I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2616 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration for fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 8, 2013 

Ms. EDWARDS (for herself, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. PETERS of California, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. MAFFEI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. 

VEASEY, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, and Mr. KILMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology 

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration for fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 

2016, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author6 ization Act of 2013’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 102. Fiscal year 2014. 

Sec. 103. Fiscal year 2015. 

Sec. 104. Fiscal year 2016. 

TITLE II—HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS 

Subtitle A—Exploration 

Sec. 201. Goal. 

Sec. 202. Roadmap. 

Sec. 203. Sense of Congress on international participation. 

Sec. 204. Exploration systems development. 

Sec. 205. Space radiation. 

Sec. 206. Participatory exploration. 

Sec. 207. Sense of Congress on science and exploration. 

Sec. 208. Planetary protection for human exploration missions. 

Subtitle B—International Space Station 

Sec. 211. Objectives and policy. 

Sec. 212. Sense of Congress regarding operation and utilization of the ISS beyond 2020. 

Sec. 213. Prohibition on precluding ISS operations beyond 2020. 

Sec. 214. Criteria for extending ISS operations beyond 2020. 

Sec. 215. ISS cargo resupply services lessons learned. 

Sec. 216. Crew transportation to and from the ISS. 

Sec. 217. Commercial crew transportation development independent review. 

Sec. 218. Integrated plan to effect maximum utilization of the ISS. 

Sec. 219. Centrifuge. 

Sec. 220. Management of the ISS National Laboratory. 

Sec. 221. Barriers impeding enhanced utilization of the ISS’s National Laboratory by commercial companies. 

Subtitle C—Other Operations 

Sec. 231. Integrated space communications network and infrastructure. 

TITLE III—SCIENCE 

Subtitle A—Space Science 

Sec. 301. Sense of Congress regarding a balanced space science program. 

Sec. 302. Sense of Congress regarding integrated testing of James Webb Space 

Telescope. 

Sec. 303. Sense of Congress regarding WFIRST mission. 

Sec. 304. Astrobiology science strategy. 

Sec. 305. Assessment of Mars architecture. 

Sec. 306. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators. 

Sec. 307. University class science missions. 

Subtitle B—Earth Science 


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Sec. 311. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 312. Comprehensive Earth observation systems and research program. 

Sec. 313. Study on sustained, long-term measurements. 

Sec. 314. Assessment. 

Sec. 315. Continuity of moderate resolution land imaging remote sensing data. 

Sec. 316. Venture class missions. 

TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

Sec. 401. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 402. Aeronautics research goals. 

Sec. 403. Strategic planning for aeronautics research. 

Sec. 404. Research program to determine perceived impact of sonic booms. 

Sec. 405. Research program to facilitate greater use of composite materials in 

aircraft. 

Sec. 406. Transformative aeronautics research. 

Sec. 407. United States leadership in aeronautics research. 

TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM 

Sec. 501. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 502. Space technology program. 

TITLE VI—ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 601. Project and program reserves. 

Sec. 602. Cost estimation. 

Sec. 603. Independent reviews. 

Sec. 604. Avoiding organizational conflicts of interest in major NASA acquisition programs. 

Sec. 605. Managing termination liability. 

TITLE VII—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 701. Facilities and infrastructure. 

Sec. 702. NASA education program. 

Sec. 703. Independent review of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. 

Sec. 704. Review of practices to detect and prevent the use of counterfeit parts. 

Sec. 705. Remote satellite servicing demonstrations. 

Sec. 706. Astronaut occupational healthcare. 

Sec. 707. Use of operational commercial suborbital vehicles for research, development, and education. 

Sec. 708. Fundamental space life and physical sciences research. 

Sec. 709. Restoring NASA’s commitment to engineering research. 

Sec. 710. Near-Earth objects detection. 

Sec. 711. Research on near-Earth object tsunami effects. 

Sec. 712. Review of orbital debris removal concepts. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

3 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

4 (2) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 program’’ means the International Space Station, 

6 the Space Launch System, the Orion multipurpose 

7 crew vehicle, and the James Webb Space Telescope. 

8 (3) DOE.—The term ‘‘DOE’’ means the De9 partment of Energy. 

10 (4) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter11 national Space Station. 

12 (5) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na13 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

14 (6) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na15 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

16 (7) PRIME CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘prime 

17 contractor’’ means a person or entity contracting di18 rectly with the Federal Government on a covered 

19 program. 

20 (8) SAFETY, SECURITY, AND WORKFORCE SUP21 PORT PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘Safety, Security, and 

22 Workforce Support Programs’’ means the programs 

23 and activities accounted for in the ‘‘Cross-Agency 

24 Support Programs’’ accounts in the National AeroVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:41 Jul 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2616.IH H2616

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1 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

2 of 2010, and subsequent appropriations Acts. 

3 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

6 APPROPRIATIONS 

7 SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that a strong, robust 

9 NASA program is in the national interest. Ensuring that 

10 NASA can continue to pursue cutting-edge space and 

11 aeronautical research and development activities and push 

12 back the frontier of space exploration requires a sustained 

13 and adequate commitment in resources. However, NASA’s 

14 share of the Federal discretionary budgetary authority has 

15 declined significantly relative to even its post-Apollo his16 torical average. Challenging goals cannot be reached and 

17 multimission responsibilities cannot be fulfilled with the 

18 consistent erosion of purchasing power and unstable fund19 ing, which NASA has experienced in recent years. It 

20 should be a national goal to restore NASA’s funding to 

21 a level of one percent of the annual Federal budget. 

22 SEC. 102. FISCAL YEAR 2014. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to NASA for 

24 fiscal year 2014, $18,100,000,000, as follows: 


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1 (1) For Exploration, $4,220,800,000, of 

2 which— 

3 (A) $1,650,000,000 shall be for the Space 

4 Launch System, $1,230,000,000 shall be for 

5 the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle, and 

6 $318,200,000 shall be for Exploration Ground 

7 Systems; 

8 (B) $322,600,000 shall be for Exploration 

9 Research and Development; and 

10 (C) $700,000,000 shall be for Commercial 

11 Spaceflight. 

12 (2) For Space Operations, $3,761,700,000, of 

13 which— 

14 (A) $2,927,900,000 shall be for the ISS 

15 program, of which $230,900,000 shall be for 

16 ISS research; and 

17 (B) $833,800,000 shall be for Space and 

18 Flight Support. 

19 (3) For Science, $5,300,300,000, of which— 

20 (A) $1,846,100,000 shall be for Earth 

21 Sciences; 

22 (B) $1,500,000,000 shall be for Planetary 

23 Science; 

24 (C) $642,300,000 shall be for Astro25 physics; 


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1 (D) $658,200,000 shall be for the James 

2 Webb Space Telescope; and 

3 (E) $653,700,000 shall be for 

4 Heliophysics. 

5 (4) For Aeronautics, $569,400,000. 

6 (5) For Space Technology, $615,000,000. 

7 (6) For Education, $136,100,000. 

8 (7) For Safety, Security, and Workforce Sup9 port Programs, $2,850,300,000. 

10 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com11 pliance and Restoration, $609,400,000,000, of which 

12 $142,300,000 shall be for Exploration Construction 

13 of Facilities. 

14 (9) For Inspector General, $37,000,000. 

15 SEC. 103. FISCAL YEAR 2015. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to NASA for 

17 fiscal year 2015, $18,462,000,000, as follows: 

18 (1) For Exploration, $4,436,200,000, of 

19 which— 

20 (A) $1,750,000,000 shall be for the Space 

21 Launch System, $1,235,000,000 shall be for 

22 the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle, and 

23 $408,400,000 shall be for Exploration Ground 

24 Systems; 


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1 (B) $342,800,000 shall be for Exploration 

2 Research and Development; and 

3 (C) $700,000,000 shall be for Commercial 

4 Spaceflight. 

5 (2) For Space Operations, $4,042,400,000, of 

6 which— 

7 (A) $3,197,300,000 shall be for the ISS 

8 program, of which $244,300,000 shall be for 

9 ISS research; and 

10 (B) $845,100,000 shall be for Space and 

11 Flight Support. 

12 (3) For Science, $5,293,100,000, of which— 

13 (A) $1,854,600,000 shall be for Earth 

14 Sciences; 

15 (B) $1,500,000,000 shall be for Planetary 

16 Science; 

17 (C) $660,000,000 shall be for Astro18 physics; 

19 (D) $645,400,000 shall be for the James 

20 Webb Space Telescope; and 

21 (E) $633,100,000 shall be for 

22 Heliophysics. 

23 (4) For Aeronautics, $581,000,000. 

24 (5) For Space Technology, $645,000,000. 

25 (6) For Education, $136,100,000. 


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1 (7) For Safety, Security, and Workforce Sup2 port Programs, $2,850,300,000. 

3 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com4 pliance and Restoration, $440,900,000. 

5 (9) For Inspector General, $37,000,000. 

