03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2 7 DETERMINATION CRITERIA.
The FAA has developed criteria to assess whether the services and property of a Federal Entity may be accepted under § 450.45(b) through this means of compliance (other assessment approaches may be used for a different means of compliance). The determination is based on the history of the Federal Entity, the familiarity of the FAA with the Federal Entity, and commitments to ongoing partnership between the FAA and the Federal Entity, as described in the three factors below. As discussed previously, alternative approaches may be applied for Federal Entities that do not meet these criteria.
7.1 Factor 1: Demonstrated Experience of Federal Entity Based on Nature and Frequency of Service and Property Being Provided.
Demonstrated experience of a Federal Entity provides confidence to the FAA that the Federal Entity has sufficient technical expertise to provide the services and property and has reliable, repeatable processes that are appropriate to the intended operations under a license. These are critical for the FAA to find that the analyses for each operation are valid, in accordance with § 450.101(g), and that hazard controls and mitigations are implemented sufficiently and reliably to ensure compliance with § 450.101 (see, for example, § 450.161(a)).
7.1.1 Safety Management.
The Federal Entity should have maintained highly developed, well-understood2 methods and processes that it consistently follows per applicable portions of ௗ (b, c, and d) relevant to the services being performed for the operator. The Federal Entity must ensure safety-critical personnel are trained, qualified, and capable of performing safety-critical tasks to provide the VHUYLFHVWRVDWLVI\ௗ
7.1.2 Past Similar Experience.
The FAA/AST will consider the nature and frequency of the provision of services and property in order to evaluate a Federal Entity’s level of experience with similar operations. Operations of a similar nature involve similar concepts of operations, hazards, and hazard control strategies. Examples of categories of concepts of operations are sounding rockets, operations involving piloted vehicles, reusable launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, etc. Factors related to similarity of hazards include propellant types, control system types, environmental conditions, etc. Examples of hazard control strategies are physical containment, wind weighting, flight abort with a highly-reliable flight safety system (FSS), flight abort with a lower-reliability FSS, and flight hazard analysis. The nature of the relationship between a Federal Entity and an operator is also a consideration. It may be important because new operators sometimes act quite differently than a legacy operator. The Federal Entity should have provided services and properties to similar operations at a regular cadence of commercial and/or government launches within the past few years.
2 This refers to established methods and processes that have been implemented and applied consistently on a regular basis, producing expected results.
03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2
7.1.3 Expansion of Provided Services and Property.
If an operation includes novel aspects that are relevant and specific to public safety, the Federal Entity should coordinate with the FAA regarding the expansion of their provision of services and property to appropriately consider the novel aspects. This needs to occur sufficiently in advance of affected operations to allow sufficient technical assessment and discussion.
7.2 Factor 2. FAA’s Familiarity With Federal Entity’s Tools and Processes.
Knowledge of the tools and processes that are used to provide the services and property allows the FAA to determine that the specific requirements for each analysis and/or hazard control are satisfied with a valid approach.
7.2.1 History of Relationship.
A key element of the FAA’s initial evaluation will be the history of the relationship between the FAA and the Federal Entity. Previous FAA reviews and evaluations of a Federal Entity’s services, property, and resulting products will be important considerations in the determination whether the services of a Federal Entity satisfy a regulation of part 450 under this approach.
7.2.2 Description of Met hods and Processes.
To ensure FAA familiarity with a Federal Entity’s methods and processes, the Federal Entity should, for the services and property provided to operators, 1) identify tools and systems (e.g., software, range assets), 2) provide a description of procedures, training processes, and validation approaches, and 3) provide requested documentation and answer any specific questions (including policy application, data inputs, training, quality assurance processes, etc.). These should be maintained as part of continuing coordination (see paragraph 7.3.2 of this AC). The FAA and the Federal Entity should periodically review (for example, annually) these materials in accordance with the letter submitted by the Federal Entity requesting that the FAA determine that their services and property satisfy part 450.
