I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8787 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2024 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia, Mr. CARBAJAL, and 

Mr. BERGMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘ORBITS Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The safety and sustainability of operations 

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

6 have become increasingly endangered by a growing 

7 amount of orbital debris. 

8 (2) Exploration and scientific research missions 

9 and commercial space services of critical importance 

10 to the United States rely on continued and secure 

11 access to outer space. 

12 (3) Efforts by nongovernmental space entities 

13 to apply lessons learned through standards and best 

14 practices will benefit from government support for 

15 implementation both domestically and internation16 ally. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that to preserve the sustainability of operations in 

19 space, the United States Government should— 

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

21 out programs, establish or update regulations, and 

22 commence initiatives to minimize orbital debris, in23 cluding initiatives to demonstrate active debris reme24 diation of orbital debris generated by the United 

25 States Government or other entities under the juris26 diction of the United States; 


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1 (2) lead international efforts to encourage other 

2 spacefaring countries to mitigate and remediate or3 bital debris under their jurisdiction and control; and 

4 (3) encourage space system operators to con5 tinue implementing best practices for space safety 

6 when deploying satellites and constellations of sat7 ellites, such as transparent data sharing and design8 ing for system reliability, so as to limit the genera9 tion of future orbital debris. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION.—The term 

13 ‘‘active debris remediation’’— 

14 (A) means the deliberate process of facili15 tating the de-orbit, repurposing, or other dis16 posal of orbital debris, which may include mov17 ing orbital debris to a safe position, using an 

18 object or technique that is external or internal 

19 to the orbital debris; and 

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

21 or other disposal of orbital debris by passive 

22 means. 

23 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

25 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 


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1 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

5 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans6 portation, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

7 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

8 Senate; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

10 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 

11 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the 

12 Committee on Armed Services of the House of 

13 Representatives. 

14 (4) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The term 

15 ‘‘demonstration project’’ means the active orbital de16 bris remediation demonstration project carried out 

17 under section 4(b). 

18 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti19 ty’’ means— 

20 (A) a United States-based— 

21 (i) non-Federal, commercial entity; 

22 (ii) institution of higher education (as 

23 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 

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

25 1001(a))); or 


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1 (iii) nonprofit organization; 

2 (B) any other United States-based entity 

3 the Administrator considers appropriate; and 

4 (C) a partnership of entities described in 

5 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

6 (6) ORBITAL DEBRIS.—The term ‘‘orbital de7 bris’’ means any human-made space object orbiting 

8 Earth that— 

9 (A) no longer serves an intended purpose; 

10 and 

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

12 or 

13 (ii) is incapable of safe maneuver or 

14 operation. 

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

16 specific investment with defined requirements, a life17 cycle cost, a period of duration with a beginning and 

18 an end, and a management structure that may inter19 face with other projects, agencies, and international 

20 partners to yield new or revised technologies ad21 dressing strategic goals. 

22 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Commerce. 

24 (9) SPACE TRAFFIC COORDINATION.—The term 

25 ‘‘space traffic coordination’’ means the planning, coVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8787.IH H8787

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1 ordination, and on-orbit synchronization of activities 

2 to enhance the safety and sustainability of oper3 ations in the space environment. 

4 SEC. 4. ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION. 

5 (a) PRIORITIZATION OF ORBITAL DEBRIS.— 

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

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

8 consultation with the Administrator, the Secretary 

9 of Defense, the Secretary of State, the National 

10 Space Council, and representatives of the commer11 cial space industry, academia, and nonprofit organi12 zations, shall publish a list of select identified orbital 

13 debris that may be remediated to improve the safety 

14 and sustainability of orbiting satellites and on-orbit 

15 activities. 

