109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1281

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration for science, aeronautics, exploration, exploration capabilities, and the Inspector General, and for other purposes, for fiscal years 2006, 2007,

2008, 2009, and 2010.

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 ‘‘Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza6 tion Act of 2005’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SUBTITLE A—AUTHORIZATIONS

Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2006.

Sec. 102. Fiscal year 2007.

Sec. 103. Fiscal year 2008.

Sec. 104. Fiscal year 2009.

Sec. 105. Fiscal year 2010.

Sec. 106. Evaluation criteria for budget request.

SUBTITLE B—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 131. Implementation of a science program that extends human knowledge

and understanding of the Earth, sun, solar system, and the

universe.

Sec. 132. Biennial reports to Congress on science programs.

Sec. 133. Status report on Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

Sec. 134. Develop expanded permanent human presence beyond low-Earth

orbit.

Sec. 135. Ground-based analog capabilities.

Sec. 136. Space launch and transportation transition, capabilities, and development.

Sec. 137. Lessons learned and best practices.

Sec. 138. Safety management.

Sec. 139. Creation of a budget structure that aids effective oversight and management.

Sec. 140. Earth observing system.

Sec. 141. NASA healthcare program.

Sec. 142. Assessment of extension of data collection from Ulysses and Voyager

spacecraft.

Sec. 143. Program to expand distance learning in rural underserved areas.

Sec. 144. Institutions in NASA’S minority institutions program.

Sec. 145. Aviation safety program.

Sec. 146. Atmospheric, geophysical, and rocket research authorization.

Sec. 147. Orbital debris.

Sec. 148. Continuation of certain educational programs.

Sec. 149. Establishment of the Charles ‘‘Pete’’ Conrad Astronomy Awards Program.

Sec. 150. GAO assessment of feasibility of Moon and Mars exploration missions.

Sec. 151. Workforce.

Sec. 152. Major research equipment and facilities.

Sec. 153. Data on specific fields of study.

SUBTITLE C—LIMITATIONS AND SPECIAL AUTHORITY

Sec. 161. Official representational fund.
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Sec. 162. Facilities management.

TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Sec. 201. International Space Station completion.

Sec. 202. Research and support capabilities on international Space Station.

Sec. 203. National laboratory status for International Space Station.

Sec. 204. Commercial support of International Space Station operations and

utilization.

Sec. 205. Use of the International Space Station and annual report.

TITLE III—NATIONAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION POLICY

Sec. 301. United States human-rated launch capacity assessment.

Sec. 302. Space Shuttle transition.

Sec. 303. Commercial launch vehicles.

Sec. 304. Secondary payload capability.

Sec. 305. Power and propulsion reporting.

Sec. 306. Utilization of NASA field centers and workforce.

TITLE IV—ENABLING COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

Sec. 401. Commercialization plan.

Sec. 402. Commercial technology transfer program.

Sec. 403. Authority for competitive prize program to encourage development of

advanced space and aeronautical technologies.

Sec. 404. Commercial goods and services.

TITLE V—AERONAUTICS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 501. Governmental interest in aeronautics.

Sec. 502. National policy for aeronautics research and development.

Sec. 503. High priority aeronautics research and development programs.

Sec. 504. Test facilities.

Sec. 505. Miscellaneous provisions.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENTS.

Sec. 601. Extension of indemnification authority.

Sec. 602. Intellectual property provisions.

Sec. 603. Retrocession of jurisdiction.

Sec. 604. Recovery and disposition authority.

Sec. 605. Requirement for independent cost analysis.

Sec. 606. Electronic access to business opportunities.

Sec. 607. Reports elimination.

Sec. 608. Small business contracting.

Sec. 609. Government accountability office review and report.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) It is the policy of the United States to ad4 vance United States scientific, security, and eco-
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1 nomic interests through a healthy and active space

2 exploration program.

3 (2) Basic and applied research in space science,

4 Earth science, and aeronautics remain a significant

5 part of the Nation’s goals for the use and develop6 ment of space. Basic research and development is an

7 important component of NASA’s program of explo8 ration and discovery.

9 (3) Maintaining the capability to safely send

10 humans into space is essential to United States na11 tional and economic security, United States pre12 eminence in space, and inspiring the next generation

13 of explorers. Thus, a gap in United States human

14 space flight capability is harmful to the national in15 terest.

16 (4) The exploration, development, and perma17 nent habitation of the Moon will inspire the Nation,

18 spur commerce, imagination, and excitement around

19 the world, and open the possibility of further explo20 ration of Mars. NASA should return to the Moon

21 within the next decade.

22 (5) The establishment of the capability for con23 sistent access to and stewardship of the region be24 tween the Moon and Earth is in the national secu25 rity and commercial interests of the United States.
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1 (6) Commercial development of space, including

2 exploration and other lawful uses, is in the interest

3 of the United States and the international commu4 nity at large.

5 (7) Research and access to capabilities to sup6 port a national laboratory facility within the United

7 States segment of the ISS in low-Earth orbit are in

8 the national policy interests of the United States, in9 cluding maintenance and development of an active

10 and healthy stream of research from ground to space

11 in areas that can uniquely benefit from access to

12 this facility.

