What this means is that the same vehicle can be an experimental
aircraft on Monday, a launch vehicle on Tuesday, and an experimental
aircraft again on Wednesday. Which it is depends on how you fly it.
If you fly it so it meets the definition of a suborbital rocket, it's
a launch vehicle, and you need a launch license. If you fly it so it
doesn't meet the definition, it's an experimental aircraft, and you
need a pink slip.
This is good news for pretty much everyone. Flight test paperwork is
a whole lot easier, but when we need to start charging for flights, we
can - we just have to get a launch license. This is WAAAY easier than
the equivalent route for airplanes, which is type certification. AST
and AVR did a really good job on this compromise.
-R