It was due to expire tomorrow. Congress just extended it for six months (assuming the president signs the bill, which he likely will).
Reportedly, this was to buy time to resolve differences between the House (who wants a ten-year extension) and the Senate (which wants five years) in conferencing the space bills in the coming weeks.
How many times has the learning period been extended? If memory serves, the original moratorium on regulation expired in 2012, but I forget what all has happened between 2012 and now.
It was extended once in 2012. This is the second extension. When the reconcile the House and Senate bills, that will be a third.
Thanks for the clarification, Rand. What do you think of the moratorium on regulation as a strictly time-based thing? Would it better serve the industry to have a milestone-based learning period?
I think that the learning period should be indefinite, until it looks like there is some problem that can only be solved by regulation.