6 SEC. 104. FISCAL YEAR 2016. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to NASA for 

8 fiscal year 2016, $18,868,000,000, as follows: 

9 (1) For Exploration, $4,534,200,000, of 

10 which— 

11 (A) $1,800,000,000 shall be for the Space 

12 Launch System; $1,260,000,000 shall be for 

13 the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle; and 

14 $414,200,000 shall be for Exploration Ground 

15 Systems; 

16 (B) $360,000,000 shall be for Exploration 

17 Research and Development; and 

18 (C) $700,000,000 shall be for Commercial 

19 Spaceflight. 

20 (2) For Space Operations, $4,133,300,000, of 

21 which— 

22 (A) $3,319,500,000 shall be for the ISS 

23 program, of which $272,200,000 shall be for 

24 ISS research; and 


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1 (B) $813,800,000 shall be for Space and 

2 Flight Support. 

3 (3) For Science, $5,305,600,000 of which— 

4 (A) $1,848,800,000 shall be for Earth 

5 Sciences; 

6 (B) $1,500,000,000 shall be for Planetary 

7 Science; 

8 (C) $700,000,000 shall be for Astro9 physics; 

10 (D) $620,000,000 shall be for the James 

11 Webb Space Telescope; and 

12 (E) $636,800,000 shall be for 

13 Heliophysics. 

14 (4) For Aeronautics, $593,800,000. 

15 (5) For Space Technology, $720,000,000. 

16 (6) For Education, $136,100,000. 

17 (7) For Safety, Security, and Workforce Sup18 port Programs, $2,937,000,000. 

19 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com20 pliance and Restoration, $471,000,000. 

21 (9) For Inspector General, $37,000,000. 


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1 TITLE II—HUMAN EXPLORATION 

2 AND OPERATIONS 

3 Subtitle A—Exploration 

4 SEC. 201. GOAL. 

5 The goal of NASA’s Exploration program shall be to 

6 successfully conduct a crewed mission to the surface of 

7 Mars to begin the human exploration of that planet as 

8 part of a broader national goal of human and robotic ex9 ploration of the solar system. NASA’s exploration activi10 ties and investments shall be organized towards the 

11 achievement of that goal. Potential exploration and utiliza12 tion of the Moon, cis-lunar space, near-Earth asteroids, 

13 Lagrangian points, and Martian moons may be pursued 

14 as interim destinations to the extent that they make sig15 nificant contributions to the achievement of that goal. 

16 SEC. 202. ROADMAP. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

18 a roadmap to guide NASA’s planning for the achievement 

19 of the goal established in section 201. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The roadmap shall include 

22 information on the phasing of planned intermediate 

23 destinations, Mars mission risk areas and potential 

24 risk mitigation approaches, technology requirements 

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1 tivities, the management strategy to be followed, re2 lated ISS activities, any planned international col3 laborative activities, potential commercial contribu4 tions, and other activities relevant to the achieve5 ment of the goal established in section 201. 

6 (2) INITIAL ROADMAP REQUIREMENT.—The 

7 first roadmap transmitted under subsection (c)(1) 

8 shall also include an explicit analysis of— 

9 (A) the technical requirements for pur10 suing a roadmap to Mars that includes a 

11 human and robotic return to the lunar surface; 

12 (B) the extent to which inclusion of that 

13 intermediate destination would assist in the 

14 achievement of the goal established in section 

15 201; and 

16 (C) the scope of international participation 

17 that might be anticipated and the potential ben18 efits from such participation if such an inter19 mediate destination were to be selected. 

20 (3) PARTICIPATION.—The development of the 

21 roadmap shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

22 involve the participation of the ISS partnership in 

23 its preparation. 

24 (c) TRANSMITTAL.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL ROADMAP DEADLINE.—The first 

2 roadmap shall be transmitted to the Committee on 

3 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate concur6 rently with its submission to the Office of Manage7 ment and Budget and prior to when the budget for 

8 fiscal year 2015 is transmitted to Congress under 

9 section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

10 (2) ANNUAL UPDATE.—The roadmap shall be 

11 updated annually and transmitted to the Committee 

12 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate with the 

15 budget for that fiscal year transmitted to Congress 

16 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

17 Code. 

18 SEC. 203. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL PAR19 TICIPATION. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

21 invite the United States partners in the ISS program and 

22 other nations, as appropriate, to participate in an inter23 national initiative under the leadership of the United 

24 States to achieve the goal of successfully conducting a 

25 crewed mission to the surface of Mars. 


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1 SEC. 204. EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Given the critical importance of 

3 a heavy-lift launch vehicle and crewed spacecraft to enable 

4 the achievement of the goal established in section 201, as 

5 well as to the accomplishment of intermediate exploration 

6 milestones and the provision of a backup capability to 

7 transfer crew and cargo to the ISS, the Administrator 

8 shall make the expeditious development, test, and achieve9 ment of operational readiness of the Space Launch System 

10 and the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle the highest pri11 ority of the Exploration program. In order to promote 

12 safety and reduce programmatic risk, the Administrator 

13 shall budget for and undertake a robust ground test and 

14 uncrewed and crewed flight test and demonstration pro15 gram for the Space Launch System and the Orion multi16 purpose crew vehicle and shall budget for an operational 

17 flight rate sufficient to maintain safety and operational 

18 readiness. 

19 (b) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE20 VIEW.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit 

22 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

23 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

25 on NASA’s acquisition of ground systems in support of 

26 the Space Launch System. The report shall assess the exVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:41 Jul 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2616.IH H2616

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1 tent to which NASA’s exploration systems development of 

2 ground systems is focused on the direct support of the 

3 Space Launch System and shall identify any ground sup4 port projects or activities that NASA is undertaking that 

5 do not solely or primarily support the Space Launch Sys6 tem. 

7 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that the President’s annual budget requests for the 

9 Space Launch System and Orion multipurpose crew vehi10 cle development, test, and operational phases should strive 

11 to accurately reflect the resource requirements of each of 

12 those phases, consistent with subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 205. SPACE RADIATION. 

14 (a) STRATEGY AND PLAN.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de16 velop a space radiation mitigation and management 

17 strategy and implementation plan to enable the 

18 achievement of the goal established in section 201 

19 that includes key research and monitoring require20 ments, milestones, a timetable, and an estimate of 

21 facility and budgetary requirements. 

22 (2) COORDINATION.—The strategy shall include 

23 a mechanism for coordinating NASA research, tech24 nology, facilities, engineering, operations, and other 

25 functions required to support the strategy and plan. 


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1 (3) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

3 shall transmit the strategy and plan to the Com4 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

5 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen7 ate. 

8 (b) SPACE RADIATION RESEARCH FACILITIES.—The 

9 Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other ap10 propriate Federal agencies, shall assess the national capa11 bilities for carrying out critical ground-based research on 

12 space radiation biology and shall identify any issues that 

13 could affect the ability to carry out that research. 

14 SEC. 206. PARTICIPATORY EXPLORATION. 

15 The Administrator shall identify opportunities to— 

16 (1) leverage technologies in NASA’s Explo17 ration program to deliver a rich, multimedia experi18 ence to the public; and 

19 (2) facilitate participation by the public, the 

20 private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and 

21 international partners in outreach efforts related to 

22 the Exploration program. 


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1 SEC. 207. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SCIENCE AND EXPLO2 RATION. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

4 should strive to make use of the synergies between science 

5 and human exploration in ways that maximize the benefits 

6 to both sets of activities. 

7 SEC. 208. PLANETARY PROTECTION FOR HUMAN EXPLO8 RATION MISSIONS. 

9 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

10 arrangement with the National Academies for a study to 

11 explore the planetary protection ramifications of future 

12 missions by astronauts to the lunar polar regions, near13 Earth asteroids, the moons of Mars, and the surface of 

14 Mars. 

15 (b) SCOPE.—The study shall— 

16 (1) collate and summarize what has been done 

17 to date with respect to planetary protection meas18 ures to be applied to human missions to the lunar 

19 polar regions, near-Earth asteroids, the moons of 

20 Mars, and the surface of Mars; 

21 (2) identify and document planetary protection 

22 concerns associated with human missions to the 

23 lunar polar regions, near-Earth asteroids, the moons 

24 of Mars, and the surface of Mars; 


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1 (3) develop a methodology, if possible, for defin2 ing and classifying the degree of concern associated 

3 with each likely destination; 

4 (4) assess likely methodologies for addressing 

5 planetary protection concerns; and 

6 (5) identify areas for future research to reduce 

7 current uncertainties. 

8 (c) COMPLETION DATE.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

10 shall provide the results of the study to the Committee 

11 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate. 

14 Subtitle B—International Space 

15 Station 

16 SEC. 211. OBJECTIVES AND POLICY. 

17 The United States ISS program shall have two pri18 mary objectives: supporting achievement of the goal estab19 lished in section 201 and pursuing a research program 

20 that advances knowledge and provides benefits to society. 

21 It shall continue to be the policy of the United States to, 

22 in consultation with its international partners in the ISS 

23 program, support full and complete utilization of the ISS 

24 through at least 2020. 


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1 SEC. 212. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING OPERATION 

2 AND UTILIZATION OF THE ISS BEYOND 2020. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that the operation and 

4 utilization of the ISS beyond 2020 should be considered 

5 if the Administrator determines that the ISS is func6 tioning as a productive research facility in the years prior 

7 to 2020 or that operation and utilization of the ISS past 

8 2020 is essential for the achievement of the goal estab9 lished in section 201, and the Administrator’s determina10 tion is validated by an independent external review. 

11 SEC. 213. PROHIBITION ON PRECLUDING ISS OPERATIONS 

12 BEYOND 2020. 

13 The Administrator shall take no steps that would pre14 clude continued United States operation and utilization of 

15 the ISS after 2020. 

