Notice2022-10586
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 17, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 95 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29853-29855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10586]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and
continuing
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information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting
burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal
Register on February 8, 2022 and February 18, 2022 (correction) during
a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days
for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0174.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (revision and extension of a current
information collection).
Number of Respondents: 100.
Average Hours per Response: 15 hours for the submission of a
license application; 1 hour each for the submission of a license
amendment, notification of disposal of on-orbit component, notification
of detection of anomaly, and notification of financial insolvency or
dissolution; 2 hours each for notification of launch or deployment of
spacecraft and the annual compliance certification; 20 minutes for the
Initial Contact Form; 10 minutes for the Data Availability
Notification; and 15 minutes for the Licensee Notification Form.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 388.
Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of an
approved information collection.
The Department of Commerce (DOC), through the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory
Affairs (CRSRA), has the authority to regulate private space-based
remote sensing under the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, 51
U.S.C. 60101 et seq. (the Act) and regulations at 15 CFR part 960. The
regulations facilitate the development of the U.S. private remote
sensing industry and thus promote the collection and widespread
availability of remote sensing data, while preserving essential U.S.
national security interests and observing international obligations.
Applications are made in response to the requirements in the Act,
as amended, and NOAA sends applicants an Application Guide, which walks
the applicant through the application questions and criteria listed in
Appendix A to 15 CFR part 960. The application information received is
used to determine if the applicant meets the legal criteria for
issuance of a license to operate a private remote sensing space system,
i.e., the proposed system will be operated in accordance with the Act,
U.S. national security concerns and international obligations.
Application information includes information about the applicant (such
as corporate information), the launch dates of any components going to
space, and technical specifications of all components (especially the
components in space that are capable of collecting imagery data).
If a licensee wishes to modify its license, either to reflect
changes in its business practices or technical changes to its system,
or to request different license conditions, it may submit such a
request to CRSRA and explain why the change is sought. CRSRA needs this
information to be able to keep licenses accurate and to respond to the
regulated community's needs.
Licensees are required to notify CRSRA when a spacecraft launches
or deploys; upon disposal of an on-orbit component of the licensed
system; upon detection of an anomaly; and upon the licensee's financial
insolvency or dissolution. This information is critical to fulfilling
one of the United States' key international obligations, which is to
authorize and continually supervise U.S. nationals' activities in
space. CRSRA, therefore, must be notified when spacecraft are deployed
and disposed of so that CRSRA can supervise the space activities of
U.S. nationals. Similarly, anomalies may indicate loss of control of a
spacecraft, so CRSRA must monitor any anomalies to meaningfully
supervise the activities of U.S. nationals in space. Finally, the
financial insolvency or dissolution of a licensee may indicate that a
change in control of the spacecraft will follow, because an insolvent
licensee may go through a bankruptcy process that might put the
licensed system's ownership in question. It is critical that CRSRA be
able to intervene as early as possible in this process so that a
sensitive system does not pass into the ownership of an entity who
might jeopardize national security or international obligations.
CRSRA will require licensees to submit an annual compliance
certification, which requires the licensee to verify that all facts in
the license remain true. Facts that must be verified in this
certification include the technical specifications of the system and
other foundational facts that CRSRA relies upon in reviewing license
applications. This information is critical to ensuring that only those
entities who are legally fit to obtain a license do so.
NOAA is proposing to add three additional forms to this information
collection. The optional information is being collected to reduce the
total paperwork required to support regulation of the private space-
based remote sensing industry, which involves (1) determining whether
an applicant is required to apply for a license; (2) comparing the
capabilities of remote sensing systems to other foreign and domestic
remote sensing systems; and (3) recording important events in the
lifecycle of licensed systems.
The optional Initial Contact Form (ICF) information includes
contact information and general remote sensing system information. The
ICF may be submitted electronically through the NOAA website prior to
the submission of a full application. The ICF information received is
used to determine if the applicant is required to submit a full
application for the issuance of a license to operate a private remote
sensing space system i.e., the proposed system falls under the
authority defined in the Act and the regulations. If NOAA determines
after reviewing the ICF that an application is not required, the
potential applicant will save 40-50 hours of paperwork by not
submitting the application. Additionally, the ICF gives NOAA the
opportunity to provide early feedback and guidance on an application
package, lowering the likelihood of time-consuming rewrites and edits
to an application before it can be deemed complete. Therefore, the ICF
can save significant time for industry and private entities, as well as
government time.
The optional Data Availability Notification (DAN) information
includes contact information and general data availability information.
The DAN may be submitted electronically through the NOAA website during
the application process, while an applicant holds a license, or by any
interested party. The DAN information received is used to help
determine the availability of unenhanced data from a foreign or
domestic remote sensing system, which may then be compared to
unenhanced data produced by an applicant's system for the purpose of
adjusting the conditions and/or restrictions in a license. The DAN form
ensures that only required information is submitted, thereby reducing
unnecessary paperwork and/or follow-up correspondence.
The optional Licensee Notification Form (LNF) information is not a
new information collection, but is instead an optional form that
streamlines the reporting of the four Notifications described above.
The LNF form includes contact information and the option to report one
of four types of events, including (1) the launch or deployment of a
system component; (2) the disposal of a system component; (3) the
detection
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of an anomaly in a system; and (4) the financial insolvency of the
licensee. The existing IC already allows for the collection of this
information, the collection of which is required by statute and
regulations. The LNF will ease the burden on licensees when reporting
this already-required information. The LNF may be submitted
electronically through the NOAA website throughout the term of a
license. The LNF information received is used to record events in the
lifecycle of the system and to help determine if modifications to a
license are required. The LNF ensures that only required information is
submitted, thereby reducing unnecessary paperwork and/or follow-up
correspondence.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: Once per year.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, 51 U.S.C.
60101 et seq; and 15 CFR part 960--Licensing of Private Remote Sensing
Space Systems.
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
Control Number 0648-0174.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-10586 Filed 5-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HR-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 17, 2022.
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