Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
FAA on April 6 released new guidelines for obtaining one-year experimental launch permits for reusable spacecraft that will give developers the opportunity to fly and test their vehicles before applying for an FAA launch license. Each permit will cover multiple vehicles of a particular design and will allow an unlimited number of launches. The vehicles must operate in an area large enough to contain its trajectory that is not close to any densely populated areas.
FAA took the travel industry one more step toward space tourism on April 6 when it released guidelines for obtaining one-year experimental launch permits for reusable spacecraft. The guidelines give developers the opportunity to fly and test their vehicles before applying for an FAA launch license. Each permit will cover multiple vehicles of a particular design and will allow an unlimited number of launches. The vehicles must operate in an area large enough to contain a trajectory that is not close to any densely populated areas.
The budget for Aeronautics, long the poor stepchild at NASA, would be increased by $187.4 million under NASA'S new Fiscal 2007 operating plan, bringing its share of the $16.3 billion agency budget to $890.4 million.
