IB 

Union Calendar No. 595 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8958 

[Report No. 118–701] 

To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2024 

Mr. LUCAS (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. BABIN, and Mr. SORENSEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Science, Space, and Technology 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 9, 2024] 


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A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2025. 

TITLE II—EXPLORATION 

Sec. 201. Continuity of purpose for space exploration. 

Sec. 202. Artemis program. 

Sec. 203. Reaffirmation of the Space Launch System. 

Sec. 204. Human-rated lunar landing capabilities. 

Sec. 205. Advanced spacesuit capabilities. 

TITLE III—SPACE OPERATIONS 

Sec. 301. Report on continued United States presence in low earth orbit. 

Sec. 302. International Space Station. 

Sec. 303. Nongovernmental missions on the International Space Station. 

Sec. 304. Report on suborbital crew missions. 

Sec. 305. United States deorbit capabilities. 

Sec. 306. Commercial low-earth orbit development. 

Sec. 307. Risk of losing access to low-earth orbit. 

Sec. 308. Maintenance of service for International Space Station. 

Sec. 309. Orbital debris research and development. 

Sec. 310. Restriction on Federal funds relating to certain Chinese space and scientific activities. 

TITLE IV—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 401. SBIR phase II flexibility. 

Sec. 402. Lunar power purchase agreement program. 

Sec. 403. Cryogenic fluid valve technology review. 

Sec. 404. Lunar communications. 

Sec. 405. Celestial time standardization. 

TITLE V—AERONAUTICS 

Sec. 501. Definitions. 

Sec. 502. Experimental aircraft demonstrations. 

Sec. 503. Hypersonic research. 


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Sec. 504. Advanced materials and manufacturing technology. 

Sec. 505. Unmanned aircraft system and advanced air mobility. 

Sec. 506. Advanced capabilities for emergency response operations. 

Sec. 507. Hydrogen aviation. 

Sec. 508. High-performance chase aircraft. 

Sec. 509. Collaboration with academia. 

Sec. 510. National student unmanned aircraft systems competition program. 

Sec. 511. Decadal survey for national aeronautics research and priorities review. 

Sec. 512. Making advancements in commercial hypersonics. 

TITLE VI—SCIENCE 

Sec. 601. Maintaining a balanced science portfolio. 

Sec. 602. Implementation of science mission cost-caps. 

Sec. 603. Reexamination of decadal surveys. 

Sec. 604. Landsat. 

Sec. 605. Private earth observation data. 

Sec. 606. Commercial satellite data. 

Sec. 607. Greenhouse gas emission measurements. 

Sec. 608. NASA data for agricultural applications. 

Sec. 609. Planetary science portfolio. 

Sec. 610. Planetary defense. 

Sec. 611. Lunar discovery and exploration. 

Sec. 612. Commercial lunar payload services. 

Sec. 613. Planetary and lunar operations. 

Sec. 614. Mars sample return. 

Sec. 615. Hubble space telescope servicing. 

Sec. 616. Great observatories mission and technology maturation. 

Sec. 617. Nancy Grace Roman telescope. 

Sec. 618. Chandra X-Ray observatory. 

Sec. 619. Heliophysics research. 

Sec. 620. Study on commercial space weather data. 

Sec. 621. Geospace dynamics constellation. 

Sec. 622. Technology development for wildland fire science, management, and 

mitigation. 

Sec. 623. Implementation of recommendations by the National Wildland Fire 

Management and Mitigation Commission. 

TITLE VII—STEM EDUCATION 

Sec. 701. National space grant college and fellowship program. 

Sec. 702. Skilled technical workforce education outreach. 

TITLE VIII—POLICY/NASA 

Sec. 801. Major programs. 

Sec. 802. NASA advisory council. 

Sec. 803. NASA assessment of early cost estimates. 

Sec. 804. Independent cost estimate. 

Sec. 805. Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy report. 

Sec. 806. Authorization for the transfer to NASA of funds from other agencies for 

scientific or engineering research or education. 

Sec. 807. Procedure for launch services risk mitigation. 

Sec. 808. Report on merits and options for establishing an institute relating to 

space resources. 

Sec. 809. Reports to Congress. 


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Sec. 810. Contract flexibility. 

Sec. 811. GAO report. 

Sec. 812. NASA public-private talent program. 

Sec. 813. Report on Space Act agreements. 

Sec. 814. Mentoring. 

Sec. 815. Drinking water well replacement for Chincoteague, Virginia. 

Sec. 816. Rule of construction. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National Aer5 onautics and Space Administration. 

6 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

7 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

8 means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

12 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

13 (3) CISLUNAR SPACE.—The term ‘‘cislunar 

14 space’’ means the region of space beyond low-Earth 

15 orbit out to and including the region around the sur16 face of the Moon. 

17 (4) COMMERCIAL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘com18 mercial provider’’ means any person providing space 

19 services or space-related capabilities, primary control 

20 of which is held by persons other than the Federal 

21 Government, a State or local government, or a foreign 

22 government. 


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1 (5) DEEP SPACE.—The term ‘‘deep space’’ means 

2 the region of space beyond low-Earth orbit, which in3 cludes cislunar space. 

4 (6) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter5 national Space Station. 

6 (7) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na7 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

8 (8) ORION.—The term ‘‘Orion’’ means the multi9 purpose crew vehicle described under section 303 of 

10 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

11 Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

12 (9) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Space 

13 Launch System’’ means the Space Launch System 

14 authorized under section 302 of the National Aero15 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

16 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322). 

17 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

18 APPROPRIATIONS 

19 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2025. 

20 For fiscal year 2025, there are authorized to be appro21 priated to NASA $25,224,640,000 as follows: 

22 (1) For the Exploration Systems Development 

23 Mission Directorate, $7,618,200,000. 

24 (2) For the Space Operations Mission Direc25 torate, $4,473,500,000. 


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1 (3) For the Space Technology Mission Direc2 torate, $1,181,800,000. 

3 (4) For the Science Mission Directorate, 

4 $7,334,200,000. 

5 (5) For the Aeronautics Research Mission Direc6 torate, $965,800,000. 

7 (6) For the Office of STEM Engagement, 

8 $135,000,000. 

9 (7) For Safety, Security, and Mission Services, 

10 $3,044,440,000. 

11 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com12 pliance and Restoration, $424,100,000. 

13 (9) For Inspector General, $47,600,000. 

14 TITLE II—EXPLORATION 

15 SEC. 201. CONTINUITY OF PURPOSE FOR SPACE EXPLO16 RATION. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) NASA continues to make progress in devel19 oping and testing the Space Launch System, Orion, 

20 and associated ground systems, including through the 

21 successful completion of the Artemis I mission in No22 vember 2022 and through continued preparations for 

23 the Artemis II crewed flight demonstration mission. 

24 (2) The number of spacefaring countries is in25 creasing, and foreign countries have expanded activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 ties for space exploration efforts, including efforts to 

2 explore and utilize the Moon through human and 

3 robotic missions. 

4 (3) A strong and ambitious space exploration 

5 program conducted with international and commer6 cial partners is important to maintaining United 

7 States leadership in space and enhancing United 

8 States international competitiveness. 

9 (4) Clear mission objectives that tie to concrete, 

10 long-term programmatic goals provide a measure to 

11 ensure accountability, enhance public support for ex12 ploration missions, and provide a clear signal of com13 mitment to both international and domestic partners. 

14 (b) CONTINUITY OF EXISTING CAPABILITIES AND PRO15 GRAMS.— 

16 (1) As part of the human exploration activities 

17 of the Administration, including progress on Artemis 

18 missions and activities, the Administrator shall con19 tinue development of space exploration elements pur20 suant to section 10811 of the National Aeronautics 

21 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2022 

22 (Public Law 117–167; 51 U.S.C. 20302). 

23 (2) The Administrator shall leverage the private 

24 sector for logistical services to the extent practical, 

25 consistent with the Moon to Mars architecture reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 quirements and in accordance with section 50131 of 

2 title 51, United States Code. 

3 (3) Congress reaffirms the sense of Congress to 

4 maintain continuity of purpose as described in sec5 tion 201 of the 2017 NASA Transition Authorization 

6 Act (Public Law 115–10; 131 Stat. 21). 

7 SEC. 202. ARTEMIS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—The following is the sense 

9 of Congress: 

10 (1) Exploration of outer space, including explo11 ration of the lunar surface and cislunar space, pro12 vides benefits and economic opportunity, including by 

13 inspiring future generations and expanding the 

14 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

15 workforce needed to sustain United States leadership 

16 in science, space, and technology. 

17 (2) The lunar south pole is home to shadowed 

18 craters that may contain water ice and other 

19 volatiles. Understanding the nature of lunar polar 

20 volatiles, such as water ice, would advance science re21 lated to the origin and evolution of volatiles in the 

22 inner solar system and could facilitate the long-term 

23 future of space exploration. Water ice lunar resources 

24 have the potential to become an enabling component 


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1 of future space exploration missions throughout the 

2 solar system, including crewed missions to Mars. 

3 (3) Other countries have demonstrated techno4 logical advances and successful robotic missions for 

5 lunar exploration and have announced credible plans 

6 for long-term human exploration of the Moon that in7 clude the intent to establish lunar bases. 

8 (4) United States leadership of and measurable 

9 progress on the exploration of deep space is essential 

10 for guiding development of norms related to oper11 ations on and around the Moon and for other space 

12 destinations. 

13 (5) It is in the national interest of the United 

14 States to hold a leadership role in discussions of fu15 ture norms governing activities in space, including 

16 those on the lunar surface and in cislunar space. 

17 (b) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activities to enable 

18 Artemis missions under the Moon to Mars Program set forth 

19 in section 10811 of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad20 ministration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117– 

21 167), the Administrator shall— 

22 (1) use relevant elements set forth in section 

23 10811(b)(2)(B) of the National Aeronautics and 

24 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2022 

25 (Public Law 117–167); 


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1 (2) continue to ensure that the elements under 

2 paragraph (1) enable the human exploration of Mars, 

3 consistent with section 10811(b)(2)(C)(i) of the Na4 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author5 ization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167); 

6 (3) engage with international partners, as ap7 propriate, in a manner that is consistent with section 

8 10811(b)(2)(C) the National Aeronautics and Space 

9 Administration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public 

10 Law 117–167), and that increases redundancy, effi11 ciency, and cost savings; and 

12 (4) leverage capabilities provided by United 

13 States commercial providers, as appropriate and 

14 practicable. 

15 (c) UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROVIDER CAPA16 BILITIES IN SUPPORT OF LUNAR EXPLORATION EF17 FORTS.—The Administrator may enter into agreements 

18 with United States commercial providers or engage in pub19 lic-private partnerships to procure capabilities and services 

20 to support the human exploration of the Moon or cislunar 

21 space. 

22 SEC. 203. REAFFIRMATION OF THE SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM. 

23 (a) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.— 

24 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND CADENCE OBJECTIVES.— 

25 Congress reaffirms— 


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1 (A) support for the full development of ca2 pabilities of the Space Launch System as set 

3 forth in section 302(c) of the National Aero4 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

5 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)); and 

6 (B) its commitment to the flight rate of the 

7 integrated Space Launch System and Orion 

8 crew vehicle missions set forth in section 

9 10812(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

10 Administration Authorization Act of 2022 (Pub11 lic Law 117–167; 51 U.S.C. 20301 note). 

12 (2) OTHER USES.—The Administrator shall as13 sess the demand for the Space Launch System by en14 tities other than NASA and shall break out such de15 mand according to the relevant Federal agency or 

16 nongovernment sector. This assessment may— 

17 (A) estimate cost and schedule savings from 

18 reduced transit times and the potential for in19 creased returns enabled by the unique capabili20 ties of the Space Launch System; 

21 (B) describe any barriers or challenges that 

22 could impede use of the Space Launch System by 

23 entities other than NASA; and 


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1 (C) identify potential actions and costs as2 sociated with overcoming barriers and challenges 

3 described in subparagraph (B). 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

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

6 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describ7 ing the following: 

8 (1) NASA’s progress towards achieving the flight 

9 rate referred to in subsection (a)(1)(B) and the ex10 pected launch of the integrated Space Launch System 

11 and Orion crew vehicle missions after which such ca12 dence shall be achieved. 

13 (2) The results of the assessment conducted pur14 suant to subsection (a)(2). 

15 SEC. 204. HUMAN-RATED LUNAR LANDING CAPABILITIES. 

16 (a) REAFFIRMATION.—Congress reaffirms that the 

17 Moon to Mars program set forth in section 10811 of the 

18 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author19 ization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167; 51 U.S.C. 20302 

20 note.; 136 Stat. 1732) shall include human-rated lunar 

21 landing systems. 

22 (b) HUMAN-RATED LUNAR LANDING CAPABILITIES.— 

23 (1) The Administrator shall support the develop24 ment and demonstration of, and shall obtain, human25 rated lunar landing capabilities to further the goals 


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1 of the human exploration roadmap under section 432 

2 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra3 tion Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (Public 

4 Law 115–10; 51 U.S.C. 20302 note) and the Moon to 

5 Mars Program set forth in section 10811 of the Na6 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author7 ization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167). 

8 (2) The Administrator shall ensure that such 

9 human-rated lunar landing capabilities meet all rel10 evant requirements, including requirements of the 

11 Moon to Mars program, and for human-rating and 

12 certification. 

13 (3) Any commercial provider from which the Ad14 ministrator obtains human-rated lunar landing capa15 bilities must be a United States commercial provider. 

16 (4) In carrying out paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) the Administrator may include 

18 uncrewed lunar landing services; and 

19 (B) the Administrator shall, subject to the 

20 availability of appropriations for such purpose, 

21 seek to obtain capabilities from not fewer than 

22 two commercial providers. 

23 (c) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit to the 

24 appropriate committees of Congress the following: 


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1 (1) Not later than 60 days after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act, a report— 

3 (A) identifying the contribution over the 

4 past five years, and the planned contribution for 

5 2024–2029, of government personnel, expertise, 

6 technologies and infrastructure utilized and to be 

7 utilized in support of design, development, or op8 eration of human lunar landing capabilities 

9 under this section; and 

10 (B) setting forth details and the associated 

11 costs of such government support, broken out ac12 cording to the areas of contribution specified in 

13 subparagraph (A), as part of any development 

14 initiative for obtaining human lunar landing 

15 capabilities. 

16 (2) Not later than 90 days after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act, a report that sets forth, for any 

18 agreement with a United States commercial provider 

19 for human lunar landing capabilities, the following: 

20 (A) The total value of the agreement when 

21 awarded. 

22 (B) If different from the amount in sub23 paragraph (A), the total value of the agreement 

24 as of the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

25 an explanation for any change in value, as well 


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1 as an identification of whether NASA or the 

2 commercial partner is responsible for meeting 

3 the change in value. 

4 (C) The dollar amount invested and to be 

5 invested by the Administration, and the dollar 

6 amount invested and to be invested by the com7 mercial partner. 

8 (D) The full requirements, including 

9 human-rating and safety requirements, for 

10 human lunar landing capabilities under the 

11 agreement when awarded. 

12 (E) If different from the amount specified 

13 in subparagraph (C), the full requirements, in14 cluding human-rating and certification require15 ments, for the human lunar landing capabilities 

16 under the agreement as of the date of the enact17 ment of this Act and an explanation for any 

18 changes in requirements. 

19 (F) A description of milestone and associ20 ated payments provided for in the agreement, in21 cluding the following: 

22 (i) An identification of all milestones 

23 under the agreement. 


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1 (ii) The value of the associated pay2 ment for each milestone identified under 

3 clause (i). 

4 (iii) An identification of completed 

5 milestones and the date of completion. 

6 (iv) An identification of milestones 

7 which have not yet been completed and an 

8 estimated schedule for completion. 

9 (v) The value of all NASA payments 

10 under the agreement, outlays as of the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, and the 

12 amount which as of the date of the enact13 ment of this Act has not yet been paid. 

14 (vi) a description of any changes in 

15 milestones and associated payments between 

16 the date of contract award and the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act. 

18 (G) Any cost, schedule, and performance 

19 challenges as of the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act in provider performance of the agreement. 

