II 

Calendar No. 322 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 881 

[Report No. 116–171] 

To improve understanding and forecasting of space weather events, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2019 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 11, 2019 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, without amendment 

A BILL 

To improve understanding and forecasting of space weather 

events, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Space Weather Re5 search and Forecasting Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPACE WEATHER. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle VI of title 51, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding after chapter 605 the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 607—SPACE WEATHER 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘60701. Space weather. 

‘‘60702. Observations and forecasting. 

‘‘60703. Research and technology. 

‘‘60704. Space weather data. 

6 ‘‘§ 60701. Space weather 

7 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 ‘‘(1) Space weather events pose a significant 

10 threat to ground-based and space-based critical in11 frastructure, modern technological systems, and hu12 mans working in space. 

13 ‘‘(2) The effects of severe space weather events 

14 on the electric power grid, satellites and satellite 

15 communications and information, aviation oper16 ations, astronauts living and working in space, and 

17 space-based position, navigation, and timing systems 

18 could have significant societal, economic, national se19 curity, and health impacts. 

20 ‘‘(3) Earth and space observations provide cru21 cial data necessary to predict and warn about space 

22 weather events. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Clear roles and accountability of Federal 

2 departments and agencies are critical for an efficient 

3 and effective response to threats posed by space 

4 weather. 

5 ‘‘(5) Space weather observation and forecasting 

6 are essential for the success of space exploration. 

7 ‘‘(6) In October 2015, the National Science and 

8 Technology Council published a National Space 

9 Weather Strategy and a National Space Weather 

10 Action Plan seeking to integrate national space 

11 weather efforts and add new capabilities to meet in12 creasing demand for space weather information. 

13 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL AGENCY ROLES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 

15 findings: 

16 ‘‘(A) The National Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Administration— 

18 ‘‘(i) provides operational space weath19 er forecasting and monitoring for civil ap20 plications; 

21 ‘‘(ii) maintains ground and space22 based assets to provide observations need23 ed for forecasting, prediction, and warn24 ings; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) provides research to support op2 eration responsibilities; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) develops requirements for space 

4 weather forecasting technologies and 

5 science. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Department of Defense provides 

7 operational space weather forecasting, moni8 toring, and research for the department’s 

9 unique missions and applications. 

10 ‘‘(C) The National Aeronautics and Space 

11 Administration provides increased under12 standing of the fundamental physics of the 

13 Sun-Earth system through space-based observa14 tions and modeling, develops new space-based 

15 technologies and missions, and monitors space 

16 weather for NASA’s space missions. 

17 ‘‘(D) The National Science Foundation 

18 provides increased understanding of the Sun19 Earth system through ground-based measure20 ments, technologies, and modeling. 

21 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Interior col22 lects, distributes, and archives operational 

23 ground-based magnetometer data in the United 

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1 physical monitoring, and develops crustal con2 ductivity models to assess and mitigate risk 

3 from space weather induced electric ground cur4 rents. 

5 ‘‘(F) The Federal Aviation Administration 

6 provides operational requirements for space 

7 weather services in support of aviation and for 

8 coordination of these requirements with the 

9 International Civil Aviation Organization, inte10 grates space weather data and products into the 

11 Next Generation Air Transportation System. 

12 ‘‘(2) OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

13 POLICY.—The Director of the Office of Science and 

14 Technology Policy shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) coordinate the development and im16 plementation of Federal Government activities 

17 to improve the ability of the United States to 

18 prepare, avoid, mitigate, respond to, and re19 cover from potentially devastating impacts of 

20 space weather events; and 

21 ‘‘(B) coordinate the activities of the space 

22 weather interagency working group established 

23 under subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(c) SPACE WEATHER INTERAGENCY WORKING

25 GROUP.—The National Science and Technology Council 


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1 shall establish an interagency working group on space 

2 weather (referred to in this section as the ‘interagency 

3 working group’) to continue coordination of executive 

4 branch efforts to understand, prepare, coordinate, and 

5 plan for space weather. 

6 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.—In order to understand and re7 spond to the adverse effects of space weather, the inter8 agency working group shall leverage capabilities across 

9 participating Federal agencies, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad11 ministration; 

12 ‘‘(2) the National Aeronautics and Space Ad13 ministration; 

14 ‘‘(3) the National Science Foundation; 

15 ‘‘(4) the Department of Defense; 

16 ‘‘(5) the Department of the Interior; 

17 ‘‘(6) the Department of Homeland Security; 

18 ‘‘(7) the Department of Energy; 

19 ‘‘(8) the Department of Transportation, includ20 ing the Federal Aviation Administration; and 

21 ‘‘(9) the Department of State. 

