NASA Aeronautics Research and Technology Act of 1993

Summary: NASA Aeronautics Research and Technology Act of 1993 - Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide for independent performance reviews of NASA programs of:  (1) aeronautics research and development; and (2) private technology transfer. 
Provides for a joint NASA-Federal agency aeronautical research and development program to enhance U.S. competitiveness. 
Directs the Administrator to study strategies to optimize development of an hypersonic research plane and the ultimate development of a single-stage-to-orbit, air breathing plane. 
Authorizes appropriations for specified NASA programs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NASA Aeronautics Research and 
Technology Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the aerospace industry makes a major contribution to 
        the economy of the United States, accounting for the largest 
        positive trade balance of any United States industry (more than 
        $28,000,000,000 in 1992), and providing over 1,000,000 high-
        value jobs;
            (2) the international market share of the United States 
        aerospace industry has steadily eroded due to competition from 
        foreign consortia that receive substantial direct subsidies 
        from their governments;
            (3) the United States aerospace industry is further 
        negatively impacted by reduced investment in national defense;
            (4) the continued competitiveness of the United States 
        aerospace industry can be significantly aided by an enhanced 
        Federal investment in technology base research and development 
        in aeronautics;
            (5) maintaining state-of-the-art experimental facilities is 
        a key element of Federal investment in aeronautics research and 
        development;
            (6) the long-term contribution of advances in aeronautics 
        to the economy and society will rely on a continued commitment 
        to pioneering research and development such as the National 
        Aero-Space Plane; and
            (7) the National Aero-Space Plane program should explore 
        the possibility of collaboration with other nations for 
        opportunities that would offer unique programmatic benefits 
        without compromising the strategic advantage to the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to enhance the continued competitiveness of the United 
        States aerospace industry through Federal support of technology 
        base research and development;
            (2) to enhance the contribution of aeronautics to the 
        Nation's quality of life through research and development that 
        will improve air safety, reduce noise, and reduce environmental 
        damage;
            (3) to continue the needed modernization of the Nation's 
        aeronautics research and development facilities;
            (4) to ensure the long-term contribution of aeronautics to 
        the Nation by advancing the state-of-knowledge and the 
        frontiers of technology; and
            (5) to promote the effective transfer of technologies from 
        federally funded work at the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration to United States manufacturers.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``independent organization'' 
means an organization that does not receive significant funding or 
support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, other 
than under sections 5, 6, and 8.

SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE REVIEW.

    (a) Plan.--The Administrator shall provide for the development of a 
plan establishing criteria, procedures, and milestones for the 
evaluation, by an independent organization, of advances made in 
fundamental aeronautics research and development and the progress made 
by the aeronautics programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration in achieving their goals. Such plan shall be developed 
by an independent organization in consultation with the Administrator. 
The plan shall also describe criteria and procedures for terminating 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration programs that are not 
making acceptable progress toward their goals. The Administrator shall 
submit a report describing such plan to the Congress within 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Annual Report.--Beginning in the first year after submission of 
the plan under subsection (a), at the time of the President's annual 
budget request to Congress, the Administrator shall submit to the 
Congress an annual report on the results of an evaluation, conducted by 
an independent organization, of the progress made by the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration in advancing aeronautics and 
achieving the goals of aeronautics programs. Such evaluation shall be 
conducted using the criteria, procedures, and milestones established 
under the plan required by subsection (a).

SEC. 6. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER REVIEW.

    (a) Plan.--The Administrator shall provide for the development of a 
plan establishing criteria and procedures for the evaluation, by an 
independent organization, of the effectiveness of technology transfer 
from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's aeronautics 
programs to industry and other public organizations. Such plan shall be 
developed by an independent organization in consultation with the 
Administrator. The plan shall include clear, quantitative measures of 
the success of such technology transfer activities. The Administrator 
shall submit a report describing such plan to the Congress within 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Annual Report.--Beginning in the first year after submission of 
the plan under subsection (a), at the time of the President's annual 
budget request to Congress, the Administrator shall submit to the 
Congress an annual report on the results of an evaluation, conducted by 
an independent organization, of the effectiveness of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration's technology transfer programs. 
Such evaluation shall be conducted using the criteria and procedures 
established under the plan required by subsection (a).