21 (H) A detailed justification of compliance 

22 with section 30301 of title 51, United States 

23 Code. 


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1 (I) A detailed certification and justification 

2 of compliance with section 50503 of title 51, 

3 United States Code. 

4 (3) Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act, in consultation with any 

6 United States commercial provider that is party to 

7 an agreement with NASA for human lunar landing 

8 capabilities under this section, a report on any steps 

9 the Administrator and such providers are taking to 

10 carry out the following: 

11 (A) Address cost, schedule, and performance 

12 challenges faced by each commercial provider in 

13 development and performance of human lunar 

14 landing capabilities described in paragraph 

15 (2)(G). 

16 (B) Facilitate the timely availability of 

17 human lunar landing capabilities of each pro18 vider to support the schedule of Artemis missions 

19 in effect as of the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act, as applicable to each provider. 

21 (4) Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act, a report on alternative ap23 proaches, and implementation plans for such ap24 proaches, including an estimate of needed budgetary 

25 resources, for a human lunar landing capability that 


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1 meets NASA human-rating and certification require2 ments in the event challenges referred to in paragraph 

3 (3)(A) cannot be overcome or the timeline specified in 

4 paragraph (3)(B) cannot be met. 

5 SEC. 205. ADVANCED SPACESUIT CAPABILITIES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Space suits and associated extravehicular ac8 tivity (EVA) technologies are critical exploration 

9 technologies that are necessary for future human deep 

10 space exploration efforts, including crewed missions to 

11 the Moon. 

12 (2) The NASA civil service workforce at the 

13 Johnson Space Center provides unique capabilities to 

14 design, integrate, and validate Space Suits and asso15 ciated EVA technologies. 

16 (3) Maintaining a strong NASA core competency 

17 in the design, development, manufacture, and oper18 ation of space suits and related technologies allows 

19 NASA to be an informed purchaser of competitively 

20 awarded commercial space suits and subcomponents. 

21 (4) According to a 2018 NASA Office of Inspec22 tor General (OIG) report, current EVAs space suits, 

23 the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), were de24 veloped in the late 1970s, are reaching the end of 

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1 nance issues that threaten astronaut lives, and no 

2 longer accommodate the varying sizes of a diverse as3 tronaut corps. 

4 (5) The same NASA OIG report found that ‘‘. . . 

5 manufacturers of several critical suit components, in6 cluding the very fibers of the suits, have now gone out 

7 of business. . . ,’’ which further reinforces the impor8 tance of NASA’s role in maintaining a space suit core 

9 competency and limiting the risk posed by outsourc10 ing key national capabilities. 

11 (6) The private sector currently is developing 

12 space suit capabilities. 

13 (7) Testing space suits and related technologies 

14 on the International Space Station could reduce risk 

15 and improve safety of such suits and technologies. 

16 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall obtain ad17 vanced spacesuit capabilities necessary to achieve the goals 

18 of NASA’s human spaceflight exploration programs. 

19 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Any commercial provider from 

20 which the Administrator obtains advanced spaceflight capa21 bilities must be a United States commercial provider, as 

22 set forth in section 203(c) of this Act. 

23 (d) PRESERVING SPACESUIT EXPERTISE.— 

24 (1) In carrying out subsection (b), NASA shall 

25 maintain the internal expertise necessary to develop 


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1 space suits for both extravehicular activity and sur2 face operations, including through partnerships with 

3 the private sector. 

4 (2) The Johnson Space Center shall continue to 

5 manage NASA’s spacesuit and extravehicular activity 

6 programs. 

7 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days from the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

9 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report — 

10 (1) describing NASA’s plans for— 

11 (A) in-space testing of advanced spacesuit 

12 capabilities, including— 

13 (i) space suit tests which must be con14 ducted in microgravity in low-Earth orbit; 

15 and 

16 (ii) space suit tests that must be con17 ducted on the International Space Station 

18 before decommissioning of the International 

19 Space Station; 

20 (B) transitioning from existing spacesuits 

21 in use on the International Space Station to use 

22 of advanced spacesuit capabilities; 

23 (C) future use of advanced spacesuit capa24 bilities by government astronauts with any non25 governmental platform in low-Earth orbit that is 


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1 certified for use by the Administration for gov2 ernment astronauts (as such term is defined in 

3 section 50902(4) of title 51, United States Code); 

4 and 

5 (D) disposition of retired spacesuits used on 

6 the Space Shuttle or the International Space 

7 Station; and 

8 (2) including— 

9 (A) a detailed justification of compliance 

10 with section 30301 of title 51, United States 

11 Code; and 

12 (B) a detailed certification and justification 

13 of compliance with section 50503 of title 51, 

14 United States Code. 

15 (f) ASSESSMENT OF EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY

16 UNITS USED ON THE ISS.— 

17 (1) No later than 45 days after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall enter into 

19 an arrangement with an independent science and 

20 technical engineering organization to review the tech21 nical status and performance of the Administration’s 

22 existing extravehicular mobility units (‘‘EMUs’’), to 

23 analyze the data associated with all mishaps, anoma24 lies, and off-nominal events related to the EMUs used 

25 by government astronauts on the International Space 


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1 Station over the last 10 years, and to make rec2 ommendations to the Administrator, as a result of 

3 such assessment. 

4 (2) The Administrator shall ensure that the enti5 ty carrying out the assessment in paragraph (1) 

6 consults with relevant industry contractors regarding 

7 the Administration’s EMUs and EMU capabilities, 

8 and coordinates with the NASA Astronaut Office in 

9 carrying out such assessment. 

10 (3) The Administrator shall transmit the results 

11 of the assessment in paragraph (1) to the appropriate 

12 committees of Congress as soon as practicable and no 

13 later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 

15 TITLE III—SPACE OPERATIONS 

16 SEC. 301. REPORT ON CONTINUED UNITED STATES PRES17 ENCE IN LOW EARTH ORBIT. 

18 Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment 

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

20 appropriate committees of Congress a report containing in21 formation on the following: 

22 (1) The United States Government description of 

23 and plans for implementation of the policy on an un24 interrupted capability for human space flight and op25 erations in accordance with section 70501(a) of title 


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1 51, United States Code, and section 201(b) of the Na2 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author3 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(b)) regarding 

4 United States human space flight capabilities. 

5 (2) The preparedness of the Administration to 

6 continue to meet statutory direction referenced in 

7 paragraph (1) under the planned approach to deorbit 

8 the International Space Station by not later than the 

9 end of calendar year 2031. 

10 SEC. 302. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. 

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

12 that— 

13 (1) ISS is a unique facility that provides the 

14 United States with capabilities in space that are cur15 rently unmatched; NASA continues to make produc16 tive use of the ISS; 

17 (2) the ISS serves several functions, including es18 tablishing the United States as a leader in space ac19 tivities, acting as a beacon of international coopera20 tion, and conducting cutting-edge microgravity and 

21 observational research in low-Earth orbit; 

22 (3) NASA must complete certain objectives on 

23 the ISS to facilitate deep space exploration efforts, in24 cluding carrying out human research and dem25 onstrating exploration-related technologies; and 


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1 (4) reducing crew size or cargo deliveries, or re2 ducing sustaining engineering capabilities, would re3 duce the scientific output of the ISS and potentially 

4 increase the risk to the ISS and its crew. 

5 (b) FULL UTILIZATION.— 

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

7 Congress that, to ensure the greatest return on invest8 ments made by the United States and the Inter9 national Space Station partners in the development, 

10 assembly, and operations of the International Space 

11 Station, the Administrator should maximize the utili12 zation and productivity of the International Space 

13 Station with respect to the priorities set forth in sec14 tion 10816 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

15 Administration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public 

16 Law 117–167; 51 U.S.C. 70901 note), which include 

17 research of the human research program, risk reduc18 tion activities relevant to exploration technologies, the 

19 advancement of United States leadership of basic and 

20 applied space life and physical sciences, and other re21 search and development essential to Moon to Mars 

22 program activities. 

23 (2) AMENDMENT.—Section 502(a) of the Na24 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration AuthorVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 ization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–267; 42 U.S.C. 

2 18352(a)), is amended by striking ‘‘take steps to’’. 

3 SEC. 303. NONGOVERNMENTAL MISSIONS ON THE INTER4 NATIONAL SPACE STATION. 

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

6 that— 

7 (1) nongovernmental missions involving crew or 

8 spaceflight participants on the International Space 

9 Station carried out, as appropriate, pursuant to 

10 NASA policies and procedures, and Federal Govern11 ment laws and regulations, can provide lessons and 

12 learning experiences for both government and non13 government entities to inform the development of fu14 ture commercial low-Earth orbit platforms and a low15 Earth orbit economy; and 

16 (2) the Administrator should share lessons 

17 learned from nongovernmental missions on the Inter18 national Space Station to advance the commercial 

19 human spaceflight industry, to promote the safety of 

20 future commercial low-Earth orbit platforms, and to 

21 inform the evolution of policies guiding such activities 

22 in low-Earth orbit. 

23 (b) NONGOVERNMENTAL MISSIONS ON THE ISS.—The 

24 Administrator may enter into one or more agreements to 

25 enable one or more United States commercial providers to 


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1 conduct nongovernmental missions on the International 

2 Space Station pursuant to NASA policies and procedures, 

3 and Federal government laws and regulations. 

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

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

6 United States shall submit to the appropriate committees 

7 of Congress a report containing information relating to the 

8 following: 

9 (1) The number of nongovernmental missions on 

10 the ISS planned. 

11 (2) The number of nongovernmental missions on 

12 the ISS completed. 

13 (3) The extent to which commercial entities car14 rying out nongovernmental missions on the ISS fully 

15 reimburse costs incurred by NASA in association 

16 with any nongovernmental missions carried out on 

17 the International Space Station. 

18 (4) The extent to which nongovernmental mis19 sions on the International Space Station impact the 

20 priorities specified in section 10816 of the National 

21 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization 

22 Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167; 51 U.S.C. 70901 

23 note). 

24 (5) The impact, if any, to operations of or ac25 tivities on the International Space Station that are 


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1 not related to nongovernmental missions on the Inter2 national Space Station. 

3 (6) The extent to which any nongovernmental 

4 mission on the ISS— 

5 (A) conforms with section 20102 of title 51, 

6 United States Code; 

7 (B) adheres to the requirements of section 

8 50131 of title 51, United States Code; and 

9 (C) is consistent with the national security 

10 or foreign policy interests of the United States. 

11 (7) Any other issues related to nongovernmental 

12 missions on the International Space Station that the 

13 Comptroller General determines are appropriate for 

14 review as part of undertaking the report in subsection 

15 (c). 

16 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘crew’’ 

17 and ‘‘spaceflight participant’’ have the meanings given such 

18 terms in section 50902 of title 51, United States Code. 

19 SEC. 304. REPORT ON SUBORBITAL CREW MISSIONS. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, the Administrator shall deliver to the appro22 priate committees of Congress a report on the costs, benefits, 

23 risks, training requirements, and policy or legal implica24 tions, including liability matters, of launching United 


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1 States Government personnel on commercial suborbital ve2 hicles. 

3 SEC. 305. UNITED STATES DEORBIT CAPABILITIES. 

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

5 that— 

6 (1) the International Space Station is aging and 

7 eventually will need to be deorbited safely and dis8 posed of in a controlled manner; and 

9 (2) to protect the safety of the public, and to 

10 avoid interfering with other space operators or objects, 

11 NASA plans to deorbit and disposition the Inter12 national Space Station through a controlled atmos13 pheric reentry over an uninhabited region. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION.— 

15 (1) The Administrator shall acquire ISS deorbit 

16 capabilities from one or more United States commer17 cial providers. 

18 (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Adminis19 trator shall, to the greatest extent practicable, not re20 duce or deprioritize NASA activities conducted on 

21 and in support of the ISS to support the acquisition 

22 of United States deorbit capabilities. 

23 (c) COSTS.— 

24 (1) INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE.—Before en25 tering into an agreement for the capabilities described 


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1 in subsection (b), the Administrator shall obtain an 

2 independent life-cycle cost estimate for the deorbit ca3 pability and shall report the results of such estimate 

4 and a five-year budget profile to the appropriate com5 mittees of Congress. 

6 (2) REPORT.— 

7 (A) Not later than one year after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

9 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

10 Congress a report detailing the Administration’s 

11 plan for the financial, logistical, and operational 

12 responsibilities associated with the deorbit capa13 bility. 

14 (B) Annually, the Administrator shall sub15 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

16 report, to accompany the President’s budget re17 quest, containing a description of the annual 

18 and lifecycle costs for activities related to the 

19 deorbit of the International Space Station and 

20 how such costs are shared among the ISS part21 ners. 

22 SEC. 306. COMMERCIAL LOW-EARTH ORBIT DEVELOPMENT. 

23 (a) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consulta25 tion with the National Space Council, shall transmit to the 


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1 appropriate committees of Congress a strategy for a robust 

2 and resilient architecture to advance NASA and other rel3 evant Federal government civil research, development, and 

4 operational requirements in low-Earth orbit. The architec5 ture should— 

6 (1) include a mix of crewed and uncrewed plat7 forms; 

8 (2) consider an incremental approach to achiev9 ing the full suite of capabilities necessary to meet 

10 NASA research, development, and operational re11 quirements in low-Earth orbit; 

12 (3) consider the requirements described in sub13 section (b); and 

14 (4) sustain and promote United States leader15 ship and international partnerships in carrying out 

16 low-Earth orbit activities. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

19 transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress and 

20 make available to relevant United States commercial indus21 try entities, a detailed account of the research, development, 

22 and operational requirements for NASA activities in low23 Earth orbit, including any requirements that could affect 

24 the design, development, instrumentation, and long-term 

25 operations of future United States commercial low-Earth 


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1 orbit platforms and supporting capabilities. In preparing 

2 the detailed account of research, development, and oper3 ational requirements, the Administrator may consider the 

4 requirements of other relevant Federal agencies. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator is author6 ized to enter into agreements with one or more United 

7 States commercial providers to enable the development and 

8 certification of, and procure capabilities related to, a 

9 United States private, low-Earth orbit platform or plat10 forms, and to use such platforms or platforms and related 

11 capabilities to achieve the goals set forth in the strategy 

12 under subsection (a), to sustain the priorities described in 

13 section 10816 of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad14 ministration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117– 

15 167; 51 U.S.C. 70901 note) and the activities under the 

16 Human Exploration Roadmap pursuant to section 

17 432(b)(2)(J) of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin18 istration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (Public Law 

19 115–10), and to meet the requirements described in sub20 section (b). 

21 (d) ANCHOR TENANCY.—No later than November 15, 

22 2025, the Administrator shall provide to the appropriate 

23 committees of Congress the following: 

24 (1) The results of a survey and assessment of the 

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1 vided through future United States commercial low2 Earth orbit platforms that shall be prepared by an 

3 independent entity with appropriate expertise; 

4 (2) A detailed justification of compliance with 

5 section 30301 of title 51, United States Code. 

6 (3) A detailed certification and justification of 

7 compliance with section 50503 of title 51, United 

8 States Code. 

9 (e) USE OF UNITED STATES LAUNCH AND REENTRY

10 SERVICES.—As a term of an agreement entered into under 

11 to subsection (c), the Administrator shall include a require12 ment for the use of United States commercially-provided 

13 launch and reentry services to support all Administration 

14 activities under the agreement, in accordance with section 

15 50131 of title 51, United States Code, as applicable. 

16 (f) SAFETY.—When an agreement under subsection (c) 

17 involves a government astronauts (as such term is defined 

18 in section 50902(4) of title 51, United States Code), the Ad19 ministrator shall protect the safety of the government astro20 naut by ensuring that each platform under the agreement 

21 meets all applicable human rating processes, certification, 

22 and safety requirements. 

23 SEC. 307. RISK OF LOSING ACCESS TO LOW-EARTH ORBIT. 

24 Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment 

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1 priate committees of Congress a report that evaluates the 

2 risk posed by a potential gap in access to low-Earth orbit 

3 on science and technology research and development con4 ducted by NASA and private entities. The report shall de5 scribe the following: 

6 (1) The NASA science and exploration programs 

7 that may be adversely affected by the lack of a United 

8 States presence in low-Earth orbit. 

9 (2) The effects that a gap in low-Earth orbit 

10 would have on the United States’ competitiveness in 

11 science and technology and in the development of the 

12 United States-based commercial space industry. 

13 (3) Potential options and associated costs for 

14 preventing such a gap, including the following: 

15 (A) Implementing the strategy described in 

16 section 306. 

