The aviation subcommittee of the House Transportation Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday afternoon on “Commercial Space Transportation: Beyond The X Prize”. The list of witnesses scheduled to testify features:
- Honorable Marion C. Blakey, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration
- John Douglass, President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association
- Michael Kelly, Chairman, Reusable Launch Vehicle Working Group, Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC)
- Lou Gomez, Program Manager, Southwest Regional Spaceport, New Mexico
- Will Whitehorn, President, Virgin Galactic
The hearing is scheduled for 2pm in 2167 Rayburn, and will be webcast on the committee’s web site.
This is notable for a couple reasons. First, the hearing is being held not by the House Science Committee, which has hosted previous hearings on commercial space transportation, but in the Transportation committee. (Many commercial space advocates will argue that this makes perfect sense: this is about commercial transportation, not rocket science.) Second, the ranking minority member of the transportation committee is Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), who many may remember as one of the staunch opponents last November of HR 5382. As an ex officio member of the aviation subcommittee, it will be worth noting if he attends the hearing and participates.
