Nassau, Bahamas – The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and The United States of America have entered into a Memorandum of Cooperation to support commercial space operations impacting The Bahamas that are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The signing meeting was held via Zoom on Wednesday January 15, 2025 with representatives from the FAA and the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas (CAA-B). Leadership included CAA-B Director General Alexander B. Ferguson and Kelvin B. Coleman, FAA Associate Administrator of Commercial Space Transportation.
The Memorandum of Cooperation seeks to foster a mutual understanding of U.S. commercial space transportation regulations and laws, and to establish a framework whereas there is recognition of FAA Commercial Space Transportation Licenses within The Bahamas.
Director General Alexander Ferguson expressed his gratitude for the collaboration between the two entities, “We appreciate the opportunity to approach this new and challenging function by way of a process of recognition, thereby decreasing the potential for unnecessary duplication. We want to continue to learn and to build technical capacity.”
This is a timely development for the country at large as on January 14, 2025, the Civil Aviation (Space Flight and Re-Entry) Regulations, 2025 was promulgated. This regulatory implementation ushers in a new era of licensing and regulation for commercial space activities in The Bahamas, opening up new opportunities for the nation in this rapidly growing industry.