16 SEC. 214. CRITERIA FOR EXTENDING ISS OPERATIONS BE17 YOND 2020. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

19 (1) establish specific criteria for determining 

20 how long the ISS can and should continue oper21 ations; and 

22 (2) identify the actions needed to deorbit the 

23 ISS once a decision is made to deorbit the labora24 tory. 

25 (b) REPORT.—The Administrator shall transmit a re26 port to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 


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1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate doc3 umenting such criteria and deorbit actions not later than 

4 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 215. ISS CARGO RESUPPLY SERVICES LESSONS 

6 LEARNED. 

7 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report to 

9 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate that— 

12 (1) identifies the lessons learned to date from 

13 the Commercial Resupply Services contract; 

14 (2) indicates whether changes are needed to the 

15 manner in which NASA procures and manages simi16 lar services upon the expiration of the existing Com17 mercial Resupply Services contract; and 

18 (3) identifies any lessons learned from the Com19 mercial Resupply Services contract that should be 

20 applied to the procurement and management of com21 mercially provided crew transfer services to and 

22 from the ISS. 

23 SEC. 216. CREW TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE ISS. 

24 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of NASA’s Commer25 cial Crew Program shall be to assist the development of 


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1 at least one crew transportation system to carry NASA 

2 astronauts safely, reliably, and affordably to and from the 

3 ISS and to serve as an emergency crew rescue vehicle as 

4 soon as practicable within the funding levels authorized 

5 in this Act. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that once developed and certified to meet NASA’s 

8 safety and reliability requirements, United States commer9 cially provided crew transportation systems offer the po10 tential of serving as the primary means of transporting 

11 American astronauts and international partner astronauts 

12 to and from the ISS and serving as ISS emergency crew 

13 rescue vehicles. At the same time, the budgetary assump14 tions used by NASA in its planning for the Commercial 

15 Crew Program have consistently assumed significantly 

16 higher funding levels than have historically been author17 ized and appropriated by Congress. It is the sense of Con18 gress that credibility in the Administration’s budgetary es19 timates for the Commercial Crew Program can be en20 hanced by an independently developed cost estimate. It is 

21 further the sense of Congress that this lack of budgetary 

22 realism in the planning process creates unnecessary ineffi23 ciencies and increased programmatic risk, and NASA 

24 should thus adjust its planning process to realistically re25 flect the levels of funding authorized in this Act. NASA’s 


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1 plans indicate that it will not be able to begin contracted2 for crew transportation resupply operational flights until 

3 fiscal year 2018 even under its optimistic funding assump4 tions, which means that NASA is not likely to have a re5 quirement for more than a total of 8 commercially pro6 vided crew rotation flights prior to the expiration of the 

7 current Congressional commitment to continued operation 

8 of the ISS in 2020. Thus, it is also the sense of Congress 

9 that the highest priority of the Commercial Crew Program 

10 should be assisting the development of a safe, reliable, and 

11 affordable crew transportation system for transporting 

12 NASA astronauts to and from the ISS as soon as prac13 ticable within the funding levels authorized in this Act 

14 rather than making a specific date for the initiation of 

15 operational service drive the program planning. 

16 (c) INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE.— 

17 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

18 after the Federal Acquisition Regulation-based con19 tract described in subsection (d)(2) is awarded, the 

20 Administrator shall arrange for the initiation of an 

21 Independent Cost Estimate for— 

22 (A) all activities associated with the devel23 opment, test, demonstration, and certification 

24 of commercial crew transportation systems; and 


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1 (B) transportation and rescue services re2 quired by NASA for ISS operations through 

3 calendar year 2020 or later if NASA require4 ments so dictate. 

5 (2) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than one year 

6 after initiation of the Independent Cost Estimate 

7 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall trans8 mit the results of the Independent Cost Estimate to 

9 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

10 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen12 ate. 

13 (d) ACQUISITION APPROACH.— 

14 (1) RESTRICTION.—The Administrator shall 

15 not exercise any optional milestones beyond the base 

16 period of the Space Act Agreements established 

17 under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability 

18 initiative. 

19 (2) SOURCE SELECTION.—To cover all develop20 ment, test, demonstration, and certification activities 

21 not included in the base period of the Commercial 

22 Crew Integrated Capability Space Act Agreements, 

23 the Administrator shall conduct a Federal Acquisi24 tion Regulation-based competitive source selection 

25 for a cost plus incentive fee contract for all activities 


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1 related to the development, test, demonstration, and 

2 certification of one or more commercially provided 

3 crew transportation systems to transport NASA as4 tronauts to and from the ISS and serve as an emer5 gency crew rescue vehicle as soon as practicable 

6 under the authorized funding and while ensuring 

7 that all safety requirements are met. The number of 

8 systems selected shall be consistent with the funding 

9 levels authorized in this Act. The Administrator 

10 shall identify a methodology by which NASA will en11 sure that the Government is not charged for con12 tractor costs incurred during development, testing, 

13 demonstration, and certification activities by an 

14 awardee of the Federal Acquisition Regulation-based 

15 contract for operational commercial crew transpor16 tation services. 

17 (3) COST MINIMIZATION.—The Administrator 

18 shall strive through the competitive selection process 

19 to minimize the life cycle cost to NASA through the 

20 planned period of commercially provided crew trans21 portation services. 

22 (e) SAFETY.—Consistent with the findings and rec23 ommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation 

24 Board, the Administrator shall seek to ensure that mini25 mization of the probability of loss of crew shall be an imVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:41 Jul 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2616.IH H2616

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1 portant selection criterion in the competitive selection de2 scribed in subsection (d). 

3 (f) DETERMINATION OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF

4 SERVICES.—NASA, prior to contracting for commercial 

5 crew transportation services, shall identify the manner by 

6 which it will establish whether such transportation services 

7 provide an equally or more cost-effective alternative to 

8 current services. 

9 (g) OPERATIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not 

11 enter into a contract for commercially provided crew 

12 transportation services developed and certified as de13 scribed in subsection (b) in which the price per seat 

14 or total amount charged per year shall be greater 

15 than the amount charged per seat or on an annual 

16 basis for Soyuz crew transfer services agreed to on 

17 April 22, 2013. 

18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days before 

19 entering into a contract for commercial crew trans20 portation services, the Administrator shall provide a 

21 report to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

22 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation of the Senate identifying the methodology and 

25 criteria by which the Administrator determined that 


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1 the price per seat or total annual amount charged 

2 per year of procured commercial transportation serv3 ices is not greater than the amount charged per seat 

4 for Soyuz crew transfer services agreed to on April 

5 22, 2013. The Administrator shall also certify, using 

6 the methodology identified pursuant to subsection 

7 (d)(2), that the service transportation costs con8 tracted for do not include contractor costs incurred 

9 during development, testing, demonstration, and cer10 tification activities. If the Administrator determines 

11 that NASA is unable to enter into a contract under 

12 the terms specified in paragraph (1), the Adminis13 trator shall report that determination to the Com14 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

15 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen17 ate, and shall also report what alternative contract 

18 arrangement the Administrator will seek to enter 

19 into at least 60 days before entering into such an al20 ternative contract. 

21 SEC. 217. COMMERCIAL CREW TRANSPORTATION DEVELOP22 MENT INDEPENDENT REVIEW. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The congressionally established 

24 Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) shall conduct a 

25 review to determine whether NASA has— 


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1 (1) adequate assurance that the requirements, 

2 standards, and processes for commercial transpor3 tation systems developed with NASA funding are 

4 held to the same safety standards as Government 

5 human spaceflight missions; and 

6 (2) developed a procedure to provide inde7 pendent assurance of flight safety and flight readi8 ness before the authorization of United States Gov9 ernment personnel to participate as crew onboard 

10 any commercial space transportation system. 

11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Aerospace Safety Advisory 

13 Panel shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

14 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

15 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

16 the Senate a report describing— 

17 (1) the Panel’s assessment of NASA’s certifi18 cation strategy, specifications, and guidance; 

19 (2) the Panel’s view of the mandatory safety re20 quirements that must be met; and 

21 (3) the steps NASA and the commercial space 

22 industry need to take to ensure that commercial 

23 crew transportation and rescue vehicles have require24 ments, standards, and processes equivalent to those 

25 of NASA. 


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1 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST FINANCIAL COMMITMENT

2 PRIOR TO ASAP REPORT.—The Administrator may not 

3 enter into any financially binding contract with a commer4 cial space transportation services provider for crew trans5 portation services until 30 days after the Committees’ re6 ceipt of the report under subsection (b). 

7 (d) CERTIFICATION.—The Administrator may not 

8 enter into any financially binding contract with a commer9 cial space transportation services provider for crew trans10 portation services until— 

11 (1) the Administrator has transmitted to the 

12 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen15 ate a certification that— 

16 (A) the provider with which a contract is 

17 planned has demonstrated the safety and reli18 ability of its systems for crew transportation 

19 and crew rescue to be equivalent to NASA-pro20 mulgated safety and reliability policies, proce21 dures, and standards for human spaceflight; 

22 and 

23 (B) successful flight experience accrued 

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1 tion to make an informed assessment about the 

2 flight readiness; and 

3 (2) all indemnification and liability issues asso4 ciated with the use of such systems by the United 

5 States Government have been addressed, and the 

6 Administrator has transmitted to the Committee on 

7 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

10 describing the indemnification and liability provi11 sions that are planned to be included in such con12 tracts. 