03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2
7.2.3 Process Improvement Plan.
The Federal Entity should have processes that incorporate and facilitate adoption of improved tools, processes, and analysis methods, especially if the scope of the operations supported by the Federal Entity expands. The Federal Entity should also review data from prior tests, operations, and mishaps of operators for whom they provide services to ensure its analysis methods and processes are consistent with the information. The processes should include coordination with the FAA regarding any changes to tools, methods, or processes.
7.3 Factor 3: Continual Coordination Between the Federal Entity and the FAA.
When initially requesting a determination, a Federal Entity should include commitments to continual coordination, as described below. Continual coordination is necessary because FAA acceptance of a Federal Entity’s services and property is contingent on the Federal Entity continuing to satisfy applicable part 450 requirements. Once the FAA determines that the services or property of a Federal Entity satisfy the regulation, the Federal Entity becomes a Federal Entity Safety Partner (FESP). This status is maintained by following through on the commitments. An FESP may also need to update/revise methods, tools, and processes to account for new information in order to UHPDLQFRPSOLDQWZLWKௗ J ZKLFKUHTXLUHVWKDW³UHVXOWV>DUH@ FRQVLVWHQWZLWKRU more conservative than the results available from previous mishaps, tests, or other valid benchmarks.”
7.3.1 Common Standards Working Group (CSWG).
The FAA and FESPs should be actively involved in the Government safety community to support licensed launch and reentry operations and work to remain consistent with the community standards. This is currently primarily accomplished through participation in the Common Standards Working Group (CSWG) and may be augmented by participation in other forums.3 The FAA and FESPs should provide sufficient qualified personnel that actively participate in the CSWG sub-groups. The FAA and FESPs should also work to incorporate the CSWG consensus into their own processes. The FAA and FESPs will work with the CSWG to implement improvements in safety practices in response to new information with a level of urgency commensurate with the safety implications.
3 The CSWG, which fosters the long-term working relationship and collaboration of the Department of the Air Force (DAF), FAA, and NASA, is established through a charter (Reference 1 in Paragraph 3.4 of this AC).
03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2
7.3.2 Coordination Plan.
The FAA and each FESP should develop and maintain a coordination plan for all services and property provided to licensed operators to satisfy part 450 safety requirements. This includes specification of the points of contact for each technical subject area and each operator, a timeline for services to be performed, and the data products that are to be exchanged. The FAA and each FESP should develop assumptions and ground rules prior to performing services that impact safety of licensed operations, after obtaining concurrence from the operator. The coordination plan should also include a periodic review of the submitted documentation to ensure its continued accuracy.
7.3.3 FAA and FESP Transparency.
Each FESP should maintain open and clear communication with FAA counterparts. The FESP and the FAA should consult regarding any meaningful change to services or property used for FAA-regulated activities. Together the FESP and the FAA will determine whether a change is of a significance level that the CSWG should be consulted. The FESP and the FAA should also promptly consult on any identified safety concerns with the proposed operation that may compromise the accuracy or integrity of the services provided, including any safety analyses that could affect license determination.
03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2 8 REQUEST FOR DETERMINATION Each Federal Entity that desires to provide services and property to commercial operators to satisfy safety regulations in part 450 should submit a letter requesting that FAA make a determination in accordance with § 450.45(b). A Federal Entity should conform to a uniform set of processes for performing the relevant services and for operating the relevant property. To facilitate the FAA’s determination process, the Federal Entity should also provide:
x A list of the specific regulation elements for which a determination is requested with a scope of use;
x A list of documents or references to safety organization requirements, procedures, etc. (see paragraph 7.1.1 of this AC);
x A description of relevant past experience (see paragraph 7.1.2);
x A description of services and properties to be provided (see paragraph 7.2.2);
x A list of documents or references to process improvement requirements, procedures, etc. (see paragraph 7.2.3);
x Commitments to aligning with accepted practices per the CSWG (see paragraph 7.3.1) and transparency with FAA/AST (see paragraph 7.3.3); and x A draft coordination plan (see paragraph 7.3.2).
