U.S. firms aspiring to launch paying passengers into suborbital space and beyond have been given an additional 33 months to start flying before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is free to set safety rules for spacefarers. That is because a provision in the massive FAA reauthorization bill the U.S. Congress approved Feb. 6 extends through September 2015 a regulatory grace period for private human space launches that was set to expire at the end of this year. At press time, the bill was awaiting President Barack Oba-ma's signature. The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 barred the FAA from imposing passenger and crew safety rules on die likes of Virgin Galactic and other such operators for eight years, unless an operator experiences a serious accident or an especially dangerous close call. And even then, the FAA would be limited to restricting or prohibiting design features or operating practices that resulted in serious or fatal injuries or contributed to die close calls.
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