With the pace of rocket launches accelerating, and competition from China rising, executives from top U.S. space companies on Wednesday urged senators to improve the Federal Aviation Administration's regulatory and licensing processes. The Senate Subcommittee on Space and Science heard from a trio of company representatives from SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic , as well as a pair of industry experts. Gerstenmaier emphasized that the FAA's commercial space office "needs at least twice the resources that they have today" for licensing rocket launches. Wayne Monteith — a retired Air Force brigadier general who also led the FAA's space office — said that Congress should consider consolidating space regulations. "I believe a more efficient one stop shop approach to authorizing and licensing space activities is necessary," Monteith said.

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Persons: We've, Bill Gerstenmaier, Gerstenmaier, We're, Phil Joyce, New Shepard, Caryn Schenewerk, Wayne Monteith —, —, Monteith Organizations: SpaceX, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Federal Aviation, Build, NASA, Virgin Galactic, FAA, CNBC, Blue, Air Force Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, China