13 (8) NASA should develop vehicles to replace the

14 Shuttle orbiter’s capabilities for transporting crew

15 and heavy cargo while utilizing the current pro16 gram’s resources, including human capital, capabili17 ties, and infrastructure. Using these resources can

18 ease the transition to a new space transportation

19 system, maintain an essential industrial base, and

20 minimize technology and safety risks.

21 (9) The United States must remain the leader

22 in aeronautics and aviation. Any erosion of this pre23 eminence is not in the Nation’s economic or security

24 interest. NASA should align its aerospace leadership

25 to ensure United States leadership. A national effort
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1 is needed to ensure that NASA’s aeronautics pro2 grams are leading contributors to the Nation’s civil

3 and military aviation needs, as well as to its explo4 ration capabilities.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this Act:

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National

9 Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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

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

14 (4) SHUTTLE-DERIVED VEHICLE.—The term

15 ‘‘shuttle-derived vehicle’’ means any new space

16 transportation vehicle, piloted or unpiloted, that—

17 (A) is capable of supporting crew or cargo

18 missions; and

19 (B) uses a major component of NASA’s

20 Space Transportation System, such as the solid

21 rocket booster, external tank, engine, and or22 biter.

23 (5) IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION.—The

24 term ‘‘in-situ resource utilization’’ means the tech25 nology or systems that can convert indigenous or lo-
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1 cally-situated substances into useful materials and

2 products.

3 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF

4 APPROPRIATIONS

5 Subtitle A—Authorizations

6 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2006.

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na8 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, for fiscal

9 year 2006, $16,556,400,000, as follows:

10 (1) For science, aeronautics and exploration,

11 $9,661,000,000 for the following programs (includ12 ing amounts for construction of facilities).

13 (2) For exploration capabilities,

14 $6,863,000,000, (including amounts for construction

15 of facilities), which shall be used for space oper16 ations, and out of which $100,000,000 shall be used

17 for the purposes of section 202 of this Act.

18 (3) For the Office of Inspector General,

19 $32,400,000.

20 SEC. 102. FISCAL YEAR 2007.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na22 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, for fiscal

23 year 2007, $17,052,900,000, as follows:
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1 (1) $10,549,800,000 for science, aeronautics

2 and exploration (including amounts for construction

3 of facilities).

4 (2) For exploration capabilities,

5 $6,469,600,000, for the following programs (includ6 ing amounts for construction of facilities), of which

7 $6,469,600,000 shall be for space operations.

8 (3) For the Office of Inspector General,

9 $33,500,000.

10 SEC. 103. FISCAL YEAR 2008.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, for fiscal

13 year 2008, $17,470,900,000.

14 SEC. 104. FISCAL YEAR 2009.

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na16 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, for fiscal

17 year 2009, $17,995,000,000.

18 SEC. 105. FISCAL YEAR 2010.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na20 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, for fiscal

21 year 2010, $18,534,900,000.

22 SEC. 106. EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR BUDGET REQUEST.

23 It is the sense of the Congress that each budget of

24 the United States submitted to the Congress after the date

25 of enactment of this Act should be evaluated for compli-
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1 ance with the findings and priorities established by this

2 Act and the amendments made by this Act.

3 Subtitle B—General Provisions

4 SEC. 131. IMPLEMENTATION OF A SCIENCE PROGRAM THAT

5 EXTENDS HUMAN KNOWLEDGE AND UNDER6 STANDING OF THE EARTH, SUN, SOLAR SYS7 TEM, AND THE UNIVERSE.

8 The Administrator shall—

9 (1) conduct a rich and vigorous set of science

10 activities aimed at better comprehension of the uni11 verse, solar system, and Earth, and ensure that the

12 various areas within NASA’s science portfolio are

13 developed and maintained in a balanced and healthy

14 manner, and, as part of this balanced science re15 search program, provide, to the maximum extent

16 feasible, continued support and funding for the

17 Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, SIM-Planet

18 Quest, and Future Explorers programs, including

19 determining whether these delayed missions and

20 planned missions can be expedited to meet previous

21 schedules, and may place a greater emphasis on

22 science, including the programs described in this

23 paragraph, throughout the fiscal years for which

24 funds are authorized by this Act (and for this pur25 pose, of the funds authorized by section 101(1) of
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1 this Act, no less than $5,341,200,000 shall be for

2 science, and of the funds authorized by section

3 102(1) of this Act, no less than $5,960,300,000

4 shall be for science);

5 (2) plan projected Mars exploration activities in

6 the context of planned lunar robotic precursor mis7 sions, ensuring the ability to conduct a broad set of

8 scientific investigations and research around and on

9 the Moon’s surface;

10 (3) upon successful completion of the planned

11 return-to-flight schedule of the Space Shuttle, deter12 mine the schedule for a Shuttle servicing mission to

13 the Hubble Space Telescope, unless such a mission

14 would compromise astronaut or safety or the integ15 rity of NASA’s other missions;

16 (4) ensure that, in implementing the provisions

17 of this section, appropriate inter-agency and com18 mercial collaboration opportunities are sought and