17 (B) Supporting the operation of the Inter18 national Space Station beyond 2030. 

19 (C) Increasing investment in and accel20 erating development of commercial space sta21 tions. 

22 (D) Working with international partners to 

23 establish alternative means for conducting re24 search in low-Earth orbit. 


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1 SEC. 308. MAINTENANCE OF SERVICE FOR INTERNATIONAL 

2 SPACE STATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to appropriations for such 

4 purpose, the Administrator shall maintain a flight cadence 

5 necessary to support the health and safety of the Inter6 national Space Station crew and the full and productive 

7 utilization of the International Space Station through its 

8 operational lifetime, consistent with the certification date 

9 of the International Space Station. In maintaining such 

10 flight cadence, the Administrator shall seek to carry out not 

11 less than the average annual cadence for the immediately 

12 preceding three fiscal years of crew and cargo flights on 

13 United States vehicles certified under NASA’s Commercial 

14 Crew and Cargo Program as of the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 (b) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive the re17 quirement under subsection (a) upon submission of a writ18 ten determination to Congress that— 

19 (1) the health and safety of the International 

20 Space Station requires a reduction in flights; or 

21 (2) the International Space Station has con22 cluded its operational lifetime. 

23 SEC. 309. ORBITAL DEBRIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

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

25 that NASA’s research and development activities related to 

26 understanding and mitigating the hazards posed by orbital 


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1 debris are critical to ensuring the continued safe operation 

2 of NASA missions, including the safety of humans living 

3 and working in space, and such activities further enable 

4 scientific and technological advances that can be leveraged 

5 by the broader space operations community to foster a sus6 tainable space environment. 

7 (b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis8 trator shall, to the extent practicable, conduct research and 

9 development to advance scientific understanding and tech10 nological capabilities related to orbital debris characteriza11 tion and mitigation. 

12 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the research and 

13 development described in subsection (b), the Administrator 

14 may consider activities that— 

15 (1) improve the characterization and modeling of 

16 the space environment, including the characterization 

17 and modeling of objects of both natural and anthropo18 genic origins that cannot be directly characterized by 

19 ground-based measurements; 

20 (2) leverage space weather research and develop21 ment elements within NASA’s Heliophysics program, 

22 to the extent appropriate and in accordance with the 

23 priorities established in the most recent solar and 

24 space physics decadal survey; and 


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1 (3) support the application of relevant research, 

2 tools, and technologies to advance orbital debris char3 acterization and mitigation and the transfer of such 

4 research, tools, and technologies to stakeholders, as ap5 propriate and practicable. 

6 SEC. 310. RESTRICTION ON FEDERAL FUNDS RELATING TO 

7 CERTAIN CHINESE SPACE AND SCIENTIFIC 

8 ACTIVITIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—No Federal funds authorized in this 

10 Act may be obligated or expended for the following: 

11 (1) For the National Aeronautics and Space Ad12 ministration (NASA), the Office of Science and Tech13 nology Policy (OSTP), or the National Space Council 

14 (NSC) to develop, design, plan, promulgate, imple15 ment, or execute a bilateral policy, program, order, or 

16 contract of any kind to participate, collaborate, or co17 ordinate bilaterally in any way with China or any 

18 Chinese-owned company unless such activities are 

19 specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (2) To effectuate the hosting of official Chinese 

22 visitors at facilities belonging to or utilized by NASA. 

23 (b) EXCEPTION.—The restrictions described in sub24 section (a) shall not apply to activities with respect to 


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1 which NASA, OSTP, or NSC, after consultation with the 

2 Federal Bureau of Investigation, have certified— 

3 (1) pose no risk of resulting in the transfer of 

4 technology, data, or other information with national 

5 security or economic security implications to China 

6 or a Chinese-owned company; and 

7 (2) will not involve knowing interactions with 

8 officials who have been determined by the United 

9 States to have direct involvement with violations of 

10 human rights. 

11 (c) SUBMISSION.—Any certification made under sub12 section (b) shall be submitted to the Committee on Science, 

13 Space, and Technology and the Committee on Appropria14 tions of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

15 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee 

16 on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Federal Bureau 

17 of Investigation, not later than 30 days prior to the activity 

18 in question. Any such certification shall include a descrip19 tion of the purpose of such activity, its agenda, its major 

20 participants, and its location and timing. 

21 TITLE IV—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

22 SEC. 401. SBIR PHASE II FLEXIBILITY. 

23 Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) 

24 is amended in subsection (cc) by striking ‘‘and the Depart25 ment of Education’’ and inserting ‘‘the Department of EduVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 cation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis2 tration’’. 

3 SEC. 402. LUNAR POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator may enter into an ar6 rangement with an independent entity with appropriate ex7 pertise to conduct a study evaluating the feasibility of using 

8 power purchase agreements to facilitate the development 

9 and deployment of lunar surface power. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The study conducted under subsection 

11 (a) may include the following: 

12 (1) An identification of facilities and technical 

13 capabilities needed to support lunar surface power 

14 production. 

15 (2) A demand forecast for lunar surface power, 

16 including the following: 

17 (A) Forecasted demand of both govern18 mental and nongovernmental users. 

19 (B) To support the following: 

20 (i) Near-term exploration activities. 

21 (ii) Long-duration activities. 

22 (3) Potential policy and legal issues associated 

23 with lunar power purchase agreements between pro24 viders and the United States Government, inter25 national partners, and other private sector entities. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—In conducting the study under 

2 this section, the Administrator may consult with the fol3 lowing: 

4 (1) The Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium. 

5 (2) The Department of Energy, the Department 

6 of Commerce, and other Federal agencies, as deter7 mined appropriate by the Administrator. 

8 (3) International partners. 

9 (4) Relevant private sector entities. 

10 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator may submit 

12 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that de13 scribes the results of the study conducted pursuant to sub14 section (a). 

15 SEC. 403. CRYOGENIC FLUID VALVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW. 

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

17 that advancing cryogenic fluid valve technology would sup18 port the Administration’s efforts to improve cryogenic fluid 

19 management and improve space vehicle reliability and effi20 ciency. 

21 (b) TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH REVIEW.—Not later 

22 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

23 subject to the availability of appropriations, the Adminis24 trator shall enter into an agreement with an independent 

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1 profit organization, as determined appropriate by the Ad2 ministrator, to conduct a review of cryogenic fluid valve 

3 technology in accordance with this section. The organiza4 tion shall review recent advances in technologies related to 

5 cryogenic fluid valve use in space applications and assess 

6 opportunities to improve cryogenic fluid valve technologies, 

7 including support for research and development activities 

8 to advance materials engineering for cryogenic fluid valves. 

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

10 of the enactment of this Act, the organization conducting 

11 the review shall submit to the Administrator and the appro12 priate committees of Congress a report detailing the results 

13 of the review conducted under this section. 

14 SEC. 404. LUNAR COMMUNICATIONS. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

16 (1) Reliable communication and navigation ca17 pabilities are essential for sustainable human and 

18 robotic exploration of the Moon. 

19 (2) Fostering the development of commercial ca20 pabilities can accelerate the deployment of lunar com21 munication and navigation services. 

22 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is authorized to 

23 develop a robust and resilient architecture for lunar com24 munications and navigation to support the Administra25 tion’s human and robotic lunar exploration activities. 


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1 (c) STUDY AND PLAN.—To inform the development in 

2 subsection (a), the Administrator shall develop a study and 

3 prepare a plan to— 

4 (1) enable interoperable communications and 

5 navigation services for cislunar missions; 

6 (2) work with the private sector, other Federal 

7 agencies, and, as appropriate, international partners 

8 to establish technical standards, consistent with sec9 tion 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and 

10 Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–113), pro11 tocols, and interface requirements for cislunar com12 munications and navigation services and systems; 

13 (3) support NASA lunar activities; 

14 (4) leverage NASA’s space technology research, 

15 development, and demonstration activities related to 

16 space communications and navigation; and 

17 (5) evaluate the opportunities, benefits, feasi18 bility, and challenges of potentially using commercial 

19 cislunar communication and navigation services, as 

20 appropriate, by United States commercial providers. 

21 SEC. 405. CELESTIAL TIME STANDARDIZATION. 

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

23 that— 

24 (1) United States leadership of a sustained pres25 ence on the Moon and in deep space exploration is 


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1 important for advancing science, exploration, com2 mercial growth, and international partnership; 

3 (2) the Artemis and Moon to Mars program of 

4 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

5 (NASA) will involve governmental, commercial, aca6 demic, and international partners where there is a 

7 need for interoperability between systems; 

8 (3) the use of Coordinated Universal Time has 

9 challenges when used beyond Earth at other celestial 

10 bodies, due to relativistic effects; 

11 (4) the United States should lead in developing 

12 time standardization for the Moon and other celestial 

13 bodies other than Earth to support interoperability 

14 and safe and sustainable operations; and 

15 (5) development of such standardization will ad16 vance United States leadership in standards setting 

17 for global competitiveness, and will benefit other 

18 spacefaring countries and entities. 

19 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF CELESTIAL TIME STANDARD20 IZATION.—The Administrator of NASA, in consultation 

21 with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

22 Policy, shall carry out the following: 

23 (1) Enable the development of celestial time 

24 standardization, including by leading the study and 

25 definition of a coordinated lunar time. 


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1 (2) Develop a strategy to implement a coordi2 nated lunar time that would support future oper3 ations and infrastructure on and around the Moon. 

4 (3) In carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2)— 

5 (A) coordinate with relevant Federal enti6 ties, including the Department of Commerce, the 

7 Department of Defense, the Department of State, 

8 and the Department of Transportation; and 

9 (B) consult with— 

10 (i) relevant private sector entities; 

11 (ii) relevant academic entities; and 

12 (iii) relevant international standards 

13 setting bodies. 

14 (4) Incorporate the following features of a coordi15 nated lunar time, to the extent practicable, in the de16 velopment of the strategy developed pursuant to para17 graph (2): 

18 (A) Traceability to Coordinated Universal 

19 Time. 

20 (B) Accuracy sufficient to support precision 

21 navigation and science. 

22 (C) Resilience to loss of contact with Earth. 

23 (D) Scalability to space environments be24 yond the Earth-Moon system. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of NASA 

3 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech4 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

5 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

6 a report describing the strategy developed pursuant to sub7 section (b)(2), including relevant plans, timelines, and re8 sources required for the implementation of a coordinated 

9 lunar time pursuant to such strategy. 

10 TITLE V—AERONAUTICS 

11 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

13 (1) ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY; AAM.—The terms 

14 ‘‘advanced air mobility’’ and ‘‘AAM’’ mean a trans15 portation system that is comprised of urban air mo16 bility and regional air mobility using manned or un17 manned aircraft. 

18 (2) REGIONAL AIR MOBILITY.—The term ‘‘re19 gional air mobility’’ means the movement of pas20 sengers or property by air between 2 points using an 

21 airworthy aircraft that— 

22 (A) has advanced technologies, such as dis23 tributed propulsion, vertical takeoff and landing, 

24 powered lift, nontraditional power systems, or 

25 autonomous technologies; 


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1 (B) has a maximum takeoff weight of great2 er than 1,320 pounds; and 

3 (C) is not urban air mobility. 

4 (3) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 

5 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meanings given 

6 such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States 

7 Code. 

8 (4) URBAN AIR MOBILITY.—The term ‘‘urban air 

9 mobility’’ means the movement of passengers or prop10 erty by air between 2 points in different cities or 2 

11 points within the same city using an airworthy air12 craft that— 

13 (A) has advanced technologies, such as dis14 tributed propulsion, vertical takeoff and landing, 

15 powered lift, nontraditional power systems, or 

16 autonomous technologies; and 

17 (B) has a maximum takeoff weight of great18 er than 1,320 pounds. 

19 (5) UTM.—The term ‘‘UTM’’ means an un20 manned aircraft system traffic management system or 

21 service. 

22 SEC. 502. EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS. 

23 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consulta25 tion with industry and academia, shall conduct a study of 


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1 past and future administration of the experimental aircraft 

2 demonstrator projects. 

3 (b) FUTURE DEMONSTRATIONS.—The study under 

4 subsection (a) shall identify systems, capabilities, and tech5 nologies that could be viable candidates for maturation and 

6 demonstration through the development of an experimental 

7 aircraft demonstrator. Such systems, capabilities, and tech8 nologies may include technological advancements related to 

9 structures, aerodynamics, propulsion, controls, and autono10 mous capabilities. The study shall include a description of 

11 criteria and performance metrics used to determine the 

12 readiness of a system, capability, or technology to be dem13 onstrated on a future experimental aircraft demonstrator. 

14 (c) LESSONS LEARNED.—The study under subsection 

15 (a) also shall include an assessment of lessons learned from 

16 the Administration’s previous experimental aircraft dem17 onstration projects over the last decade, including the 

18 projects set forth under section 10831 of the National Aero19 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

20 2022 (Public Law 117–167). This assessment shall in21 clude— 

22 (1) a quantitative assessment of each experi23 mental aircraft demonstration project’s ability to 

24 meet cost, schedule and performance goals, as defined 

25 at the time of project confirmation; 


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1 (2) the extent to which the project’s objectives or 

2 performance goals were changed or descoped; 

3 (3) the extent to which the system, capability, or 

4 technology that was the subject of the project was ma5 tured as a result of its demonstration on an experi6 mental aircraft demonstrator; and 

7 (4) the extent to which the project has contrib8 uted to advancing the capabilities of and innovation 

9 in the United States aircraft and aviation industries. 

10 SEC. 503. HYPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

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

12 that— 

13 (1) basic and applied hypersonic research— 

14 (A) is critical for enabling the development 

15 of advanced high-speed aeronautical and space 

16 systems; and 

17 (B) can improve understanding of technical 

18 challenges related to high-speed and reusable ve19 hicle technologies, including those related to pro20 pulsion, noise, advanced materials, and entry, 

21 descent, and landing operations; 

22 (2) investments in hypersonic research are crit23 ical to sustaining United States global leadership in 

24 space and aeronautics; and 


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1 (3) NASA efforts to study hypersonic research 

2 should complement research supported by the Depart3 ment of Defense and, when appropriate, be conducted 

4 in partnership with universities and industry. 

5 (b) HYPERSONIC RESEARCH.—The Administrator, in 

6 coordination with the Administrator of the Federal Avia7 tion Administration and the Secretary of the Department 

8 of Defense, and in consultation with industry and aca9 demia, shall continue to carry out basic and applied 

10 hypersonic research. 

11 (c) HYPERSONIC RESEARCH ROADMAP.—Not later 

12 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

13 the Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator 

14 of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Secretary 

15 of the Department of Defense, and with industry and aca16 demic institutions, shall update the hypersonic research 

17 roadmap required under section 603 of the National Aero18 nautics and Space Administration Transition Authoriza19 tion Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–10; 51 U.S.C. 20302 

20 note). In updating the research roadmap, the Administrator 

21 may consider advancements in— 

22 (1) system level design, analysis, and validation 

23 of hypersonic aircraft technologies; 

24 (2) propulsion capabilities and technologies; 


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1 (3) vehicle technologies to include vehicle flow 

2 physics and vehicle thermal management associated 

3 with aerodynamic heating; 

4 (4) advanced materials, including materials ca5 pable of withstanding high temperatures and dem6 onstrating durable materials, and efforts to create 

7 models and simulate use of such materials; and 

8 (5) other areas of hypersonic research as deter9 mined appropriate by the Administrator. 

10 (d) REPORT AND BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis12 trator shall— 

13 (1) transmit the updated research roadmap 

14 under subsection (c) to the appropriate committees of 

15 Congress; and 

16 (2) provide a briefing on the research conducted 

17 under subsection (b), including how such research 

18 aligns with the updated research roadmap under sub19 section (c). 

20 SEC. 504. ADVANCED MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING 

21 TECHNOLOGY. 

22 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

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

24 the appropriate committees of Congress on the status of 

25 NASA activities relating to section 10831(e), the Advanced 


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1 Materials and Manufacturing Technology Program, and 

2 section 10831(f), regarding relevant Research Partnerships, 

3 as set forth in the National Aeronautics and Space Admin4 istration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167). 

