Senate Commerce to Mark Up Commercial Launch Indemnification Bill on Thursday

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will mark up legislation to extend third party liability indemnification for commercial launch services companies on Thursday. The agenda for the markup session is posted on the committee’s website.

Included is H.R. 3819, which passed the House in October. Under legislation originally passed in 1988 and subsequently renewed several times, the government indemnifies commercial launch services companies against liability for third party claims between $500 million and $2 billion. That means the government will pay those sums to settle claims by third parties (i.e. anyone other than the government or the commercial company involved) if a commercial launch vehicle were to crash into a populated area, for example. The commercial company is responsible for purchasing insurance for amounts up to $500 million and over $2 billion if required by the FAA’s regulations. The current indemnification provision expires on December 31.