22 ‘‘(e) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

24 Congress that the interagency collaboration between 

25 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 


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1 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis2 tration on terrestrial weather observations pro3 vides— 

4 ‘‘(A) an effective mechanism for improving 

5 weather and climate data collection while avoid6 ing unnecessary duplication of capabilities 

7 across Federal agencies; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an agency collaboration model that 

9 could benefit space weather observations. 

10 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—The Ad11 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

12 Administration and the Administrator of the Na13 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

14 enter into one or more interagency agreements pro15 viding for cooperation and collaboration in the devel16 opment of space weather spacecraft, instruments, 

17 and technologies in accordance with this chapter. 

18 ‘‘(f) SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY GROUP.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The interagency work20 ing group shall establish a space weather advisory 

21 group (in this chapter referred to as the ‘advisory 

22 group’) to facilitate communication and knowledge 

23 transfer among Federal Government agencies, the 

24 academic community, the commercial sector, and 

25 space weather end users. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory group shall 

2 be composed of not more than 15 members ap3 pointed by the interagency working group, of 

4 whom— 

5 ‘‘(A) 5 members shall be representatives of 

6 the academic community; 

7 ‘‘(B) 5 members shall be representatives of 

8 the commercial sector; and 

9 ‘‘(C) 5 members shall be nongovernmental 

10 representatives of the space weather end user 

11 community. 

12 ‘‘(3) CHAIR.—Not later than 30 days after the 

13 date on which the last member of the advisory group 

14 is appointed under paragraph (2), the interagency 

15 working group shall appoint 1 member as the Chair 

16 of the advisory group. 

17 ‘‘(4) TERMS.—The length of the term of each 

18 member of the advisory group shall be 3 years be19 ginning on the date on which the member is ap20 pointed. 

21 ‘‘(5) TERM LIMITS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the advi23 sory group may not serve on the advisory group 

24 for more than 2 consecutive terms. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CHAIR.—A member of the advisory 

2 group may not serve as the Chair of the advi3 sory group for more than 2 terms, regardless of 

4 whether the terms are consecutive. 

5 ‘‘(6) DUTIES.—The duties of the advisory 

6 group shall be as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) To facilitate advances in the space 

8 weather enterprise of the United States. 

9 ‘‘(B) To improve the ability of the United 

10 States to prepare for, avoid, mitigate, respond 

11 to, and recover from space weather events. 

12 ‘‘(C) To enable the coordination of re13 search to operations and operations to research, 

14 as described in section 60703(d). 

15 ‘‘(D) To advise the interagency working 

16 group with respect to the development and im17 plementation of the integrated strategy devel18 oped under section 60702(b) and subsequent 

19 updates and reevaluations. 

20 ‘‘§ 60702. Observations and forecasting 

21 ‘‘(a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

22 to establish and sustain a baseline capability for space 

23 weather observations. 

24 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATED STRATEGY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office 

2 of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination 

3 with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

4 Atmospheric Administration, the Administrator of 

5 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

6 the Director of the National Science Foundation, 

7 and the Secretary of Defense, and in consultation 

8 with the academic community, the commercial sec9 tor, and the advisory group shall develop an inte10 grated strategy for solar, solar wind, and geospace 

11 observations beyond the lifetime of current assets 

12 that considers the provision of solar, solar wind, and 

13 geospace measurements and other space weather 

14 measurements— 

15 ‘‘(A) essential to space weather fore16 casting; and 

17 ‘‘(B) important for scientific purposes. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the 

19 strategy under paragraph (1), the Director of the 

20 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) consider small satellite options, 

22 hosted payloads, commercial options, inter23 national options, and prize authority; and 

24 ‘‘(B) leverage and build on work conducted 

25 before the date of the enactment of this chapter 


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1 by the National Science and Technology Coun2 cil with respect to space weather. 