5 SEC. 505. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM AND ADVANCED 

6 AIR MOBILITY. 

7 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that research and devel8 opment related to autonomous aviation is vital to ensure 

9 United States competitiveness as the National Airspace 

10 System evolves from trajectory-based operations to collabo11 rative and highly automated operations. 

12 (b) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall, in col13 laboration with the Administrator of Federal Aviation Ad14 ministration, the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

15 and appropriate representatives of academia and industry, 

16 continue its research on unmanned aircraft systems and ad17 vanced air mobility, including research related to UTM and 

18 autonomous capabilities, as practicable. 

19 (c) BRIEF.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief 

21 the appropriate committees of Congress on the progress of 

22 the research under subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 506. ADVANCED CAPABILITIES FOR EMERGENCY RE2 SPONSE OPERATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall leverage 

4 NASA-developed tools and technologies to conduct research 

5 and development activities under the Advanced Capabilities 

6 for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project, or 

7 appropriate successor project or projects, to improve aerial 

8 responses to wildfires. 

9 (b) GOALS.—The research and development activities 

10 conducted under subsection (a) may include the following: 

11 (1) Advanced aircraft technologies and airspace 

12 management efforts to assist in the management, 

13 deconfliction, and coordination of aerial assets during 

14 wildfire response efforts. 

15 (2) Information sharing and real-time data ex16 change for wildfire response teams. 

17 (3) Development of an interoperable platform to 

18 provide situational awareness of aerial assets during 

19 wildfire response. 

20 (4) Establishment of a multi-agency concept of 

21 operations, which may involve Federal, State, and 

22 local government agencies, to enable coordination of 

23 aerial activities for wildfire response. 

24 (c) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

25 Administrator— 


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1 (1) may coordinate and collaborate with other 

2 Federal, State, and local government agencies, re3 gional organizations, and commercial partners and 

4 academic institutions involved in wildfire manage5 ment; and 

6 (2) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

7 consult with the heads of other Federal departments 

8 and agencies to avoid duplication of activities. 

9 (d) PROHIBITION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

11 subsection, the Administrator may not procure an un12 manned aircraft system to conduct activities described 

13 in this section if such unmanned aircraft system is 

14 manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign enti15 ty. 

16 (2) EXEMPTION.—The Administrator may waive 

17 the prohibition under paragraph (1) on a case-by-case 

18 basis if the Administrator— 

19 (A) determines that the procurement of an 

20 unmanned aircraft system is— 

21 (i) in the national interest of the 

22 United States; and 

23 (ii) necessary for the sole purpose of 

24 improving aerial responses to wildfires; and 


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1 (B) notifies the Committee on Science, 

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

4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate not 

5 later than 30 days after a determination in the 

6 affirmative under subparagraph (A). 

7 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

9 until December 31, 2029, the Administrator shall submit 

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

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

12 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describ13 ing the activities, including results, carried out pursuant 

14 to this section 2. Each such report, at minimum, shall con15 tain the following: 

16 (1) A description of any research and develop17 ment activities. 

18 (2) A description of the Administrator’s activi19 ties pursuant to subsection (c). 

20 (3) An identification of any topics related to im21 provement of aerial responses to wildfires that could 

22 benefit from further research. 

23 (4) A description of any continuing efforts under 

24 this section. 


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1 (5) Any other information determined appro2 priate by the Administrator. 

3 (f) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

4 (1) COVERED FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term ‘‘cov5 ered foreign entity’’ has the meaning given such term 

6 in section 1832 of the National Defense Authorization 

7 Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31). 

8 (2) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 

9 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 

10 such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States 

11 Code. 

12 SEC. 507. HYDROGEN AVIATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of appro14 priations for such purpose, and taking into consideration 

15 the strategy developed under and research conducted pursu16 ant to section 1019 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 

17 (Public Law 118–63), the Administrator may carry out re18 search on emerging technologies related to hydrogen avia19 tion. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

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

22 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 

23 findings of the research under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 508. HIGH-PERFORMANCE CHASE AIRCRAFT. 

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

3 that— 

4 (1) NASA programs benefit from and rely upon 

5 high-performance chase aircraft for providing re6 search and mission support; and 

7 (2) NASA currently faces maintenance challenges 

8 related to its aging high-performance aircraft fleet, 

9 which is resulting in increased program costs. 

10 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act and biannually thereafter, the 

12 Administrator shall provide to the appropriate committees 

13 of Congress a briefing on the strategy of NASA relating to 

14 the following: 

15 (1) Collaboration with the Department of De16 fense on efforts for research and flight asset sharing 

17 to support NASA’s research mission support and pilot 

18 training requirements. 

19 (2) Efforts to seek aircraft parts and engines to 

20 keep NASA’s current fleet of chase aircraft oper21 ational, including potential use of 3D additive manu22 factured parts. 

23 (3) Strategies for acquiring or using through 

24 loan, sharing, or other agreements, as appropriate, 

25 Department of Defense aircraft to support NASA’s re26 search and mission support activities, as required. 


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1 SEC. 509. COLLABORATION WITH ACADEMIA. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) colleges and universities are hubs of research 

4 and innovation, with expertise in various fields of 

5 science and aeronautics; 

6 (2) collaborating with academia allows NASA to 

7 access cutting-edge research and expertise that can 

8 further enable advancements in aeronautics research 

9 and technology and address complex aeronautical 

10 challenges; 

11 (3) a cutting-edge civil aeronautics research and 

12 development program can inspire the next generation 

13 to pursue education and careers in science, tech14 nology, engineering, and mathematics, including aer15 onautics; and 

16 (4) opportunities for students to participate in 

17 NASA-supported academic research and development 

18 projects, such as the University Leadership Initiative, 

19 the University Students Research Challenge, and re20 lated aeronautic projects and competitions, contrib21 utes to training the next generation and developing 

22 the aeronautics workforce to support continued 

23 United States leadership and economic growth in 

24 civil aeronautics and aviation. 


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1 SEC. 510. NATIONAL STUDENT UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYS2 TEMS COMPETITION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall lead a na4 tional pilot program to carry out unmanned aircraft sys5 tems technology competitions for students at the high school 

6 and undergraduate level (in this section referred to as ‘‘com7 petitions’’) in which students shall compete to design, cre8 ate, and demonstrate an unmanned aircraft system. 

9 (b) COMPETITION ADMINISTRATION.—The Adminis10 trator shall award, on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis, 

11 a grant to a nonprofit organization, an institution of high12 er education, or a consortium thereof, to administer the 

13 pilot program under subsection (a) (in this section referred 

14 to as the ‘‘competition administrator’’). 

15 (c) AWARD CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall en16 sure that the award decision made under subsection (b) take 

17 into account the extent to which the eligible entity— 

18 (1) identifies a plan for engaging eligible institu19 tions from diverse geographic areas, including poor, 

20 rural, and Tribal communities; and 

21 (2) identifies a plan for connecting science, tech22 nology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) activities 

23 to Administration missions and centers. 

24 (d) COMPETITION ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSIBIL25 ITIES.—In carrying out the pilot program, the competition 

26 administrator shall be responsible for the following: 


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1 (1) Awarding grants to institutions of higher 

2 education or nonprofit organizations (or a consortium 

3 thereof) on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis to host 

4 individual competitions. 

5 (2) Developing STEM curriculum to be utilized 

6 by the competition awardees to help students make the 

7 connection to the design, construction, and dem8 onstration of unmanned aircraft systems. 

9 (3) Developing curriculum to assist students in 

10 making real-world connections to STEM content and 

11 educate students on the relevance and significance of 

12 STEM careers. 

13 (4) Ensuring competition awardees are sup14 porting the activities specified in subsection (f). 

15 (5) Conducting performance evaluations of com16 petitions, including data collection, on the following: 

17 (A) The number of students engaged. 

18 (B) Geographic and institutional diversity 

19 of participating schools and institutions of high20 er education. 

21 (6) Any other activities the Administrator finds 

22 necessary to ensure the competitions are successful. 

23 (e) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding 

24 grants in subsection (d), the competition administrator 

25 shall consider applications that include a partnership with 


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1 that State’s space grant program under chapter 403 of title 

2 51, United States Code. 

3 (f) PERMITTED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the pilot 

4 program under subsection (a), the competition adminis5 trator shall ensure competitions occurring at both the high 

6 school and undergraduate levels— 

7 (1) allow students to design, construct, and dem8 onstrate an unmanned aircraft system; 

9 (2) allow students to compete with other teams 

10 in the performance of the constructed unmanned air11 craft system; 

12 (3) connect to relevant missions and NASA Cen13 ter activities of the Administration; 

14 (4) connect relevant STEM curriculum to the de15 sign, construction, and demonstration of unmanned 

16 aircraft systems; 

17 (5) support activities designed to help students 

18 make real-world connections to STEM content and 

19 educate students on the relevance and significance of 

20 STEM careers; 

21 (6) are geographically dispersed in order to serve 

22 a broad student population, including those in rural 

23 and underserved communities; and 


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1 (7) encourage, to the greatest extent practicable, 

2 the participation of students from groups historically 

3 underrepresented in STEM. 

4 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than six months 

5 after the end of the pilot program under subsection (a), the 

6 Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees 

7 of Congress a report describing the accomplishments, lessons 

8 learned, any challenges in the implementation of the pilot 

9 program, and recommendations for whether to continue the 

10 pilot program. 

11 (h) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible in12 stitution’’ means— 

13 (1) an institution of higher education; 

14 (2) a nonprofit research institution; 

15 (3) a high school; or 

16 (4) a consortium of 2 or more entities described 

17 in any of paragraphs (1) through (3). 

18 SEC. 511. DECADAL SURVEY FOR NATIONAL AERONAUTICS 

19 RESEARCH AND PRIORITIES REVIEW. 

20 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds the following: 

21 (1) Engaging the science and engineering com22 munities, along with industry, through the develop23 ment of a National Academies of Science, Engineer24 ing, and Medicine decadal survey in aeronautics re25 search and development can provide a science and enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 gineering community consensus on key research and 

2 development priorities in national civil aeronautics 

3 programs. 

4 (2) A decadal survey entails a comprehensive re5 view of and strategy and priorities for civil national 

6 aeronautics research and development and prioritizes 

7 for the next decade. 

8 (3) A decadal survey for civil aeronautics re9 search and development can serve as a guiding frame10 work for strategic planning and resource allocation in 

11 the field of civil aeronautics for the coming decade. 

12 (b) STUDY.—The Administrator in consultation with 

13 the heads of other relevant Federal Government agencies 

14 and in accordance with section 20305 of title 51. United 

15 States Code, shall seek to enter into an arrangement with 

16 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med17 icine (in this section referred to as the ‘‘National Acad18 emies’’) to conduct a decadal survey of civil aeronautics re19 search and development for the 2025—2035 decade. The 

20 survey shall recommend research priorities to sustain 

21 United States leadership in civil aeronautics research and 

22 development and support a safe and sustainable future for 

23 aviation. The survey may also include recommendations re24 lated to the dissemination and transition of such research 

25 and development to the United States commercial aviation 


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1 and aircraft industries, to enabling innovation, and to en2 suring a world-class workforce for aeronautics research and 

3 development and related United States commercial indus4 tries and activities. 

5 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub7 mit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

8 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the results 

10 of such survey, including any recommendations. 

11 SEC. 512. MAKING ADVANCEMENTS IN COMMERCIAL 

12 HYPERSONICS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the hypersonics re14 search in section 40112(d) of title 51, United States Code, 

15 the Administrator may establish the Making Advancements 

16 in Commercial Hypersonics Program (in this section re17 ferred to as the ‘‘Program’’), which shall facilitate opportu18 nities for testing of high-speed aircraft and other tech19 nologies that advance scientific research and technology de20 velopment related to hypersonic aircraft. 

21 (b) LIMITATION.—The Program under subsection (a) 

22 shall not fund the development of technologies that are sup23 ported by such testing opportunities. 

24 (c) PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, acting through 


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1 the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, shall develop 

2 a strategic plan for activities under subsection (a) that 

3 aligns with the research roadmap under section 503 of this 

4 Act. 

5 (d) COORDINATION, CONSULTATION AND COLLABORA6 TION.— 

7 (1) The Administrator shall ensure coordination 

8 between the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

9 and other Mission Directorates, as appropriate, to 

10 identify technologies eligible for testing opportunities 

11 under the Program. 

12 (2) The Administrator shall consult and seek to 

13 collaborate with, as appropriate, with the Secretary of 

14 Defense and the Administrator of the Federal Avia15 tion Administration on activities related to the Pro16 gram, including development, testing, and evaluation 

17 of high-speed aircraft and related technologies. 

18 (e) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit to the 

19 appropriate committees of Congress, and the Committee on 

20 Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate— 

22 (1) not later than 80 days after the date of the 

23 enactment of this section, a report that— 

24 (A) describes activities of the program es25 tablished under subsection (a); and 


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1 (B) includes the strategic plan produced 

2 under subsection (c); and 

3 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of the en4 actment of this Act, and annually thereafter, a report 

5 describing progress in carrying out the program, in6 cluding the number and type of testing opportunities 

7 executed in the previous fiscal year and planned for 

8 the upcoming fiscal year. 

9 (f) RESEARCH SECURITY.—Nothing under this section 

10 authorizes the Administrator to develop, implement, or exe11 cute an agreement related to technologies under this section 

12 with any entity of concern, a foreign business entity, or 

13 a foreign country of concern. 

14 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

15 (1) ENTITY OF CONCERN.—the term ‘‘entity of 

16 concern’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

17 10114 of the Research and Development, Competition, 

18 and Innovation Act (Public Law 117–167; 42 U.S.C. 

19 18912). 

20 (2) FOREIGN BUSINESS ENTITY.—The term ‘‘for21 eign business entity’’ means an entity that is major22 ity-owned or majority-controlled (as such term is de23 fined in section 800.208 of title 31, Code of Federal 

24 Regulations, or a successor regulation), or minority 

25 owned greater than 25 percent by— 


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1 (A) any governmental organization of a for2 eign country of concern; or 

3 (B) any other entity that is— 

4 (i) known to be owned or controlled by 

5 any governmental organization of a foreign 

6 country of concern; or 

7 (ii) organized under, or otherwise sub8 ject to, the laws of a foreign country of con9 cern. 

10 (3) FOREIGN COUNTRY OF CONCERN.—The term 

11 ‘‘foreign country of concern’’ has the meaning given 

12 such term in section 9901 of title XCIX of division 

13 H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National De14 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 

15 U.S.C. 4651). 

16 (4) HIGH-SPEED AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘high17 speed aircraft’’ has the meaning given such term in 

18 section 1009 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization 

19 Act of 2024 (Public Law 118–63). 

20 TITLE VI—SCIENCE 

21 SEC. 601. MAINTAINING A BALANCED SCIENCE PORTFOLIO. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress reaffirms the 

23 sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) a balanced and adequately funded set of ac25 tivities consisting of research and analysis grant proVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 grams, technology development, suborbital research 

2 activities, and small, medium, and large space mis3 sions, contributes to a robust and productive science 

4 program and serves as a catalyst for innovation and 

5 discovery; and 

6 (2) the Administrator should set science prior7 ities by following the recommendations and guidance 

8 provided by the scientific community through the Na9 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi10 cine decadal surveys. 

11 (b) POLICY REAFFIRMATION.—Congress reaffirms the 

12 policy of the United States set forth in section 501(c) of 

13 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tran14 sition Authorization Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–10; 51 

15 U.S.C. 20302 note), which states, ‘‘It is the policy of the 

16 United States to ensure, to the extent practicable, a steady 

17 cadence of large, medium, and small science missions’’. 

