The commercial space flight industry, including facilities like the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island, could get a boost thanks to a new bill, according Congressman Glenn Nye (VA).Last Wednesday, Nye joined a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives to pass a bill that will simplify the laws and regulations governing national and commercial space flight programs saying, “Commercial space flight is a growing sector of our economy, and it has the potential to create thousands of new jobs here on the Eastern Shore. Simplifying these regulations will help new businesses grow and succeed, creating more jobs and growing our economy.”
According to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VSCFA), the MARS facility at Wallops Island will support the creation of 400 new jobs and $93 million in infrastructure development this year. The spaceport will be launching cargo to the International Space Station beginning next year.
The legislation (H.R. 3237) passed the House by unanimous voice vote. It consolidates existing laws relating to national and commercial space programs that have been enacted separately over the years, and designates these laws as Title 51 in the U.S. Code.
No comments:
Post a Comment