16 (2) CONTENTS.—The list required under para17 graph (1)— 

18 (A) shall be developed using appropriate 

19 sources of data and information derived from 

20 governmental and nongovernmental sources, in21 cluding space situational awareness data ob22 tained by the Office of Space Commerce, to the 

23 extent practicable; 

24 (B) shall include, to the extent prac25 ticable— 


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1 (i) a description of the approximate 

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

3 state, post-mission passivation actions 

4 taken, and national jurisdiction of each or5 bital debris identified; and 

6 (ii) data required to inform decisions 

7 regarding potential risk and feasibility of 

8 safe remediation; 

9 (C) may include orbital debris that poses a 

10 significant risk to terrestrial people and assets, 

11 including risk resulting from potential environ12 mental impacts from the uncontrolled reentry of 

13 the orbital debris identified; and 

14 (D) may include collections of small debris 

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

16 Act, are untracked. 

17 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY; PERIODIC UP18 DATES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara20 graph (B), the list required under paragraph 

21 (1) shall be published in unclassified form on a 

22 publicly accessible internet website of the De23 partment of Commerce. 

24 (B) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary may not 

25 include on the list published under subparaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8787.IH H8787

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1 graph (A) data acquired from nonpublic 

2 sources. 

3 (C) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Such list shall 

4 be updated periodically. 

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

6 OF DATA OR INFORMATION.—In carrying out the ac7 tivities under this subsection, the Secretary— 

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

9 data or information in a manner consistent with 

10 applicable provisions of law and policy, includ11 ing laws and policies providing for the protec12 tion of privacy and civil liberties, and subject to 

13 any restrictions required by the source of the 

14 information; 

15 (B) shall have access, upon written re16 quest, to all information, data, or reports of any 

17 executive agency that the Secretary determines 

18 necessary to carry out the activities under this 

19 subsection, provided that such access is— 

20 (i) conducted in a manner consistent 

21 with applicable provisions of law and policy 

22 of the originating agency, including laws 

23 and policies providing for the protection of 

24 privacy and civil liberties; and 


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1 (ii) consistent with due regard for the 

2 protection from unauthorized disclosure of 

3 classified information relating to sensitive 

4 intelligence sources and methods or other 

5 exceptionally sensitive matters; and 

6 (C) may obtain commercially available in7 formation that may not be publicly available. 

8 (b) ACTIVE ORBITAL DEBRIS REMEDIATION DEM9 ONSTRATION PROJECT.— 

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

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

12 to the availability of appropriations, the Adminis13 trator, in consultation with the head of each relevant 

14 Federal department or agency, shall establish a dem15 onstration project to make competitive awards for 

16 the research, development, and demonstration of 

17 technologies leading to the remediation of selected 

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

19 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the demonstra20 tion project shall be to enable eligible entities to pur21 sue the phased development and demonstration of 

22 technologies and processes required for active debris 

23 remediation. 


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1 (3) PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA.—In estab2 lishing the demonstration project, the Administrator 

3 shall— 

4 (A) establish— 

5 (i) eligibility criteria for participation; 

6 (ii) a process for soliciting proposals 

7 from eligible entities; 

8 (iii) criteria for the contents of such 

9 proposals; 

10 (iv) project compliance and evaluation 

11 metrics; and 

12 (v) project phases and milestones; 

13 (B) identify government-furnished data or 

14 equipment; 

15 (C) develop a plan for National Aero16 nautics and Space Administration participation, 

17 as appropriate, in technology development and 

18 intellectual property rights that— 

19 (i) leverages National Aeronautics and 

20 Space Administration Centers that have 

21 demonstrated expertise and historical 

22 knowledge in measuring, modeling, charac23 terizing, and describing the current and fu24 ture orbital debris environment; and 


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1 (ii) develops the technical consensus 

2 for adopting mitigation measures for such 

3 participation; and 

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

5 the demonstration project and carry out project 

6 activities under this subsection; and 

7 (ii) in assigning such project manager, le8 verage National Aeronautics and Space Admin9 istration Centers and the personnel of National 

10 Aeronautics and Space Administration Centers, 

11 as practicable. 

