I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1962 

To authorize the Space Shuttle to be flown from 2010 through 2015, and 

to authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for this purpose. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. POSEY (for himself and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To authorize the Space Shuttle to be flown from 2010 

through 2015, and to authorize appropriations for the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration for this 

purpose. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Space Access 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The United States has been the preeminent 

2 leader in human spaceflight for nearly 50 years. 

3 Under NASA’s leadership, this Nation has engaged 

4 many countries, including former adversaries, in a 

5 series of peaceful space missions that have contrib6 uted to mutual trust and understanding that con7 tinue to this day. 

8 (2) The planning and development of the Inter9 national Space Station (ISS) is the culmination of 

10 many of these collaborations, bringing together 

11 through NASA’s leadership a number of foreign 

12 partners to invest and participate in its construction 

13 and operation. It is the most technologically chal14 lenging and complex project ever undertaken. The 

15 United States has been the largest contributor, hav16 ing invested tens of billions of dollars developing, 

17 building, and transporting components of the Inter18 national Space Station to orbit. 

19 (3) One of the guiding principles articulated in 

20 National Security Presidential Directive 49, United 

21 States National Space Policy, states, ‘‘The United 

22 States considers space capabilities—including the 

23 ground and space segments and supporting links— 

24 vital to its national interests. Consistent with this 

25 policy, the United States will preserve its rights, caVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Apr 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1962.IH H1962

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1 pabilities, and freedom of action in space; dissuade 

2 or deter others from either impeding those rights or 

3 developing capabilities intended to do so; take those 

4 actions necessary to protect its space capabilities; re5 spond to interference; and deny, if necessary, adver6 saries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. 

7 national interests’’. 

8 (4) The International Space Station is nearing 

9 completion, with remaining ISS construction mis10 sions scheduled to be concluded in 2010. The Sta11 tion’s crew size will increase to 6, enabling the full 

12 utilization of its laboratories and research facilities 

13 in a microgravity environment for the decade to 

14 come. Routine and assured access to the Station is 

15 critical if we are to capitalize on our investment. 

16 (5) In January 2004, the President directed 

17 NASA to honor our international commitments to 

18 complete the assembly of the International Space 

19 Station and retire the Space Shuttle by 2010. The 

20 directive also called for the development of a new 

21 system to enable astronauts to travel beyond low 

22 Earth orbit. This system, the Constellation System, 

23 consisting of the Orion crew exploration vehicle and 

24 Ares launch vehicle, would also be capable of trav25 eling to the International Space Station but would 


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1 not be available until 4 years after the projected re2 tirement of the Space Shuttle. This plan was ratified 

3 by Congress in the National Aeronautics and Space 

4 Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public 

5 Law 109–155). 

6 (6) Other nations are now investing heavily to 

7 develop manned spaceflight and robotic capabilities. 

8 During the planned gap following retirement of the 

9 Space Shuttle, these nations are expected to enhance 

10 their space capabilities, jeopardizing our Nation’s 

11 preeminence and our ability to influence other space12 faring nations, contrary to the national policy (Na13 tional Security Presidential Directive 49). United 

14 States influence in world affairs and our ability to 

15 shape future peaceful uses in space will be imperiled. 

16 (7) Congress believes it is imperative that 

17 NASA reduce our Nation’s dependence on foreign 

18 launch providers to access the International Space 

19 Station. The planned gap has expanded to 5 years, 

20 and if development problems are encountered, the 

21 gap will continue to widen. A 5-year or more gap is 

22 too long to rely on other nations to access the Inter23 national Space Station, the bulk of which we have 

24 provided. 


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1 (8) Unless Space Shuttle operations are ex2 tended beyond 2010, the United States will be heav3 ily reliant on Russia to supply crew and possibly 

4 cargo transport services to the International Space 

5 Station during the gap period of 2010 through 

6 2015. There is no other proven and reliable means 

7 of transporting our astronauts into space during this 

8 period. 