13 SEC. 218. INTEGRATED PLAN TO EFFECT MAXIMUM UTILI14 ZATION OF THE ISS. 

15 (a) PURPOSE.—NASA shall seek to maximize the 

16 productivity and use of the ISS with respect to scientific 

17 and technological research and development, advancement 

18 of space exploration, and international collaboration. 

19 (b) PLAN.—NASA shall develop an up-to-date, com20 prehensive, and integrated plan to achieve the purpose 

21 stated in subsection (a) that includes— 

22 (1) a list of planned activities, including any ac23 tivities in support of the goal established in section 

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1 sion of the ISS beyond 2020 to carry out, along with 

2 the rationale for carrying out those activities; 

3 (2) funding requirements; 

4 (3) research or technology objectives to be 

5 achieved, including those established to enable the 

6 achievement of the goal established in section 201; 

7 (4) success criteria; and 

8 (5) the details of— 

9 (A) the specific objectives for using the 

10 ISS through 2020; 

11 (B) priorities attributed to these objectives; 

12 (C) resources required to achieve these ob13 jectives on an annual basis; 

14 (D) how NASA will achieve those objec15 tives and how Congress can measure NASA’s 

16 progress on those objectives; 

17 (E) key assumptions driving the plan; and 

18 (F) what NASA will do with the unused 

19 capacity and capabilities of the ISS if potential 

20 users of the National Laboratory decide not to 

21 make significant use of it. 

22 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

24 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and 

2 concurrently to the Office of Management and Budget, the 

3 plan developed under subsection (b). 

4 SEC. 219. CENTRIFUGE. 

5 If a commitment is made to extend ISS operation and 

6 utilization past 2020, the Administrator shall take all nec7 essary steps to provide for the inclusion on the ISS of a 

8 variable gravity centrifuge of sufficient size and capability 

9 to support both plant and animal research, along with nec10 essary support facilities, as soon as practicable. 

11 SEC. 220. MANAGEMENT OF THE ISS NATIONAL LABORA12 TORY. 

13 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

14 into an arrangement with the National Academies for an 

15 independent assessment of the status of and performance 

16 under the cooperative agreement with the Center for the 

17 Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) for the man18 agement of the portion of the ISS that operates as a 

19 United States National Laboratory. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

22 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

23 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 


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1 containing the independent assessment conducted pursu2 ant to subsection (a). The report shall address— 

3 (1) the extent to which CASIS is helping to en4 sure that the ISS’s unique capabilities are available 

5 to the broadest possible cross section of United 

6 States scientific, technological, and industrial com7 munities; 

8 (2) the status of CASIS’s development and 

9 management of a varied research and development 

10 portfolio based on United States national needs; 

11 (3) progress in establishing a marketplace to fa12 cilitate matching research pathways with qualified 

13 funding sources; 

14 (4) efforts to stimulate interest in using the 

15 National Laboratory for research and technology 

16 demonstrations and as a platform for science, tech17 nology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) edu18 cation; and 

19 (5) the status of NASA’s efforts to transition 

20 responsibilities to CASIS for managing the National 

21 Laboratory research portfolio, including planning 

22 and coordinating ground and on-orbit research ac23 tivities. 


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1 SEC. 221. BARRIERS IMPEDING ENHANCED UTILIZATION OF 

2 THE ISS’S NATIONAL LABORATORY BY COM3 MERCIAL COMPANIES. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) enhanced utilization of the ISS’s National 

7 Laboratory requires a full understanding of the bar8 riers impeding such utilization and actions needed to 

9 be taken to remove or mitigate them to the max10 imum extent practicable; and 

11 (2) doing so will allow NASA to encourage com12 mercial companies to invest in microgravity research 

13 using National Laboratory research facilities. 

14 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

15 into an arrangement with the National Academies for an 

16 assessment to— 

17 (1) identify barriers impeding enhanced utiliza18 tion of the ISS’s National Laboratory; 

19 (2) recommend ways to encourage commercial 

20 companies to make greater use of the ISS’s National 

21 Laboratory, including corporate investment in micro22 gravity research; and 

23 (3) identify any legislative changes that may be 

24 required. 

25 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than one year after the 

26 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 


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1 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech2 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

3 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

4 the results of the assessment described in subsection (b). 

5 Subtitle C—Other Operations 

6 SEC. 231. INTEGRATED SPACE COMMUNICATIONS NET7 WORK AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

8 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall prepare an up9 dated plan for NASA’s near-Earth, space, and deep space 

10 communications network and infrastructure. The plan 

11 shall— 

12 (1) identify steps to sustain the existing net13 work and infrastructure; 

14 (2) assess the capabilities, including any up15 grades, needed to support NASA’s programs; 

16 (3) identify priorities for how resources should 

17 be used to implement the plan; and 

18 (4) assess the impact on missions if resources 

19 are not secured at the level needed. 

20 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

22 transmit the plan to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

23 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

25 Senate. 


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1 TITLE III—SCIENCE 

2 Subtitle A—Space Science 

3 SEC. 301. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING A BALANCED 

4 SPACE SCIENCE PROGRAM. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that a balanced and ade6 quately funded set of activities consistent with the prior7 ities identified in the National Academies’ decadal surveys 

8 constitutes a robust and productive space science program 

9 that will advance knowledge and serve as a catalyst for 

10 innovation, with such activities consisting of— 

11 (1) research and analysis grants programs; 

12 (2) technology development; 

13 (3) small, medium, and large space missions; 

14 and 

15 (4) suborbital research activities. 

16 SEC. 302. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INTEGRATED 

17 TESTING OF JAMES WEBB SPACE TELE18 SCOPE. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that— 

20 (1) the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 

21 will revolutionize our understanding of star and 

22 planet formation and how galaxies evolved, and ad23 vance the search for the origins of our universe; 


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1 (2) the JWST will enable American scientists to 

2 maintain their leadership in astrophysics and other 

3 disciplines; 

4 (3) the JWST program is making steady 

5 progress towards a launch in 2018; 

6 (4) the on-time and on-budget delivery of 

7 JWST is a high congressional priority; and 

8 (5) maintaining this progress will require the 

9 Administrator to ensure that integrated testing is 

10 appropriately timed and sufficiently comprehensive 

11 to enable potential issues to be identified and ad12 dressed early enough to be handled within JWST’s 

13 development schedule. 

14 SEC. 303. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING WFIRST MIS15 SION. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator, 

17 to the extent practicable, should make progress on the 

18 technologies and capabilities needed to position NASA to 

19 meet the objectives of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Tel20 escope (WFIRST) mission, as outlined in the 2010 Na21 tional Academies’ astronomy and astrophysics decadal 

22 survey, in a way that maximizes the scientific productivity 

23 of meeting those objectives for the resources invested. It 

24 is further the sense of Congress that the WFIRST mission 


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1 has the potential to enable scientific discoveries that will 

2 transform our understanding of the universe. 

3 SEC. 304. ASTROBIOLOGY SCIENCE STRATEGY. 

4 (a) FINDING.—Both the National Academies’ astron5 omy and astrophysics decadal survey of 2010 and the 

6 planetary science decadal survey of 2011 discuss scientific 

7 objectives related to astrobiology. However, a comprehen8 sive, independent science strategy for astrobiology has not 

9 been carried out. 

10 (b) SCIENCE STRATEGY.—Building on the work of 

11 the Astrobiology Roadmap process, the Administrator 

12 shall enter into an arrangement with the National Acad13 emies for a comprehensive assessment of the state of 

14 science in astrobiology and development of a strategy for 

15 astrobiology science research and activities. The strategy 

16 shall take into account the National Academies’ planetary 

17 science and astronomy and astrophysics decadal surveys 

18 as well as other relevant National Academies studies on 

19 NASA’s astrobiology program. 

20 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 20 months after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

22 transmit the results of the study to the Committee on 

23 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep24 resentatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 305. ASSESSMENT OF MARS ARCHITECTURE. 

2 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

3 into an arrangement with the National Academies to as4 sess— 

5 (1) NASA’s revised post-2016 Mars exploration 

6 architecture and its responsiveness to the strategies, 

7 priorities, and guidelines put forward by National 

8 Academies’ planetary science decadal surveys and 

9 other relevant National Academies Mars-related re10 ports; 

11 (2) the long-term goals of NASA’s Mars Explo12 ration Program and such program’s ability to opti13 mize the science return, given the current fiscal pos14 ture of the program; 

15 (3) the Mars architecture’s relationship to 

16 Mars-related activities to be undertaken by agencies 

17 and organizations outside of the United States; and 

18 (4) the extent to which the Mars architecture 

19 represents a reasonably balanced mission portfolio. 

20 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

22 transmit the results of the assessment to the Committee 

23 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 306. RADIOISOTOPE THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that conducting deep space exploration requires ra4 dioisotope thermoelectric generators, and establishing con5 tinuity in the production of the material needed to power 

6 these generators is paramount to the success of these fu7 ture deep space missions. It is further the sense of Con8 gress that Federal agencies supporting NASA in the pro9 duction of such material should do so in a cost effective 

10 manner so as not to impose excessive reimbursement re11 quirements on NASA. 