3 ‘‘(c) CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS.—In order to sustain 

4 current space-based observational capabilities, the Admin5 istrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis6 tration shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) in cooperation with the European Space 

8 Agency and other international and interagency 

9 partners, maintain operations of the Solar and 

10 Heliospheric Observatory/Large Angle and Spec11 trometric Coronagraph (referred to in this section as 

12 ‘SOHO/LASCO’) for as long as the satellite con13 tinues to deliver quality observations; and 

14 ‘‘(2) prioritize the reception of LASCO data. 

15 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL CAPABILITY FOR SOLAR IMAG16 ING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

18 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

19 shall secure reliable secondary capability for near 

20 real-time coronal mass ejection imagery. 

21 ‘‘(2) OPTIONS.—The Administrator of the Na22 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 

23 coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the 

24 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

25 Space Administration, shall develop options to build 


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1 and deploy one or more instruments for near real2 time coronal mass ejection imagery. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing options 

4 under paragraph (2), the Administrator of the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

6 consider commercial solutions, prize authority, aca7 demic and international partnerships, microsatellites, 

8 ground-based instruments, and opportunities to de9 ploy the instrument or instruments as a secondary 

10 payload on an upcoming planned launch. 

11 ‘‘(4) COSTS.—In implementing paragraph (1), 

12 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At13 mospheric Administration shall prioritize a cost-ef14 fective solution. 

15 ‘‘(5) OPERATIONAL PLANNING.—The Adminis16 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad17 ministration shall develop an operational contingency 

18 plan to provide continuous space weather forecasting 

19 in the event of a SOHO/LASCO failure. 

20 ‘‘(6) BRIEFING.—Not later than 120 days after 

21 the date of enactment of the Space Weather Re22 search and Forecasting Act, the Administrator of 

23 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra24 tion shall provide a briefing to the Committee on 

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1 ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech2 nology of the House of Representatives on the op3 tions for building and deploying the instrument or 

4 instruments described in paragraph (2) and the 

5 operational contingency plan developed under para6 graph (5). 

7 ‘‘(e) FOLLOW-ON SPACE-BASED OBSERVATIONS.— 

8 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos9 pheric Administration, in coordination with the Secretary 

10 of Defense, shall develop requirements and a plan for fol11 low-on space-based observations for operational purposes, 

12 in accordance with the integrated strategy developed 

13 under subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

15 date of enactment of the Space Weather Research and 

16 Forecasting Act, the Director of the Office of Science and 

17 Technology Policy shall submit to the Committee on Com18 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

20 House of Representatives a report on the integrated strat21 egy under subsection (b), including the plans for follow22 on space-based observations under subsection (e). 

23 ‘‘(g) GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS.—The Na24 tional Science Foundation, the United States Geological 


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1 Survey, the Air Force, and where practicable in support 

2 of the Air Force, the Navy shall each— 

3 ‘‘(1) maintain and improve, as necessary and 

4 advisable, ground-based observations of the Sun to 

5 help meet the priorities identified in section 

6 60703(a); and 

7 ‘‘(2) provide space weather data by means of its 

8 set of ground-based facilities, including radars, 

9 lidars, magnetometers, radio receivers, aurora and 

10 airglow imagers, spectrometers, interferometers, and 

11 solar observatories. 

12 ‘‘(h) GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS DATA.—The 

13 National Science Foundation shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) make available to the public key data 

15 streams from the platforms described in subsection 

16 (g) for research and to support space weather model 

17 development; 

18 ‘‘(2) develop experimental models for scientific 

19 purposes; and 

20 ‘‘(3) support the transition of the experimental 

21 models to operations where appropriate. 

22 ‘‘§ 60703. Research and technology 

23 ‘‘(a) USER NEEDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

25 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 


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1 the Secretary of the Air Force, and where prac2 ticable in support of the Air Force, the Secretary of 

3 the Navy, in conjunction with the heads of other rel4 evant Federal agencies, shall conduct a comprehen5 sive survey to identify and prioritize the needs of 

6 space weather forecast users, including space weath7 er data and space weather forecast data needed to 

8 improve services and inform research priorities and 

9 technology needs. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In conducting the com11 prehensive survey under paragraph (1), the Adminis12 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad13 ministration, the Secretary of the Air Force, and 

14 where practicable in support of the Air Force, the 

15 Secretary of the Navy, at a minimum, shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) consider the goals for forecast lead 

17 time, accuracy, coverage, timeliness, data rate, 

18 and data quality for space weather observa19 tions; 