19 utilized to the maximum feasible extent;

20 (5) seek opportunities to diversify the flight op21 portunities for scientific Earth science instruments

22 and seek innovation in the development of instru23 ments that would enable greater flight opportunities;

24 (6) develop a long term sustainable relationship

25 with the United States commercial remote sensing
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1 industry, and, consistent with applicable policies and

2 law, to the maximum practical extent, rely on their

3 services;

4 (7) in conjunction with United States industry

5 and universities, develop Earth science applications

6 to enhance Federal, State, local, and tribal govern7 ments that use government and commercial remote

8 sensing capabilities and other sources of geospatial

9 information to address their needs;

10 (8) plan, develop, and implement a near-Earth

11 object survey program to detect, track, catalogue,

12 and characterize the physical characteristics of near13 Earth asteroids and comets in order to assess the

14 threat of such near-Earth objects in impacting the

15 Earth; and

16 (9) ensure that, of the amount expended for

17 aeronautics, a significant portion is directed toward

18 the Vehicle System Program, as much of the basic,

19 long-term, high-risk, and innovative research in

20 aeronautical disciplines is performed within that pro21 gram.

22 SEC. 132. BIENNIAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON SCIENCE

23 PROGRAMS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date

25 of enactment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the
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1 Administrator shall transmit a report to the Senate Com2 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the

3 House of Representatives Committee on Science setting

4 forth in detail—

5 (1) the findings and actions taken on NASA’s

6 assessment of the balance within its science portfolio

7 and any efforts to adjust that balance among the

8 major program areas, including the areas referred to

9 in section 131;

10 (2) any activities undertaken by the Adminis11 tration to conform with the Sun-Earth science and

12 applications direction provided in section 131; and

13 (3) efforts to enhance near-Earth object detec14 tion and observation.

15 (b) EXTERNAL REVIEW FINDINGS.—The Adminis16 trator shall include in each report submitted under this

17 section a summary of findings and recommendations from

18 any external reviews of the Administration’s science mis19 sion priorities and programs.

20 SEC. 133. STATUS REPORT ON HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

21 SERVICING MISSION.

22 Within 60 days after the landing of the second Space

23 Shuttle mission for return-to-flight certification, the Ad24 ministrator shall transmit to the Senate Committee on

25 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
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1 Representatives Committee on Science a one-time status

2 report on a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

3 SEC. 134. DEVELOP EXPANDED PERMANENT HUMAN PRES4 ENCE BEYOND LOW-EARTH ORBIT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the programs author6 ized under the National Aeronautics and Space Act of

7 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), the Administrator shall

8 establish a program to develop a permanently sustained

9 human presence on the Moon, in tandem with an extensive

10 precursor program, to support security, commerce, and

11 scientific pursuits, and as a stepping-stone to future explo12 ration of Mars. The Administrator is further authorized

13 to develop and conduct international collaborations in pur14 suit of these goals, as appropriate.

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section,

16 the Administrator shall—

17 (1) implement an effective exploration tech18 nology program that is focused around the key needs

19 to support lunar human and robotic operations;

20 (2) as part of NASA’s annual budget submis21 sion, submit to the Congress the detailed mission,

22 schedule, and budget for key lunar mission-enabling

23 technology areas, including areas for possible innova24 tive governmental and commercial activities and

25 partnerships;
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1 (3) as part of NASA’s annual budget submis2 sion, submit to the Congress a plan for NASA’s

3 lunar robotic precursor and technology programs, in4 cluding current and planned technology investments

5 and scientific research that support the lunar pro6 gram;

7 (4) conduct an intensive in-situ resource utiliza8 tion technology program in order to develop the ca9 pability to use space resources to increase independ10 ence from Earth, and sustain exploration beyond

11 low-Earth orbit;

12 (5) conduct a program to assure the health and

13 safety of astronauts during extended space explo14 ration missions which include more effective counter15 measures to mitigate deleterious effects of such mis16 sions, and the means to provide in-space exploration

17 medical care delivery to crews with little or no real18 time support from Earth, relevant issues such as ra19 diation exposure, exercise countermeasures, cardiac

20 health, diagnostic and monitoring devices, and med21 ical imaging;

22 (6) utilize advanced power and propulsion tech23 nologies, including nuclear and electric technologies,

24 to enable or enhance robotic and human exploration

25 missions when feasible; and
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1 (7) develop a robust technology development

2 program to provide surface power for use on the

3 Moon and other locations relevant to NASA space

4 exploration goals which, to the extent feasible, ad5 dress needs for modular, scalable power sources for

6 a range of applications on the Moon including

7 human and vehicular uses.

8 SEC. 135. GROUND-BASED ANALOG CAPABILITIES.

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

10 a ground-based analog capability in remote United States

11 locations in order to assist in the development of lunar

12 operations, life support, and in-situ resource utilization ex13 perience and capabilities.

14 (b) LOCATIONS.—The Administrator shall select loca15 tions for subsection (a) in places that—

16 (1) are regularly accessible;

17 (2) have significant temperature extremes and

18 range; and

19 (3) have access to energy and natural resources

20 (including geothermal, permafrost, volcanic, and

21 other potential resources).

