Dawkins warned there could be significant ramifications if the regulatory environment in the U.S. is not conducive to these companies’ plans. “If we restrict this industry to a place where they’re not commercially viable, then this gets driven overseas,” she said.
Dawkins pointed out that the U.S. has made this mistake before. In the 1990s, U.S. companies saw a lucrative opportunity in offering Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) services. But a messy, undefined regulatory environment eventually pushed those investments to other, better-equipped regions. To this day, the U.S. lags behind countries like Canada in the SAR market.
“If our government is not taking leadership in this, others will, and the consequences of that are much more dire than any technical risk I see,” said Al Tadros, SSL’s vice president of space infrastructure and civil space.
Full Story by KENDALL RUSSELL: http://interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/satellite-2018-show-daily-wrap-up/in-orbit-servicing-regulations-must-balance-innovation-and-risk/