119th Congress · introduced in the Senate · Jun 5, 2025
LAUNCH Act
Official title from Congress.gov
Latest action (Jun 5, 2025): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
View on Congress.govPolicy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Congressional Research Service summary, version: Introduced in Senate (Jun 5, 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.
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.
Show the full summary (1 more paragraphs)Includes amendment, cloture, and procedural votes. Each is labeled with its exact question; only a passage question is a vote to pass the bill.
No recorded roll calls on this bill in coverage.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Actions from Congress.gov, newest first.
LD-2 reports whose issue descriptions explicitly cite this bill (bill type and number validated against Congress.gov records). A citation does not establish the client's position or any contact with a member.
Loading lobbying reportsCoverage: reports for 2025 onward, posted Jan 1, 2025 through Oct 24, 2026.
9 citations.
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA) · lobbying firm or registrant: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA)
2026 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2026) · amended · posted Oct 17, 2026 · issue area: Aviation/Airlines/Airports
$1,131,400
Spent on own lobbying
…of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes. S. 1985 A bill to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes. S. 1961 A bill to streamline the application of regulations relating to commercial space launch and reentry requirements and licensing of private remote sensing space…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA) · lobbying firm or registrant: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA)
2026 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026) · posted Jul 20, 2026 · issue area: Aviation/Airlines/Airports
$1,100,700
Spent on own lobbying
…of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes. S. 1985 A bill to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes. S. 1961A bill to streamline the application of regulations relating to commercial space launch and reentry requirements and licensing of private remote sensing space s…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA) · lobbying firm or registrant: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA)
2026 Q1 report (Jan 1, 2026 – Mar 31, 2026) · posted Apr 17, 2026 · issue area: Aviation/Airlines/Airports
$1,036,900
Spent on own lobbying
…of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes. S. 1985 A bill to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes. S. 1961A bill to streamline the application of regulations relating to commercial space launch and reentry requirements and licensing of private remote sensing space s…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA) · lobbying firm or registrant: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA)
2025 Q4 report (Oct 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2025) · posted Jan 16, 2026 · issue area: Aviation/Airlines/Airports
$1,200,400
Spent on own lobbying
…of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes. S. 1985 A bill to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes. S. 1961A bill to streamline the application of regulations relating to commercial space launch and reentry requirements and licensing of private remote sensing space s…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
VANTOR PARENT INC · lobbying firm or registrant: VANTOR PARENT INC
2025 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2025) · posted Oct 20, 2025 · issue area: Aerospace
$230,000
Spent on own lobbying
…, SAFE Orbit Act H.R. 1325, Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2025 H.R. 2600 and S. 1437, ASCEND Act S. 933, NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 S. 1961, Launch Act
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA) · lobbying firm or registrant: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA)
2025 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2025) · posted Oct 17, 2025 · issue area: Aviation/Airlines/Airports
$1,346,500
Spent on own lobbying
…of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes. S. 1985 A bill to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes. S. 1961A bill to streamline the application of regulations relating to commercial space launch and reentry requirements and licensing of private remote sensing space s…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA) · lobbying firm or registrant: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. (D/B/A AIRLINES FOR AMERICA)
2025 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2025) · posted Jul 22, 2025 · issue area: Aviation/Airlines/Airports
$1,506,000
Spent on own lobbying
…of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes. S. 1985 A bill to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes. S. 1961A bill to streamline the application of regulations relating to commercial space launch and reentry requirements and licensing of private remote sensing space s…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
BLUE ORIGIN, LLC · lobbying firm or registrant: BLUE ORIGIN, LLC
2025 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2025) · posted Jul 21, 2025 · issue area: Science/Technology
$410,000
Spent on own lobbying
Issues related to NASA and commercial launch including S.933 - NASA Transition Authorization Act and S. 1961 LAUNCH Act.
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
VANTOR PARENT INC · lobbying firm or registrant: VANTOR PARENT INC
2025 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2025) · posted Jul 21, 2025 · issue area: Aerospace
$230,000
Spent on own lobbying
….428, SAFE Orbit Act H.R.1325, Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2025 H.R.2600 and S.1437, ASCEND Act S.933, NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 S.1961, Launch Act
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing