Group - 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 launches that are not classified as model, amateur, or "by and for the government." Under international law, the nationality of the owner of a launch vehicle determines which country is responsible for any damages resulting from that vehicle. Due to this, the United States requires that rocket manufacturers and launchers adhere to specific regulations to indemnify and protect the safety of people and property that may be affected by a flight. The Office of Commercial Space Transportation was created by the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1985 to meet this need. The office also regulates launch sites, publishes quarterly launch forecasts, and holds annual conferences with the space launch industry. The office is headed by the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST), who is currently Dr. George C. Nield. They are located in Washington, DC, and ultimately operate under the Department of Transportation. AST is responsible for licensing private space vehicles and spaceports within the US. This is in contrast with NASA which is a research and development agency of the U.S. Federal Government, and as such neither operates nor regulates the commercial space transportation industry. The regulatory responsibility for the industry has been assigned to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is a regulatory agency. NASA does, however, often use launch satellites and spacecraft on vehicles developed by private companies.