22 (c) INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL POPULATIONS; PRI23 VATE SECTOR PARTNERS.—In carrying out this section,

24 the Administrator shall involve local populations, aca25 demia, and industrial partners as much as possible to en-
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1 sure that ground-based benefits and applications are en2 couraged and developed.

3 SEC. 136. SPACE LAUNCH AND TRANSPORTATION TRANSI4 TION, CAPABILITIES, AND DEVELOPMENT.

5 (a) POST-ORBITER TRANSITION.—The Adminis6 trator shall develop an implementation plan for the transi7 tion to a new crew exploration vehicle and heavy-lift

8 launch vehicle that uses the personnel, capabilities, assets,

9 and infrastructure of the Space Shuttle to the fullest ex10 tent possible and addresses how NASA will accommodate

11 the docking of the crew exploration vehicle to the ISS.

12 (b) AUTOMATED RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING.—The

13 Administrator is directed to pursue aggressively auto14 mated rendezvous and docking capabilities that can sup15 port ISS and other mission requirements and include

16 these activities, progress reports, and plans in the imple17 mentation plan.

18 (c) CONGRESSIONAL SUBMISSION.—Within 120 days

19 after the date of enactment of this Act the Administrator

20 shall submit a copy of the implementation plan to the Sen21 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

22 and the House of Representatives Committee on Science.

23 SEC 137. LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall provide

25 an implementation plan describing NASA’s approach for
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1 obtaining, implementing, and sharing lessons learned and

2 best practices for its major programs and projects within

3 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The im4 plementation plan shall be updated and maintained to as5 sure that it is current and consistent with the burgeoning

6 culture of learning and safety that is emerging at NASA.

7 (b) REQUIRED CONTENT.—The implementation plan

8 shall contain as a minimum the lessons learned and best

9 practices requirements for NASA, the organizations or po10 sitions responsible for enforcement of the requirements,

11 the reporting structure, and the objective performance

12 measures indicating the effectiveness of the activity.

13 (c) INCENTIVES.—The Administrator shall provide

14 incentives to encourage sharing and implementation of les15 sons learned and best practices by employees, projects,

16 and programs; as well as penalties for programs and

17 projects that are determined not to have demonstrated use

18 of those resources.

19 SEC. 138. SAFETY MANAGEMENT.

20 Section 6 of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad21 ministration Authorization Act, 1968 (42 U.S.C. 2477) is

22 amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

24 ‘‘There’’;
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘to it’’ and inserting ‘‘to it, in2 cluding evaluating NASA’s compliance with the re3 turn-to-flight and continue-to-fly recommendations

4 of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board,’’;

5 (3) by inserting ‘‘and the Congress’’ after ‘‘ad6 vise the Administrator’’;

7 (4) by striking ‘‘and with respect to the ade8 quacy of proposed or existing safety standards and

9 shall’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect to the adequacy

10 of proposed or existing safety standards, and with

11 respect to management and culture. The Panel shall

12 also’’; and

13 (5) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Panel shall submit an

15 annual report to the Administrator and to the Congress.

16 In the first annual report submitted after the date of en17 actment of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis18 tration Authorization Act of 2005, the Panel shall include

19 an evaluation of NASA’s safety management culture.

20 ‘‘(c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

21 the Congress that the Administrator should—

22 ‘‘(1) ensure that NASA employees can raise

23 safety concerns without fear of reprisal;
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1 ‘‘(2) continue to follow the recommendations of

2 the Columbia Accident Investigation Board for safe3 ly returning and continuing to fly; and

4 ‘‘(3) continue to inform the Congress from time

5 to time of NASA’s progress in meeting those rec6 ommendations.’’.

7 SEC. 139. CREATION OF A BUDGET STRUCTURE THAT AIDS

8 EFFECTIVE OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT.

9 In developing NASA’s budget request for inclusion in

10 the Budget of the United States for fiscal year 2007 and

11 thereafter, the Administrator shall—

12 (1) include line items for—

13 (A) science, aeronautics, and exploration;

14 (B) exploration capabilities; and

15 (C) the Office of the Inspector General;

16 (2) enumerate separately, within the science,

17 aeronautics, and exploration account, the requests

18 for—

19 (A) space science;

20 (B) Earth science; and

21 (C) aeronautics;

22 (3) include, within the exploration capabilities

23 account, the requests for—

24 (A) the Space Shuttle; and

25 (B) the ISS; and
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1 (4) enumerate separately the specific request

2 for the independent technical authority within the

3 appropriate account.

