[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35875-35876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17303]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Kistler Aerospace Corp.; Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Associate Administrator 
for Commercial Space Transportation, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: This Notice provides information to Federal, state, and local 
agencies, affected Native American tribes, and other interested persons 
on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) intent to prepare an 
environmental assessment (EA) of Kistler Aerospace Corporation's 
(Kistler) proposed launch vehicle operations at the Nevada Test Site 
(NTS). The FAA, as lead Federal agency, will prepare the EA in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508), as part of its licensing process for the proposed 
Kistler project. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for 
administering the NTS, and will be a cooperating agency in the 
development of the EA. Kistler proposes to use private funds to 
construct and operate facilities for purposes of conducting commercial 
space launch test and operational flights of the Kistler K-1, a 
reusable two-stage aerospace vehicle, at Area 18 of the DOE NTS, 
located in Nye County, Nevada. Proposed operations include suborbital 
and orbital test flights (launch and reentry). Kistler plans to launch 
communications and other commercial satellites as well as government 
satellites into low earth orbits.

Background

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of 
Energy (DOE) are cooperating agencies in the preparation of an 
environmental assessment (EA) of Kistler Aerospace Corporation's 
(Kistler's) proposed operations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to 
determine whether those operations would have significant impacts on 
the environment. The EA will cover construction of facilities, ground 
activities (component testing, transportation and storage of fuels and 
explosives, etc.), pre-flight vehicle and payload preparation 
activities, launch, reentry and recovery/landing operations.
    The FAA is the lead Federal agency in preparing the EA because of 
its licensing authority for commercial launch activities under 49 
U.S.C. Subtitle IX, Ch. 701, formerly the Commercial Space Launch Act 
of 1984, as amended (CSLA). The CSLA authorizes the Secretary of 
Transportation to oversee, license and coordinate U.S. commercial space 
launch activities. Under the CSLA, the Secretary exercises this 
authority in a manner that ensures the protection of public health and 
safety, the safety of property, and national security and foreign 
policy interests of the United States. The Secretary has delegated this 
authority to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, 
who in turn has redelegated this authority to the Associate 
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST). Kistler 
intends to apply for a

[[Page 35876]]

license to conduct launch operations from NTS. Because licensing 
Kistler's operations is a major Federal action, compliance with NEPA is 
required.
    The DOE is a cooperating agency regarding the proposed action 
because it is responsible for operating and managing the NTS. The 
Record of Decision for the Environmental Impact Statement for the NTS 
and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada, prepared by DOE and 
issued December 9, 1996, found that non-defense research activities, 
like the Kistler project, are an appropriate use for the NTS.
    The Nevada Test Site Development Corporation (NTSDC) is a nonprofit 
Nevada corporation formed at the direction of Nevada Governor Miller to 
encourage economic development projects at NTS. DOE has designated 
NTSDC as a community reuse organization and issued grants to NTSDC in 
support of that organizational purpose. Under a use permit to be issued 
by the DOE to the NTSDC, the NTSDC may sub-permit use of a particular 
site on the NTS.
    The EA will be provided for review to the States of Nevada, Utah, 
and Idaho because of overflights by the Kistler K-1 vehicle during 
proposed orbital launches and to other interested Federal, state, 
local, and private entities.

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action is licensing Kistler for the purpose of 
conducting commercial launch activities involving reentry/recovery 
activities as part of the launch mission. The operations will be 
conducted from a proposed site which would include newly-constructed 
facilities and infrastructure for testing and operating the Kistler K-1 
reusable launch vehicle. The function of K-1 will be to launch 
satellites and other payloads into prescribed orbits for commercial and 
government customers. Under the proposed action, the FAA would license 
Kistler to conduct flight tests involving launches of its reusable 
launch vehicles and their recovery at the site and, as appropriate, 
determine approval for ongoing launch/flight operations at NTS for the 
purpose of launching communications and other commercial satellites as 
well as government satellites into low earth orbits. The FAA would also 
evaluate reentry and recovery/landing operations as part of launch 
missions. The activities within the NTS will include the conduct of 
launch and recovery operations utilizing a vehicle processing facility, 
a launch pad, and vehicle landing/recovery area. One to three 
suborbital test flights, followed by one to three orbital test flights 
would be conducted, with the first test flight scheduled for 1998. 
Following successful test flights, and upon issuance of required FAA 
approvals, Kistler plans to begin commercial operations, on northerly 
(84-92 degree inclination) and northeasterly headings (52-60 degree 
inclinations). The northerly flights would overfly the states of Nevada 
and Idaho before entering low earth orbit. The northeasterly flights 
would overfly the states of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming before entering 
low earth orbit. Operating plans estimate 6 test launches in 1998--3 
suborbital and 3 orbital, and a commercial launch capability of one 
launch per week by 2005, depending on commercial market requirements.

Alternative Sites

    Proposed locations for the Kistler facilities are being identified 
by DOE through a siting process that considers existing and planned 
land uses at the NTS. Site selection within the NTS also takes into 
consideration alternatives proposed by Kistler and concerns raised by 
other users of the NTS. Included among the alternatives under 
consideration are the no action alternative and Area 18, which is in 
the northwest section of the NTS. The FAA will independently review the 
site selection process with respect to feasibility and environmental 
considerations and determine whether there are additional alternatives 
that are reasonable for detailed study in the EA.
    If the environmental assessment process does not identify 
significant environmental impacts, AST will issue a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI). The FAA would make the FONSI available for 
public review for 30 days by announcing its availability in the Federal 
Register because of the unprecedented nature of the proposed action. 
Any questions and comments regarding the EA may be directed to FAA, 
Attn: Mr. Nikos Himaras, Commercial Space Transportation, FAA, DOT, 400 
Seventh Street, Room No. 5402a, SW., Washington, DC 20590. He may also 
be reached at his Internet address of: [email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 24, 1997.
Patricia Grace Smith,
Acting Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.
[FR Doc. 97-17303 Filed 7-1-97; 8:45 am]
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