118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 447 

AN ACT 

To establish a demonstration program for the active remediation of orbital debris and to require the development 

of uniform orbital debris standard practices in order 

to support a safe and sustainable orbital environment, 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Orbital Sustainability 

3 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘ORBITS Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find6 ings: 

7 (1) The safety and sustainability of operations 

8 in low-Earth orbit and nearby orbits in outer space 

9 have become increasingly endangered by a growing 

10 amount of orbital debris. 

11 (2) Exploration and scientific research missions 

12 and commercial space services of critical importance 

13 to the United States rely on continued and secure 

14 access to outer space. 

15 (3) Efforts by nongovernmental space entities 

16 to apply lessons learned through standards and best 

17 practices will benefit from government support for 

18 implementation both domestically and internation19 ally. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that to preserve the sustainability of operations in 

22 space, the United States Government should— 

23 (1) to the extent practicable, develop and carry 

24 out programs, establish or update regulations, and 

25 commence initiatives to minimize orbital debris, in26 cluding initiatives to demonstrate active debris reme-
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1 diation of orbital debris generated by the United 

2 States Government or other entities under the juris3 diction of the United States; 

4 (2) lead international efforts to encourage other 

5 spacefaring countries to mitigate and remediate or6 bital debris under their jurisdiction and control; and 

7 (3) encourage space system operators to con8 tinue implementing best practices for space safety 

9 when deploying satellites and constellations of sat10 ellites, such as transparent data sharing and design11 ing for system reliability, so as to limit the genera12 tion of future orbital debris. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION.—The term 

16 ‘‘active debris remediation’’— 

17 (A) means the deliberate process of facili18 tating the de-orbit, repurposing, or other dis19 posal of orbital debris, which may include mov20 ing orbital debris to a safe position, using an 

21 object or technique that is external or internal 

22 to the orbital debris; and 

23 (B) does not include de-orbit, repurposing, 

24 or other disposal of orbital debris by passive 

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

3 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

4 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON5 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con6 gress’’ means— 

7 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans9 portation, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

10 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

11 Senate; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

13 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 

14 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the 

15 Committee on Armed Services of the House of 

16 Representatives. 

17 (4) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The term 

18 ‘‘demonstration project’’ means the active orbital de19 bris remediation demonstration project carried out 

20 under section 4(b). 

21 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means— 

23 (A) a United States-based— 

24 (i) non-Federal, commercial entity; 
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1 (ii) institution of higher education (as 

2 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1001(a))); or 

5 (iii) nonprofit organization; 

6 (B) any other United States-based entity 

7 the Administrator considers appropriate; and 

8 (C) a partnership of entities described in 

9 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

10 (6) ORBITAL DEBRIS.—The term ‘‘orbital de11 bris’’ means any human-made space object orbiting 

12 Earth that— 

13 (A) no longer serves an intended purpose; 

14 and 

15 (B)(i) has reached the end of its mission; 

16 or 

17 (ii) is incapable of safe maneuver or 

18 operation. 

19 (7) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

20 specific investment with defined requirements, a life21 cycle cost, a period of duration with a beginning and 

22 an end, and a management structure that may inter23 face with other projects, agencies, and international 

24 partners to yield new or revised technologies ad25 dressing strategic goals. 
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1 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

3 (9) SPACE TRAFFIC COORDINATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘space traffic coordination’’ means the planning, co5 ordination, and on-orbit synchronization of activities 

6 to enhance the safety and sustainability of oper7 ations in the space environment. 

8 SEC. 4. ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION. 

9 (a) PRIORITIZATION OF ORBITAL DEBRIS.— 

10 (1) LIST.—Not later than 90 days after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

12 consultation with the Administrator, the Secretary 

13 of Defense, the Secretary of State, the National 

14 Space Council, and representatives of the commer15 cial space industry, academia, and nonprofit organi16 zations, shall publish a list of select identified orbital 

17 debris that may be remediated to improve the safety 

18 and sustainability of orbiting satellites and on-orbit 

19 activities. 

