PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 26, 2025
Licensing Aerospace Units to New Commercial Heights Act or the LAUNCH Act
This bill makes changes to, and requires certain evaluations of, regulatory processes for licensing commercial space launch and reentry activities and private remote sensing systems.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation regulates the launch and reentry of commercial spacecraft. In 2020, the FAA consolidated launch and reentry licensing requirements for all types of space vehicles into a single set of regulations, known as Part 450.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill requires the FAA to evaluate and report on the implementation of Part 450 and its impacts on the commercial spaceflight industry, including whether the rule has resulted in uncertainty or operational delays. The FAA must also continue an aerospace rulemaking committee comprised of launch and reentry service providers.
Further, the FAA must develop a digital system to accept commercial space launch and reentry applications and provide status information and notifications to applicants.
The bill elevates the Office of Commercial Space Transportation to a modal administration reporting directly to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The administration must exercise all of DOT’s authorities related to commercial space launch and reentry.
Finally, the bill revises the licensing process for private remote sensing systems and requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the Department of Commerce’s regulation of the private remote sensing industry. (Remote sensing generally refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth’s orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth’s surface.)
People & committees
Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] · R–TX
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jun 11, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5602 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5602 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5602 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5602 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.