Commercial space bill passed!

[wvbraun]

Unbelievable. With two hours left the Senate passed HR 5382 (the House passed it weeks ago, President Bush will sign it).<br /><br /><br />Update form Henry Vanderbilt, Space Access Society:<br /><br /><br /><i>HR 5382, The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, just passed the US Senate by unanimous consent. Having already passed the House of Representatives, it will now go to the President for signature and at that point become law. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has worked toward this moment over the last year.<br /><br />The lack of this law would not have been the end of the world for the emerging "alt space" industry, and the passing of it will not solve all problems from this moment on. Nevertheless, we believe that HR 5382 is a significant step forward in establishing a regulatory regime that, whether or not it's perfect, is Good Enough for this new industry to get underway with.<br /><br />Thanks again, all. </i><br /><br /><br />IMO 2004 is the best year for space I can remember.

 

[najab]

Good. Now let's get down to business.