12 (b) ANALYSIS OF REQUIREMENTS AND RISKS.—The 

13 Administrator, in consultation with other Federal agen14 cies, shall conduct an analysis of NASA requirements for 

15 radioisotope power system material. The analysis shall— 

16 (1) detail NASA’s current projected mission re17 quirements, and associated timeframes, for radioiso18 tope power system material; 

19 (2) identify the assumptions used to determine 

20 NASA’s requirements for the material, including— 

21 (A) the planned use of Advanced Stirling 

22 Radioisotope Generator technology; 

23 (B) the status of and timeline for com24 pleting development and demonstration of the 

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1 nology, including the development of flight 

2 readiness requirements; and 

3 (C) the risks, implications, and contin4 gencies for NASA mission plans of any delays 

5 or unanticipated technical challenges related to 

6 the anticipated use of Advanced Stirling Radio7 isotope Generator technology; 

8 (3) assess the risk to NASA programs of any 

9 potential delays in achieving the schedule and mile10 stones for planned domestic production of radioiso11 tope power system material; 

12 (4) describe the process for meeting any addi13 tional NASA requirements for the material; 

14 (5) provide an estimate of the incremental costs 

15 required to increase the amount of material pro16 duced each year, if such an increase is needed to 

17 support additional NASA requirements for the mate18 rial; 

19 (6) provide details on— 

20 (A) what costs NASA will incur that are 

21 associated with the radioisotope power systems 

22 used by NASA and other Government entities; 

23 and 

24 (B) how NASA will ensure that its reim25 bursements to DOE are equitable and justified; 


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1 (7) identify what steps, if any, NASA will take 

2 with DOE to preserve the infrastructure and work3 force necessary for production of radioisotope power 

4 systems; and 

5 (8) identify the extent to which NASA’s strat6 egy is responsive to the recommendations and find7 ings from the National Research Council’s 2009 re8 port titled ‘‘Radioisotope Power Systems: An Imper9 ative for Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Space Ex10 ploration’’. 

11 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

13 transmit the results of the analysis to the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate. 

17 SEC. 307. UNIVERSITY CLASS SCIENCE MISSIONS. 

18 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that principal investigator-led small orbital science 

20 missions, including CubeSat class, University Explorer 

21 (UNEX) class, Small Explorer (SMEX) class, and Ven22 ture class, offer valuable opportunities to advance science 

23 at low cost, train the next generation of scientists and en24 gineers, and enable participants in the program to acquire 

25 skills in systems engineering and systems integration that 


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1 are critical to maintaining the Nation’s leadership in space 

2 and to enhancing the United States’ innovation and com3 petitiveness agendas. 

4 (b) REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR-LED

5 SMALL ORBITAL SCIENCE MISSIONS.—The Administrator 

6 shall conduct a review of the science missions described 

7 in subsection (a). The review shall include— 

8 (1) the status, capability, and availability of ex9 isting small orbital science mission programs and 

10 the extent to which each program enables the par11 ticipation of university scientists and students; 

12 (2) the opportunities such mission programs 

13 provide for scientific research; 

14 (3) the opportunities such mission programs 

15 provide for training and education, including sci16 entific and engineering workforce development, in17 cluding for the NASA scientific and engineering 

18 workforce; and 

19 (4) the extent to which commercial applications 

20 such as hosted payloads, free flyers, and data buys 

21 could provide measurable benefits for such mission 

22 programs, while preserving the principle of inde23 pendent peer review as the basis for mission selec24 tion. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

3 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

4 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com5 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

6 on the review required under subsection (b) and on rec7 ommendations to enhance principal investigator-led small 

8 orbital science missions conducted by NASA in accordance 

9 with the results of the review under subsection (b). 

10 Subtitle B—Earth Science 

11 SEC. 311. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that, as recognized in the 

13 National Academy of Sciences’ report, ‘‘America’s Future 

14 in Space’’, ‘‘the United States, as a global leader, bears 

15 a special responsibility to share its expertise and the 

16 knowledge and understanding it develops on how best to 

17 care for the planet’’. It is the further sense of Congress 

18 that the Earth’s climate and systems create vulnerabilities 

19 against which the United States, in cooperation with other 

20 countries, must develop resilience. A commitment to a 

21 comprehensive space-based Earth observing system is nec22 essary to provide the data to understand Earth’s changing 

23 climate and to predict the impacts at the regional level. 

24 It also the sense of Congress that NASA’s capabilities and 

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1 servations and conducting basic and applied research in 

2 coordination with other relevant Federal agencies. It is the 

3 further sense of Congress that NASA is being asked to 

4 undertake important Earth science activities in an envi5 ronment of increasingly constrained fiscal resources, and 

6 that any transfer of additional responsibilities to NASA, 

7 such as climate instrument development and measure8 ments that are currently part of the NOAA portfolio, 

9 should be accompanied by the provision of additional re10 sources to allow NASA to carry out the increased respon11 sibilities without adversely impacting its implementation 

12 of its existing Earth science programs and priorities. 

13 SEC. 312. COMPREHENSIVE EARTH OBSERVATION SYSTEMS 

14 AND RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall continue 

16 to carry out a balanced Earth science program that in17 cludes Earth science research, Earth systematic missions, 

18 competitive Venture class missions, other missions and 

19 data analysis, mission operations, technology development, 

20 and applied sciences, consistent with the recommendations 

21 and priorities established in the National Academies’ 

22 Earth Science Decadal Survey. 

23 (b) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall col24 laborate with other Federal agencies, including NOAA, 

25 non-Government entities, and international partners, as 


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1 appropriate, in carrying out NASA’s Earth science pro2 gram. 

3 SEC. 313. STUDY ON SUSTAINED, LONG-TERM MEASURE4 MENTS. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

6 arrangement with the National Academies for a study to 

7 develop a framework for— 

8 (1) analyzing the needs for continuity of envi9 ronmental and climate measurements of the Earth 

10 from space; 

11 (2) establishing methodologies and metrics for 

12 determining whether measurements should be col13 lected for extended periods and for prioritizing those 

14 measurements; 

15 (3) determining a prioritized list of measure16 ments if appropriate; 

17 (4) assessing the feasibility of achieving con18 tinuity or near-continuity of measurements; and 

19 (5) considering issues related to the balance 

20 among cost, risk, and performance regarding the 

21 sustainment of measurements. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 20 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

24 transmit the results of the study to the Committee on 

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1 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 314. ASSESSMENT. 

4 The Administrator shall carry out a scientific assess5 ment of NASA’s Earth science global datasets for the pur6 pose of identifying those datasets that are useful for un7 derstanding regional changes and variability, and for in8 forming the societal benefit areas identified in the Na9 tional Global Change Research Plan 2012–2021. The Ad10 ministrator shall complete and transmit the assessment to 

11 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later 

14 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 315. CONTINUITY OF MODERATE RESOLUTION LAND 

16 IMAGING REMOTE SENSING DATA. 

17 (a) POLICY.—Congress reaffirms the finding in sec18 tion 2(1) of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 

19 (15 U.S.C. 5601(1)) which stated that ‘‘The continuous 

20 collection and utilization of land remote sensing data from 

21 space are of major benefit in studying and understanding 

22 human impacts on the global environment, in managing 

23 the Earth’s natural resources, in carrying out national se24 curity functions, and in planning and conducting many 


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1 other activities of scientific, economic, and social impor2 tance.’’. 

3 (b) CONTINUOUS LAND REMOTE SENSING DATA

4 COLLECTION.—The Director of the Office of Science and 

5 Technology Policy shall take steps in consultation with 

6 other relevant Federal agencies to ensure, to the maximum 

7 extent practicable, the continuous collection of space8 based, medium-resolution observations of the Earth’s land 

9 cover and to ensure that the data are made available in 

10 such ways as to facilitate the widest possible use. 

11 SEC. 316. VENTURE CLASS MISSIONS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that NASA’s Venture class 

13 missions provide opportunities for innovation in the Earth 

14 sciences program, offer low-cost approaches for high-qual15 ity competitive science investigations, enable frequent 

16 flight opportunities to engage the Earth science and appli17 cations community, and serve as a training ground for stu18 dents and young scientists. It is further the sense of Con19 gress that NASA should seek to increase the number of 

20 Venture class projects to the extent practicable as part 

21 of a balanced Earth science program. 

22 TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

23 SEC. 401. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) aeronautics research continues to be an im2 portant core element of NASA’s mission and should 

3 be supported; 

4 (2) technologies developed by NASA help to se5 cure the leadership role of the United States in glob6 al aviation, enhance the competitiveness of the 

7 United States in the world economy, and improve 

8 the quality of life of all our citizens; 

9 (3) NASA’s aeronautics research should be 

10 guided by, and consistent with, the National Aero11 nautics Research and Development Policy; 

12 (4) strategic planning conducted with stake13 holder input enhances both the focus and relevancy 

14 of NASA’s aeronautics research; and 

15 (5) carrying aeronautics research to a level of 

16 maturity that allows NASA’s research results to be 

17 transitioned to the users, whether private or public 

18 sector, is critical to their eventual adoption. 

19 SEC. 402. AERONAUTICS RESEARCH GOALS. 

20 The Administrator shall ensure that NASA maintains 

21 a strong aeronautics research portfolio ranging from fun22 damental research through integrated systems research 

23 with specific research goals, including the following: 

24 (1) AIRSPACE CAPACITY.—NASA’s Aeronautics 

25 Research Mission Directorate shall— 


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1 (A) address research needs of the Next 

2 Generation Air Transportation System 

3 (NextGen), including the ability of the National 

4 Airspace System to handle up to 3 times the 

5 current travel demand by 2025 and safely inte6 grate the operations of autonomous vehicles; 

7 and 

8 (B) identify critical gaps in technology 

9 which must be bridged to enable the Federal 

10 Aviation Administration to implement NextGen 

11 so that safety and productivity improvements 

12 can be achieved as soon as possible. 

