[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56864-56865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15022]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Public Listening Session Regarding the Regulation and 
Implementing Practices of the Licensing of Private Remote Sensing Space 
Systems

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public listening session.

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SUMMARY: The Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) 
division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 
(NOAA's) Office of Space Commerce will hold a virtual listening session 
for the regulated community and the public to provide input on 
regulations regarding Licensing of Private Remote Sensing Space 
Systems, and implementing practices. During the session, the regulated 
community and the public may express their thoughts about any 
challenges or concerns experienced by the regulated community 
stakeholders in understanding or meeting the requirements of the 
regulations. Representatives from CRSRA will be present during the 
listening session and may ask clarifying questions, but will not 
discuss or address the merits of any comments provided.

DATES: The public listening session will be held on July 25, 2024, from 
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: The session will be accessible via GoToWebinar!. 
Registration is required for all participants and can be found at: 
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6212511616942256213. Webinar 
access instructions will be provided by email following registration. 
For those wishing to make comments during the listening session, please 
indicate this preference on the registration form. Participants 
accessing the webinar are strongly encouraged to log/dial in at 15 
minutes prior to the start time.
    Written comments summarizing or elaborating upon spoken remarks may 
be submitted up to 14 days following the conclusion of this listening 
session. Comments may be submitted electronically via email to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Brothers, Commercial Remote 
Sensing Regulatory Affairs, 1401 Constitution Ave. NW, Room 31027, 
Washington, DC 20230, [email protected], (771) 216-4112.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Licenses for the operation of private remote 
sensing space systems are issued by CRSRA pursuant to 51 U.S.C. 60101 
et seq. (the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992). The implementing 
regulations are at 15 CFR part 960.
    The regulations at 15 CFR part 960 were revised in its entirety in 
2020, and the new regulations became effective on July 20, 2020. In the 
approximately four years since the effective date of the new 
regulations, CRSRA has identified elements of the regulations that, 
upon implementation, yielded unexpected consequences or high 
administrative burdens to both CRSRA and the licensee.
    CRSRA has also observed trends in the private remote sensing sector 
that may warrant novel or creative regulatory approaches. For example, 
CRSRA observed that the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, 
which was declared shortly prior to the release of 15 CFR part 960, 
accelerated existing trends pertaining to virtual and distributed 
private remote sensing system operations and the extensive use in 
system operations of cloud computing resources and infrastructure. 
Similarly, CRSRA is seeing an increasing number of applications for 
hosted payloads and, as these activities increase, anticipates 
unexpected complications will arise therefrom.
    The upcoming listening session allows CRSRA to hear from the 
regulated community and the public regarding insights, challenges, 
concerns, and recommendations pertaining to the regulations and their 
implementation, including during pre-application consultation, 
application and license issuance, license sustainment (e.g., license 
modification and annual certification periods), and license transfer 
and termination.
    For this listening session, we anticipate hearing from the 
regulated community and the public about the following topics:
     Challenges or concerns experienced by stakeholders in 
understanding or meeting the requirements of 15 CFR part 960, the 
conditions of the license, and the implementation practices followed 
between pre-application consultation and license transfer or 
termination;
     Recommendations for regulatory or implementation practice 
approaches or alternatives that could address any challenges or 
concerns, or that could continue to streamline 15 CFR part 960; and
     Recommendations to improve 15 CFR part 960 and its 
implementation to

[[Page 56865]]

address existing or emerging business plans or models, concepts of 
operations, or system configurations, or other trends in the private 
remote sensing industry.
    The public is reminded that CRSRA expects participants of the 
session to conduct themselves appropriately. At the beginning of the 
session, the moderator will explain how it will be conducted and how 
and when registered participants can provide spoken comments. CRSRA 
will structure the session so that all members of the public who have 
registered in advance and indicated a preference to speak during 
registration will be able to comment; it is anticipated that 
approximately 5 minutes will be allocated to each speaker for comments. 
Should requests to comment exceed the time allocated, an additional 
public listening session will be organized and notice provided. 
Participants are expected to respect the ground rules, and those that 
do not may be asked to leave.

Richard DalBello,
Director, Office of Space Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2024-15022 Filed 7-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3511-43-P