18 SEC. 602. IMPLEMENTATION OF SCIENCE MISSION COST19 CAPS. 

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

21 that— 

22 (1) NASA science missions address compelling 

23 scientific questions prioritized by the National Acad24 emies decadal surveys, and often such missions exceed 


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1 expectations in terms of performance, longevity, and 

2 scientific impact; 

3 (2) the Administrator should continue to pursue 

4 an ambitious science program while also seeking to 

5 avoid excessive cost growth that has the potential to 

6 affect the balance across the Science portfolio and 

7 within the Science Divisions; 

8 (3) audits by the NASA Inspector General and 

9 the Government Accountability Office have reported 

10 that early cost estimates for missions in the prelimi11 nary phases of conception and development are im12 mature and unreliable, and the cost of a mission 

13 typically is not well-understood until the project is 

14 further along in the development process; 

15 (4) cost growth of a mission beyond its early cost 

16 estimates is a challenge for budget planning and has 

17 the potential to affect other missions in the Science 

18 Mission Directorate portfolio, including through 

19 delays to future mission solicitations; and 

20 (5) relying on early cost estimates made prior to 

21 preliminary design review for science missions which 

22 then experience such cost growth may disincentivize 

23 program and cost discipline moving forward. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 


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1 transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re2 view of NASA practices related to establishment of and com3 pliance with cost caps of competitively-selected, principal 

4 investigator-led science missions. The review shall— 

5 (1) assess current cost cap values and determine 

6 whether existing cost-cap amounts are appropriate for 

7 different classes of missions; 

8 (2) consider the effectiveness of cost caps in 

9 maintaining a varied and balanced portfolio of mis10 sion types within the Science Mission Directorate; 

11 (3) describe the information NASA requires as 

12 part of a proposal submission related to project cost 

13 estimates and proposal compliance with cost caps, 

14 and assess whether such required information pro15 vides sufficient insight or confidence in the estimates; 

16 (4) consider NASA processes for assessing pro17 posed cost estimates and the accuracy of such assess18 ments for past competitively-selected, principal inves19 tigator-led science missions; and 

20 (5) for the period starting on January 1, 2000 

21 and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act— 

22 (A) a list of— 

23 (i) competitively-selected, principal in24 vestigator-led science missions for which 


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1 costs have exceeded the associated cost cap; 

2 and 

3 (ii) reason the mission costs exceeded 

4 the cost-cap; 

5 (B) an assessment of NASA’s role in pre6 dicting, preventing, or managing competitively7 selected, principal investigator-led science mis8 sion cost increases; and 

9 (C) a description of the impact of increased 

10 competitively-selected, principal investigator-led 

11 science mission costs beyond the cost caps on— 

12 (i) the missions for which the cost cap 

13 has been breached; and 

14 (ii) other missions within the applica15 ble division and within the Science Mission 

16 Directorate. 

17 SEC. 603. REEXAMINATION OF DECADAL SURVEYS. 

18 Title 51, United States Code, is amended in section 

19 20305(c) by inserting ‘‘, significant changes to the NASA 

20 budget’’ after ‘‘growth’’. 

21 SEC. 604. LANDSAT. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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

24 the appropriate committees of Congress describing— 


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1 (1) the Administrator’s efforts to comply with 

2 section 60134 of title 51, United States Code; 

3 (2) aspects of Landsat NEXT or any other 

4 Landsat observations that— 

5 (A) could be provided by private sector 

6 data-buys or service procurements; and 

7 (B) could— 

8 (i) meet associated science require9 ments while maintaining or exceeding the 

10 quality, integrity, and continuity of the 

11 Landsat observational capabilities and per12 formance, including requirements necessary 

13 to ensure high-quality calibrated data con14 tinuity and traceability with the 50-year 

15 Landsat data record; and 

16 (ii) comply with nondiscriminatory 

17 availability of unenhanced data and public 

18 archiving of data pursuant to section 60141 

19 and 60142 of title 51, United States Code, 

20 and all other relevant federal laws, regula21 tions, and policies related to open science 

22 and data accessibility; 

23 (3) any potential tradeoffs or other impacts of 

24 subparagraphs (A) or (B) that could reduce the ben25 efit of Landsat data for scientific and applied uses or 


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1 reduce the Federal Government’s ability to make such 

2 data available for the widest possible use; and 

3 (4) recommendations and opportunities for the 

4 Federal Government to mitigate potential tradeoffs or 

5 impacts identified under paragraph (3) or to other6 wise facilitate private sector data-buys or service pro7 curements. 

8 SEC. 605. PRIVATE EARTH OBSERVATION DATA. 

9 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 702 of the National Aero10 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

11 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18371) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director of OSTP’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of OSTP’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In updating the civil Earth 

17 observation strategic implementation plan pursuant to sub18 section (a), the Director of the Office of Science and Tech19 nology Policy shall consider commercial Earth observation 

20 data, as appropriate, that can be purchased or accessed by 

21 the Federal Government to meet Earth observation require22 ments.’’. 

23 (b) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE24 PORT.—Not later than 12 months after the release of the 

25 next civil Earth observation strategic implementation plan 


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1 update under section 702(a) of the National Aeronautics 

2 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

3 U.S.C. 18371(a)), the Comptroller General shall report to 

4 the appropriate committees of Congress an assessment of the 

5 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s 

6 implementation of section 702(b) of the National Aero7 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

8 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18371(b)), as amended. 

9 SEC. 606. COMMERCIAL SATELLITE DATA. 

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

11 (1) Section 60501 of title 51, United States 

12 Code, states that the goal for the Earth Science pro13 gram of NASA shall be to pursue a program of Earth 

14 observations, research, and applications activities to 

15 better understand the Earth, how it supports life, and 

16 how human activities affect its ability to do so in the 

17 future. 

18 (2) Section 50115 of title 51, United States 

19 Code, states that the Administrator of NASA shall, to 

20 the extent possible and while satisfying the scientific 

21 or educational requirements of NASA, and where ap22 propriate, of other Federal agencies and scientific re23 searchers, acquire, where cost effective, space-based 

24 and airborne commercial Earth remote sensing data, 


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1 services, distribution, and applications from a com2 mercial provider. 

3 (3) The Administrator of NASA established the 

4 Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Pilot Pro5 gram in 2019 to identify, validate, and acquire from 

6 commercial sources data that support the Earth 

7 science research and application goals. 

8 (4) The Administrator of NASA has— 

9 (A) determined that the pilot program de10 scribed in paragraph (3) has been a success, as 

11 described in the final evaluation entitled ‘‘Com12 mercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program 

13 Pilot Evaluation Report’’ issued in 2020; 

14 (B) established a formal process for evalu15 ating and onboarding new commercial vendors 

16 in such pilot program; 

17 (C) increased the number of commercial 

18 vendors and commercial data products available 

19 through such pilot program; and 

20 (D) expanded procurement arrangements 

21 with commercial vendors to broaden user access 

22 to provide commercial Earth remote sensing 

23 data and imagery to federally funded research24 ers. 


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1 (b) COMMERCIAL SATELLITE DATA ACQUISITION PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 603 of title 51, 

4 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 60307. Commercial satellite data acquisition pro7 gram 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

9 within the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission 

10 Directorate a program to acquire and disseminate cost-ef11 fective and appropriate commercial Earth remote sensing 

12 data and imagery in order to satisfy the scientific, oper13 ational, and educational requirements of the Administra14 tion, and where appropriate, of other Federal agencies and 

15 scientific researchers to augment or complement the suite 

16 of Earth observations acquired by the Administration, other 

17 United States Government agencies, and international 

18 partners. 

19 ‘‘(b) DATA PUBLICATION AND TRANSPARENCY.—The 

20 terms and conditions of commercial Earth remote sensing 

21 data and imagery acquisitions under the program described 

22 in subsection (a) shall not prevent— 

23 ‘‘(1) the publication of commercial data or im24 agery for scientific purposes; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) the publication of information that is de2 rived from, incorporates, or enhances the original 

3 commercial data or imagery of a vendor. 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION.—In carrying out the program 

5 under this section, the Administrator may— 

6 ‘‘(1) procure the commercial Earth remote sens7 ing data and imagery from commercial vendors to 

8 advance scientific research and applications in ac9 cordance with subsection (a); and 

10 ‘‘(2) establish or modify end-use license terms 

11 and conditions to allow for the widest-possible use of 

12 procured commercial Earth remote sensing data and 

13 imagery by individuals other than NASA-funded 

14 users, consistent with the goals of the program. 

15 ‘‘(d) UNITED STATES VENDORS.—Commercial Earth 

16 remote sensing data and imagery referred to in subsections 

17 (a) and (c) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be 

18 procured from United States vendors. 

19 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 

21 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com23 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

24 Representatives a report that includes the following infor25 mation regarding the agreements, vendors, license terms, 


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1 and uses of commercial Earth remote sensing data and im2 agery under this section: 

3 ‘‘(1)(A) In the case of the initial report, a list 

4 of all agreements that are providing commercial 

5 Earth remote sensing data and imagery to NASA as 

6 of the date of the report. 

7 ‘‘(B) For each subsequent report, a list of all 

8 agreements that have provided commercial Earth re9 mote sensing data and imagery to NASA during the 

10 reporting period. 

11 ‘‘(2) A description of the end-use license terms 

12 and conditions for each such vendor. 

13 ‘‘(3) A description of the manner in which each 

14 such agreement is advancing scientific research and 

15 applications, including priorities recommended by the 

16 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

17 Medicine decadal surveys. 

18 ‘‘(4) Information specifying whether the Admin19 istrator has entered into an agreement with a com20 mercial vendor or a Federal agency that permits the 

21 use of data and imagery by Federal Government em22 ployees, contractors, or non-Federal users.’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con24 tents for chapter 603 of title 51, United States Code, 


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1 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘60307. Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program.’’. 

3 SEC. 607. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION MEASUREMENTS. 

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

5 that— 

6 (1) observation and measurement of greenhouse 

7 gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are of crit8 ical importance to understand the sources of these 

9 emissions; 

10 (2) additional tools can improve the precise de11 tection of methane leaks from natural gas lines and 

12 production facilities to reduce economic losses and to 

13 reduce unintentional release of this potent greenhouse 

14 gas; 

15 (3) observation of such gases can be conducted 

16 with a combination of space-based, airborne, and 

17 ground-based instruments; 

18 (4) in 2022, NASA cancelled the Geostationary 

19 Carbon Cycle Observatory, a competitively-selected, 

20 Principal Investigator-led instrument under develop21 ment that is designed to make space-based observa22 tions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, 

23 carbon monoxide, and methane, as well as vegetation 

24 health over the western hemisphere from geosynchro25 nous orbit; and 


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1 (5) in 2023, the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Ob2 servatory PI-led project team delivered an 

3 unvalidated instrument assembly and flight spares to 

4 NASA as part of the project closeout activities. 

5 (b) HARDWARE.— 

6 (1) The Administrator shall assess the hardware 

7 and, to the maximum extent practicable, seek to vali8 date the instrument assembly delivered to the Admin9 istration under the contract for the development of 

10 GeoCarb, which shall include an assessment of sci11 entific capabilities of the delivered hardware, includ12 ing potential repurposed uses or science contributions. 

13 (2) The Administrator, within 6 months of the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, shall provide a re15 port to the appropriate committees of Congress re16 garding the results of the assessment conducted pursu17 ant to paragraph (1) and if appropriate based on the 

18 assessment, a list of potential launch opportunities, 

19 including cost and schedule associated with such op20 portunities. 

21 (c) STRATEGY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis24 trator, in consultation with the National Oceanic and 

25 Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of 


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1 Standards and Technology, and other relevant agen2 cies, shall enter into an agreement with the National 

3 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to 

4 develop a science-based strategy to assess and evaluate 

5 the use of present and future greenhouse gas moni6 toring and detection capabilities, including ground7 based, airborne, and space-based sensors and integra8 tion of data relating to such monitoring and detection 

9 from other indicators, to detect large methane emis10 sion events (commonly referred to as ‘‘methane super11 emitters’’). 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy described in 

13 subsection (a) shall include the following elements: 

14 (A) Development of a proposed definition 

15 for the term ‘‘methane super-emitter’’. 

16 (B) Examination of whether and how cur17 rent and planned Federal greenhouse gas moni18 toring and detection capabilities may be lever19 aged to monitor and detect methane super20 emitters, and identify key gaps in such capabili21 ties. 

22 (C) Examination of the effectiveness of the 

23 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and Greenhouse Gas 

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1 tion for greenhouse gas monitoring and detec2 tion, data standards, stewardship, and data inte3 gration, including activities related to moni4 toring and detecting methane super-emitters. 

5 (D) Examination of actions taken by Fed6 eral agencies and departments in response to the 

7 National Strategy to Advance an Integrated U.S. 

8 Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and 

9 Information System, including progress towards 

10 pathways to enhance the scientific and oper11 ational value of information regarding methane 

12 super-emitters. 

13 (E) Consideration of options for the Federal 

14 Government to partner with nongovernmental 

15 entities, including State and local governments, 

16 academia, nonprofit organizations, commercial 

17 industry, and international organizations, to ef18 fectively leverage greenhouse gas monitoring and 

19 detection capabilities to monitor and detect 

20 methane super-emitters. 

21 (F) Consideration of options for the Federal 

22 Government to validate and verify technologies 

23 and data developed or collects by nongovern24 mental entities, academia, nonprofit organiza25 tions, commercial industry, and international 


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1 organizations related to monitoring and detect2 ing methane super-emitters. 

3 (G) Recommendations regarding the activi4 ties under subparagraphs (A) through (F), as 

5 appropriate. 

6 (d) USE OF STRATEGY.—The Administrator may use 

7 the strategy described in subsection (a) to inform the plan8 ning of research and development activities regarding 

9 greenhouse gas monitoring and detection, including meth10 ane super-emitters. 

11 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

12 of the execution of the agreement between the Administrator 

13 and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

14 Medicine under subsection (a), the National Academies 

15 shall submit to the Administrator, the Committee on 

16 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa17 tives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans18 portation of the Senate a report on the strategy described 

19 in subsection (a). 

20 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) GREENHOUSE GAS MONITORING AND DETEC22 TION.—The term ‘‘greenhouse gas monitoring and de23 tection’’ means the direct observation, from space or 

24 in-situ, or collection of measurement data pertaining 

25 to, greenhouse gas emissions and levels. 


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1 (2) GEOCARB.—The term ‘‘GeoCarb’’ shall mean 

2 the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory. 

3 SEC. 608. NASA DATA FOR AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) NASA has decades of experience in space6 based scientific Earth observations and measure7 ments, including data, trends and modeling. 

8 (2) NASA Earth science data, which includes 

9 data on precipitation, temperature, 

10 evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and vegetation 

11 health, has been used to inform the decisionmaking of 

12 agricultural producers. 

13 (3) NASA applies its scientific data and models 

14 to inform and support the agricultural community 

15 and engages in innovative collaborations such as the 

16 NASA Acres and NASA Harvest agricultural con17 sortia. 

18 (4) NASA uses space-based Earth observations 

19 and science and applications to support farmers in 

20 efforts to conserve water and other resources, improve 

21 farm management and crop yield, and facilitate the 

22 stability of the national food supply. 

23 (5) NASA’s upcoming Earth System Observatory 

24 will benefit the agricultural community by improving 

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1 standing cropland conditions, water availability, 

2 early onset crop disease, soil moisture, and other crop 

3 and rangeland management indicators. 

4 (6) Increased engagement between NASA and the 

5 agricultural community can support agricultural 

6 producers, bolster the national food supply, and im7 prove agricultural research, science, and technology. 

8 (b) DATA DISSEMINATION.—NASA shall continue to 

9 partner with other relevant Federal agencies, as practicable, 

10 to disseminate water, soil, vegetation, land-use, and other 

11 relevant NASA Earth observation and science data, infor12 mation and tools to support American agricultural pro13 ducers. Such partnerships may include activities such as— 

14 (1) continuing the leverage NASA Earth science 

15 water data and information to enable efficient use of 

16 resources, inform irrigation decisions, and support 

17 local innovation and control of water management; 

18 (2) supporting agriculture decisionmaking by in19 creasing the accessibility and useability of NASA 

20 Earth science data, information, and tools relevant to 

21 the impact of disease, weather, precipitation, and 

22 other environmental factors on agricultural produc23 tion; or 

24 (3) making available, to the greatest extent prac25 ticable, NASA earth science measurements and data 


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1 to advance precision agricultural capabilities relevant 

2 to the needs and requirements of agricultural pro3 ducers. 

4 (c) APPLICATION OF SPACE-BASED DATA.—The Ad5 ministrator shall, in furtherance of the goal for the NASA’s 

6 Earth science and applications program of securing prac7 tical benefits for society, as set forth in section 60501 of 

8 title 51, United States Code, continue to collaborate with 

9 relevant Federal agencies to develop mechanisms to transi10 tion, as appropriate, relevant NASA Earth science research 

11 findings, data, information, models, and capabilities to 

12 operational governmental and private sector entities focused 

13 on addressing the needs of the agricultural user community. 