13 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.—Such 

14 Directorate shall consider and pursue concepts to re15 duce noise, emissions, and fuel consumption while 

16 maintaining high safety standards, and conduct re17 search related to the impact of alternative fuels on 

18 the safety, reliability, and maintainability of current 

19 and new air vehicles. 

20 (3) AVIATION SAFETY.—Such Directorate shall 

21 proactively address safety challenges associated with 

22 current and new air vehicles and with operations in 

23 the Nation’s current and future air transportation 

24 system. 


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1 (4) INTEGRATED SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—Such 

2 Directorate shall mature the most promising tech3 nologies to the point at which they can be dem4 onstrated in a relevant environment and shall inte5 grate individual components and technologies as ap6 propriate to ensure that they perform in an inte7 grated manner as well as they do when operated in8 dividually. 

9 SEC. 403. STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR AERONAUTICS RE10 SEARCH. 

11 In pursuing the research and development initiatives 

12 described in section 402, the Administrator shall ensure 

13 that recommendations from reviews by the National Acad14 emies on NASA’s aeronautics research-related activities 

15 are fully considered as NASA performs a top-down plan16 ning process supported by analyses, expert opinion, and 

17 community input, including input from other Federal Gov18 ernment agencies, industry, and academia. The Adminis19 trator shall continue to solicit input from the community 

20 on high priority research and development needs through 

21 periodic meetings of the National Research Council-en22 abled Aeronautics Research and Technology Roundtable. 

23 SEC. 404. RESEARCH PROGRAM TO DETERMINE PERCEIVED 

24 IMPACT OF SONIC BOOMS. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the ability to fly commercial aircraft over 

2 land at supersonic speeds without adverse impacts 

3 on the environment or on local communities would 

4 open new global markets and enable new transpor5 tation capabilities; and 

6 (2) a research program is needed to assess the 

7 impact in a relevant environment of commercial su8 personic flight operations and provide the basis for 

9 establishing appropriate sonic boom standards for 

10 such flight operations. 

11 (b) FLIGHT DEMONSTRATIONS.—The Administrator 

12 shall continue NASA’s cooperative research program with 

13 industry and work with industry partners to design, build, 

14 and fly a demonstrator to collect data on the perceived 

15 impact of sonic booms that could enable the promulgation 

16 of appropriate standards for overland commercial super17 sonic flight operations. 

18 (c) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall ensure 

19 that sonic boom research is coordinated as appropriate 

20 with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis21 tration. 


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1 SEC. 405. RESEARCH PROGRAM TO FACILITATE GREATER 

2 USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN AIR3 CRAFT. 

4 The Administrator shall continue NASA’s cooperative 

5 research program with industry to identify and dem6 onstrate more effective and safe ways of developing, manu7 facturing, and maintaining composite materials for use in 

8 airframes, subsystems, and propulsion components. 

9 SEC. 406. TRANSFORMATIVE AERONAUTICS RESEARCH. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator, 

11 in looking strategically into the future and ensuring that 

12 NASA’s Center personnel are at the leading edge of aero13 nautics research, should continue building on NASA’s In14 novative Concepts for Aviation project that supports the 

15 early-stage advancement of new processes, novel concepts, 

16 and innovative technologies that have the potential to meet 

17 national aeronautics needs. The Administrator shall con18 tinue to ensure that awards for the investigation of these 

19 concepts and technologies are open for competition among 

20 NASA civil servants at its Centers, separate from other 

21 awards open only to non-NASA sources, including the Jet 

22 Propulsion Laboratory. 

23 SEC. 407. UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN AERONAUTICS 

24 RESEARCH. 

25 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con26 gress that— 


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1 (1) it is critical that the United States maintain 

2 its leadership in civil aeronautics research; 

3 (2) other countries are making concerted efforts 

4 to reach and then surpass the United States in civil 

5 aeronautics research; and 

6 (3) it is critical that this challenge be met. 

7 (b) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

8 arrangement with the National Academies for a study to 

9 benchmark the position of the United States in civil aero10 nautics research compared to the rest of the world. The 

11 study shall— 

12 (1) seek to define metrics by which relative 

13 leadership in civil aeronautics research can be deter14 mined; 

15 (2) ascertain whether other countries are catch16 ing up or have surpassed the United States in civil 

17 aeronautics research; 

18 (3) identify in what areas the United States is 

19 losing ground; and 

20 (4) provide recommendations on what can be 

21 done to regain or retain global leadership, includ22 ing— 

23 (A) defining the role NASA needs to play; 

24 (B) identifying public-private partnerships 

25 that could be formed; and 


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1 (C) estimating the impact on NASA’s 

2 budget should such recommendations be imple3 mented. 

4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pro6 vide the results of the study to the Committee on Science, 

7 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

8 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation of the Senate. 

10 TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

11 PROGRAM 

12 SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that space technology is 

14 critical to— 

15 (1) enabling a new class of NASA missions be16 yond low-Earth orbit; 

17 (2) developing technologies and capabilities that 

18 will make NASA’s missions more affordable and 

19 more reliable; and 

20 (3) improving technological capabilities and pro21 moting innovation for NASA and the Nation. 

22 SEC. 502. SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es24 tablish a space technology program to enable research and 

25 development on advanced space technologies and systems 


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1 that are independent of specific space mission flight 

2 projects. The program shall support— 

3 (1) early-stage concepts and innovation; 

4 (2) development of innovative technologies in 

5 areas such as in-space chemical and electrical pro6 pulsion, power generation and storage, liquid rocket 

7 propulsion, avionics, structures, and materials that 

8 may enable new approaches to human and robotic 

9 space missions; 

10 (3) flight demonstrations of technologies, in11 cluding those that have the potential to benefit mul12 tiple NASA mission directorates, other Federal Gov13 ernment agencies, and the commercial space indus14 try; 

15 (4) NASA commitments to Small Business In16 novation Research (SBIR) and Small Business 

17 Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and activi18 ties; and 

19 (5) research, development, and demonstration 

20 of enabling technologies in support of future explo21 ration missions. 

22 (b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—In 

23 conducting the space technology program established 

24 under this section, the Administrator shall— 


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1 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, use a 

2 competitive process to select projects to be supported 

3 as part of the program; 

4 (2) make use of small satellites and NASA sub5 orbital platforms, to the extent practicable, to dem6 onstrate space technology concepts and develop7 ments; and 

8 (3) undertake partnerships with other Federal 

9 agencies, universities, private industry, and other 

10 spacefaring nations, as appropriate. 

11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

13 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com15 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

16 comparing NASA’s space technology investments with the 

17 16 high-priority technology areas identified by the Na18 tional Academies in the National Research Council’s re19 port on NASA’s Space Technology Roadmaps. The Ad20 ministrator shall identify how NASA will address any gaps 

21 between the agency’s investments and the recommended 

22 technology areas, including a projection of funding re23 quirements. 


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1 TITLE VI—ACQUISITION 

2 MANAGEMENT 

3 SEC. 601. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the judicious use of program and project re6 serves provides NASA project and program managers with 

7 the flexibility needed to manage projects and programs to 

8 ensure that the impacts of contingencies can be mitigated. 

9 (b) FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE.—To ensure that the es10 tablishment, maintenance, and allotment of project and 

11 program reserves contribute to prudent management, not 

12 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate a report describing— 

17 (1) NASA’s criteria for establishing the amount 

18 of reserves held at the project and program levels; 

19 (2) how such criteria relate to the agency’s pol20 icy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level; 

21 and 

22 (3) NASA’s criteria for waiving the policy of 

23 budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level. 


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1 SEC. 602. COST ESTIMATION. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that realistic cost estimating is critically important 

4 to the ultimate success of major space development 

5 projects. NASA has devoted significant efforts over the 

6 past five years to improving its cost estimating capabili7 ties, but it is important that NASA continue its efforts 

8 to develop and implement guidance in establishing realistic 

9 cost estimates. 

10 (b) GUIDANCE AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 

11 shall provide to programs and projects— 

12 (1) guidance on whether and when an Inde13 pendent Cost Estimate and Independent Cost As14 sessment should be used; and 

15 (2) the criteria to be used to make such a de16 termination. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

19 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

20 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re22 port— 

23 (1) describing efforts to enhance internal cost 

24 estimation and assessment expertise; 

25 (2) identifying criteria used by programs and 

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1 duct an Independent Cost Estimate or Independent 

2 Cost Assessment; and 

3 (3) listing the costs of each individual Inde4 pendent Cost Estimate or Independent Cost Assess5 ment activity conducted in fiscal year 2011, fiscal 

6 year 2012, and fiscal year 2013, the purpose of the 

7 activity, and key findings and recommendations. 

8 SEC. 603. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 

9 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com11 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

12 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report de14 scribing— 

15 (1) the internal entities independent of project 

16 and program management that conduct reviews of 

17 projects and programs at life cycle milestones; and 

18 (2) how NASA ensures the independence of 

19 such entities and their members. 