20 ‘‘(B) identify opportunities to address the 

21 needs identified under paragraph (1) through 

22 collaborations with academia, the private sector, 

23 and the international community; 


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1 ‘‘(C) identify opportunities for new tech2 nologies and instrumentation to address the 

3 needs identified under paragraph (1); and 

4 ‘‘(D) publish a report on the findings 

5 under subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

6 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of the enactment of the Space Weath8 er Research and Forecasting Act, and every 3 years 

9 thereafter, the Administrator of the National Oce10 anic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary 

11 of the Air Force, and where practicable in support 

12 of the Air Force, the Secretary of the Navy, shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) make the results of the comprehen14 sive survey publicly available; and 

15 ‘‘(B) notify the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech18 nology of the House of Representatives of the 

19 publication under subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) BASIC RESEARCH.—The Director of the 

22 National Science Foundation, the Administrator of 

23 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

24 and the Secretary of Defense shall continue to carry 

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1 space science, and space weather and support com2 petitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for re3 search, modeling, and monitoring of space weather 

4 and its impacts, including science goals outlined in 

5 Solar and Space Physics Decadal surveys conducted 

6 by the National Academy of Sciences. 

7 ‘‘(2) MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the 

9 multidisciplinary nature of solar and space 

10 physics creates funding challenges that require 

11 coordination across scientific disciplines and 

12 Federal agencies. 

13 ‘‘(B) MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH.— 

14 The Director of the National Science Founda15 tion, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

16 and Atmospheric Administration, and the Ad17 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and 

18 Space Administration shall pursue multidisci19 plinary research in subjects that further our 

20 understanding of solar physics, space physics, 

21 and space weather. 

22 ‘‘(C) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the 

23 sense of Congress that the Administrator of the 

24 National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

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1 dation should support competitively awarded 

2 Heliophysics Science Centers. 

3 ‘‘(c) SCIENCE MISSIONS.—The Administrator of the 

4 National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall seek 

5 to implement missions that meet the science objectives 

6 identified in Solar and Space Physics Decadal surveys con7 ducted by the National Academy of Sciences. 

8 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH TO OPERATIONS; OPERATIONS TO

9 RESEARCH.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

11 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 

12 Director of the National Science Foundation, the 

13 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos14 pheric Administration, the Secretary of the Air 

15 Force, and where practicable in support of the Air 

16 Force, the Secretary of the Navy, shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) develop a formal mechanism to tran18 sition National Aeronautics and Space Adminis19 tration, National Science Foundation, United 

20 States Geological Survey, Air Force, and Navy 

21 research findings, models, and capabilities, as 

22 appropriate, to National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration and Department of De24 fense space weather operational forecasting cen25 ters; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) enhance coordination between re2 search modeling centers and forecasting cen3 ters. 

4 ‘‘(2) OPERATIONAL NEEDS.—The Adminis5 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad6 ministration and the Secretary of Defense, in coordi7 nation with the Administrator of the National Aero8 nautics and Space Administration and the Director 

9 of the National Science Foundation, shall develop a 

10 formal mechanism to communicate the operational 

11 needs of space weather forecasters to the research 

12 community. 

13 ‘‘(e) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that observa15 tions and measurements closer to the Sun or at the 

16 Sun-Earth Lagrangian L5 point with advanced in17 strumentation would provide for more advanced 

18 warning of space weather disturbances (as defined in 

19 section 3(a) of the Space Weather Research and 

20 Forecasting Act). 

21 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUMENTATION DE22 VELOPMENT.—The Administrator of the National 

23 Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Di24 rector of the National Science Foundation shall sup25 port the development of technologies and instrumenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S881.RS S881

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1 tation to improve space weather forecasting lead2 time and accuracy to meet the needs identified by 

3 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At4 mospheric Administration. 

5 ‘‘§ 60704. Space weather data 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na7 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Di8 rector of the National Science Foundation shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) make space weather related data obtained 

10 for scientific research purposes available to space 

11 weather forecasters and operations centers; and 

12 ‘‘(2) support model development and model ap13 plications to space weather forecasting. 

14 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH.—The Administrator of the National 

15 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall make space 

16 weather related data obtained from operational forecasting 

17 available for scientific research.’’. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) REPEAL OF SECTION 809.—Section 809 of 

20 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

21 Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18388) and 

22 the item relating to that section in the table of con23 tents under section 1(b) of that Act (124 Stat. 

