This subpart establishes requirements for operators and applicants whose licensed or permitted operations involve government astronauts on board a vehicle.

This subpart applies to:

(a) An applicant for a license or permit under this chapter who proposes to have a government astronaut with a safety-critical role on board a vehicle.

(b) An operator licensed or permitted under this chapter who has a government astronaut with a safety-critical role on board a vehicle.

(a) An operator must ensure that each government astronaut with a safety-critical role is trained on—

(1) How to carry out their safety-critical role on board or on the ground so that the vehicle will not harm the public; and

(2) Their role in nominal and non-nominal conditions, including abort scenarios and emergency operations, to the extent that performance of their role could impact public safety.

(b) An operator must ensure any government astronaut who has the capability to control, in real time, a launch or reentry vehicle's flight path during a phase of flight capable of endangering the public:

(1) Receives vehicle and mission-specific training for each phase of flight capable of endangering the public and over which the government astronaut has the capability to control the vehicle by using one or more of the following:

(i) A method or device that simulates the flight;

(ii) An aircraft whose characteristics are similar to the vehicle or that has similar phases of flight to the vehicle;

(iii) Flight testing; or

(iv) An equivalent method of training approved by the FAA through the license process.

(2) Trains for each mode of control or propulsion, including any transition between modes, such that the government astronaut is able to control the vehicle.

(3) Possesses aeronautical knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to pilot and control the launch or reentry vehicle that will operate in the National Airspace System (NAS). Aeronautical experience may include hours in flight, ratings, and training.

(c) With respect to training device fidelity, an operator must:

(1) Ensure that any government astronaut training device used to meet the training requirements realistically represents the vehicle's configuration and mission; or,

(2) Inform the government astronaut being trained of the differences between the training device and the vehicle's configuration and mission.

(d) An operator must update the government astronaut training to ensure that the training incorporates lessons learned from training and operational missions including—

(1) Providing traceability to revisions or changes; and

(2) Documenting the completed training for each government astronaut and maintaining the documentation for each active government astronaut.

(e) An operator must establish a recurrent training schedule and ensure that all training of government astronauts performing safety-critical roles is current before launch or reentry.

(f) For licensed missions supporting U.S. Government contracts, operators may meet the training requirements of this section through U.S. Government's contractual requirements.

(a) An operator must provide atmospheric conditions adequate to sustain life and consciousness for all inhabited areas within a vehicle that house a government astronaut. The operator must monitor and control the following atmospheric conditions in the inhabited areas or demonstrate through the license or permit process that an alternate means provides an equivalent level of safety—

(1) Composition of the atmosphere, which includes oxygen and carbon dioxide, and any revitalization;

(2) Pressure, temperature and humidity;

(3) Contaminants that include particulates and any harmful or hazardous concentrations of gases, or vapors; and

(4) Ventilation and circulation.

(b) An operator must provide an adequate redundant or secondary oxygen supply for any government astronaut with a safety-critical role.

(c) An operator must provide a redundant means of preventing cabin depressurization; or prevent incapacitation of any government astronaut with a safety-critical role in the event of loss of cabin pressure.