20 SEC. 604. AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN21 TEREST IN MAJOR NASA ACQUISITION PRO22 GRAMS. 

23 (a) REVISED REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

24 than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

25 the Administrator shall revise the NASA Supplement to 


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1 the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uniform 

2 guidance and tighten existing requirements for organiza3 tional conflicts of interest by contractors in major acquisi4 tion programs. 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The revised regulations required by 

6 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 

7 (1) address organizational conflicts of interest 

8 that could potentially arise as a result of— 

9 (A) lead system integrator contracts on 

10 major acquisition programs and contracts that 

11 follow lead system integrator contracts on such 

12 programs, particularly contracts for production; 

13 (B) the ownership of business units per14 forming systems engineering and technical as15 sistance functions, professional services, or 

16 management support services in relation to 

17 major acquisition programs by contractors who 

18 simultaneously own business units competing to 

19 perform as either the prime contractor or the 

20 supplier of a major subsystem or component for 

21 such programs; 

22 (C) the award of major subsystem con23 tracts by a prime contractor for a major acqui24 sition program to business units or other affili25 ates of the same parent corporate entity, and 


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1 particularly the award of subcontracts for soft2 ware integration or the development of a pro3 prietary software system architecture; or 

4 (D) the performance by, or assistance of, 

5 contractors in technical evaluations on major 

6 acquisition programs; 

7 (2) ensure that NASA receives advice on sys8 tems architecture and systems engineering matters 

9 with respect to major acquisition programs from ob10 jective sources independent of the prime contractor; 

11 (3) require that a contract for the performance 

12 of systems engineering and technical assistance 

13 functions for a major acquisition program contains 

14 a provision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate 

15 of the contractor from participating as a prime con16 tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 

17 of a system under the program; and 

18 (4) establish such limited exceptions to the re19 quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as may be nec20 essary to ensure that NASA has continued access to 

21 advice on systems architecture and systems engi22 neering matters from highly qualified contractors 

23 with domain experience and expertise, while ensuring 

24 that such advice comes from sources that are objec25 tive and unbiased. 


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1 SEC. 605. MANAGING TERMINATION LIABILITY. 

2 (a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Administrator 

3 may not reserve funds or require the reservation of funds 

4 for potential termination liability with respect to a covered 

5 program. Funds that have been reserved before the date 

6 of enactment of this Act for potential termination liability 

7 shall be promptly used to make maximum progress in 

8 meeting the established goals and milestones of the cov9 ered program. 

10 (b) TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE.—The Admin11 istrator may not initiate the termination for the conven12 ience of the Government of a contract on a covered pro13 gram unless— 

14 (1) the termination of such contract or program 

15 is explicitly provided for by a law enacted after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act; and 

17 (2) either— 

18 (A) the Administrator has provided a sup19 plemental appropriation request under sub20 section (c) with respect to associated termi21 nation liability costs; or 

22 (B) sufficient funds are available to cover 

23 such termination liability costs in the appro24 priations account that is funding the prime con25 tract being terminated. 


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1 (c) SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION REQUEST.—If 

2 sufficient appropriations are not available to cover termi3 nation liability costs in the appropriations account that is 

4 funding the prime contract being terminated, the Adminis5 trator shall provide to Congress a supplemental appropria6 tion request to cover such termination liability costs. Such 

7 request shall be provided not later than 120 days in ad8 vance of the contract termination settlement for the cov9 ered program. 

10 (d) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con11 gress to provide such additional appropriations as may be 

12 necessary to provide for termination liability payments on 

13 contracts for covered programs. 

14 (e) REPORTING.—Not later than 6 months after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, and every 6 months there16 after for the duration of the prime contracts for the cov17 ered programs, the Administrator shall transmit to the 

18 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

19 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

21 that— 

22 (1) estimates termination liability costs for each 

23 of the prime contracts on covered programs; and 

24 (2) explains the basis on which the estimates 

25 were determined. 


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1 TITLE VII—OTHER PROVISIONS 

2 SEC. 701. FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) NASA must reverse the deteriorating condi6 tion of its facilities and infrastructure, as this condi7 tion is hampering the effectiveness and efficiency of 

8 research performed by both NASA and industry par9 ticipants making use of NASA facilities, thus reduc10 ing the competitiveness of the United States aero11 space industry; 

12 (2) NASA has a role in providing laboratory ca13 pabilities that are not economically viable as com14 mercial entities and thus are not available elsewhere; 

15 (3) to ensure continued access to reliable and 

16 efficient world-class facilities by researchers, NASA 

17 should seek to establish strategic partnerships with 

18 other Federal agencies, academic institutions, and 

19 industry, as appropriate; and 

20 (4) decisions on whether to dispose of, main21 tain, or modernize existing facilities must be made 

22 in the context of meeting future NASA and other 

23 Federal agencies’ laboratory needs. 

24 (b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a plan 

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1 ties, laboratories, tools, and approaches necessary to ad2 dress future NASA requirements. Such plan shall iden3 tify— 

4 (1) future NASA testing needs; 

5 (2) a strategy for identifying facilities that are 

6 candidates for disposal, that is consistent with the 

7 national strategic direction set forth in— 

8 (A) the National Space Policy; 

9 (B) the National Aeronautics Research, 

10 Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) 

11 Infrastructure Plan; and 

12 (C) NASA Authorization Acts; 

13 (3) a strategy for the maintenance, repair, up14 grading, and modernization of NASA’s laboratories, 

15 facilities, and equipment; 

16 (4) criteria for prioritizing deferred mainte17 nance tasks and also for upgrading or modernizing 

18 laboratories, facilities, and equipment; 

19 (5) an assessment of modifications needed to 

20 maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and 

21 highly specialized benefits to the aerospace industry 

22 and the American public; and 

23 (6) implementation steps, including a timeline, 

24 milestones, and an estimate of resources required for 

25 carrying out the plan. 


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1 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than one year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

3 transmit the plan to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

4 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

6 Senate. 

7 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPITAL FUNDS.—The Ad8 ministrator shall establish a capital fund at each of 

9 NASA’s field centers for the modernization of facilities 

10 and laboratories. The Administrator shall ensure to the 

11 maximum extent practicable that all financial savings 

12 achieved by closing outdated or surplus facilities at a 

13 NASA field center shall be made available to that center’s 

14 capital fund for the purpose of modernizing the field cen15 ter’s facilities and laboratories and for upgrading the in16 frastructure at the field center. 

17 SEC. 702. NASA EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

18 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that— 

20 (1) NASA’s missions are an inspiration for 

21 Americans and in particular for the next generation 

22 and that this inspiration has a powerful effect in 

23 stimulating interest in science, technology, education 

24 and mathematics (STEM) education and careers; 


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1 (2) NASA’s Office of Education and mission di2 rectorates have been effective in delivering NASA 

3 educational content because of the strong engage4 ment of NASA scientists and engineers in NASA’s 

5 education and outreach activities; and 

6 (3) NASA should be a central partner in con7 tributing to the goals of the National Science and 

8 Technology Council’s Federal Science, Technology, 

9 Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 

10 5-Year Strategic Plan. 

11 (b) CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

12 ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall 

13 continue to carry out education and outreach programs 

14 and activities through the Office of Education and the 

15 NASA mission directorates and shall continue to engage, 

16 to the maximum extent practicable, NASA and NASA17 supported researchers and engineers in carrying out those 

18 programs and activities. 

19 SEC. 703. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SPACE 

20 GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOWSHIP PRO21 GRAM. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that the National Space Grant College and Fellow24 ship Program, which was established in the National Aero25 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 


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1 1988 (42 U.S.C. 2486 et seq.), has been an important 

2 program by which the Federal Government has partnered 

3 with State and local governments, universities, private in4 dustry, and other organizations to enhance the under5 standing and use of space and aeronautics activities and 

6 their benefits through education, fostering of interdiscipli7 nary and multidisciplinary space research and training, 

8 and supporting Federal funding for graduate fellowships 

9 in space-related fields, among other purposes. 

10 (b) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

11 arrangement with the National Academies for— 

12 (1) a review of the National Space Grant Col13 lege and Fellowship Program, including its structure 

14 and capabilities for supporting science, technology, 

15 engineering, and mathematics education and train16 ing consistent with the National Science and Tech17 nology Council’s Federal Science, Technology, Engi18 neering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5- 

19 Year Strategic Plan; and 

20 (2) recommendations on measures, if needed, to 

21 enhance the Program’s effectiveness and mecha22 nisms by which any increases in funding appro23 priated by Congress can be applied. 

24 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 


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1 transmit the results of the review to the Committee on 

2 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep3 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

4 and Transportation of the Senate. 

5 SEC. 704. REVIEW OF PRACTICES TO DETECT AND PRE6 VENT THE USE OF COUNTERFEIT PARTS. 

7 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the 

9 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a review 

12 of NASA’s processes and controls to detect and prevent 

13 the use of counterfeit parts in NASA mission projects, in14 struments, and other mission-related assets. The review 

15 shall examine— 

16 (1) the trends in known and identified counter17 feit parts in NASA’s supply chain; 

18 (2) NASA’s processes and controls to detect 

19 counterfeit parts and prevent their incorporation 

20 into NASA mission projects, instruments, and other 

21 mission-related assets; 

22 (3) key differences between how the Depart23 ment of Defense and NASA detect and prevent the 

24 use of counterfeit parts, and lessons learned by the 


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1 Department of Defense that could be valuable to 

2 NASA; and 

3 (4) any gaps in NASA’s controls and processes 

4 for detecting counterfeit parts and preventing their 

5 incorporation into NASA mission projects, instru6 ments, and other mission-related assets. 