20 (2) CONTENTS.—The list required under para21 graph (1)— 

22 (A) shall be developed using appropriate 

23 sources of data and information derived from 

24 governmental and nongovernmental sources, in25 cluding space situational awareness data ob-
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1 tained by the Office of Space Commerce, to the 

2 extent practicable; 

3 (B) shall include, to the extent prac4 ticable— 

5 (i) a description of the approximate 

6 age, location in orbit, size, mass, tumbling 

7 state, post-mission passivation actions 

8 taken, and national jurisdiction of each or9 bital debris identified; and 

10 (ii) data required to inform decisions 

11 regarding potential risk and feasibility of 

12 safe remediation; 

13 (C) may include orbital debris that poses a 

14 significant risk to terrestrial people and assets, 

15 including risk resulting from potential environ16 mental impacts from the uncontrolled reentry of 

17 the orbital debris identified; and 

18 (D) may include collections of small debris 

19 that, as of the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act, are untracked. 

21 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY; PERIODIC UP22 DATES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), the list required under paragraph 

25 (1) shall be published in unclassified form on a 
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1 publicly accessible internet website of the De2 partment of Commerce. 

3 (B) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary may not 

4 include on the list published under subpara5 graph (A) data acquired from nonpublic 

6 sources. 

7 (C) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Such list shall 

8 be updated periodically. 

9 (4) ACQUISITION, ACCESS, USE, AND HANDLING

10 OF DATA OR INFORMATION.—In carrying out the ac11 tivities under this subsection, the Secretary— 

12 (A) shall acquire, access, use, and handle 

13 data or information in a manner consistent with 

14 applicable provisions of law and policy, includ15 ing laws and policies providing for the protec16 tion of privacy and civil liberties, and subject to 

17 any restrictions required by the source of the 

18 information; 

19 (B) shall have access, upon written re20 quest, to all information, data, or reports of any 

21 executive agency that the Secretary determines 

22 necessary to carry out the activities under this 

23 subsection, provided that such access is— 

24 (i) conducted in a manner consistent 

25 with applicable provisions of law and policy 
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1 of the originating agency, including laws 

2 and policies providing for the protection of 

3 privacy and civil liberties; and 

4 (ii) consistent with due regard for the 

5 protection from unauthorized disclosure of 

6 classified information relating to sensitive 

7 intelligence sources and methods or other 

8 exceptionally sensitive matters; and 

9 (C) may obtain commercially available in10 formation that may not be publicly available. 

11 (b) ACTIVE ORBITAL DEBRIS REMEDIATION DEM12 ONSTRATION PROJECT.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, subject 

15 to the availability of appropriations, the Adminis16 trator, in consultation with the head of each relevant 

17 Federal department or agency, shall establish a dem18 onstration project to make competitive awards for 

19 the research, development, and demonstration of 

20 technologies leading to the remediation of selected 

21 orbital debris identified under subsection (a)(1). 

22 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the demonstra23 tion project shall be to enable eligible entities to pur24 sue the phased development and demonstration of 
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1 technologies and processes required for active debris 

2 remediation. 

3 (3) PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA.—In estab4 lishing the demonstration project, the Administrator 

5 shall— 

6 (A) establish— 

7 (i) eligibility criteria for participation; 

8 and 

9 (ii) a process for soliciting proposals 

10 from eligible entities; 

11 (iii) criteria for the contents of such 

12 proposals; 

13 (iv) project compliance and evaluation 

14 metrics; and 

15 (v) project phases and milestones; 

16 (B) identify government-furnished data or 

17 equipment; 

18 (C) develop a plan for National Aero19 nautics and Space Administration participation, 

20 as appropriate, in technology development and 

21 intellectual property rights that— 

22 (i) leverages National Aeronautics and 

23 Space Administration Centers that have 

24 demonstrated expertise and historical 

25 knowledge in measuring, modeling, charac-
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1 terizing, and describing the current and fu2 ture orbital debris environment; and 

3 (ii) develops the technical consensus 

4 for adopting mitigation measures for such 

5 participation; and 

6 (D)(i) assign a project manager to oversee 

7 the demonstration project and carry out project 

8 activities under this subsection; and 

9 (ii) in assigning such project manager, le10 verage National Aeronautics and Space Admin11 istration Centers and the personnel of National 

12 Aeronautics and Space Administration Centers, 

13 as practicable. 

14 (4) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PHASE.— 

15 With respect to orbital debris identified under para16 graph (1) of subsection (a), the Administrator shall, 

17 to the extent practicable and subject to the avail18 ability of appropriations, carry out the additional re19 search and development activities necessary to ma20 ture technologies, in partnership with eligible enti21 ties, with the intent to close commercial capability 

22 gaps and enable potential future remediation mis23 sions for such orbital debris, with a preference for 

24 technologies that are capable of remediating orbital 
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1 debris that have a broad range of characteristics de2 scribed in paragraph (2)(B)(i) of that subsection. 

