FAA To Ban Vehicles Without Deorbit Permit

The Varda capsule that gets a problem when applying for a deorbit permit (photo: dock. Varda Space)

JAKARTA - The US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) announced that it would not approve the launch of a spacecraft that does not have a deorbit permit. This prohibition will be included in the regulations. Through the announcement made in the Federal Register, official news from the US government, the FAA said that the deorbitation permit is part of the standard charge review process. Therefore, the entire space company must pay attention to the regulation. According to the FAA, changes to the rules for this deorbit process are concerned with Earth security concerns. There are several vehicles that do not support the deorbit process so that it will have a bad impact, such as components that are not completely destroyed. "Reinflowing vehicles have a major component designed to hold back in full and therefore have an almost sure impact on the ground as a result of controlled re-entry," the FAA wrote. Therefore, licensing for deorbits is very important. In the absence of permission to enter the Earth's atmosphere, space vehicles will pose an unexpected risk and may hurt humans on Earth.

"Therefore, it is very important to evaluate deorbit security before launch," the FAA said. In this way, the FAA can cooperate with re-entry operators to meet the necessary risks and other criteria.FAA does not explain the reasons behind the changes to this rule. However, it looks like this rule is based on Varda Space Industries launching a space drug factory, but does not have permission to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Since June last year, Varda Space sought to apply for a permit. However, the application for permission continues to be rejected by the FAA. After a long and months-long struggle, Varda's drug capsule successfully landed at the Utah Test and Training Range.FAA gave permission after seeing Varda's experience in the space sector. While granting permission, the FAA had said that, "We may soon issue a policy statement from our office discussing re-entry (atmosphere)."