14 (d) PARTNERING.—In carrying out subsections (b) and 

15 (d), NASA shall, to the extent practicable and in collabora16 tion with other relevant Federal agencies, where appro17 priate, continue to engage State and local government agen18 cies, institutions of higher education, agriculture producer 

19 organizations, and other relevant stakeholder and user com20 munities from the public and private sectors to improve dis21 semination of NASA Earth science data, information, and 

22 tools relevant to the needs of agricultural producers and the 

23 agriculture industry, in accordance with the goal for the 

24 Administration’s Earth science and applications program 

25 set forth in section 60501 of title 51, United States Code, 


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1 and relevant recommendations of the most recent decadal 

2 survey on Earth science and applications from space. 

3 SEC. 609. PLANETARY SCIENCE PORTFOLIO. 

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

5 that— 

6 (1) planetary science missions advance the sci7 entific understanding of the solar system and the 

8 place of humans in it while also advancing the design 

9 and operations of spacecraft and robotic engineering; 

10 and 

11 (2) Discovery, New Frontiers, and Flagship pro12 grams allow NASA to fund a range of missions that 

13 vary in size, cost, and complexity; maintaining bal14 ance across these mission classes allows for a broad 

15 scope of discoveries and scientific advances. 

16 (b) MISSION PRIORITIES REAFFIRMATION.—Congress 

17 reaffirms the direction in section 502(b)(1) of the National 

18 Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Author19 ization Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–10; 51 U.S.C. 20302 

20 note) that— 

21 (1) in accordance with the priorities established 

22 in the most recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey, 

23 The Administrator shall ensure, to the greatest extent 

24 practicable, the completion of a balanced set of Dis25 covery, New Frontiers, and Flagship missions at the 


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1 cadence recommended by the most recent Planetary 

2 Science Decadal Survey; and 

3 (2) consistent with the set of missions described 

4 in paragraph (1), and while maintaining the con5 tinuity of scientific data and steady development of 

6 capabilities and technologies, the Administrator may 

7 seek, if necessary, adjustments to mission priorities, 

8 schedule, and scope in light of changing budget projec9 tions. 

10 SEC. 610. PLANETARY DEFENSE. 

11 (a) Section 808 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

12 Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

13 18387), is amended in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘imple14 ment, before September 30, 2012,’’ and inserting ‘‘, in co15 ordination with the NASA Administrator, maintain and 

16 regularly update’’. 

17 (b) Title 51, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in section 71103— 

19 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘De20 veloping policy and recommending’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘Policy on near-Earth ob22 jects and’’ 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘Within 2 years after Octo24 ber 15, 2008, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 


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1 (C) after ‘‘Policy shall’’, by inserting ‘‘, in 

2 coordination with the Administrator, maintain 

3 and regularly update’’; 

4 (D) by striking ‘‘(1) develop’’; and 

5 (E) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(2) rec6 ommend’’ and inserting ‘‘recommendations for’’; 

7 and 

8 (2) in chapter 711— 

9 (A) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 71105. Planetary defense coordination office 

11 ‘‘(a) OFFICE.—As directed in section 10825 of the Na12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza13 tion Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167), the Administrator 

14 shall maintain an office within the Planetary Science Divi15 sion of the Science Mission Directorate to be known as the 

16 ‘Planetary Defense Coordination Office’. 

17 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Consistent with the direc18 tion in section 10825 of the National Aeronautics and 

19 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public 

20 Law 117–167) the Planetary Defense Coordination Office 

21 under subsection (a) shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) plan, develop, and implement a program to 

23 survey threats posed by near-Earth objects equal to or 

24 grater than 140 meters in diameter, as required by 

25 section 321(d)(1) of the National Aeronautics and 


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1 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 

2 (Public Law 109–155; 119 Stat. 2922; 51 U.S.C. 

3 71101 note prec.); 

4 ‘‘(2) identify, track, and characterize potentially 

5 hazardous near-Earth objects, issue warnings of the 

6 effects of potential impacts of such objects, and inves7 tigate strategies and technologies for mitigating the 

8 potential impacts of such objects; and 

9 ‘‘(3) assist in coordinating government planning 

10 for a response to a potential impact of a near-Earth 

11 objects.’’; and 

12 (B) in the table of contents— 

13 (i) by adding at the end the following 

14 new item: 

‘‘71105. Planetary Defense Coordination Office.’’; and 

15 (ii) by amending the item relating to 

16 section 71103 to read as follows: 

‘‘71103. Policy on near-Earth objects and responsible Federal agency.’’. 

17 SEC. 611. LUNAR DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may carry out, 

19 within the Science Mission Directorate, a program to ac20 complish science objectives for the Moon, with an organiza21 tional structure that aligns responsibility, authority, and 

22 accountability, as recommended by the most recent decadal 

23 survey for planetary science and astrobiology. 


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1 (b) OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying 

2 out the program in subsection (a), the Administrator shall 

3 direct the Science Mission Directorate, in consultation with 

4 the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate 

5 and the Space Technology Mission Directorate, to define 

6 high-priority lunar science objectives informed by decadal 

7 and other scientific consensus recommendations, and re8 lated requirements of an integrated Artemis science strategy 

9 for human and robotic missions to the Moon. 

10 (c) INSTRUMENTATION.—The program in subsection 

11 (a) should assess the need for and facilitate the development 

12 of instrumentation to support the scientific exploration of 

13 the Moon. 

14 SEC. 612. COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES. 

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

16 that— 

17 (1) the Administrator’s encouragement and sup18 port for commercial services for lunar surface delivery 

19 capabilities and other related services serves the na20 tional interest; and 

21 (2) commercial providers benefit from an ap22 proach that places low-cost, noncritical instruments 

23 on initial deliveries using small- and medium-size 

24 landers before proceeding to larger landers for more 

25 complex payloads. 


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1 (b) COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES.—The 

2 Administrator is authorized to establish a Commercial 

3 Lunar Payload Services program for the purposes of pro4 curing, from one or more United States commercial pro5 viders, services for delivery of NASA science payloads, and 

6 the payloads of other NASA mission directorates, as appro7 priate and practicable, to the lunar surface. 

8 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER MISSION DIREC9 TORATES.—A Mission Directorate that seeks to obtain com10 mercial lunar payload services under the program estab11 lished in subsection (b) shall provide funding for— 

12 (1) any payload, instrument or other item spon13 sored by the Mission Directorate for delivery through 

14 the program; and 

15 (2) the cost of the commercial lunar payload 

16 services obtained on behalf of the Mission Directorate. 

17 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing any such ac18 tivities pursuant to subsection (b), the Administrator 

19 shall— 

20 (1) conduct updated market research on the com21 mercial lunar economy and identify any changes 

22 since the last market analysis; 

23 (2) assess NASA’s needs from and role in and 

24 contribution to the commercial lunar delivery market; 


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1 (3) based on such needs identified in paragraph 

2 (2), assess the effectiveness of the task order approach 

3 in advancing commercial development of lunar deliv4 ery services, including an assessment of the appro5 priate number of providers necessary to support 

6 NASA commercial lunar delivery needs, and identify 

7 any challenges and recommendations for improve8 ment; and 

9 (4) strengthen procedures related to the selection, 

10 manifesting, interfaces, and requirements of payloads 

11 and other relevant factors that could contribute to 

12 minimizing future NASA-directed changes to projects 

13 following commercial lunar payload service contract 

14 awards. 

15 (e) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 90 days from 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

17 shall, informed by the activities conducted under subsection 

18 (c), prepare and implement a management plan with clear 

19 leadership authority and responsibility for the program au20 thorized in subsection (b). 

21 (f) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 180 days from the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief 

23 the appropriate committees of Congress on the implementa24 tion of the management plan in subsection (d). 


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1 (g) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall ensure 

2 coordination between Mission Directorates and the Moon to 

3 Mars Program on the administration of the program in 

4 subsection (b) to ensure alignment of goals for lunar deliv5 ery services. 

6 SEC. 613. PLANETARY AND LUNAR OPERATIONS. 

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

8 that— 

9 (1) existing NASA lunar and Martian orbital 

10 missions are operating well beyond their planned 

11 mission lifespans; 

12 (2) NASA relies on this aging infrastructure for 

13 observations, communications relay, and other oper14 ations to support critical NASA missions; and 

15 (3) the United States plans to increase its activi16 ties on and around both the Moon and Mars in com17 ing years. 

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

19 ensure continuity of operations and sufficient observational 

20 and operational capabilities on and around the Moon and 

21 Mars necessary to continue to enable a robust science pro22 gram and human exploration program for the Moon and 

23 Mars well into the future. Such plan shall consider opportu24 nities to engage both private and international partners in 

25 future operations. 


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1 SEC. 614. MARS SAMPLE RETURN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, subject to 

3 the availability of appropriations, lead a Mars Sample Re4 turn program to enable the return to Earth of scientifically5 selected samples from the surface of Mars for study in terres6 trial laboratories, consistent with the recommendations of 

7 the National Academies decadal surveys for planetary 

8 science. 

9 (b) APPROACH.—The Administrator shall pursue the 

10 program in subsection (a) on a timeline and in a manner 

11 necessary to— 

12 (1) Sustain United States leadership in the sci13 entific exploration of Mars; 

14 (2) maintain NASA capabilities to land and op15 erate robotic spacecraft on the surface of Mars; 

16 (3) preserve the relevant unique and long-term 

17 institutional expertise; and 

18 (4) maintain a balanced and robust planetary 

19 science division portfolio without requiring signifi20 cant increases to the NASA budget. 

21 (c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The Administrator 

22 shall, as soon as practicable and no later than 180 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, transmit to the ap24 propriate committees of Congress a plan and timeline for 

25 the implementation of a Mars Sample Return program pur26 suant to this section with the goal of enabling the highest 


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1 scientific return for the resources invested. Such plan shall 

2 include a design and mission architecture and establish re3 alistic cost and schedule estimates to enable such goal. 

4 SEC. 615. HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING. 

5 Not later than 90 days from the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to the 

7 appropriate committees of Congress that includes the results 

8 of any study or studies conducted in the last five years re9 garding the technical feasibility of safely reboosting the 

10 Hubble Space Telescope, including any such studies regard11 ing the technical feasibility of using private sector capabili12 ties. 

13 SEC. 616. GREAT OBSERVATORIES MISSION AND TECH14 NOLOGY MATURATION. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator may estab16 lish a Great Observatories Mission and Technology Matura17 tion project (referred to in this section as a ‘‘Project’’) to 

18 mature the large-scale space-based mission concepts and 

19 technologies needed for a future astrophysics mission, as in20 formed by the recommendations of the most recent decadal 

21 survey in astronomy and astrophysics. 

22 (b) ACTIVITIES.—A project established under sub23 section (b) shall inform the design and development of fu24 ture large-scale space-based Astrophysics missions by con25 ducting activities which may include— 


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1 (1) assessing the appropriate scope for any fu2 ture mission; 

3 (2) determining the range of capabilities and 

4 technology readiness of such capabilities needed for a 

5 mission; and 

6 (3) informing the development and maturation 

7 of science and technologies needed for such mission. 

8 (c) COSTS.—The independent life-cycle cost estimate 

9 conducted under section 30307 of title 51, United States 

10 Code, as amended by this Act, for a large-scale space-based 

11 mission resulting from successful completion of a Project 

12 established under subsection (b) shall include an accounting 

13 of all costs spent on maturation of the mission through such 

14 Project. 

15 (d) REPORT.—Starting on February 1, 2025, and con16 tinuing annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 

17 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 

18 progress and impacts of any Projects established under sub19 section (b) within Astrophysics programs. 

20 SEC. 617. NANCY GRACE ROMAN TELESCOPE. 

21 The Administrator shall continue development of the 

22 Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as directed in sub23 section 10823(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad24 ministration Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117– 

25 167). 


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1 SEC. 618. CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY. 

2 The Administrator shall, to the greatest extent prac3 ticable, take no action to reduce or otherwise preclude con4 tinuation of the science operations of the Chandra X-Ray 

5 Telescope prior to the completion and consideration of the 

6 next triennial review of mission extensions for the Astro7 physics division conducted pursuant to section 30504 of 

8 title 51, United States Code and NASA’s ongoing oper9 ations paradigm change review. 

10 SEC. 619. HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH. 

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

12 that— 

13 (1) NASA heliophysics research advances the sci14 entific understanding of the Sun, its impact on the 

15 Earth and near-Earth environment, and the Sun’s 

16 interactions with other bodies in the solar system, the 

17 interplanetary medium, and the interstellar medium; 

18 (2) fundamental science supported by the 

19 Heliophysics division is critical to improving space 

20 weather observations forecasting capabilities, which 

21 contribute to— 

22 (A) fortifying national security and other 

23 critically important space-based and ground24 based assets; 

25 (B) improving the resilience of the Nation’s 

26 energy infrastructure; and 


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1 (C) protecting human health in space; and 

2 (3) the Heliophysics Division should continue to 

3 maximize the scientific return on investment of its 

4 portfolio through maintaining a balanced portfolio 

5 that includes research and analysis, including multi6 disciplinary research initiatives, technology develop7 ment, space-based missions and suborbital flight 

8 projects that include both directed and strategic mis9 sions and principal investigator-led, competitively so10 licited missions, informed by the science priorities 

11 and guidance of the most recent decadal survey in 

12 solar and space physics. 

13 (b) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The Administrator 

14 shall seek to— 

15 (1) maintain a regular Explorer Announcement 

16 of Opportunity cadence and alternate between small 

17 and mid-sized missions; and 

18 (2) enable a regular selection of Missions of Op19 portunity. 

20 SEC. 620. STUDY ON COMMERCIAL SPACE WEATHER DATA. 

21 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator, in consultation with 

22 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

23 Administration, shall conduct a study of the extent to which 

24 commercially-available data could advance space weather 

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1 orities of the most recent decadal survey on solar and space 

2 physics. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include— 

4 (1) an assessment of commercial capabilities and 

5 commercial data that meets or exceeds the science and 

6 technical standards and requirements of the Adminis7 tration, which may include— 

8 (A) data that is generated or able to be gen9 erated by commercial providers; 

10 (B) commercially-available small spacecraft; 

11 (C) opportunities for hosted NASA payloads 

12 on commercial spacecraft; and 

13 (D) commercial solutions for data proc14 essing applicable to space weather science; 

15 (2) recommendations and opportunities for the 

16 Federal Government to facilitate the use of commer17 cially available options for space weather data rel18 evant to advancing the Administration’s space weath19 er research and development activities consistent with 

20 the most recent National Academies decadal survey, 

21 without reducing quality of data; and 

22 (3) options, where appropriate, for potential 

23 partnerships or use of NASA prize authority and 

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1 tain access to such data identified in paragraph (1) 

2 that— 

3 (A) meets or exceeds the science and tech4 nical standards and requirements of the Admin5 istration; and 

6 (B) are not duplicative of activities con7 ducted pursuant to chapter 606 of title 51, 

8 United States Code. 

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

10 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

11 a report to the appropriate committees of Congress con12 taining the results of the study provided under subsection 

13 (a). 

14 SEC. 621. GEOSPACE DYNAMICS CONSTELLATION. 

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

16 that the Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission could en17 able scientific discoveries that will transform understanding 

18 of the processes that govern the dynamics of the Earth’s 

19 upper atmospheric envelope that surrounds and protects the 

20 planet. 

21 (b) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than September 5, 2024, 

22 The Administrator shall transmit to the appropriate com23 mittees of Congress a report regarding the schedule and 

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1 tion mission by the end of the decade to fulfill the rec2 ommendations of the heliophysics decadal survey. 

3 SEC. 622. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR WILDLAND 

4 FIRE SCIENCE, MANAGEMENT, AND MITIGA5 TION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, acting through 

7 the Associate Director of the Earth Science Division for 

8 Earth Action, shall establish a project for science and tech9 nology development for wildland fire management and 

10 mitigation (referred to in this section as ‘‘FireSense’’). 

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of FireSense is to co-de12 velop, deploy, and support NASA’s application of advanced 

13 science, data, and technology capabilities to enable measur14 able improvement in United States wildland fire manage15 ment and mitigation across the fire cycle, including pre16 fire, active fire, and post-fire phases. 

