The United States may lag as a manufacturer in the satellite industry, but there’s hope across the satellite community that efforts to reform rules and processes will restore the U.S. as a commercial leader in space.
Reform efforts continue throughout the commercial satellite landscape, including in acquisition and in export control reform. There is promise that Congress may pass acquisition reform laws this year, and changes to the State Department’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations rules and the U.S. munitions list are seen as a boon for U.S. industry.
“The marketplace has changed and the regulatory environment has changed. The U.S. government is clearly interested in supporting this commercial industry and commercial exports, and U.S. industry is clearly interested in more commercial satellite exports,” said Mark Webber, director for international trade policy, government and regulatory affairs at Lockheed Martin “Those two things put together are going to make for a very exciting time…the takeaway is the environment is ripe for change.”
Webber spoke at the Satellite 2015 conference in Washington on March 17.
On Capitol Hill acquisition reform seems to be gaining traction with the support of at least two key members of Congress.
“It looks like something will happen this year,” said Todd Harrison, senior fellow in defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry “has said he wants to get something rolled into the National Defense Authorization Act this year. Sen. [John] McCain is taking over the Senate Armed Services Committee – he’s long been a champion of acquisition reform and he’s also been working on some issues himself. So I think it’s pretty likely some measures for acquisition reform this year will be passed by Congress.”
Export control reform efforts have also gained momentum in the three years since the release of the Defense Department’s 1248 report, which urged government officials to remove key satellite components from the U.S. munitions list (USML), deeming them no threat to national security. Those restrictions were lifted last year.
“I think the biggest change is that U.S. companies now are encouraged and actively trying. Now they’re competing on a more level playing field in the commercial satellite space,” Webber said. “That’s a big deal.”
The export control reforms allow the U.S. to better compete with international companies, panelists said. For example, new regulatory rules have made the licensing process easier and quicker for companies, shortening the time to get proper licensing from roughly 60-90 days down to 30 days, according to Michael Conschafter, senior strategic accounts manager for geospatial systems at Exelis Inc.
Efforts to improve the export side of the U.S. satellite business continue at the State Department as well, and it’s likely that more materials will come off the USML’s restricted list.
“Export control reform is a new ethos; it’s not a new project,” said Robert Monjay, foreign affairs officer in the regulatory and multilateral affairs division at the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. “We’re going to keep looking at the USML list. This isn’t just an administrative initiative.”