9 (9) The United States should not increase its 

10 reliance on Russia to transport American astronauts 

11 into space, given the increasingly divergent views 

12 and posturing from Russia. Russia opposes the 

13 United States plan to base an antimissile radar sys14 tem in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles 

15 in Poland to counter the threat posed by the Iranian 

16 nuclear weapons and missile programs. Russia also 

17 suspended its participation in the Conventional 

18 Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, one of the most sig19 nificant arms control agreements of the Cold War 

20 years. Additionally, Russia continues to arm some of 

21 America’s adversaries. Despite United States objec22 tions, Russia provided billions of dollars worth of 

23 weapons to the regime of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela 

24 in 2006. Such meddling is a possible violation of the 

25 Monroe Doctrine and a throwback to the Cold War 


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1 era. Even more troublesome is the Russian history 

2 of weapons trading with Iran. Russia has supplied 

3 advanced conventional arms technology, missile tech4 nology, and nuclear technologies to this very anti5 American regime. 

6 (10) In the late 1990s, Russia fell short in ful7 filling its commitment to the International Space 

8 Station. 

9 (11) NASA was forced to transfer hundreds of 

10 millions of dollars to enable the Russians to com11 plete the critical Space Station service module 

12 Zvezda, without which the International Space Sta13 tion could not operate. 

14 (12) Russia delayed completion of the Zvezda 

15 service module for several years. Under the Inter16 national Space Station agreement, the Russian gov17 ernment had committed to fund as well as build the 

18 Zvezda service module. Subsequent transfers from 

19 the United States, in order to complete the module, 

20 reflect serious Russian mismanagement in the field 

21 of space. 

22 (13) In 2000, while Russia was failing to meet 

23 its commitment to the International Space Station, 

24 Russia was diverting financial and human resources 

25 away from fulfilling its International Space Station 


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1 commitments in order to keep the Russian’s Mir 

2 Space Station aloft. 

3 (14) Russia’s past shortcomings in fulfilling 

4 commitments to its international space partners 

5 should serve as a warning to the United States as 

6 we consider increased reliance on Russian space 

7 services in the future. It is not prudent for the 

8 United States to depend on Russia for access to 

9 space given our past experience with this relation10 ship. 

11 (15) The United States has already invested 

12 tens of billions of dollars in the International Space 

13 Station program since its inception. 

14 (16) There is much research of great value 

15 being conducted in space, and on the International 

16 Space Station, that may yield tremendous gains. Re17 search conducted on the International Space Station 

18 may help scientists back on Earth develop medicines 

19 to treat diseases and help us better understand the 

20 Earth’s climate. Many scientists believe that the 

21 microgravity environment of space will enable the 

22 development of new drugs, vaccines, and other thera23 pies. Equipment on the International Space Station 

24 will monitor stratospheric gases, and investigate 

25 ozone chemistry. 


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1 (17) To ensure that the United States realizes 

2 the dividends from the considerable investment we 

3 have made in the International Space Station, we 

4 need to ensure continued access to space for our as5 tronauts. However, NASA’s plan for transport of 

6 crew to and from the International Space Station 

7 fails to provide necessary redundancies to provide 

8 assured access to space. 

9 (18) NASA anticipates that the Russian Soyuz 

10 spacecraft will be the only vehicle for astronaut crew 

11 rotation to the International Space Station after 

12 2010. From 2011 until the planned operation of 

13 Orion in 2015, NASA likely has no other option for 

14 transporting American astronauts to space other 

15 than on Russian vehicles. 

16 (19) Due to NASA’s lack of a backup plan for 

17 reliance on the Russians for transport of American 

18 astronauts to space, the United States needs a bet19 ter approach. The best approach is the Space Shut20 tle, a proven, domestic source of space transport for 

21 assured access to space, including the International 

22 Space Station, for crew and cargo transport. 

23 (20) With 2 Shuttle missions per year during 

24 the human spaceflight program flight gap between 

25 Shuttle and Orion, currently scheduled from 2010 


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1 through 2015, we can replace our need to rely on 

2 the Russians for crew rotation for the International 

3 Space Station. 

4 (21) Savings from replacing Russian transport 

5 services to the International Space Station with the 

6 Space Shuttle would pay for a portion of the costs 

7 for flying 2 Space Shuttle missions per year. 

8 (22) Only by closing the gap between 2010 and 

9 2015, or until the Orion is operational, will our Na10 tion be able to keep our Nation’s highly skilled and 

11 critically important spaceworkers and engineers 

12 gainfully employed, and mitigate the loss of critical 

13 skills. 

14 (23) By extending Space Shuttle operations, 

15 NASA may realize considerable savings by no longer 

16 having to pay retention bonuses to critical space 

17 workers. But retention bonuses would not be the 

18 only added costs associated with the end of Space 

19 Shuttle operations when critical skilled workers leave 

20 NASA or its contractors. Recruitment incentives for 

21 new workers and contract cost increases could also 

22 be incurred by NASA since the majority of the Ken23 nedy Space Center’s workforce are contractors. 