SEC. 7. JOINT AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator and the heads of other 
appropriate Federal agencies shall jointly establish a program for the 
purpose of conducting research on aeronautical technologies that 
enhance United States competitiveness. Such program shall include--
            (1) research on next-generation wind tunnel and advanced 
        wind tunnel instrumentation technology;
            (2) research on advanced engine materials, engine concepts, 
        and testing of propulsion systems or components of the high-
        speed civil transport research program;
            (3) advanced general aviation research;
            (4) advanced rotorcraft research; and
            (5) advanced hypersonic aeronautical research.
    (b) Contracts and Grants.--Contracts and grants entered into under 
the program established under subsection (a) shall be administered 
using procedures developed jointly by the Administrator and the heads 
of the other Federal agencies involved in the program. These procedures 
should include an integrated acquisition policy for contract and grant 
requirements and for technical data rights that are not an impediment 
to joint programs among the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, the other Federal agencies involved in the program, and 
industry.
    (c) Elements of Program.--The program established under subsection 
under subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) selected programs that jointly enhance public and 
        private aeronautical technology development;
            (2) an opportunity for private contractors to be involved 
        in such technology research and development; and
            (3) the transfer of Government-developed technologies to 
        the private sector to promote economic strength and 
        competitiveness.

SEC. 8. NATIONAL AERO-SPACE PLANE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) hypersonic flight will be critical to the continued 
        contribution of aeronautics to the economic and strategic 
        interests of the United States in the early twenty-first 
        century;
            (2) the data obtained through rocket-based hypersonic 
        flight experiments will not, by themselves, reduce risk 
        sufficiently to allow the development of a single-stage-to-
        orbit, air-breathing plane; and
            (3) a single-stage hypersonic research plane is critical to 
        the successful exploration of the hypersonic flight regime and 
        the timely realization of a single-stage-to-orbit, air-
        breathing plane.
    (b) Hypersonic Research Plane Assessment.--The Administrator shall 
conduct a study, through an independent organization, of strategies 
that would optimize the next phase of the National Aero-Space Plane 
program by integrating with the rocket-based hypersonic flight 
experiments the development, in the shortest possible time frame, of a 
single-stage hypersonic research plane capable of speeds in the Mach 10 
to Mach 15 range or greater, with the objective of providing data that 
would accelerate the ultimate development of a single-stage-to-orbit, 
air breathing plane. The Administrator shall report the results of the 
study to Congress no later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Research and Development.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for 
``Research and Development'', for Aeronautics Research and Technology 
Programs--
            (1) for Research Operations Support, $143,500,000 for 
        fiscal year 1994, and $148,300,000 for fiscal year 1995;
            (2) for Research and Technology Base activities, 
        $448,300,000 for fiscal year 1994, and $433,900,000 for fiscal 
        year 1995;
            (3) for High-Speed Research, $187,200,000 for fiscal year 
        1994, and $236,300,000 for fiscal year 1995;
            (4) for Advanced Subsonic Technology, $101,300,000 for 
        fiscal year 1994, and $128,500,000 for fiscal year 1995, of 
        which $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 and $13,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 1995 shall be for Short-Haul Aircraft, $30,200,000 
        for fiscal year 1994 and $30,500,000 for fiscal year 1995 shall 
        be for Noise Reduction, and $11,500,000 for fiscal year 1994 
        and $13,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 shall be for Technology 
        Integration for Reducing Environmental Pollution;
            (5) for Other Systems Technology Programs, $140,400,000 for 
        fiscal year 1994, and $168,000,000 for fiscal year 1995; and
            (6) for the National Aero-Space Plane Program, $80,000,000 
        for fiscal year 1994, and $80,000,000 for fiscal year 1995.
    (b) Construction of Facilities.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, for 
fiscal year 1994, for ``Construction of Facilities'', including land 
acquisition, for--
            (1) Phase I Facility Studies, Requirements Definition, 
        Design, and Modification and Construction of National 
        Aeronautics Facilities, Various Locations, $74,000,000;
            (2) Modifications for Composite Technology Center, Lewis 
        Research Center, $27,000,000;
            (3) National Transonic Facility Productivity Enhancement, 
        Langley Research Center, $60,000,000;
            (4) Performance Improvements in 11-Foot Wind Tunnel, Ames 
        Research Center, $20,000,000;
            (5) Rehabilitation of Control Systems, National Full-Scale 
        Aerodynamics Complex, Ames Research Center, $2,100,000;
            (6) Upgrade of Outdoor Aerodynamic Research Facility, Ames 
        Research Center, $3,900,000; and
            (7) Modernization of the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex, 
        Ames Research Center, $25,000,000.