3 (5) DEMONSTRATION MISSION PHASE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

5 shall evaluate proposals for a demonstration 

6 mission, and select and enter into a partnership 

7 with an eligible entity, subject to the availability 

8 of appropriations, with the intent to dem9 onstrate technologies determined by the Admin10 istrator to meet a level of technology readiness 

11 sufficient to carry out on-orbit remediation of 

12 select orbital debris. 

13 (B) EVALUATION.—In evaluating pro14 posals for the demonstration project, the Ad15 ministrator shall— 

16 (i) consider the safety, feasibility, 

17 cost, benefit, and maturity of the proposed 

18 technology; 

19 (ii) consider the potential for the pro20 posed demonstration to successfully reme21 diate orbital debris and to advance the 

22 commercial state of the art with respect to 

23 active debris remediation; 

24 (iii) carry out a risk analysis of the 

25 proposed technology that takes into consid-
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1 eration the potential casualty risk to hu2 mans in space or on the Earth’s surface; 

3 (iv) in an appropriate setting, conduct 

4 thorough testing and evaluation of the pro5 posed technology and each component of 

6 such technology or system of technologies; 

7 and 

8 (v) consider the technical and finan9 cial feasibility of using the proposed tech10 nology to conduct multiple remediation 

11 missions. 

12 (C) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator 

13 shall consult with the head of each relevant 

14 Federal department or agency before carrying 

15 out any demonstration mission under this para16 graph. 

17 (D) ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION DEM18 ONSTRATION MISSION.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that the Administrator should consider 

20 maximizing competition for, and use best prac21 tices to engage commercial entities in, an active 

22 debris remediation demonstration mission. 

23 (6) BRIEFING AND REPORTS.— 

24 (A) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 

25 days after the establishment of the demonstra-
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1 tion project under paragraph (1), the Adminis2 trator shall provide to the appropriate commit3 tees of Congress a briefing on the details of the 

4 demonstration project. 

5 (B) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the initial briefing under subpara7 graph (A), and annually thereafter until the 

8 conclusion of the 1 or more demonstration mis9 sions, the Administrator shall submit to the ap10 propriate committees of Congress a status re11 port on— 

12 (i) the technology developed under the 

13 demonstration project; 

14 (ii) progress toward the accomplish15 ment of the 1 or more demonstration mis16 sions; and 

17 (iii) any duplicative efforts carried out 

18 or supported by the National Aeronautics 

19 and Space Administration or the Depart20 ment of Defense. 

21 (C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 

22 1 year after the date on which the first dem23 onstration mission is carried out under this 

24 subsection, the Administrator, in consultation 

25 with the head of each relevant Federal depart-
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1 ment or agency, shall submit to Congress a re2 port that provides legislative, regulatory, and 

3 policy recommendations to improve active debris 

4 remediation missions, as applicable. 

5 (D) TECHNICAL ANALYSIS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—To inform decisions 

7 regarding the acquisition of active debris 

8 remediation services by the Federal Gov9 ernment, not later than 1 year after the 

10 date on which an award is made under 

11 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

12 submit to Congress a report that— 

13 (I) summarizes the cost-effective14 ness, and provides a technical analysis 

15 of, technologies developed under the 

16 demonstration project; 

17 (II) identifies any technology 

18 gaps addressed by the demonstration 

19 project and any remaining technology 

20 gaps; and 

21 (III) provides, as applicable, any 

22 further legislative, regulatory, and 

23 policy recommendations to enable ac24 tive debris remediation missions. 
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1 (ii) AVAILABILITY.—The Administra2 tion shall make the report submitted under 

3 clause (i) available to the Secretary, the 

4 Secretary of Defense, and other relevant 

5 Federal departments and agencies, as de6 termined by the Administrator. 

7 (7) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL

8 COOPERATION.—It is the sense of Congress that, in 

9 carrying out the demonstration project, it is critical 

10 that the Administrator, in coordination with the Sec11 retary of State and in consultation with the National 

12 Space Council, cooperate with one or more partner 

13 countries to enable the remediation of orbital debris 

14 that is under their respective jurisdictions. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

17 carry out this section $150,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

18 years 2024 through 2028. 

19 (d) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Unobli20 gated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise 

21 made available by subsection (c) as of September 30, 

22 2028, shall be rescinded not later than December 31, 

23 2028. 

