, and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administrati ...

, including

Vice President Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

, in February 2018. * A week before the 50th anniversary of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

, Eric Stallmer testified before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee with Apollo 11 & 13 flight director

Gene Kranz Eugene Francis "Gene" Kranz (born August 17, 1933) is an American aerospace engineer who served as NASA's second Chief Flight Director, directing missions of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, including the first lunar landing mission, Apo ...

, former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

engineer and author of

Rocket Boys ''October Sky '' is the first memoir in a series of four, by American engineer Homer Hickam, Homer Hickam Jr. originally published in 1998 as ''Rocket Boys''. Later editions were published under the title ''October Sky'' as a tie-in to the 1999 ...

Homer Hickam Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is an American author, Vietnam War veteran, and a former NASA engineer who trained the first Japanese astronauts. His 1998 memoir '' Rocket Boys'' (also published as ''October Sky'') was a ''New ...

, former

mathematician

Christine Darden Christine Darden (born September 10, 1942, as Christine Mann) is an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted much of her 40-year career in aerodynamics at NASA to researching supersonic flight and sonic booms. S ...

, and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration Mary Lynne Dittmar on July 9, 2019 * Eric Stallmer testified before the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee in a hearing on

plans on July 10, 2019

Committees

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation has seven committees 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.

Export Control

Within CSF's Export Control Committee, members work with industry experts from a variety of government agencies (including The

Departments of State The United States federal executive departments are the principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States. They are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but (the Unite ...

and

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

) 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.

Government Funding

The Government Funding Committee works to secure funding for the major governmental space agencies,

and FAA's

Office of Commercial Space Transportation The Office of Commercial Space Transportation (generally referred to as FAA/AST or simply AST) is the branch of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that approves any commercial rocket launch operations — that is, any laun ...

(AST). They monitor the budget requests of these agencies and work with legislative and executive contacts to ensure lack of funding does not impede advancement of the commercial space sector.

Regulatory

CSF's Regulatory Committee collaborates to prepare information for and present a united position to legislative, executive and regulatory agencies. The committee works to get legislation passed that will benefit the space industry.

Industry Standards

With the help of experienced aerospace professionals and standards development organizations, the members of the Industry Standards Committee work together to research and design industry consensus

safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities and processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. In ...

. These standards ensure the safety of

spaceflight participants Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either human spaceflight, with or uncrewed spaceflight, without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly w ...

, provide the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

with means of compliance, and can be used in the future to assist in creating regulations.

Space Commerce

The Space Commerce Committee serves as the industry point of contact for legislative agencies. When issues arise that affect space commerce, such as the legal framework for resources mined from

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s, the members author reports that agencies can use to prepare appropriate legislation.

Spaceports

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation's

Spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

s Committee focuses on a wide variety of issues facing the

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

community including environmental, infrastructure, and regulatory topics.

Small Sats

The Small Sats Committee identifies and proposes consensus solutions to address potential issues that could hamper the commercial space industry's growth. The committee focuses on multiple topics including regulations, licensing, permitting, sector outreach and promotion, and more.

Membership

CSF members are responsible for the creation of thousands of high-tech jobs. Members are over 80 industry organizations involved in commercial spaceflight and private spaceflight, often referred to as

new space Private spaceflight is spaceflight or the development of spaceflight technology that is conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Unio ...

. 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

s. 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 Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

products and services. The third tier of membership is called Research and Education Affiliates (REM for short), and this tier is occupied by

Universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, 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

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

(Updated January 12, 2021): * ABL Space Systems *

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Axiom Space Axiom Space, Inc., also known as Axiom, is an American privately funded space infrastructure developer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2016 by Michael T. Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian, the company first flew a spaceflight in 20 ...

Blue Origin Blue Origin, LLC is an American private spaceflight, privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Am ...

* BRPH * Cecil Field Spaceport (

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

) *

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

* ISS National Laboratory *

Masten Space Systems Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub- ...

Maxar Technologies Maxar Technologies Inc. is a space technology company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, United States, specializing in manufacturing communication, Earth observation, radar, and on-orbit servicing satellites, satellite products, and relate ...

* Midland International Air & Space Port *

Mojave Air & Space Port The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a sp ...

Planet Labs Planet Labs PBC (formerly Planet Labs, Inc. and Cosmogia, Inc.) is an American public Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Their goal is to image the entirety of the Earth daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends. The co ...

* Qwaltec *

Relativity Space Relativity Space is an American aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone. Relativity Space is developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles and ...

Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is an American, privately held aerospace and national security contractor specializing in aircraft modification and integration, space components and systems, and related technology products for cybersecurity and ...

Southwest Research Institute Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent and nonprofit applied research and development (R&D) organization. Founded in 1947 by oil businessman Tom Slick, it provides contract research and develop ...

Space Florida Space Florida is the aerospace economic development agency of the State of Florida. The agency was created by consolidating three existing state space entities into a single new organization via the Space Florida Act, enacted in May 2006 by the ...

Space Perspective Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

Spaceport America Spaceport America, formerly the Southwest Regional Spaceport, is an FAA-licensed spaceport located on of State Trust Land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and southeast of Truth or Consequences. With V ...

Spaceport Camden Spaceport Camden is a licensed spaceport in Camden County, Georgia, near the city of Woodbine. The site tested the largest solid rocket motor ever fired as part of the Apollo Program and Camden County, Georgia was originally considered as a NA ...

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA), commonly known as Virginia Space, is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia focused on bringing Private spaceflight, commercial spaceflig ...

World View Enterprises World View Enterprises, Inc., doing business as World View, is a private American near space exploration and technology company headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, founded with the goal of increasing access to and the utilization of the stratosphere ...

Associate Members

The second highest tier, Associate members are invited to participate on the seven CSF committees:

Export Control Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be ''controlled ...

, Government Funding,

Regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

, Space Commerce,

Standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

, and

Small Satellites A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites ca ...

Current List of Associate Members

(Updated January 12, 2021): * Advanced Space * AGI ( Analytical Graphics, Inc.) *

Alaska Aerospace Corporation Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

* Analytical Space * AST & Science * Astranis Space Technologies * Atomos Space * Barrios Technology * Colorado Air & Space Port *

EnerSys EnerSys is a stored energy systems and technology provider for industrial applications. manufactures and distributes reserve power and motive power batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories and outdoor equipment enclosu ...

* Ground Based Space Matters * Heinlein Prize Trust * HelicitySpace Corp *

Houston Airport System Houston Airport System (HAS) is a department of the City of Houston, Texas, United States that manages city airports. Its administrative offices are on the property of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.ISPCS *

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL) is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center (UARC) in Howard County, Maryland. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and emplo ...

* Kearney * Kimley-Horn * Launch on Demand * Made In Space * Marotta * MLA Space * Momentus Space * Moon Express *

NanoRacks Nanoracks LLC is a private in-space services companywhich builds space hardware and in-space repurposing tools.The company also facilitates experiments and launches of CubeSats to Low Earth Orbit. Nanoracks's main office is in Houston, Tex ...

* Parabilis Space Technologies * Rob Baker & Associates *

Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is a public American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider, with a New Zealand subsidiary. The company operates lightweight Electron orbital rockets, which provide dedicated launches for small satellites. Rocket Lab also ...

* RS&H *

Space Adventures Space Adventures, Inc. is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights (with the option to participate in a spacewalk), and other spacefl ...

* Space Angels * Space Tango *

Spaceflight Industries Spaceflight Industries, Inc. is an American private aerospace company based out of Herndon, Virginia that specializes in geospatial intelligence services. It sold its satellite rideshare business, Spaceflight, Inc., in June 2020. Spaceflight I ...

SpinLaunch SpinLaunch is a spaceflight technology new product development, development company working on Mass driver, mass accelerator technology to move payloads to outer space, space. As of September 2022, the company has raised US$150 million in fundi ...

* Spire * Techshot * Tip Technologies * University of Colorado Boulder – Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences * Voyager Space Holdings * Whitney, Bradley, and Brown * Xplore

Research and Education Affiliates

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

Current list of research and education affiliates

(Updated January 12, 2021): * American Society for Gravitational and Space Research * Association of Spaceflight Professionals *

Florida Institute of Technology The Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Appr ...

The Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle.< ...

*High Speed Flight *

National Institute for Aviation Research Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech and formerly New Mexico School of Mines) is a public university in Socorro, New Mexico. It offers over 30 bachelor of science degrees in technology, the sciences, engineering, man ...

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

* Silicon Valley Space Center * Sovaris Aerospace, LLC * STARS at

Carnegie Mellon Carnegie may refer to: People * Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie *Carnegie Building (Troy, New York), on the campus of Rensselaer Polyt ...

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

The University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Mississi ...

School of Law *

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...

Patrons Program

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

Suborbital Applications Researchers Group

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."

References

External links

Commercial Spaceflight Federation Website
{{Politics of outer space Space organizations Commercial spaceflight Private spaceflight Aviation trade associations