4 SEC. 140. EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after the date

6 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consulta7 tion with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and

8 Atmospheric Administration and the Director of the

9 United States Geological Survey, shall submit a plan to

10 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation and the House of Representatives Committee on

12 Science to ensure the long-term vitality of the earth ob13 serving system at NASA.

14 (b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall—

15 (1) address such issues as—

16 (A) out-year budgetary projections;

17 (B) technical requirements for the system;

18 and

19 (C) integration into the Global Earth Ob20 serving System of Systems; and

21 (2) evaluate—

22 (A) the need to proceed with any NASA

23 missions that have been delayed or canceled;

24 (B) plans for transferring needed capabili25 ties from some canceled or de-scoped missions
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1 to the National Polar-orbiting Environmental

2 Satellite System;

3 (C) the technical base for exploratory earth

4 observing systems, including new satellite archi5 tectures and instruments that enable global cov6 erage, all-weather, day and night imaging of the

7 Earth’s surface features;

8 (D) the need to strengthen research and

9 analysis programs; and

10 (E) the need to strengthen the approach to

11 obtaining important climate observations and

12 data records.

13 (c) EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM DEFINED.—In this

14 section, the term ‘‘earth observing system’’ means the se15 ries of satellites, a science component, and a data system

16 for long-term global observations of the land surface, bio17 sphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans.

18 SEC. 141. NASA HEALTHCARE PROGRAM.

19 The Administrator shall develop policies, procedures,

20 and plans necessary for—

21 (1) the establishment of a lifetime healthcare

22 program for NASA astronauts and their families;

23 and
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1 (2) the study and analysis of the healthcare

2 data obtained in order to understand the longitu3 dinal health effects of space flight on humans better.

4 SEC. 142. ASSESSMENT OF EXTENSION OF DATA COLLEC5 TION FROM ULYSSES AND VOYAGER SPACE6 CRAFT.

7 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the

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

9 carry out an assessment of the costs and benefits of ex10 tending, to such date as the Administrator considers ap11 propriate for purposes of the assessment, the date of the

12 termination of data collection from the Ulysses spacecraft

13 and the Voyager spacecraft.

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after com15 pleting the assessment required by subsection (a), the Ad16 ministrator shall submit a report on the assessment to the

17 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on

19 Science.

20 SEC. 143. PROGRAM TO EXPAND DISTANCE LEARNING IN

21 RURAL UNDERSERVED AREAS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop

23 or expand programs to extend science and space edu24 cational outreach to rural communities and schools

25 through video conferencing, interpretive exhibits, teacher
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1 education, classroom presentations, and student field

2 trips.

3 (b) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the

4 Administrator shall give priority to existing programs, in5 cluding Challenger Learning Centers—

6 (1) that utilize community-based partnerships

7 in the field;

8 (2) that build and maintain video conference

9 and exhibit capacity;

10 (3) that travel directly to rural communities

11 and serve low-income populations; and

12 (4) with a special emphasis on increasing the

13 number of women and minorities in the science and

14 engineering professions.

15 SEC. 144. INSTITUTIONS IN NASA’S MINORITY INSTITU16 TIONS PROGRAM.

17 The matter appearing under the heading ‘‘SMALL

18 AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS’’ in title III of the De19 partments of Veterans Affairs and House and Urban De20 velopment, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,

21 1990 (42 U.S.C. 2473b; 103 Stat. 863) is amended by

22 striking ‘‘Historically Black Colleges and Universities

23 and’’ and inserting ‘‘Historically Black Colleges and Uni24 versities that are part B institutions (as defined in section

25 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
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1 1061(2))), Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in sec2 tion 502(a)(5) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)), Tribal

3 Colleges or Universities (as defined in section 316(b)(3)

4 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)), Alaskan Native-serv5 ing institutions (as defined in section 317(b)(2) of that

6 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d)(b)(2)), Native Hawaiian-serving

7 institutions (as defined in section 317(b)(4) of that Act

8 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)(4)), and’’.

9 SEC. 145. AVIATION SAFETY PROGRAM.

10 The Administrator shall make available upon request

11 satellite imagery of remote terrain to the Administrator

12 of the Federal Aviation Administration, or the Director

13 of the Five Star Medallion Program, for aviation safety

14 and aerial photography programs to assist and train pilots

15 in navigating challenging topographical features of such

16 terrain.

17 SEC. 146. ATMOSPHERIC, GEOPHYSICAL, AND ROCKET RE18 SEARCH AUTHORIZATION.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad20 ministrator for atmospheric, geophysical, or rocket re21 search at the Poker Flat Research Range and the Kodiak

22 Launch Complex, not more than $1,000,000 for each of

23 fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
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1 SEC. 147. ORBITAL DEBRIS.

2 The Administrator, in conjunction with the heads of

3 other Federal agencies, shall take steps to develop or ac4 quire technologies that will enable NASA to decrease the

5 risks associated with orbital debris.

6 SEC. 148. CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL PRO7 GRAMS.

8 From amounts appropriated to NASA for educational

9 programs, the Administrator shall ensure continuation of

10 the Space Grant Program, the Experimental Program to

11 Stimulate Competitive Research, and the NASA Explorer

12 School to motivate and develop the next generation of ex13 plorers.

14 SEC. 149. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHARLES ‘‘PETE’’

15 CONRAD ASTRONOMY AWARDS PROGRAM.

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

17 a program to be known as the Charles ‘‘Pete’’ Conrad As18 tronomy Awards Program.