24 (24) The success of the Constellation program 

25 will depend on having the most skilled and experiVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Apr 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1962.IH H1962

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1 enced workforce possible. The workforce gap, as cur2 rently envisioned by NASA, will jeopardize this. 

3 NASA has acknowledged that thousands of critical 

4 space workers will lose their jobs in the transition 

5 from the Space Shuttle to the Constellation pro6 gram. Continued operation of the Space Shuttle, but 

7 on a reduced flight requirement, while also inte8 grating these workers into the Orion program, is the 

9 best way to retain many of these critical workers 

10 and skill sets. 

11 (25) An August 2007 study by the Government 

12 Accountability Office, ‘‘NASA Progress Made on 

13 Strategic Human Capital Management, but Future 

14 Program Challenges Remain,’’ stated that ‘‘the 

15 agency as a whole faces challenges in recruiting and 

16 retaining highly experienced senior-level engineers in 

17 certain specialties. NASA’s principal workforce chal18 lenge will be faced in the transition to the next gen19 eration of human space flight systems.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. EXTENDING SPACE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS. 

21 (a) USE OF SPACE SHUTTLE FOR ACCESS TO

22 SPACE.—NASA shall fly not less than 2 Space Shuttle 

23 missions per year for crew transport, instead of pur24 chasing Russian crew and cargo services, for the period 

25 beginning in 2010 and ending— 


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1 (1) in 2015; 

2 (2) when Orion is operational; or 

3 (3) when NASA has certified the safe operation 

4 of an available United States commercial capability, 

5 whichever occurs first. There are authorized to be appro6 priated to NASA such sums as may be necessary, in addi7 tion to amounts otherwise authorized, to carry out this 

8 subsection. 

9 (b) INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.—Except as provided 

10 under subsection (c), the requirements of this Act shall 

11 have effect only to the extent that sufficient funding is 

12 appropriated, as authorized under subsection (a). Suffi13 cient funding is defined as funds required to fully or par14 tially comply with the requirements of this Act. 

15 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—NASA shall report to 

16 Congress not later than 90 days after the date of enact17 ment of this Act on the specific costs and actions needed 

18 to extend the operation of the Space Shuttle in accordance 

19 with this Act. 

20 (d) OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.—As soon as pos21 sible, but no later than March 31, 2011, NASA shall in22 vestigate areas of reduced operations and enhanced cost 

23 savings and implement those that do not impinge the safe 

24 operation of the Space Shuttle program, including the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) The possible retirement of one Space Shut2 tle orbiter, leaving 2 to remain operational, in a 

3 manner that ensures the safe operation of the Space 

4 Shuttle program. 

5 (2) Significantly reducing changes to the design 

6 of the Space Shuttle orbiters, in a manner that en7 sures the safe operation of the Space Shuttle pro8 gram. This shall include changes to the Space Shut9 tle software systems. 

10 (3) Significantly reducing Space Shuttle orbiter 

11 configuration operations and payload configuration 

12 operations, in a manner that ensures the safe oper13 ation of the Space Shuttle program. 

14 (4) Maximizing the use of shared personnel be15 tween the continued operation of the Space Shuttle 

16 and Constellation and other NASA programs. 

17 (e) FACILITIES.—If conflicts arise in NASA’s efforts 

18 to allocate facilities, personnel, and other resources in 

19 order to fly the Space Shuttle as well as continue the de20 velopment of Constellation, then NASA shall identify in 

21 a report to Congress in advance such conflicts, along with 

22 recommendations as to how they can be mitigated. 

23 SEC. 4. EXPEDITING CONSTELLATION. 

24 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act, NASA 


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1 shall report to Congress on the amount of funding needed 

2 to expedite the schedule of the Orion Crew Exploration 

3 Vehicle and the Ares I Crew Vehicle and associated 

4 ground support systems. Such report shall— 

5 (1) contain a description and timeline for an ex6 pedited schedule to bring Orion and Ares I on line 

7 sooner; and 

8 (2) outline the additional funding needed to 

9 achieve this expedited schedule. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to NASA such sums as 

12 may be necessary to achieve the goals of this section. Such 

13 funding shall be in addition to any funding needed to con14 tinue operations of the Shuttle beyond 2010. 

Æ 


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