The FAA anticipates that discussions between the Federal Entity and the FAA to resolve open issues will follow the submission of a request.
A Federal Entity considering requesting a determination may request a template for a letter and associated supporting documentation by contacting the FAA Tri-Chair of the CSWG.
03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2 9 APPLICATION SUBMISSION.
This chapter provides specific instructions to operators for submitting applications that utilize Federal Entity services and property in accordance with § 450.45(b) when following this means of compliance.
9.1 Section 450.45(e)(7), Additional Material.
The following text should be included in the response to § 450.45(e)(7) when this means of compliance (MOC) is being used.
[ Company Name] intends to use services and property of [ Name of Federal Entity ], a Federal Entity Safety Partner (FESP), to comply with elements of the following requirements, in accordance with § 450.45(b):
[ List requirements ] The role of the FESP and the interfaces between us and the FESP are described in our submission for each requirement. [ Agreement Reference ] identifies the services and property that the FESP will provide; this agreement is intended to comply with § 450.147.
[Company Name] understands that the acceptance by the FAA of FESP services and property is subject to limitations as described in the letter of acceptance from the FAA to the FESP [cite reference]. To enable the safety partnership between the FAA and the FESP, [ Company Name ]:
x Acknowledges the FAA/AST and the FESP may communicate directly with or without our participation about any issue related to public safety or critical asset protection;
x Authorizes the FESP to provide safety products related to our operations directly to the FAA/AST;
x Understands that we may not direct the Federal Entity to use approaches other than the standard processes of the FESP; and x Will provide the FESP access to all data and information from previous tests, flights, and mishaps that are relevant to the services being performed by the FESP.
03/1/2025 AC 450.45-2
9.2 Section 450.147(d)(1), Application Requirements.
In accordance with § 450.147(a), an operator must establish a written agreement with a Federal Entity that specifies the services and property the FESP will provide.4 The agreement must include clearly delineated roles and responsibilities.5 In order to achieve clear delineation, the specific services and property should identify the associated section of part 450. The description of the agreement, as required by § 450.147(a), should specify the sections of the agreement where this information can be found.
9.3 Specific Regulations.
For each specific regulation, the application should identify those elements which are satisfied by the FESP.
9.3.1 Example: FESP Services Fully Satisfy a Requirement.
If, for example, the services of the FESP include all necessary population exposure analysis, then the application should reference this in two locations, § 450.35(a) and § 450.123. The submission for § 450.35(a) should include a statement that reads:
[ Name of FESP ], a Federal Entity Safety Partner (FESP), is providing flight safety analysis services, including all requirements of § 450.123, that are compliant with § 450.115(b). We will provide the following data files for each operation to the FESP in order for them to perform this service:
[ List and description of data provided.] The submission for § 450.123(c) should state:
[ Name of FESP ], a Federal Entity Safety Partner (FESP), is providing services that provide full compliance this section for operations within the scope of this license). The FESP will utilize their malfunction trajectory (§ 450.119) and debris analysis (§ 450.121) to determine the specifics of the analysis.
9.3.2 Example: FESP Services Partially Satisfy a Requirement.
Say, for example, if an FESP is providing flight abort capability, but the operator is developing flight safety limits, then the application should reference this in § 450.108.
The submission for § 450.108 should include a statement that reads:
[ Name of FESP ], a Federal Entity Safety Partner (FESP), is providing flight abort services that provide compliance for § 450.108(f) for operations within the scope of this license. We will provide the following data files for each operation to the FESP in order for them to perform this service:
[ List and description of data provided. ] 4 § 450.147(d)(1).
5 § 450.147(b).
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If you find an error in this AC, have recommendations for improving it, or have suggestions for new items/subjects to be added, you may let us know by (1) emailing this form to 9-AST- ASZ210-Directives@faa.gov, or (2) faxing it to (202) 267-5450.
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