24 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion may be construed to grant the Administrator the au-
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1 thority to issue any regulation relating to activities under 

2 subsection (b) or related space activities under title 51, 

3 United States Code. 

4 SEC. 5. ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION SERVICES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—To foster the competitive develop6 ment, operation, improvement, and commercial availability 

7 of active debris remediation services, and in consideration 

8 of the economic analysis required by subsection (b) and 

9 the briefing and reports under section 4(b)(6), the Admin10 istrator and the head of each relevant Federal department 

11 or agency may acquire services for the remediation of or12 bital debris, whenever practicable, through fair and open 

13 competition for contracts that are well-defined, milestone14 based, and in accordance with the Federal Acquisition 

15 Regulation. 

16 (b) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—Based on the results of 

17 the demonstration project, the Secretary, acting through 

18 the Office of Space Commerce, shall publish an assess19 ment of the estimated Federal Government and private 

20 sector demand for orbital debris remediation services for 

21 the 10-year period beginning in 2025. 

22 SEC. 6. UNIFORM ORBITAL DEBRIS STANDARD PRACTICES 

23 FOR UNITED STATES SPACE ACTIVITIES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the National Space 
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1 Council, in coordination with the Secretary, the Adminis2 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Sec3 retary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Federal 

4 Communications Commission, and the Administrator, 

5 shall initiate an update to the Orbital Debris Mitigation 

6 Standard Practices that— 

7 (1) considers planned space systems, including 

8 satellite constellations; and 

9 (2) addresses— 

10 (A) collision risk; 

11 (B) explosion risk; 

12 (C) casualty probability; 

13 (D) post-mission disposal of space systems; 

14 (E) time to disposal or de-orbit; 

15 (F) spacecraft collision avoidance and 

16 automated identification capability; and 

17 (G) the ability to track orbital debris of de18 creasing size. 

19 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the update under 

20 subsection (a), the National Space Council, or a designee 

21 of the National Space Council, shall seek advice and input 

22 on commercial standards and best practices from rep23 resentatives of the commercial space industry, academia, 

24 and nonprofit organizations, including through workshops 
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1 and, as appropriate, advance public notice and comment 

2 processes under chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (c) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, such update shall be 

5 published in the Federal Register and posted to the rel6 evant Federal Government internet websites. 

7 (d) REGULATIONS.—To promote uniformity and 

8 avoid duplication in the regulation of space activity, in9 cluding licensing by the Federal Aviation Administration, 

10 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

11 and the Federal Communications Commission, such up12 date, after publication, shall be used to inform the further 

13 development and promulgation of Federal regulations re14 lating to orbital debris. 

15 (e) INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION.—To encourage ef16 fective and nondiscriminatory standards, best practices, 

17 rules, and regulations implemented by other countries, 

18 such update shall inform bilateral and multilateral discus19 sions focused on the authorization and continuing super20 vision of nongovernmental space activities. 

21 (f) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Not less frequently than 

22 every 5 years, the Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard 

23 Practices referred to in subsection (a) shall be assessed 

24 and, if necessary, updated, used, and promulgated in a 

25 manner consistent with this section. 
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1 SEC. 7. STANDARD PRACTICES FOR SPACE TRAFFIC CO2 ORDINATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

4 with the Secretary of Defense and members of the Na5 tional Space Council and the Federal Communications 

6 Commission, shall facilitate the development of standard 

7 practices for on-orbit space traffic coordination based on 

8 existing guidelines and best practices used by Government 

9 and commercial space industry operators. 

10 (b) CONSULTATION.—In facilitating the development 

11 of standard practices under subsection (a), the Secretary, 

12 through the Office of Space Commerce, in consultation 

13 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

14 shall engage in frequent and routine consultation with rep15 resentatives of the commercial space industry, academia, 

16 and nonprofit organizations. 

17 (c) PROMOTION OF STANDARD PRACTICES.—On 

18 completion of such standard practices, the Secretary, the 

19 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Transportation, the 

20 Administrator, and the Secretary of Defense shall promote 
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1 the adoption and use of the standard practices for domes2 tic and international space missions. 

Passed the Senate October 31, 2023. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 447 

AN ACT 

To establish a demonstration program for the acposes. tainable orbital environment, and for other pur- ard practices in order to support a safe and sus- the development of uniform orbital debris stand- tive remediation of orbital debris and to require