24 2806) are repealed. 


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1 (2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap2 ters of title 51, United States Code, is amended by 

3 adding after the item relating to chapter 605 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘607. Space weather .......................................................................60701’’. 

5 SEC. 3. SPACE WEATHER BENCHMARKS. 

6 (a) DEFINITION OF SPACE WEATHER DISTURB7 ANCE.—In this section, the term ‘‘space weather disturb8 ance’’ includes geo-electric fields, ionizing radiation, iono9 spheric disturbances, solar radio bursts, and upper atmos10 phere expansion. 

11 (b) BENCHMARKS.— 

12 (1) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Na13 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration shall 

14 offer to enter into a contract with the National 

15 Academy of Sciences to review the report of the Na16 tional Science and Technology Council entitled 

17 ‘‘Space Weather Phase 1 Benchmarks’’ and dated 

18 June 2018. 

19 (2) UPDATES.—The space weather interagency 

20 working group established under section 60701(c) of 

21 title 51, United States Code, shall periodically review 

22 and update the benchmarks described in the report 

23 referred to in paragraph (1), as necessary, based 

24 on— 


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1 (A) the results of the review that para2 graph; 

3 (B) any significant new data or advances 

4 in scientific understanding that become avail5 able; or 

6 (C) the evolving needs of entities impacted 

7 by space weather disturbances. 

8 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF SECTOR-SPECIFIC AGENCY.—In 

10 this section, the term ‘‘sector-specific agency’’ has the 

11 meaning given the term in Presidential Policy Directive– 

12 21 of February 12, 2013 (Critical Infrastructure Security 

13 and Resilience), or any successor. 

14 (b) SPACE WEATHER HAZARDS.—For purposes of 

15 this section, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

16 and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the 

17 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall provide in18 formation about space weather hazards to the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security. 

20 (c) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security, in consultation with sector-specific 

22 agencies, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

23 Atmospheric Administration, and the heads of other rel24 evant agencies, shall— 


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1 (1) include, in meeting national critical infra2 structure reporting requirements, an assessment of 

3 the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to space 

4 weather events, as described by the space weather 

5 benchmarks referred to in section 3(b); and 

6 (2) support critical infrastructure providers in 

7 managing the risks and impacts associated with 

8 space weather. 

9 (d) PROHIBITION ON NEW REGULATORY AUTHOR10 ITY.—Nothing in subsection (c) may be construed to grant 

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security any authority to pro12 mulgate regulations that was not in effect on the day be13 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY ASSETS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Security Council, in 

16 consultation with the Office of the Director of National 

17 Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of 

18 other relevant Federal agencies, shall— 

19 (1) assess the vulnerability of the national secu20 rity community to space weather events, as described 

21 by the space weather benchmarks referred to in sec22 tion 3(b); and 

23 (2) develop national security mechanisms to 

24 protect national security assets from space weather 

25 threats. 


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1 (b) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Defense, in 

2 consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal 

3 agencies, shall provide information about space weather 

4 hazards to the National Security Council, Director of Na5 tional Intelligence, and heads of Defense Agencies for pur6 poses of this section. 

7 SEC. 6. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF CIVIL AVIATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

9 Aviation Administration, in consultation with the heads of 

10 other relevant Federal agencies, shall— 

11 (1) assess the safety implications and vulner12 ability of the national airspace system by space 

13 weather events, as described by the space weather 

14 benchmarks referred to in section 3(b); 

15 (2) assess methods to mitigate the safety impli16 cations and effects of space weather on aviation 

17 communication and navigation systems, satellite and 

18 ground-based navigation systems, and potential 

19 health effects of radiation exposure; and 

20 (3) assess options for incorporating space 

21 weather into operational training for pilots, cabin 

22 crew, dispatchers, air traffic controllers, meteorolo23 gists, and engineers. 

24 (b) SPACE WEATHER COMMUNICATION.—The Ad25 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, in 


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1 consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal 

2 agencies, shall develop methods to increase the interaction 

3 between the aviation community and the space weather re4 search and service provider community. 


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Calendar No. 322 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 881 

[Report No. 116–171] 

A BILL 

To improve understanding and forecasting of space 

weather events, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 11, 2019 

Reported without amendment 


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