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CSRP Study Resources
Videos, documents, and reference materials organized by exam category
Government Contracting
Federal procurement of space-related goods and services, including cybersecurity compliance.
Government Contracting Basics
Government contracting didn't start with a rulebook — it started with airmail and the Cold War. A primer on the history and structure of defense and space procurement: how the FAR and DFARS came to be, why competitive bidding became the default, the alternatives that now drive innovation (OTAs, SBIR/STTR), and what makes space its own world — NASA's Space Act Agreements and the move toward proliferated LEO.
Presented by Ellis Brazeal at the 2025 Space Regulatory Bootcamp.
GovCon Foundations, Part 1: Federal Contracting & the UCF
Federal contracting is its own language, and it has dialects. The FAR and its agency supplements, fixed-price vs. cost-reimbursement contracts, and how to actually read a solicitation — right down to the Section 889 clause that has bitten contractors who skimmed past it.
Presented by Lauren Ayers.
GovCon Foundations, Part 2: Contract Vehicles
Not every deal is a standard contract. The alternatives space companies should know — FAR vs. non-FAR agreements, the SBIR and STTR small-business programs, and Other Transaction (OT) authority for R&D and prototypes — plus the myths that keep people from using them.
Presented by Lauren Ayers.
Source Selection: Sections L & M
This is where the contract is actually won. The source-selection room laid open — Sections L and M, and how a best-value trade-off really gets decided — then you take the evaluator's pen for a mock award, from offeror profiles to final pick.
Presented by Lauren Ayers.
Customer & Relationship Management
Behind every federal contract is a maze of organizations and one person who can actually sign. Lauren Ayers maps the DoD acquisition labyrinth and the all-important Contracting Officer, then turns to the relationships that win work — with Jacob Horne on getting DFARS 7012 and CUI right.
Presented by Lauren Ayers and Jacob Horne.
Cybersecurity for Government Contractors
The cybersecurity acronyms every contractor loves to hate — CMMC, NIST 800-171, DFARS, CUI, SPRS — finally decoded. What space and defense contractors actually have to do to protect government data, and exactly what an assessor will be looking for.
Presented by Jacob Horne.
Telecommunications
FCC licensing of commercial space communications and spectrum coordination.
FCC: Spectrum and Satellite Communications
Spectrum is finite, and everyone wants a piece. How the FCC governs commercial space communications — allocating and licensing scarce spectrum, clearing satellite applications through the FCC Space Bureau, enforcing orbital-debris mitigation rules, and coordinating with the ITU so signals don't collide across borders.
Presented by Laura Cummings Ross.
FCC Licensing & Applications
An FCC space-station application is where the rubber meets the road. What it actually takes to file one — frequency-use and earth-station parameters, band-by-band analysis, and the orbital-debris showings the FCC now demands — plus the wild cards that trip applicants up.
Presented by Will Lewis.
FCC Space Bureau & Transparency Initiative
Too many FCC space applications get bounced for avoidable reasons. A look inside the Space Bureau — Part 25 satellite licensing, the streamlining effort, and the Transparency Initiative built to help your filing get accepted instead of dismissed.
Presented by Jennifer Gilsenan.
Spectrum Management
Spectrum is finite, shared, and fiercely contested. How frequencies actually get allocated — the U.S. allocation table, international vs. domestic and federal vs. non-federal claims, the ITU's role, and the NTIA certification every federal space system must clear before launch.
Presented by David Lubar.
ITU & the Radio Regulations
Spectrum doesn't stop at borders, and neither do interference problems. The international layer — the ITU, the Radio Regulations as binding law, and how satellite filings get coordinated worldwide through the Master International Frequency Register.
Presented by Dr. Walid Mathlouthi.
Navigating FCC Licensure: Live Q&A
A live Q&A session with Will Lewis, covering practical questions about FCC licensure for commercial space operators.
Remote Sensing
NOAA licensing of commercial Earth-observation systems.
NOAA & Remote Sensing 101
Imaging Earth from orbit starts with one question: do you need a NOAA license? A clear 101 on commercial remote-sensing regulation — what counts as "remote sensing" (and what doesn't), who needs a license, the mission-assurance exemption that covers star trackers and deployment cameras, the three-tier system, and how the application process actually runs.
Presented by Adriane Mandakunis, Regulatory Specialist at Aegis Space Law, at the 2025 Space Regulatory Bootcamp.
NOAA: Commercial Remote Sensing Licensing
Point a camera at Earth from orbit and you need a license first. How NOAA's Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs office (CRSRA) licenses commercial Earth-observation satellites — the tier-based system that scales oversight to how sensitive your imagery is, the mission-assurance exemptions, jurisdiction over U.S. persons, and the newer reach into in-situ space situational awareness (imaging other objects on orbit, not just the ground).
Presented by Laura Cummings Ross.
Key References: NOAA Remote-Sensing Licensing
Go straight to the primary sources behind this category — the statute, the regulations, and the licensing office, where the tier system, application process, and reporting rules the exam draws on actually live:
• 15 CFR Part 960 — the licensing regulations (three-tier system, application instructions, operating conditions)
• 51 U.S.C. Chapter 601 — the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act, the governing statute
• NOAA CRSRA (Office of Space Commerce) — the licensing office, including tier categorization, FAQs, and forms
Export Controls
ITAR and EAR jurisdiction for space-related exports.