17 (c) OBJECTIVES.—In establishing FireSense, the Ad18 ministrator shall seek input from relevant stakeholders and 

19 shall align FireSense with the goal for NASA’s Earth 

20 science and applications program set forth in section 60501 

21 of title 51, United States Code, consider relevant rec22 ommendations of the most recent decadal survey on Earth 

23 science and applications from space, and shall, to the extent 

24 practicable, focus on the following objectives: 


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1 (1) Enhanced predictive modeling and early 

2 warning systems for wildland fire detection and pre3 vention. 

4 (2) Developing remote sensing technologies and 

5 data analysis tools to monitor fire-prone areas. 

6 (3) Transitioning wildland fire management 

7 technologies to operational users, including agencies, 

8 private sector entities, and academic institutions. 

9 (4) Conducting research to understand the im10 pacts of climate change on wildland fire frequency 

11 and intensity. 

12 (5) Supporting post-fire recovery and ecosystem 

13 restoration through advanced technologies and data. 

14 (6) Providing necessary technical assistance to 

15 operational users to receive, process, and make use of 

16 wildland fire science, data, and technology resources. 

17 (7) Any additional objectives as determined nec18 essary by the Administrator to satisfy the purpose de19 scribed in subsection (b). 

20 (d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—In implementing 

21 FireSense, the Administrator shall, as practicable and ap22 propriate, coordinate with relevant Federal, State, and 

23 local agencies to support wildland fire science, data, and 

24 technology development activities across all phases of the 


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1 fire cycle, including prevention, detection, response, and re2 covery. 

3 (e) OPERATIONAL SUPPORT.—The Administrator 

4 shall, to the extent practicable and in collaboration with 

5 other relevant Federal agencies, continue to provide nec6 essary scientific and technical support to enhance wildland 

7 fire mitigation efforts to operational users, including the 

8 following: 

9 (1) Relevant Federal agencies, as determined ap10 propriate by the Administrator. 

11 (2) State, local, and Tribal governments and or12 ganizations. 

13 (3) Private sector entities. 

14 (4) Academic institutions, including colleges, 

15 universities, and wildland fire research institutions. 

16 (f) DATA SHARING AND COLLABORATION.—The Ad17 ministrator shall facilitate the sharing of data, tools, and 

18 research findings with operational users and other relevant 

19 stakeholders to ensure effective use of NASA’s capabilities 

20 in wildland fire management. 

21 (g) FIRESENSE PROJECT EVALUATION.—The Admin22 istrator shall periodically evaluate the effectiveness of 

23 FireSense and make necessary adjustments to improve its 

24 impact on wildland fire management. 


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1 (h) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for five 

3 years, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate 

4 committees of Congress a report on the activities and ac5 complishments of FireSense, including the following: 

6 (1) An assessment of interagency coordination ef7 forts. 

8 (2) FireSense’s impact on wildland fire manage9 ment efforts. 

10 (3) A list of emerging wildland fire management 

11 technologies and opportunities that may be considered 

12 for further research, development, demonstration, and 

13 deployment. 

14 (4) An assessment of existing challenges to effec15 tive coordination with operational users, including 

16 State, local, and Tribal governments. 

17 SEC. 623. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY 

18 THE NATIONAL WILDLAND FIRE MANAGE19 MENT AND MITIGATION COMMISSION. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

21 (1) Wildland fires pose a significant threat to 

22 public safety, property, and natural resources. 

23 (2) The National Wildland Fire Management 

24 and Mitigation Commission (in this section referred 

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1 ommendations for enhancing wildland fire science, 

2 data, and technology resources. 

3 (3) The Administration, through the Science 

4 Mission Directorate, has the capability to support 

5 and enhance wildland fire management through its 

6 advanced research and technological expertise. 

7 (b) INCORPORATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Ad8 ministrator, in accordance with the goal for NASA’s Earth 

9 science and applications program set forth in section 60501 

10 of title 51, United States Code, and relevant recommenda11 tions of the most recent decadal survey on Earth science 

12 and applications from space, shall incorporate the rec13 ommendations of the Commission, to the extent practicable, 

14 which may include continuing to carry out the following: 

15 (1) Enhancing the collection, analysis, and dis16 semination of data related to wildland fires, includ17 ing satellite and remote sensing data. 

18 (2) Supporting research and development 

19 projects aimed at improving wildland fire prediction, 

20 prevention, response, and recovery. 

21 (3) Developing and deploying technologies that 

22 can assist in monitoring, detecting, and mitigating 

23 wildland fires. 


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1 (4) Conducting studies on the impact of climate 

2 change on wildland fire behavior, frequency, and in3 tensity. 

4 (c) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Adminis5 trator shall continue to coordinate, as practicable, with 

6 other Federal, State, local, and Tribal entities to integrate 

7 the Commission’s recommendations into broader wildland 

8 fire management efforts. Such coordination may include the 

9 following: 

10 (1) Facilitating the sharing of wildland fire-re11 lated data and research findings with relevant agen12 cies and stakeholders. 

13 (2) Participating in joint initiatives and 

14 projects aimed at enhancing wildland fire manage15 ment capabilities. 

16 (d) EVALUATION.—The Administrator shall conduct 

17 periodic evaluations of NASA’s efforts to incorporate the 

18 Commission’s recommendations and make adjustments as 

19 necessary to maximize the effectiveness of such recommenda20 tions to support wildland fire mitigation and management 

21 efforts. 

22 (e) REPORTING.—Not later than one year after the 

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

24 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

25 detailing the activities undertaken by NASA to implement 


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1 the Commission’s recommendations, including the fol2 lowing: 

3 (1) A summary of research and development 

4 projects initiated or supported. 

5 (2) An assessment of the impact of such activities 

6 on wildland fire management and mitigation efforts. 

7 (3) Any challenges or obstacles encountered in 

8 implementing such recommendations. 

9 TITLE VII—STEM EDUCATION 

10 SEC. 701. NATIONAL SPACE GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOW11 SHIP PROGRAM. 

12 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Title 51, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in section 40303, by striking subsections (d) 

15 and (e); 

16 (2) in section 40304— 

17 (A) by striking subsection (c) and inserting 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) SOLICITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

21 issue a solicitation from space grant consortia for the 

22 award of grants or contracts under this section at the 

23 conclusion of the award cycle for fiscal Year 2020 to 

24 2024. The Administrator shall implement the allocaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 tion guidance from section 40304(e) during each fis2 cal year covered by the award cycle. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROPOSALS.—A lead institution of a space 

4 grant consortium that seeks a grant or contract under 

5 this section shall submit, on behalf of such space 

6 grant consortium, an application to the Adminis7 trator at such time and in such manner and accom8 panied by such information as the Administrator 

9 may require. 

10 ‘‘(3) AWARDS.—The Administrator shall award 

11 1 or more multi-year grants or contracts, disbursed in 

12 annual installments, to the lead institution of an eli13 gible space grant consortium of— 

14 ‘‘(A) each of the 50 States of the United 

15 States; 

16 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’; 

18 and 

19 (B) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.—To carry out 

23 the purposes set forth in section 40301 of this title, 

24 each fiscal year, of the funds appropriated for this 

25 program of that fiscal year, the Administrator shall 


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1 allocate not less than 85 percent among eligible space 

2 grant consortia as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) The space grant consortia identified in 

4 paragraph 40304(c)(3) shall each receive an 

5 equal share. 

6 ‘‘(B) The territories of Guam and the U.S. 

7 Virgin Islands shall each receive funds equal to 

8 one-fifth of the share for each space grant consor9 tium. 

10 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, of the 

12 funds made available for the National Space 

13 Grant College and Fellowship Program, the Ad14 ministrator shall allocate not more than 10 per15 cent for the administration of the program. 

16 ‘‘(B) COSTS COVERED.—The funds allocated 

17 under paragraph (1)(A) of this section shall 

18 cover all costs of the Administration associated 

19 with the administration of the National Space 

20 Grant College and Fellowship Program, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(i) direct costs to the program, in23 cluding costs relating to support services 

24 and civil service salaries and benefits; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) indirect general and administra2 tive costs of centers and facilities of the Ad3 ministration; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) indirect general and administra5 tive costs of the Administration head6 quarters. 

7 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES.—Each fiscal 

8 year, of the funds made available for the National 

9 Space Grant College and Fellowship program, the Ad10 ministrator shall allocate not more than 5 percent to 

11 lead institutions of Space Grant Consortia for grants 

12 to carry out innovative approaches and programs to 

13 further science and education relating to the missions 

14 of the Administration pursuant to subsection (b).’’. 

15 (b) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall make arrange16 ments for an independent external review of the National 

17 Space Grant College and Fellowship Program to— 

18 (1) evaluate its management, accomplishments, 

19 approach to funding allocation as described in section 

20 40303(e) of title 51, United States Code, and respon21 siveness to the purposes and goals defined in chapter 

22 403 of title 51, United States Code; 

23 (2) consider the benefits partnerships with local 

24 education agencies, including those in underserved 

25 and rural areas, may provide; and 


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1 (3) propose any statutory updates that may be 

2 needed to implement recommendations of the review. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than nine months after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans5 mit a report on the independent external review of the Na6 tional Space Grant College and Fellowship Program de7 scribed in subsection (a) to the Committee on Science, 

8 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

9 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

10 of the Senate. 

11 SEC. 702. SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE EDUCATION 

12 OUTREACH. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may conduct or 

14 support STEM engagement activities that focus on expand15 ing opportunities for students to pursue skilled technical 

16 workforce occupations in space and aeronautics. 

17 (b) LEVERAGING EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Admin18 istrator, in conducting activities pursuant to subsection (a), 

19 shall consider leveraging, as appropriate, existing programs 

20 of NASA or other Federal programs and interagency initia21 tives, such as the Manufacturing USA program under sec22 tion 34 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech23 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

24 (c) INCLUSION.—Activities under subsection (a) may 

25 include outreach activities that engage secondary and postVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00111 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8958.RH H8958

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1 secondary students, including students at institutions of 

2 higher education, two-year colleges, and high schools, and 

3 students in vocational or career and technical education 

4 programs, and that— 

5 (1) expose students to careers that require career 

6 and technical education; 

7 (2) encourage students to pursue careers that re8 quire career and technical education; and 

9 (3) provide students hands-on learning opportu10 nities to view the manufacturing, assembly, and test11 ing of NASA-funded space and aeronautical systems, 

12 as the Administrator considers appropriate and with 

13 consideration of relevant factors such as workplace 

14 safety, mission needs, and the protection of sensitive 

15 and proprietary technologies. 

16 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

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

18 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 

19 NASA’s activities, and any planned activities, conducted 

20 pursuant to this section. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean24 ing given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 


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1 (2) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE.—The 

2 term ‘‘skilled technical workforce’’ has the meaning 

3 given the term in section 4(b)(3) of the Innovations 

4 in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 1862p note; Public Law 115–402). 

6 TITLE VIII—POLICY/NASA 

7 SEC. 801. MAJOR PROGRAMS. 

8 Section 30104 of title 51, United States Code, is 

9 amended in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘7120.5E, dated 

10 August 14, 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘7120.5F, dated August 3, 

11 2021’’. 

12 SEC. 802. NASA ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

13 (a) CONSULTATION AND ADVICE.—Section 20113(g) of 

14 title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding ‘‘and 

15 Congress’’ after ‘‘advice to the Administration’’. 

16 (b) SUNSET.—Effective September 30, 2028, section 

17 20113(g) of title 51, United States Code, is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘and Congress’’. 

19 SEC. 803. NASA ASSESSMENT OF EARLY COST ESTIMATES. 

20 Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit 

22 to the appropriate committees of Congress a review of the 

23 development, application, and assessment of early cost esti24 mates made prior to preliminary design review for NASA 

25 missions. The review may include— 


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1 (1) an assessment of NASA processes related to 

2 the formation and evaluation of proposed and early3 stage cost estimates; 

4 (2) an evaluation of NASA’s monitoring and 

5 management of cost estimates throughout mission de6 velopment, in accordance with section 10861(b)(4) of 

7 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

8 Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167); 

9 and 

10 (3) any such recommendations as the Comp11 troller General determines appropriate. 

12 SEC. 804. INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE. 

13 Section 30307 of title 51, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘anal16 ysis’’ and inserting ‘‘estimate’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘Before any funds may be 

19 obligated for implementation’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘After the Administrator completes the prelimi21 nary design review’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘analysis’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘estimate’’; and 

24 (C) by inserting after the first sentence, ‘‘No 

25 funds may be obligated for implementation of the 


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1 project before the Administrator reports the re2 sults of the life-cycle cost estimate to Congress.’’. 

3 SEC. 805. OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY, POLICY, AND STRATEGY 

4 REPORT. 

5 Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually there6 after, the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy shall 

7 prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Con8 gress a report describing the efforts of the Office during the 

9 previous calendar year and priorities of the Office for the 

10 upcoming calendar year, as practicable. 

11 SEC. 806. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE TRANSFER TO NASA OF 

12 FUNDS FROM OTHER AGENCIES FOR SCI13 ENTIFIC OR ENGINEERING RESEARCH OR 

14 EDUCATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of section 20113 of 

16 title 51, United States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘In the performance of its func18 tions’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the performance of its 

20 functions’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new para22 graph: 

23 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—Funds available to any de24 partment or agency of the Federal Government for 

25 scientific or engineering research or education, or the 


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1 provision of facilities therefor, shall, subject to the ap2 proval of the head of such department or agency or 

3 as delegated pursuant to such department’s or agen4 cy’s regulation, be available for transfer, in whole or 

5 in part, to the Administration for such use as is con6 sistent with the purposes for which such funds were 

7 appropriated. Funds so transferred shall be merged 

8 with the appropriation to which transferred, except 

9 that such transferred funds shall be limited to the 

10 awarding of grants or cooperative agreements for sci11 entific or engineering research or education.’’. 

12 (b) ANNUAL INFORMATION ON FUNDS TRANS13 FERRED.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after 

15 the date of the enactment of this section, the Adminis16 trator shall include in the annual budget justification 

17 materials of the Administration, as submitted to Con18 gress with the President’s budget request under section 

19 1105 of title 31, United States Code, information de20 scribing the activities conducted under subsection (f) 

21 of section 20113 of title 51, United States Code (as 

22 amended by subsection (a)), during the immediately 

23 preceding fiscal year. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—The information referred to in 

25 paragraph (1) shall contain a description of each 


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1 transfer of funds under the authority provided for in 

2 paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of section 20113 of 

3 title 51, United States Code (as added and amended, 

4 respectively, by this section), during the immediately 

5 preceding fiscal year, including the following: 

6 (A) An identification of the department or 

7 agency of the Federal Government from which 

8 such funds were transferred. 

9 (B) The total amount of funds so trans10 ferred, disaggregated by each such department or 

11 agency. 

12 (C) The purposes for which such funds were 

13 appropriated to each agency or department. 

14 (D) The program or activity of the Admin15 istration to which such funds were made avail16 able by each such transfer. 

17 (E) The purposes of each such administra18 tion program or activity, and the amount of 

19 funding appropriated to the Administration for 

20 such purposes. 

21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than three years after the date 

22 of enactment of the section, the Administrator of the Admin23 istration shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

24 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 


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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate a report that includes the following: 

3 (1) A summary of the value of the authority pro4 vided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of section 

5 209113 of title 51, United States Code (as added and 

6 amended, respectively, by this section), including the 

7 extent to which such authority has benefited the Ad8 ministration and its ability to meet its needs, achieve 

9 its mission, or more effectively conduct interagency 

10 collaborations. 

11 (2) An identification of any barriers or chal12 lenges to implementing such authority, or otherwise to 

13 managing funding required to conduct joint programs 

14 and award jointly funded grants and cooperative 

15 agreements by the administration with other Federal 

16 departments and agencies to advance the missions of 

17 each such department and agency. 

18 SEC. 807. PROCEDURE FOR LAUNCH SERVICES RISK MITI19 GATION. 

20 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter into 

21 an arrangement for an independent external assessment of 

22 the effectiveness and efficiency of NASA’s approach towards 

23 launch services risk mitigation in the Administration’s Pro24 cedural Requirements 8610.7D. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days from the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

3 to the appropriate committees of Congress the following: 

4 (1) The report of the assessment conducted under 

5 subsection (a). 

6 (2) NASA response to the findings of the report, 

7 if any. 