12 (4) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PHASE.— 

13 With respect to orbital debris identified under para14 graph (1) of subsection (a), the Administrator shall, 

15 to the extent practicable and subject to the avail16 ability of appropriations, carry out the additional re17 search and development activities necessary to ma18 ture technologies, in partnership with eligible enti19 ties, with the intent to close commercial capability 

20 gaps and enable potential future remediation mis21 sions for such orbital debris, with a preference for 

22 technologies that are capable of remediating orbital 

23 debris that have a broad range of characteristics de24 scribed in paragraph (2)(B)(i) of that subsection. 

25 (5) DEMONSTRATION MISSION PHASE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall evaluate proposals for a demonstration 

3 mission, and select and enter into a partnership 

4 with an eligible entity, subject to the availability 

5 of appropriations, with the intent to dem6 onstrate technologies determined by the Admin7 istrator to meet a level of technology readiness 

8 sufficient to carry out on-orbit remediation of 

9 select orbital debris. 

10 (B) EVALUATION.—In evaluating pro11 posals for the demonstration project, the Ad12 ministrator shall— 

13 (i) consider the safety, feasibility, 

14 cost, benefit, and maturity of the proposed 

15 technology; 

16 (ii) consider the potential for the pro17 posed demonstration to successfully reme18 diate orbital debris and to advance the 

19 commercial state of the art with respect to 

20 active debris remediation; 

21 (iii) carry out a risk analysis of the 

22 proposed technology that takes into consid23 eration the potential casualty risk to hu24 mans in space or on the Earth’s surface; 


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1 (iv) in an appropriate setting, conduct 

2 thorough testing and evaluation of the pro3 posed technology and each component of 

4 such technology or system of technologies; 

5 and 

6 (v) consider the technical and finan7 cial feasibility of using the proposed tech8 nology to conduct multiple remediation 

9 missions. 

10 (C) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator 

11 shall consult with the head of each relevant 

12 Federal department or agency before carrying 

13 out any demonstration mission under this para14 graph. 

15 (D) ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION DEM16 ONSTRATION MISSION.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that the Administrator should consider 

18 maximizing competition for, and use best prac19 tices to engage commercial entities in, an active 

20 debris remediation demonstration mission. 

21 (6) BRIEFING AND REPORTS.— 

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

23 days after the establishment of the demonstra24 tion project under paragraph (1), the Adminis25 trator shall provide to the appropriate commitVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8787.IH H8787

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1 tees of Congress a briefing on the details of the 

2 demonstration project. 

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

4 year after the initial briefing under subpara5 graph (A), and annually thereafter until the 

6 conclusion of the 1 or more demonstration mis7 sions, the Administrator shall submit to the ap8 propriate committees of Congress a status re9 port on— 

10 (i) the technology developed under the 

11 demonstration project; 

12 (ii) progress toward the accomplish13 ment of the 1 or more demonstration mis14 sions; and 

15 (iii) any duplicative efforts carried out 

16 or supported by the National Aeronautics 

17 and Space Administration or the Depart18 ment of Defense. 

19 (C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 

20 1 year after the date on which the first dem21 onstration mission is carried out under this 

22 subsection, the Administrator, in consultation 

23 with the head of each relevant Federal depart24 ment or agency, shall submit to Congress a re25 port that provides legislative, regulatory, and 


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1 policy recommendations to improve active debris 

2 remediation missions, as applicable. 

3 (D) TECHNICAL ANALYSIS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—To inform decisions 

5 regarding the acquisition of active debris 

6 remediation services by the Federal Gov7 ernment, not later than 1 year after the 

8 date on which an award is made under 

9 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

10 submit to Congress a report that— 

11 (I) summarizes the cost-effective12 ness, and provides a technical analysis 

13 of, technologies developed under the 

14 demonstration project; 

15 (II) identifies any technology 

16 gaps addressed by the demonstration 

17 project and any remaining technology 

18 gaps; and 

19 (III) provides, as applicable, any 

20 further legislative, regulatory, and 

21 policy recommendations to enable ac22 tive debris remediation missions. 

