Space Access Improvement Act of 1999

Summary: Declares that the general welfare requires the Government to: (1) aggressively fund the development of innovative propulsion systems, high-temperature thermal protection systems, integrated vehicle health monitoring systems, lightweight durable airframes, and simplified launch and processing operations; (2) maintain a concerted effort in the development and testing of new space transportation technologies while providing sufficient funding for basic scientific research that is necessary for the long-term, revolutionary advances that will drastically reduce the costs of space access; (3) enhance U.S. economic competitiveness by facilitating U.S. commercial sector access to space transportation technology, data, and facilities, within the constraints imposed by national security considerations; (4) enter into cooperative research and development agreements with U.S. academic and commercial sectors to advance space transportation research, developments, and operations; (5) minimize regulations that discourage academic and commercial sector involvement in the development of advanced space transportation technologies; (6) utilize expertise and products available within the United States prior to seeking availability from foreign nations (except in cases where such utilization would be inconsistent with U.S. public interests); (7) equitably promote engineering and science education related to space transportation technologies, within constraints of national security considerations, to as broad a range of individuals as possible; and (8) continue to closely protect the intellectual property rights associated with advancements in advanced space transportation systems to maintain U.S. competitiveness in the world.
Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1986, respecting space shuttle pricing policy, to find and declare that: (1) the Space Transportation System remains an important space launch system (currently, is the primary space launch system); and (2) the United States must be committed to further developing low-cost, frequent, and reliable access to space.

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Space Access Improvement Act of 
1999''.

 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the commercialization of space has played a significant 
        role in establishing the United States as an economic 
        superpower;
            (2) vital services enabled by satellites in space, such as 
        global positioning, early ballistic missile launch warning, 
        weather observations, intelligence gathering, and global 
        communications, have played a significant role in establishing 
        the United States as a military superpower;
            (3) access to space enables research in space science to 
        enhance our understanding of the Universe and the physical 
        sciences, and enables observations of the Earth to monitor our 
        global environment, establishing the United States as a 
        scientific and technological superpower;
            (4) activities in space have a remarkable ability to 
        inspire future generations of Americans to study science, 
        engineering, and mathematics, enhancing the scientific and 
        technical capabilities of the United States;
            (5) the United States is rapidly losing its share of the 
        commercial space launch market to a number of foreign nations; 
        and
            (6) the Federal Government is currently underfunding the 
        research and development of cutting-edge technologies 
        associated with advanced space transportation systems that 
        would lead to significant decreases in the costs of access to 
        space.

SEC. 3. REDUCING SPACE ACCESS COSTS.

    (a) Amendments.--Section 102 of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), 
        and (h) as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i), 
        respectively;
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) The Congress declares that the general welfare of the United 
States requires that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
work to identify and develop innovative technologies which would reduce 
the costs of transporting payloads and personnel to and from space, 
while simultaneously increasing the reliability and safety of advanced 
space transportation systems. The Congress further declares that the 
general welfare of the United States requires that, to the extent 
feasible, the Federal Government--
            ``(1) aggressively fund the development of innovative 
        propulsion systems, high-temperature thermal protection 
        systems, integrated vehicle health monitoring systems, 
        lightweight durable airframes, and simplified launch and 
        processing operations;
            ``(2) maintain a concerted effort in the development and 
        testing of new space transportation technologies while 
        providing sufficient funding for basic scientific research that 
        is necessary for the long-term, revolutionary advances that 
        will drastically reduce the costs of space access;
            ``(3) enhance United States economic competitiveness by 
        facilitating United States commercial sector access to space 
        transportation technology, data, and facilities, within the 
        constraints imposed by national security considerations;
            ``(4) enter into appropriate cooperative research and 
        development agreements with the United States academic and 
        commercial sectors to advance space transportation research, 
        development, and operations;
            ``(5) minimize regulations that discourage academic and 
        commercial sector involvement in the development of advanced 
        space transportation technologies;
            ``(6) utilize to the fullest extent possible expertise and 
        products available within the United States prior to seeking 
        availability from foreign nations, except in cases where such 
        utilization would be inconsistent with the United States public 
        interests;
            ``(7) equitably promote engineering and science education 
        related to space transportation technologies, within 
        constraints of national security considerations, to as broad a 
        range of individuals as possible; and
            ``(8) continue to closely protect the intellectual property 
        rights associated with advancements in advanced space 
        transportation systems to maintain United States 
        competitiveness in the world.''; and
            (3) in subsection (i), as so redesignated by paragraph (1) 
        of this subsection, by striking ``subsections (a), (b), (c), 
        (d), (e), (f), and (g)'' and inserting ``this section''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 206 of the National Aeronautics 
and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2476) is amended by striking ``section 
102(c)'' both places it appears and inserting ``section 102(e)''.

SEC. 4. FURTHER ADVANCEMENT OF SPACE TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES.

    Section 201 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
Authorization Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 2466) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``is the primary'' and 
        inserting ``remains an important''; and
            (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``, and must therefore 
        also be committed to further developing low-cost, frequent, and 
        reliable access to space'' after ``transportation''.