8 SEC. 808. REPORT ON MERITS AND OPTIONS FOR ESTAB9 LISHING AN INSTITUTE RELATING TO SPACE 

10 RESOURCES. 

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

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator and Sec13 retary shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees 

14 of Congress a report on the merits of, and options for, estab15 lishing an institute relating to space resources to advance 

16 the objectives of NASA and the Department in maintaining 

17 United States preeminence in space. Such objectives shall 

18 include the following: 

19 (1) Identifying, developing, and distributing 

20 space resources, including by encouraging the develop21 ment of foundational science, industrial capability, 

22 and technology. 

23 (2) Reducing the technological and business risks 

24 associated with identifying, developing, and distrib25 uting space resources. 


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1 (3) Research to maximize the responsible use of 

2 space resources. 

3 (4) Developing options for using space resources 

4 to carry out the following. 

5 (A) Support current and future space archi6 tectures, programs, business, and missions. 

7 (B) Enable such architectures, programs, 

8 business, and missions that would not otherwise 

9 be possible. 

10 (C) Supplement the supply of such resources 

11 available on Earth. 

12 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—The report required 

13 under subsection (a) shall also include the following assess14 ments of the Administrator and the Secretary: 

15 (1) Whether a virtual or physical institute relat16 ing to space resources is most cost effective and ap17 propriate. 

18 (2) Whether partnering with institutions of high19 er education and the aerospace industry, and the ex20 tractive industry as appropriate, would be effective in 

21 increasing information available to the institute with 

22 respect to advancing the objectives described in such 

23 subsection. 

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of Commerce. 

3 (2) EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘extrac4 tive industry’’ means companies and individuals in5 volved in the processes of extracting, including min6 ing, quarrying, drilling, and dredging, raw, natural 

7 materials or energy sources. 

8 (3) INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean10 ing given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

12 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of Commerce. 

14 (5) SPACE RESOURCE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘space re16 source’’ means an abiotic resource in situ in 

17 outer space. 

18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘space re19 source’’ includes a raw, natural material or en20 ergy source. 

21 SEC. 809. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

22 (a) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS AND NOTICES.—Any 

23 report or notice provided to Congress by NASA shall be pro24 vided to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, concur2 rently with its delivery to any other Committee or office. 

3 (b) REPORTS ON INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—If 

4 the United States becomes a signatory to an international 

5 agreement concerning outer space activities, the Adminis6 trator shall provide to the Committee on Science, Space, 

7 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

9 the Senate a report containing a copy of such agreement. 

10 SEC. 810. CONTRACT FLEXIBILITY. 

11 Congress finds that NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 

12 1852.242-72, Denied Access to NASA Facilities instructs 

13 that for the period that NASA facilities were not accessible 

14 to contractor employees, the contracting officer may adjust 

15 the contract performance or delivery schedule, forego the 

16 work, reschedule the work, or consider requests for equitable 

17 adjustment to the contract. 

18 SEC. 811. GAO REPORT. 

19 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

21 shall transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

22 a review of fire and emergency services at NASA launch 

23 and reentry facilities that assesses the following: 

24 (1) Current capabilities and projected demands 

25 for NASA-provided fire and emergency services. 


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1 (2) How demand for NASA-provided fire and 

2 emergency services have been impacted by the fol3 lowing: 

4 (A) An increased rate of launch and reentry 

5 operations. 

6 (B) An increased number of leases with 

7 commercial launch and reentry service providers 

8 for use of NASA property. 

9 (3) Current fire and emergency services provided 

10 by commercial providers to support launch and re11 entry operations that are conducted— 

12 (A) to fulfill a contractual obligation with 

13 NASA; or 

14 (B) for non-NASA purposes using NASA15 leased property. 

16 (4) Whether NASA-provided and commercially17 provided fire and emergency services are able to meet 

18 current and projected demands and support all fire 

19 response areas on NASA property. 

20 SEC. 812. NASA PUBLIC-PRIVATE TALENT PROGRAM. 

21 Section 20113 of title 51, United States Code, is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(o) PUBLIC-PRIVATE TALENT PROGRAM.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ASSIGNMENT AUTHORITY.—Under policies 

25 and procedures prescribed by the Administration, the 


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1 Administrator may, with the agreement of a private 

2 sector entity and the consent of an employee of the 

3 Administration or of such entity, arrange for the tem4 porary assignment of such employee of the Adminis5 tration to such private sector entity, or of such em6 ployee of such entity to the Administration, as the 

7 case may be. 

8 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

10 shall provide for a written agreement among the 

11 Administration, the private sector entity, and 

12 the employee concerned regarding the terms and 

13 conditions of the employee’s assignment under 

14 this subsection. The agreement shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) require that the employee of the 

16 Administration, upon completion of the as17 signment, will serve in the Administration, 

18 or elsewhere in the civil service if approved 

19 by the Administrator, for a period equal to 

20 twice the length of the assignment; 

21 ‘‘(ii) provide that if the employee of the 

22 Administration or of the private sector enti23 ty (as the case may be) fails to carry out 

24 the agreement, such employee shall be liable 

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1 penses of the assignment, unless such failure 

2 was for good and sufficient reason, as deter3 mined by the Administrator; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) contain language ensuring that 

5 such employee of the Administration or of 

6 the private sector entity (as the case may 

7 be) does not improperly use predecisional or 

8 draft deliberative information that such em9 ployee may be privy to or aware of related 

10 to Administration programing, budgeting, 

11 resourcing, acquisition, or procurement for 

12 the benefit or advantage of the private sector 

13 entity. 

14 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—An amount for which 

15 an employee is liable under subparagraph (A) 

16 shall be treated as a debt due the United States. 

17 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

18 waive, in whole or in part, collection of a debt 

19 described in subparagraph (B) based on a deter20 mination that the collection would be against eq21 uity and good conscience and not in the best in22 terests of the United States, after taking into ac23 count any indication of fraud, misrepresenta24 tion, fault, or lack of good faith on the part of 

25 the employee concerned. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—An assignment under this 

2 section may, at any time and for any reason, be ter3 minated by the Administration or the private-sector 

4 entity concerned, as the case may be. 

5 ‘‘(4) DURATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An assignment under 

7 this subsection shall be for a period of not less 

8 than three months and not more than two years, 

9 renewable up to a total of three years. An em10 ployee of the Administration may not be as11 signed under this subsection for more than a 

12 total of three years inclusive of all such assign13 ments. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—An assignment under 

15 this subsection may be for a period in excess of 

16 two years, but not more than three years, if the 

17 Administrator determines that such assignment 

18 is necessary to meet critical mission or program 

19 requirements. 

20 ‘‘(5) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

22 shall establish policies and procedures relating to 

23 assignments under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Policies and procedures 

2 established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

3 address the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) The nature and elements of writ5 ten agreements with participants in assign6 ments under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Criteria for making such assign8 ments, including the needs of the Adminis9 tration relating thereto. 

10 ‘‘(iii) How the Administration will 

11 oversee such assignments, in particular with 

12 respect to paragraphs (2)(A)(iii), (7)(C), 

13 and (7)(D). 

14 ‘‘(iv) Criteria for issuing waivers. 

15 ‘‘(v) How expenses under paragraph 

16 (2)(A)(ii) would be determined. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Guidance for participants in 

18 such assignments. 

19 ‘‘(vii) Mission Directorate, Office, and 

20 organizational structure to implement and 

21 manage such assignments. 

22 ‘‘(viii) Any other necessary policies, 

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1 tively contribute to one or more of the Ad2 ministration’s missions. 

3 ‘‘(C) INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVI4 TIES.—Assignments made under this subsection 

5 shall not have responsibilities or perform duties 

6 or decision making regarding Administration 

7 activities that are inherently governmental, pur8 suant to subpart 7.500 of title 48, Code of Fed9 eral Regulations, and Office of Management and 

10 Budget review. 

11 ‘‘(6) STATUS OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSIGNED

12 TO PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITIES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Ad14 ministration who is assigned to a private sector 

15 entity under this subsection shall be considered, 

16 during the period of such assignment, to be on 

17 detail to a regular work assignment in the Ad18 ministration for all purposes. The written agree19 ment established under paragraph (2)(A) shall 

20 address the specific terms and conditions related 

21 to such employee’s continued status as a Federal 

22 employee. 

23 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—In establishing a 

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1 ministrator shall certify that such temporary as2 signment shall not have an adverse or negative 

3 impact on the mission of the Administration or 

4 organizational capabilities associated with such 

5 assignment. 

6 ‘‘(7) TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PRIVATE SEC7 TOR EMPLOYEES.—An employee of a private sector 

8 entity who is assigned to the Administration under 

9 this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall continue to receive pay and bene11 fits from the private sector entity from which 

12 such employee is assigned and shall not receive 

13 pay or benefits from the Administration, except 

14 as provided in subparagraph (B); 

15 ‘‘(B) is deemed to be an employee of the Ad16 ministration for the purposes of— 

17 ‘‘(i) chapters 73 and 81 of title 5; 

18 ‘‘(ii) sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 

19 209, 603, 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 

20 1913 of title 18, except that such section 209 

21 does not apply to any salary, or contribu22 tion or supplementation of salary made 

23 pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this para24 graph; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) 

2 of title 31; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the Federal Tort Claims Act and 

4 any other Federal tort liability statute; 

5 ‘‘(v) the Ethics in Government Act of 

6 1978; and 

7 ‘‘(vi) chapter 21 of title 41; 

8 ‘‘(C) shall not have access to any trade se9 crets or any other nonpublic information which 

10 is of commercial value to the private sector enti11 ty from which such employee is assigned; 

12 ‘‘(D) may not perform work that is consid13 ered inherently governmental in nature, in ac14 cordance with paragraph (5)(C); and 

15 ‘‘(E) may not be used to circumvent— 

16 ‘‘(i) section 1710 of title 41, United 

17 States Code; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) any limitation or restriction on 

19 the size of the Administration’s civil servant 

20 workforce. 

21 ‘‘(8) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Admin22 istrator shall ensure that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the normal duties and functions of an 

24 employee of the Administration who is assigned 

25 to a private sector entity under this subsection 


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1 can be reasonably performed by other employees 

2 of the Administration without the permanent 

3 transfer or reassignment of other personnel of the 

4 Administration; 

5 ‘‘(B) normal duties and functions of such 

6 other employees of the Administration are not, as 

7 a result of and during the course of such tem8 porary assignment, performed or augmented by 

9 contractor personnel in violation of section 1710 

10 of title 41; and 

11 ‘‘(C) not more than two percent of the Ad12 ministration’s civil servant workforce may par13 ticipate in an assignment under this subsection 

14 at the same time. 

15 ‘‘(9) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—The Adminis16 trator shall implement a system to identify, mitigate, 

17 and manage any conflicts of interests that may arise 

18 as a result of an employee’s assignment under this 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(10) PROHIBITION AGAINST CHARGING CERTAIN

21 COSTS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—A private22 sector entity may not charge the Administration or 

23 any other agency of the Federal Government, as direct 

24 or indirect costs under a Federal contract, the costs 

25 of pay or benefits paid by the entity to an employee 


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1 assigned to the Administration under this subsection 

2 for the period of the assignment concerned. 

3 ‘‘(11) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this 

4 subsection, the Administrator shall take into consider5 ation— 

6 ‘‘(A) the question of how assignments under 

7 this subsection might best be used to help meet 

8 the needs of the Administration with respect to 

9 the training of employees; and 

10 ‘‘(B) where applicable, areas of particular 

11 private sector expertise, such as cybersecurity. 

12 ‘‘(12) NASA REPORTING.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 30 

14 of each year, the Administrator shall submit to 

15 the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech16 nology of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation of the Senate a report summarizing the 

19 implementation of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report under sub21 paragraph (A) shall include, with respect to the 

22 annual period to which such report relates, the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(i) Information relating to the total 

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1 ties assigned to the Administration, and the 

2 total number of employees of the Adminis3 tration assigned to private sector entities. 

4 ‘‘(ii) A brief description and assess5 ment of the talent management benefits evi6 denced from such assignments, as well as 

7 any identified strategic human capital and 

8 operational challenges, including the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(I) An identification of the 

11 names of the private sector entities to 

12 and from which employees were as13 signed. 

14 ‘‘(II) A complete listing of posi15 tions such employees were assigned to 

16 and from. 

17 ‘‘(III) An identification of as18 signed roles and objectives of such as19 signments. 

20 ‘‘(IV) Information relating to the 

21 durations of such assignments. 

22 ‘‘(V) Information relating to asso23 ciated pay grades and levels. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) An assessment of impacts of such 

2 assignments on the Administration work3 force and workforce culture. 

4 ‘‘(iv) An identification of the number 

5 of Administration staff and budgetary re6 sources required to implement this sub7 section. 

8 ‘‘(13) FEDERAL ETHICS.—Nothing in this sub9 section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules appli10 cable to Federal personnel. 

11 ‘‘(14) GAO REPORTING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three 

13 years after the date of the enactment of this sub14 section, the Comptroller General of the United 

15 States shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

16 Space, and Technology of the House of Rep17 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re19 port summarizing the implementation of this 

20 subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub22 paragraph (A) shall include the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) A review of the implementation of 

24 this subsection, according to law and the 

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1 tablished for assignments under this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Information relating to the extent 

4 to which such assignments adhere to best 

5 practices relating to public-private talent 

6 exchange programs. 

7 ‘‘(iii) A determination as to whether 

8 there should be limitations on the number of 

9 individuals participating in such assign10 ments. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Information relating to the extent 

12 to which the Administration complies with 

13 statutory requirements and ethics rules, and 

14 appropriately handles potential conflicts of 

15 interest and access to nonpublic informa16 tion with respect to such assignments. 

17 ‘‘(v) Information relating to the extent 

18 to which such assignments effectively con19 tribute to one or more of the Administra20 tion’s missions. 

21 ‘‘(vi) Information relating to Adminis22 tration resources, including employee time, 

23 dedicated to administering such assign24 ments, and whether such resources are suffi25 cient for such administration.’’. 


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1 SEC. 813. REPORT ON SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

4 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

5 describing the following: 

6 (1) Intellectual property considerations in Space 

7 Act agreements. 

8 (2) Feedback shared by industry groups regard9 ing intellectual property considerations in Space Act 

10 agreements. 

11 (3) Differences between NASA policies regarding 

12 intellectual property in Space Act agreements and 

13 policies utilized in similar situations by other Federal 

14 agencies. 

15 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Space Act 

16 agreements’’ means agreements entered into by NASA pur17 suant to its authorities under the National Aeronautics and 

18 Space Act of 1958 (Public Law 85–568). 

19 SEC. 814. MENTORING. 

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

21 a comprehensive NASA-wide mentoring program for early22 career, mid-level, and senior-level employees at all NASA 

23 Centers and NASA Headquarters to ensure a robust pipe24 line for NASA’s civil servant workforce and support the 

25 preparation of employees, including those from populations 


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1 that are historically underrepresented in STEM, for pro2 motion and leadership roles. 

3 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief 

5 the appropriate committees of Congress on the implementa6 tion of the subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 815. DRINKING WATER WELL REPLACEMENT FOR 

8 CHINCOTEAGUE, VIRGINIA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi10 sion of law, the Administrator may enter into an agree11 ment, as appropriate, with the Town of Chincoteague, Vir12 ginia, for a period of up to five years, for reimbursement 

13 of the Town of Chincoteague’s costs directly associated with 

14 the development of a plan for removal of drinking water 

15 wells currently situated on NASA-administered property 

16 and the establishment of alternative drinking water wells 

17 which are located on property under the administrative 

18 control, either through lease, ownership, or easement, of the 

19 Town of Chincoteague. Such agreement shall, to the extent 

20 practicable, include the three remaining wells to be removed 

21 and relocated, the location of the site to which such wells 

22 would be relocated or are planned to be relocated, and a 

23 current estimated cost of the relocation, including for the 

24 purchase, lease, or use of additional property, engineering, 

25 design, permitting, and construction. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad3 ministrator, in coordination with the heads or other appro4 priate representatives of relevant entities, shall submit to 

5 the appropriate committees of Congress the agreement under 

6 subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 816. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

8 Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the abil9 ity of a NASA employee to discuss scientific research per10 formed by such employee in accordance with NASA’s sci11 entific integrity policies. 


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Union Calendar No. 595 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8958 

[Report No. 118–701] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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