For that reason, Tito counts himself among a coalition of space entrepreneurs and activists turning to Congress for help establishing the rules of the suborbital rocket game before they make their opening moves.

"We don't know who will regulate us," Tito testified Thursday. "It looks like the FAA might be interested in regulating us ... and that is very, very scary."

Tito's appearance before Congress comes amid a tug of war inside the Federal Aviation Administration over which part of the agency has jurisdiction over the burgeoning suborbital space tourism industry. The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) -- which formerly was part of the Department of Transportation -- has so far showed a willingness to treat some of the vehicles in development as launch vehicles. But now the FAA's Office of Regulation and Certification, which has dominion over commercial, private and experimental aircraft, has stepped into the picture, wanting to treat the suborbital rockets as experimental aircraft.

It's that prospect that has Tito and other suborbital rocket jocks worried.

Jeff Greason, president of the Mojave, Calif.-based XCOR Aerospace, testified before the panel that holding suborbital vehicles like the one his company has in development to the same standards as airplanes would ensure that commercial space flight never gets off the ground.

In aviation, Greason said, the FAA's focus is on keeping planes in the sky. When it comes to rocketry, the FAA assumes that the launch vehicle will fail and places most of the regulatory burden on ensuring that adequate measures have been taken to safeguarding people on the ground.

Greason called on lawmakers to help ensure that reusable launchers are treated as rockets, not as aircraft, as some in the FAA would prefer.

"If we insist on perfect safety at the beginning of the industry, we will get it, because no one will ever fly." Greason said.

Greason, Tito and the other witnesses, including Elon Musk, president of Space Exploration Technologies, called on Congress to shield the fledgling industry from excessively burdensome regulation, establish a formal definition of suborbital rocket that makes clear they are not airplanes, and affirm an individuals right to waive liability before becoming a passenger of one of the planned services.

The hearing was convened by the chairman of the House Science Committee's space and aeronautics subcommittee and the Senate Commerce Committee's science, technology and space subcommittee. Government and industry sources said that staff members on both committees are currently drafting legislation to address the concerns expressed by the commercial human space flight coalition.

Jon Kutler, chairman and chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based Quarterdeck Investment Partners, LLC, said investors are likely to shy away from the likes of XCOR and similar ventures until the uncertainty surrounding regulation of suborbital rockets is removed.

"The only question the Wright Brothers faced as they started their tests was 'can we?' They did not have investors question their return on invesment of a federal regulator asking to certify the aircraft," Kutler testified. "The question before these gentlemen today, however, has become 'will we be allowed?'"