19 (b) AWARDS.—The Administrator shall make an an20 nual award under the program of—

21 (1) $3,000 to the amateur astronomer or group

22 of amateur astronomers who in the preceding cal23 endar year discovered the intrinsically brightest

24 near-Earth asteroid among the near-Earth asteroids

25 that were discovered during that year by amateur

26 astronomers or groups of amateur astronomers; and
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1 (2) $3,000 to the amateur astronomer or group

2 of amateur astronomers who made the greatest con3 tribution to the Minor Planet Center’s mission of

4 cataloging near-Earth asteroids during the preceding

5 year.

6 (c) QUALIFICATION FOR AWARD.—

7 (1) RECOMMENDATION.—These awards shall be

8 made based on the recommendation of the Minor

9 Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Ob10 servatory.

11 (2) LIMITATION.—No individual who is not a

12 citizen or permanent resident of the United States

13 at the time of that individual’s discovery or contribu14 tion may receive an award under this program.

15 SEC. 150. GAO ASSESSMENT OF FEASIBILITY OF MOON AND

16 MARS EXPLORATION MISSIONS.

17 Within 9 months after the date of enactment of this

18 Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the Senate

19 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

20 and the House of Representatives Committee on Science

21 an assessment of the feasibility of NASA’s planning for

22 exploration of the Moon and Mars, giving special consider23 ation to the long-term cost implications of program archi24 tecture and schedules. The Comptroller General shall in25 clude in this assessment the short- and long-term impact
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1 of the exploration program on other NASA program areas,

2 including aeronautics, space science, earth science and

3 NASA’s overall research and technology development

4 budget.

5 SEC. 151. WORKFORCE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop

7 a human capital strategy to ensure that NASA has a

8 workforce of the appropriate size and with the appropriate

9 skills to carry out the programs of NASA, consistent with

10 the policies and plans developed pursuant to this section.

11 The strategy shall ensure that current personnel are uti12 lized, to the maximum extent feasible, in implementing the

13 vision for space exploration and NASA’s other programs.

14 The strategy shall cover the period through fiscal year

15 2011.

16 (b) CONTENT.—The strategy shall describe, at a

17 minimum—

18 (1) any categories of employees NASA intends

19 to reduce, the expected size and timing of those re20 ductions, the methods NASA intends to use to make

21 the reductions, and the reasons NASA no longer

22 needs those employees;

23 (2) any categories of employees NASA intends

24 to increase, the expected size and timing of those in25 creases, the methods NASA intends to use to recruit
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1 the additional employees, and the reasons NASA

2 needs those employees;

3 (3) the steps NASA will use to retain needed

4 employees; and

5 (4) the budget assumptions of the strategy,

6 which for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 shall be con7 sistent with the authorizations provided in subtitle

8 A, and any expected additional costs or savings from

9 the strategy by fiscal year.

10 (c) SCHEDULE.—The Administrator shall transmit

11 the strategy developed under this section to the Senate

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

13 and House of Representatives Committee on Science not

14 later than the date on which the President submits the

15 proposed budget for the Federal Government for fiscal

16 year 2007 to the Congress. At least 60 days before trans17 mitting the strategy, NASA shall provide a draft of the

18 strategy to its Federal Employee Unions for a 30-day con19 sultation period after which NASA shall respond in writ20 ing to any written concerns provided by the Unions.

21 (d) LIMITATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—NASA may not initiate any

23 buyout offer after the date of enactment of this Act

24 until 60 days after the strategy required by this sub25 section has been transmitted to the Senate Com-
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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

2 and House of Representatives Committee on Science

3 in accordance with subsection (c). NASA may not

4 implement any reduction-in-force or other involun5 tary separations (except for cause) prior to June 1,

6 2007, except as provided in paragraph (2).

7 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—

8 (A) SPECIFIC BUY-OUTS.—Notwith9 standing paragraph (1), NASA may make ex10 ceptions can be made for specific buy-outs on a

11 case-by-case basis, if NASA provides informa12 tion to the Committees that justifies those spe13 cific buy-outs, including why the relevant em14 ployees could not be utilized to fulfill other

15 NASA missions.

16 (B) EMERGENCY REDUCTIONS-IN17 FORCE.—NASA may also request an exception

18 for an emergency reduction-in-force of manage19 ment personnel by transmitting to the

20 Committees—

21 (i) a detailed rationale for the pro22 posed reduction-in-force;

23 (ii) an explanation of why the pro24 posed reduction-in-force cannot wait until

25 after the workforce strategy has been
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1 transmitted to the Committees in accord2 ance with the requirements of this section;

3 and

4 (iii) an explanation of why the rel5 evant employees could not be utilized to

6 fulfill other NASA missions.

7 SEC. 152. MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, the National Science Foundation may use

10 funds in the major research equipment and facilities con11 struction account for the design and development of

12 projects that—

13 (1) have been given a very high rating by rel14 evant scientific peer review panels in the relevant

15 discipline;

16 (2) have substantial cost-sharing with non17 Foundation entities; and

18 (3) have passed a critical design review.

