BREMEN, Germany \u2014 A U.S. government official warned that a draft European space law could \u201cstifle innovation,\u201d as other countries also assess the potential impacts of the proposed legislation.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Space Tech Expo Europe on Nov. 18, Scott Woodard, consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Hamburg, reiterated concerns about the proposed European Union Space Act, whose first draft was released in June<\/a>. The act is intended to harmonize European space regulations and establish rules for topics such as space safety.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to collaborate with Europe efficiently and fairly, with predictable rules that support innovation,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hear concerns from both U.S. and European firms that certain proposed regulations stifle innovation, exclude U.S. participation and place financial burdens on U.S. companies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur view here is simple: No one can regulate their way to a technological lead,\u201d he added, citing an August executive order calling for streamlined regulations for the U.S. space industry<\/a>. \u201cWe hope the final EU Space Act will take a similarly forward-leaning approach.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. State Department submitted formal comments<\/a> on the draft law Nov. 4 as part of the European Commission\u2019s public comment process. \u201cAs a general matter, the United States expresses deep concern regarding measures in the proposed act that would impose unacceptable regulatory burdens on U.S. providers of space services to European customers,\u201d it wrote.<\/p>\n The department requested several changes, including more clarity about implementation, the process for mutual recognition of national space regulations and revisions to specific provisions.<\/p>\n One example is the act\u2019s definition of a \u201cgiga-constellation\u201d as a satellite system with more than 1,000 spacecraft, a category that currently applies only to U.S. operators. The State Department said it was unclear why such a threshold was needed and warned it could \u201cresult in additional burdens and restrictions on U.S. operators providing services for people abroad, including EU citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n American companies and trade groups echoed those concerns. SpaceX called for the act to be \u201cradically simplified\u201d<\/a> in areas related to space safety, saying it includes \u201cprescribed regulatory requirements that will simply become stale and impractical as technologies mature.\u201d<\/p>\n