Regulators Struggle to Keep Pace with Rapid Space Industry Growth

Government agencies work to modernize licensing and oversight as the commercial space sector accelerates development.

Apr. 14, 2026 at 12:27am

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A bold, abstract painting featuring sweeping geometric shapes, concentric circles, and intersecting waveforms in muted tones, conceptually representing the complex regulatory forces and rapid technological changes shaping the modern commercial space sector.Regulators work to keep pace with the accelerating cadence of innovation in the commercial space industry.Colorado Springs Today

Regulators from the FCC, NOAA, and FAA discussed the challenges of overseeing the rapid growth and innovation in the commercial space industry during a panel at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. They described efforts to streamline licensing, adopt more flexible regulations, and partner closely with industry to enable continued development while maintaining necessary oversight.

Why it matters

The commercial space sector has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past decade, shifting from a small number of slow-moving systems to a rapid cadence of launches, deployments, and technological innovation. Government agencies responsible for regulating this industry are working to modernize their approaches and keep pace with the industry's accelerating development.

The details

FCC Space Bureau chief Jay Schwarz said the volume and complexity of satellite licensing has increased dramatically, requiring the agency to scale its processes to match industry growth. NOAA's Glenn Tallia described a 2020 regulatory overhaul that shifted to a 3-year limit on restricting unique remote sensing capabilities, enabling quicker innovation. The FAA's Sabrina Jawed discussed creating performance-based requirements to allow operators to iterate without needing waivers, and forming an advisory committee to streamline regulations while maintaining safety mandates.

  • In 2018, NOAA was directed to rescind or revise its remote sensing regulations.
  • NOAA issued a final rule in July 2020 to implement a new regulatory paradigm.
  • The FAA formed a launch and re-entry licensing rulemaking advisory committee in recent years.

The players

Jay Schwarz

Space Bureau chief of the FCC.

Glenn Tallia

Chief Legal Counsel for NOAA.

Sabrina Jawed

Deputy assistant chief counsel, regulations division of the FAA.

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What they’re saying

“If I had to then connect this to what we're doing at the FCC, it really boils down to the fact that we need to make sure that government is scaling to match what's happening in the industry. Both the volume and the complexity of what we have been faced with at the FCC in terms of licensing these systems have changed.”

— Jay Schwarz, Space Bureau chief of the FCC

“In 2018, we were directed to either rescind our regulations or revise them. So we undertook a major review of our regulations because they weren't effective now, given the big increase of activity in the private remote sensing area. We issued a final rule in July 2020, and we've been implementing that rule since then. That rule was a paradigm shift in how we regulate.”

— Glenn Tallia, Chief Legal Counsel for NOAA

“Ideally, we want to create a regulatory structure that allows for government to work closely with industry and be a partner to industry, as opposed to holding them back.”

— Sabrina Jawed, Deputy assistant chief counsel, regulations division of the FAA

What’s next

The FAA, FCC, and NOAA will continue to work with industry stakeholders to further streamline regulations and licensing processes to keep pace with the rapid growth and innovation in the commercial space sector.

The takeaway

Government regulators are making concerted efforts to modernize their approaches, adopt more flexible policies, and partner closely with industry in order to enable continued innovation and development in the rapidly evolving commercial space industry.