Export Controls 101: The 5 Ws and an H
The 5 Ws and an H of U.S. export controls for space-related goods and technology — when the rules apply, why they exist, what's covered, where the jurisdictional lines are drawn (BIS vs DDTC), who administers ITAR and EAR, and how compliance works in practice.
Presented by Caryn Schenewerk and Laura Cummings Ross.
Part 1 of 4: The Regulatory Landscape
Two regimes, two agencies, and a lot of room to get it wrong. The foundation of U.S. export controls for space — who regulates what (State's DDTC vs. Commerce's BIS), the ITAR-versus-EAR line, U.S.- vs. foreign-origin rules, and the carve-outs that decide what isn't controlled at all.
Presented by Jack Shelton.
Part 2 of 4: Controlled Activities
You don't have to ship hardware overseas to trigger export controls — an email can do it. A walk through the activities that count: deemed exports to foreign persons, re-transfers and changes in end-use, providing defense services, and the anti-boycott rules that catch people off guard.
Presented by Jack Shelton.
Part 3 of 4: When a License Is Required
So you need a license — now what? The authorizations on both sides: ITAR license types and agreements (DSP licenses, TAAs, MLAs), EAR licensing and the Commerce Control List, restricted-party screening, and the exemptions and exceptions that can save you the paperwork.
Presented by Jack Shelton.
Part 4 of 4: The Integration Rule & Shipping
What happens when an ITAR part goes into an EAR system? The see-through and integration rules that govern mixed-jurisdiction spacecraft — plus the practical side of getting hardware out the door: Incoterms and filing through the Automated Export System.
Presented by Jack Shelton.
Defense Trade Controls & the USML
Export controls from the regulator's side of the table. How the State Department's DDTC decides what actually sits on the U.S. Munitions List — the structure of the USML, the "specially designed" test, the order-of-review method, and the commodity-jurisdiction process (DECCS) that settles whether an item is ITAR or EAR, with spacecraft (USML Category XV) as the running example.
Presented by Nicholas Memos.
Launch Licensing
FAA licensing for commercial launch, reentry, and human spaceflight.
FAA Licensing - Part 450
An overview of how the FAA licenses commercial launch and reentry operations under 14 CFR Part 450 — financial responsibility, three-tier risk-sharing, human spaceflight, and the Office of Commercial Space Transportation's role within the FAA.
Presented by Caryn Schenewerk.
Key Regulations: FAA Launch & Reentry
The two FAA rules the exam leans on:
• 14 CFR Part 450 — launch & reentry license requirements (the core licensing rule)
• 14 CFR Part 460 — human spaceflight requirements (crew & participant informed consent)
Two others surface only in passing — no deep study needed: an experimental permit (Part 437) is the lighter R&D/test authorization used instead of a launch license, and a spaceport needs its own launch-site operator license (Part 420).
The Law & the Licensing Office
The statute and office behind the rules:
• 51 U.S.C. Chapter 509 — the Commercial Space Launch Act (the FAA's authority)
• FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) — the licensing office and guidance hub
General Knowledge
Cross-cutting regulatory foundations, foundational space law, and commercial-spacecraft systems.
Foundations of Space Law: The Outer Space Treaty & U.S. Implementation
An introduction to the international and U.S. legal framework governing commercial space activities — the Outer Space Treaty's key articles, the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, and how U.S. law operationalizes treaty obligations.
Presented by Caryn Schenewerk.
The U.S. Space Policy Ecosystem: Agencies, Congress, and International Bodies
A practical map of how U.S. space policy gets made — federal agencies beyond the primary licensing offices, key Congressional committees, industry organizations, FFRDCs, and international bodies (including the ITU) that shape the commercial space regulatory landscape.
Presented by Caryn Schenewerk and Laura Cummings Ross.
Resource Coming Soon
Study material will be added here shortly.
FOCI / Classified Work
The National Industrial Security Program and Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence.
Industrial Security: A NISP & FOCI Field Guide
New to the classified side of space? Start here. A plain-English guide to industrial security — facility and personnel clearances and need-to-know, the National Industrial Security Program and its rulebook (the NISPOM), how Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) gets mitigated, and how that differs from a CFIUS review.
Detecting Hidden Foreign Ownership from Open Sources
Some owners don't want to be found. A hands-on look at uncovering concealed foreign ownership, control, and influence using only open sources — working foreign-language company registries and a real investigation that unmasks a Western security firm's hidden ties to a foreign military.
Presented by Don Pearce.
Key References: NISP, FOCI & CFIUS
Go to the source on industrial security and foreign-investment review:
• 32 CFR Part 117 (NISPOM) — the operating manual for protecting classified information in industry
• DCSA — Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence — the cognizant security office's FOCI program and mitigation agreements
• CFIUS (U.S. Treasury) — the interagency committee that reviews foreign investment for national-security risk