19 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD APPROVAL.—Noth20 ing in subsection (a) shall be construed to eliminate the

21 need for approval by the National Science Board before

22 such equipment and facilities are eligible for acquisition,

23 construction, commissioning, or upgrading.
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1 SEC. 153. DATA ON SPECIFIC FIELDS OF STUDY.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Science Foundation

3 shall collect statistically reliable data through the Amer4 ican Community Survey on the field of degree of college5 educated individuals.

6 (b) ADDITIONAL CENSUS QUESTION.—In order to fa7 cilitate the implementation of subsection (a), the Secretary

8 of Commerce shall expand the American Community Sur9 vey to include a question to elicit information concerning

10 the field of study in which college-educated individuals re11 ceived their degrees. The Director of the Bureau of the

12 Census shall consult with the Director of the National

13 Science Foundation concerning the wording of the ques14 tion or questions to be added to the Survey.

15 Subtitle C—Limitations and

16 Special Authority

17 SEC. 161. OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIONAL FUND.

18 Amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraphs (1)

19 and (2) of section 101 may be used, but not to exceed

20 $70,000, for official reception and representation ex21 penses.

22 SEC. 162. FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.

23 NASA shall develop a facilities investment plan

24 through fiscal year 2015 that takes into account unique25 ness, mission dependency, and other studies required by

26 this Act.
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1 TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL

2 SPACE STATION

3 SEC. 201. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION COMPLETION.

4 (a) ELEMENTS, CAPABILITIES, AND CONFIGURATION

5 CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall ensure that the ISS

6 will be able to—

7 (1) fulfill international partner agreements and

8 provide a diverse range of research capacity, includ9 ing a high rate of human biomedical research proto10 cols, countermeasures, applied bio-technologies, tech11 nology and exploration research, and other priority

12 areas;

13 (2) have an ability to support crew size of at

14 least 6 persons;

15 (3) support crew exploration vehicle docking

16 and automated docking of cargo vehicles or modules

17 launched by either heavy-lift or commercially-devel18 oped launch vehicles; and

19 (4) be operated at an appropriate risk level.

20 (b) CONTINGENCY PLAN.—The transportation plan

21 to support ISS shall include contingency options to ensure

22 sufficient logistics and on-orbit capabilities to support any

23 potential hiatus between Space Shuttle availability and fol24 low-on crew and cargo systems, and provide sufficient pre-
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1 positioning of spares and other supplies needed to accom2 modate any such hiatus.

3 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Within 60 days after the date

4 of enactment of this Act, and before making any change

5 in the ISS assembly sequence in effect on the date of en6 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall certify in

7 writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,

8 and Transportation and the House of Representatives

9 Committee on Science NASA’s plan to meet the require10 ments of subsections (a) and (b).

11 (d) COST LIMITATION FOR THE ISS.—Within 6

12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad13 ministrator shall submit to the Congress information per14 taining to the impact of the Columbia accident and the

15 implementation of full cost accounting on the development

16 costs of the International Space Station. The Adminis17 trator shall also identify any statutory changes needed to

18 section 202 of the NASA Authorization Act of 2000 to

19 address those impacts.

20 SEC. 202. RESEARCH AND SUPPORT CAPABILITIES ON

21 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

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

23 (1) within 60 days after the date of enactment

24 of this Act, provide an assessment of biomedical and

25 life science research planned for implementation
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1 aboard the ISS that includes the identification of re2 search which can be performed in ground-based fa3 cilities and then, if appropriate, validated in space to

4 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and

5 Transportation and the House of Representatives

6 Committee on Science;

7 (2) ensure the capacity to support ground-based

8 research leading to spaceflight of scientific research

9 in a variety of disciplines with potential direct na10 tional benefits and applications that can advance

11 significantly from the uniqueness of micro-gravity;

12 (3) restore and protect such potential ISS re13 search activities as molecular crystal growth, animal

14 research, basic fluid physics, combustion research,

15 cellular biotechnology, low temperature physics, and

16 cellular research at a level which will sustain the ex17 isting scientific expertise and research capabilities

18 until such time as additional funding or resources

19 from sources other than NASA can be identified to

20 support these activities within the framework of the

21 National Laboratory provided for in section 203 of

22 this Act;

23 (4) consider the need for a life sciences cen24 trifuge and any associated holding facilities; and
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1 (5) within 1 year after the date of enactment

2 of this Act, develop a research plan that will dem3 onstrate the process by which NASA will evolve the

4 ISS research portfolio in a manner consistent with

5 the planned growth and evolution of ISS on-orbit

6 and transportation capabilities.

7 (b) MAINTENANCE OF ON-ORBIT ANALYTICAL CAPA8 BILITIES.—The Administrator shall ensure that on-orbit

9 analytical capabilities to support diagnostic human re10 search, as well as on-orbit characterization of molecular

11 crystal growth, cellular research, and other research prod12 ucts and results are developed and maintained, as an al13 ternative to Earth-based analysis requiring the capability

14 of returning research products to Earth.

15 (c) ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL SCIENTIFIC

16 USES.—The Administrator shall assess further potential

17 possible scientific uses of the ISS for other applications,

18 such as technology development, development of manufac19 turing processes, Earth observation and characterization,

20 and astronomical observations.

