[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35875-35876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17303]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Kistler Aerospace Corp.; Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Assessment
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Associate Administrator
for Commercial Space Transportation, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment.
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SUMMARY: This Notice provides information to Federal, state, and local
agencies, affected Native American tribes, and other interested persons
on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) intent to prepare an
environmental assessment (EA) of Kistler Aerospace Corporation's
(Kistler) proposed launch vehicle operations at the Nevada Test Site
(NTS). The FAA, as lead Federal agency, will prepare the EA in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508), as part of its licensing process for the proposed
Kistler project. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for
administering the NTS, and will be a cooperating agency in the
development of the EA. Kistler proposes to use private funds to
construct and operate facilities for purposes of conducting commercial
space launch test and operational flights of the Kistler K-1, a
reusable two-stage aerospace vehicle, at Area 18 of the DOE NTS,
located in Nye County, Nevada. Proposed operations include suborbital
and orbital test flights (launch and reentry). Kistler plans to launch
communications and other commercial satellites as well as government
satellites into low earth orbits.
Background
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of
Energy (DOE) are cooperating agencies in the preparation of an
environmental assessment (EA) of Kistler Aerospace Corporation's
(Kistler's) proposed operations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to
determine whether those operations would have significant impacts on
the environment. The EA will cover construction of facilities, ground
activities (component testing, transportation and storage of fuels and
explosives, etc.), pre-flight vehicle and payload preparation
activities, launch, reentry and recovery/landing operations.
The FAA is the lead Federal agency in preparing the EA because of
its licensing authority for commercial launch activities under 49
U.S.C. Subtitle IX, Ch. 701, formerly the Commercial Space Launch Act
of 1984, as amended (CSLA). The CSLA authorizes the Secretary of
Transportation to oversee, license and coordinate U.S. commercial space
launch activities. Under the CSLA, the Secretary exercises this
authority in a manner that ensures the protection of public health and
safety, the safety of property, and national security and foreign
policy interests of the United States. The Secretary has delegated this
authority to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration,
who in turn has redelegated this authority to the Associate
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST). Kistler
intends to apply for a
[[Page 35876]]
license to conduct launch operations from NTS. Because licensing
Kistler's operations is a major Federal action, compliance with NEPA is
required.
The DOE is a cooperating agency regarding the proposed action
because it is responsible for operating and managing the NTS. The
Record of Decision for the Environmental Impact Statement for the NTS
and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada, prepared by DOE and
issued December 9, 1996, found that non-defense research activities,
like the Kistler project, are an appropriate use for the NTS.
The Nevada Test Site Development Corporation (NTSDC) is a nonprofit
Nevada corporation formed at the direction of Nevada Governor Miller to
encourage economic development projects at NTS. DOE has designated
NTSDC as a community reuse organization and issued grants to NTSDC in
support of that organizational purpose. Under a use permit to be issued
by the DOE to the NTSDC, the NTSDC may sub-permit use of a particular
site on the NTS.
The EA will be provided for review to the States of Nevada, Utah,
and Idaho because of overflights by the Kistler K-1 vehicle during
proposed orbital launches and to other interested Federal, state,
local, and private entities.
Proposed Action
The Proposed Action is licensing Kistler for the purpose of
conducting commercial launch activities involving reentry/recovery
activities as part of the launch mission. The operations will be
conducted from a proposed site which would include newly-constructed
facilities and infrastructure for testing and operating the Kistler K-1
reusable launch vehicle. The function of K-1 will be to launch
satellites and other payloads into prescribed orbits for commercial and
government customers. Under the proposed action, the FAA would license
Kistler to conduct flight tests involving launches of its reusable
launch vehicles and their recovery at the site and, as appropriate,
determine approval for ongoing launch/flight operations at NTS for the
purpose of launching communications and other commercial satellites as
well as government satellites into low earth orbits. The FAA would also
evaluate reentry and recovery/landing operations as part of launch
missions. The activities within the NTS will include the conduct of
launch and recovery operations utilizing a vehicle processing facility,
a launch pad, and vehicle landing/recovery area. One to three
suborbital test flights, followed by one to three orbital test flights
would be conducted, with the first test flight scheduled for 1998.
Following successful test flights, and upon issuance of required FAA
approvals, Kistler plans to begin commercial operations, on northerly
(84-92 degree inclination) and northeasterly headings (52-60 degree
inclinations). The northerly flights would overfly the states of Nevada
and Idaho before entering low earth orbit. The northeasterly flights
would overfly the states of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming before entering
low earth orbit. Operating plans estimate 6 test launches in 1998--3
suborbital and 3 orbital, and a commercial launch capability of one
launch per week by 2005, depending on commercial market requirements.
Alternative Sites
Proposed locations for the Kistler facilities are being identified
by DOE through a siting process that considers existing and planned
land uses at the NTS. Site selection within the NTS also takes into
consideration alternatives proposed by Kistler and concerns raised by
other users of the NTS. Included among the alternatives under
consideration are the no action alternative and Area 18, which is in
the northwest section of the NTS. The FAA will independently review the
site selection process with respect to feasibility and environmental
considerations and determine whether there are additional alternatives
that are reasonable for detailed study in the EA.
If the environmental assessment process does not identify
significant environmental impacts, AST will issue a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI). The FAA would make the FONSI available for
public review for 30 days by announcing its availability in the Federal
Register because of the unprecedented nature of the proposed action.
Any questions and comments regarding the EA may be directed to FAA,
Attn: Mr. Nikos Himaras, Commercial Space Transportation, FAA, DOT, 400
Seventh Street, Room No. 5402a, SW., Washington, DC 20590. He may also
be reached at his Internet address of: nick.himaras@faa.dot.gov.
Issued in Washington, DC on June 24, 1997.
Patricia Grace Smith,
Acting Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.
[FR Doc. 97-17303 Filed 7-1-97; 8:45 am]
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