by Christopher Smith Gonzalez / The Daily News

khou.com

Posted on June 19, 2012 at 8:43 AM

HOUSTON Commercial flights into space might be a few years away, but NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration are laying the groundwork for the licensing and regulation requirements for those flights.

Heads of the two government agencies signed a memorandum of agreement that aviation administration acting Administrator Michael Huerta said provides a regulating framework and avoids conflicting sets of requirements and standards.

Under the agreement, the aviation administration will license commercial space flight providers to ensure the safety of the launch and re-entry of the spacecraft.

Huerta said the aviation administration would look at things such as the safety of the launch sight, appropriate contingency plans should something abnormal happen during the launch and cleared airspace.

What were focused on is the safety of the launch and safety of the re-entry as it passes through the national airspace, Huerta said.

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NASA, FAA working on commercial space-flight rules