7 SEC. 705. REMOTE SATELLITE SERVICING DEMONSTRA8 TIONS. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that— 

11 (1) NASA plays a key role in demonstrating the 

12 feasibility of using robotic technologies for a space13 craft that could access, repair, and refuel satellites 

14 in geosynchronous Earth orbit; 

15 (2) demonstrating this feasibility would both as16 sist NASA in its future missions and provide the 

17 emerging commercial satellite-servicing industry the 

18 confidence to robotically refuel, repair, and maintain 

19 satellites in both near and distant orbits; and 

20 (3) the capability to refuel, repair, and main21 tain geosynchronous satellites robotically could add 

22 years of functional life to satellites. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

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1 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

2 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

3 describing— 

4 (1) NASA’s activities, tools, and techniques as5 sociated with the ultimate goal of servicing satellites 

6 using robotic spacecraft; 

7 (2) accomplishments to date in demonstrating 

8 various servicing technologies; 

9 (3) major challenges encountered and mitiga10 tion measures taken; and 

11 (4) demonstrations still needed for NASA and 

12 industry acceptance of the technologies for oper13 ational missions, and the timeframe for these dem14 onstrations. 

15 SEC. 706. ASTRONAUT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHCARE. 

16 (a) WORKSHOP.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con18 vene a workshop attended by both current and former 

19 members of the astronaut corps, as well as other appro20 priate experts, to focus on the advantages and disadvan21 tages of granting NASA the specific authority to monitor 

22 and treat current and former members of the astronaut 

23 corps for medical conditions which are deemed by NASA 

24 to be associated with human space flight conducted in fur25 therance of NASA requirements. The workshop shall also 


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1 address the implications of allowing NASA to retain ac2 cess to astronaut medical records. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after comple4 tion of the workshop, the Administrator shall provide a 

5 report summarizing the results of the workshop to the 

6 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

9 SEC. 707. USE OF OPERATIONAL COMMERCIAL SUB10 ORBITAL VEHICLES FOR RESEARCH, DEVEL11 OPMENT, AND EDUCATION. 

12 (a) REPORT.—The Administrator shall prepare a re13 port with respect to the use of operational commercial re14 usable suborbital flight vehicles for carrying out scientific 

15 and engineering investigations and educational activities. 

16 The report shall— 

17 (1) describe the purposes for which NASA in18 tends to use such vehicles; 

19 (2) describe the processes required to support 

20 such use; 

21 (3) describe NASA, space flight operator, and 

22 supporting contractor responsibilities for developing 

23 standard payload interfaces and conducting payload 

24 safety analyses, payload integration and processing, 

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1 sponsored space flight participants, among other 

2 functions required to fly NASA-sponsored payloads 

3 and space flight participants on operational commer4 cial orbital vehicles; 

5 (4) identify NASA-provided hardware, software, 

6 or services that may be provided to space flight op7 erators on a cost-reimbursable basis, through agree8 ments or contracts entered into under section 

9 20113(e) of title 51, United States Code; and 

10 (5) describe the United States Government and 

11 space flight operator responsibilities for liability and 

12 indemnification with respect to commercial sub13 orbital vehicle flights that involve NASA-sponsored 

14 payloads or activities, NASA-supported space flight 

15 participants, or other NASA-related contributions. 

16 (b) CAPABILITIES AND RISKS.—The Administrator 

17 shall assess and characterize the potential capabilities and 

18 performance of commercial reusable suborbital vehicles for 

19 addressing scientific research, including research requiring 

20 access to low-gravity and microgravity environments, for 

21 carrying out technology demonstrations related to science, 

22 exploration, or space operations requirements, and for pro23 viding opportunities for educating and training space sci24 entists and engineers, once those vehicles become oper25 ational. The assessment shall also characterize the risks 


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1 of using potential commercial reusable suborbital flights 

2 to NASA-sponsored researchers and scientific investiga3 tions and flight hardware. 

4 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

6 transmit the plan and assessment described in subsections 

7 (a) and (b) to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech8 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

10 (d) REPORTS.— 

11 (1) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—The Admin12 istrator shall transmit a report annually to the Com13 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen16 ate describing progress in carrying out the Commer17 cial Reusable Suborbital Research Program, includ18 ing the number and type of suborbital missions 

19 planned in each fiscal year. 

20 (2) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The 

21 Administrator shall not proceed with a request for 

22 proposals, award any contract, commit any United 

23 States Government funds, or enter into any other 

24 agreement for the provision of a commercial reusable 

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1 sored spaceflight participant until indemnification 

2 and liability issues associated with the use of such 

3 systems by the United States Government have been 

4 addressed and the Administrator has provided to the 

5 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

7 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen8 ate a report describing the indemnification and li9 ability provisions that are planned to be included in 

10 such contracts and agreements. 

11 SEC. 708. FUNDAMENTAL SPACE LIFE AND PHYSICAL 

12 SCIENCES RESEARCH. 

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It the sense of Congress 

14 that fundamental, discovery-based space life and physical 

15 sciences research is critical for enabling space exploration, 

16 protecting humans in space, and providing societal bene17 fits, and that the space environment facilitates the ad18 vancement of understanding of the life sciences and phys19 ical sciences. Space life and physical science research con20 tributes to advancing science, technology, engineering, and 

21 mathematics research, and provides careers and training 

22 opportunities in academia, Federal laboratories, and com23 mercial industry. Congress encourages the Administrator 

24 to augment discovery-based fundamental research and to 

25 request funding reflecting the importance of such research 


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1 in keeping with the priorities established in the National 

2 Academies’ decadal survey entitled ‘‘Recapturing a Future 

3 for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Re4 search for a New Era’’. 

5 (b) BUDGET REQUEST.—The Administrator shall in6 clude as part of the annual NASA fiscal year budget re7 quest a budget line for fundamental space life and physical 

8 sciences research, devoted to competitive, peer-reviewed 

9 grants, that is separate from the International Space Sta10 tion Operations account. 

11 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

12 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator, in 

13 consultation with academia, other Federal agencies, 

14 and other potential stakeholders, shall develop a 

15 strategic plan for carrying out competitive, peer-re16 viewed fundamental space life science and physical 

17 sciences and related technology research, among 

18 other activities, consistent with the priorities in the 

19 National Academies’ decadal survey described in 

20 subsection (a). 

21 (2) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis23 trator shall transmit the strategic plan developed 

24 under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Science, 

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1 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

2 Transportation of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 709. RESTORING NASA’S COMMITMENT TO ENGINEER4 ING RESEARCH. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that engineering excellence has long been a hallmark 

7 of NASA’s ability to make significant advances in aero8 nautics and space exploration. However, as has been noted 

9 in recent National Academies reports, increasingly con10 strained funding and competing priorities have led to an 

11 erosion of NASA’s commitment to basic engineering re12 search, the research that provides the basis for the tech13 nology development that enables NASA’s many chal14 lenging missions to succeed. If current trends continue, 

15 NASA’s ability to attract and maintain the best and 

16 brightest engineering workforce at the NASA Centers as 

17 well as its ability to remain on the cutting edge of aero18 nautical and space technology will continue to erode and 

19 will threaten NASA’s ability to be a world leader in aero20 nautics research and development and space exploration. 

21 (b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a plan 

22 for restoring a meaningful basic engineering research pro23 gram at the NASA Centers, including, as appropriate, col24 laborations with industry, universities, and other relevant 

25 organizations. The plan shall identify the organizational 


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1 approach to be followed, an initial set of basic research 

2 priorities, and a proposed budget. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

5 the plan to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech6 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

7 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

8 SEC. 710. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS DETECTION. 

9 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator, in collaboration 

10 with other relevant Federal agencies, shall carry out a 

11 technical and scientific assessment of the capabilities and 

12 resources required to expand NASA’s Near-Earth Object 

13 Program, to include the detection, tracking, cataloguing, 

14 and characterizing of potentially hazardous near-Earth 

15 objects 30–50 meters in diameter. 

16 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

18 transmit the results of the assessment to the Committee 

19 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

21 and Transportation of the Senate. 

22 SEC. 711. RESEARCH ON NEAR-EARTH OBJECT TSUNAMI 

23 EFFECTS. 

24 (a) REPORT ON POTENTIAL TSUNAMI EFFECTS

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1 trator, in collaboration with the Administrator of NOAA 

2 and other relevant Federal agencies, shall prepare a report 

3 identifying and describing existing research activities and 

4 further research objectives that would increase our under5 standing of the nature of the effects of potential tsunamis 

6 that could occur if a near-Earth object were to impact an 

7 ocean of Earth. 

8 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

10 transmit the report required prepared under subsection 

11 (a) to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

12 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

14 SEC. 712. REVIEW OF ORBITAL DEBRIS REMOVAL CON15 CEPTS. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that the amount of orbital debris in low-Earth orbit 

18 poses risks for human activities and robotic spacecraft and 

19 that this debris may increase due to collisions between ex20 isting debris objects. Understanding options to address 

21 and remove orbital debris is important for ensuring safe 

22 and effective spacecraft operations in low-Earth orbit. 

23 (b) REVIEW.—The Administrator, in collaboration 

24 with other relevant Federal agencies, shall solicit and re25 view concepts and technological options for removing orVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:41 Jul 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2616.IH H2616

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1 bital debris from low-Earth orbit. The solicitation and re2 view shall also address the requirements for and feasibility 

3 of developing and implementing each of the options. 

4 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

6 provide a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

7 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

9 Senate on the solicitation and review required under sub10 section (b). 

Æ 


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