23 (ii) AVAILABILITY.—The Administra24 tion shall make the report submitted under 

25 clause (i) available to the Secretary, the 


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1 Secretary of Defense, and other relevant 

2 Federal departments and agencies, as de3 termined by the Administrator. 

4 (7) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL

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

6 carrying out the demonstration project, it is critical 

7 that the Administrator, in coordination with the Sec8 retary of State and in consultation with the National 

9 Space Council, cooperate with one or more partner 

10 countries to enable the remediation of orbital debris 

11 that is under their respective jurisdictions. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

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

15 years 2024 through 2028. 

16 (d) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Unobli17 gated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise 

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

19 2028, shall be rescinded not later than December 31, 

20 2028. 

21 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion may be construed to grant the Administrator the au23 thority to issue any regulation relating to activities under 

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

25 United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 5. ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION SERVICES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—To foster the competitive develop3 ment, operation, improvement, and commercial availability 

4 of active debris remediation services, and in consideration 

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

6 the briefing and reports under section 4(b)(6), the Admin7 istrator and the head of each relevant Federal department 

8 or agency may acquire services for the remediation of or9 bital debris, whenever practicable, through fair and open 

10 competition for contracts that are well-defined, milestone11 based, and in accordance with the Federal Acquisition 

12 Regulation. 

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

14 the demonstration project, the Secretary, acting through 

15 the Office of Space Commerce, shall publish an assess16 ment of the estimated Federal Government and private 

17 sector demand for orbital debris remediation services for 

18 the 10-year period beginning in 2025. 

19 SEC. 6. UNIFORM ORBITAL DEBRIS STANDARD PRACTICES 

20 FOR UNITED STATES SPACE ACTIVITIES. 

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

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the National Space 

23 Council, in coordination with the Secretary, the Adminis24 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Sec25 retary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Federal 

26 Communications Commission, and the Administrator, 


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1 shall initiate an update to the Orbital Debris Mitigation 

2 Standard Practices that— 

3 (1) considers planned space systems, including 

4 satellite constellations; and 

5 (2) addresses— 

6 (A) collision risk; 

7 (B) explosion risk; 

8 (C) casualty probability; 

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

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

11 (F) spacecraft collision avoidance and 

12 automated identification capability; and 

13 (G) the ability to track orbital debris of de14 creasing size. 

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

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

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

18 on commercial standards and best practices from rep19 resentatives of the commercial space industry, academia, 

20 and nonprofit organizations, including through workshops 

21 and, as appropriate, advance public notice and comment 

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

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

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


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1 published in the Federal Register and posted to the rel2 evant Federal Government internet websites. 

3 (d) REGULATIONS.—To promote uniformity and 

4 avoid duplication in the regulation of space activity, in5 cluding licensing by the Federal Aviation Administration, 

6 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

7 and the Federal Communications Commission, such up8 date, after publication, shall be used to inform the further 

9 development and promulgation of Federal regulations re10 lating to orbital debris. 

11 (e) INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION.—To encourage ef12 fective and nondiscriminatory standards, best practices, 

13 rules, and regulations implemented by other countries, 

14 such update shall inform bilateral and multilateral discus15 sions focused on the authorization and continuing super16 vision of nongovernmental space activities. 

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

18 every 5 years, the Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard 

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

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

21 manner consistent with this section. 

22 SEC. 7. STANDARD PRACTICES FOR SPACE TRAFFIC CO23 ORDINATION. 

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

25 with the Secretary of Defense and members of the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8787.IH H8787

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1 tional Space Council and the Federal Communications 

2 Commission, shall facilitate the development of standard 

3 practices for on-orbit space traffic coordination based on 

4 existing guidelines and best practices used by Government 

5 and commercial space industry operators. 

6 (b) CONSULTATION.—In facilitating the development 

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

8 through the Office of Space Commerce, in consultation 

9 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

10 shall engage in frequent and routine consultation with rep11 resentatives of the commercial space industry, academia, 

12 and nonprofit organizations. 

13 (c) PROMOTION OF STANDARD PRACTICES.—On 

14 completion of such standard practices, the Secretary, the 

15 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Transportation, the 

16 Administrator, and the Secretary of Defense shall promote 

17 the adoption and use of the standard practices for domes18 tic and international space missions. 

Æ 


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