21 (d) TRANSITION TO PUBLIC-PRIVATE RESEARCH OP22 ERATIONS.—By no later than the date on which the as23 sembly of the ISS is complete (as determined by the Ad24 ministrator), the Administrator shall initiate steps to tran25 sition research operations on the ISS to a greater private–
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1 public operating relationship pursuant to section 203 of

2 this Act.

3 SEC. 203. NATIONAL LABORATORY STATUS FOR INTER4 NATIONAL SPACE STATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to accomplish the objec6 tives listed in section 202, the United States segment of

7 the ISS is hereby designated a national laboratory facility.

8 The Administrator, after consultation with the Director

9 of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall de10 velop the national laboratory facility to oversee scientific

11 utilization of an ISS national laboratory within the organi12 zational structure of NASA.

13 (b) NATIONAL LABORATORY FUNCTIONS.—The Ad14 ministrator shall seek to use the national laboratory to in15 crease the utilization of the ISS by other national and

16 commercial users and to maximize available NASA fund17 ing for research through partnerships, cost-sharing agree18 ments, and arrangements with non-NASA entities.

19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Within 1 year after

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

21 provide an implementation plan to the Senate Committee

22 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House

23 of Representatives Committee on Science for establish24 ment of the ISS national laboratory facility which, at a

25 minimum, shall include—
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1 (1) proposed on-orbit laboratory functions;

2 (2) proposed ground-based laboratory facilities;

3 (3) detailed laboratory management structure,

4 concept of operations, and operational feasibility;

5 (4) detailed plans for integration and conduct

6 of ground and space-based research operations;

7 (5) description of funding and workforce re8 source requirements necessary to establish and oper9 ate the laboratory;

10 (6) plans for accommodation of existing inter11 national partner research obligations and commit12 ments; and

13 (7) detailed outline of actions and timeline nec14 essary to implement and initiate operations of the

15 laboratory.

16 (d) U.S. SEGMENT DEFINED.—In this section the

17 term ‘‘United States Segment of the ISS’’ means those

18 elements of the ISS manufactured—

19 (1) by the United States; or

20 (2) for the United States by other nations in

21 exchange for funds or launch services.
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1 SEC. 204. COMMERCIAL SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL

2 SPACE STATION OPERATIONS AND UTILIZA3 TION.

4 The Administrator shall purchase commercial serv5 ices for support of the ISS for cargo and other needs, and

6 for enhancement of the capabilities of the ISS, to the max7 imum extent possible, in accordance with Federal procure8 ment law.

9 SEC. 205. USE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

10 AND ANNUAL REPORT.

11 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States—

12 (1) to ensure diverse and growing utilization of

13 benefits from the ISS; and

14 (2) to increase commercial operations in low15 Earth orbit and beyond that are supported by na16 tional and commercial space transportation capabili17 ties.

18 (b) USE OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.—The

19 Administrator shall conduct broadly focused scientific and

20 exploration research and development activities using the

21 ISS in a manner consistent with the provisions of this

22 title, and advance the Nation’s exploration of the Moon

23 and beyond, using the ISS as a test-bed and outpost for

24 operations, engineering, and scientific research.

25 (c) REPORTS.—No later than March 31 of each year

26 the Administrator shall submit a report to the Senate
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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

2 and the House of Representatives Committee on Science

3 on the use of the ISS for these purposes, with implementa4 tion milestones and associated results.

5 TITLE III—NATIONAL SPACE

6 TRANSPORTATION POLICY

7 SEC. 301. UNITED STATES HUMAN-RATED LAUNCH CAPAC8 ITY ASSESSMENT.

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ad10 ministrator shall, within 60 days after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, provide to the Senate Committee on

12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of

13 Representatives Committee on Science, a full description

14 of the transportation requirements needed to support the

15 space launch and transportation transition implementa16 tion plan required by section 136 of this Act, as well as

17 for the ISS, including—

18 (1) the manner in which the capabilities of any

19 proposed human-rated crew and launch vehicles

20 meet the requirements of the implementation plan

21 under section 136 of this Act;

22 (2) a retention plan of skilled personnel from

23 the legacy Shuttle program which will sustain the

24 level of safety for that program through the final

25 flight and transition plan that will ensure that any
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1 NASA programs can utilize the human capital re2 sources of the Shuttle program, to the maximum ex3 tent practicable;

4 (3) the implications for and impact on the Na5 tion’s aerospace industrial base;

6 (4) the manner in which the proposed vehicles

7 contribute to a national mixed fleet launch and flight

8 capacity;

9 (5) the nature and timing of the transition from

10 the Space Shuttle to the workforce, the proposed ve11 hicles, and any related infrastructure;

12 (6) support for ISS crew transportation, ISS

13 utilization, and lunar exploration architecture;

14 (7) for any human rated vehicle, a crew escape

15 system, as well as substantial protection against or16 bital debris strikes that offers a high level of safety;

17 (8) development risk areas;

18 (9) the schedule and cost;

19 (10) the relationship between crew and cargo

20 capabilities; and

21 (11) the ability to reduce risk through the use

22 of currently qualified hardware.

23 SEC. 302. SPACE SHUTTLE TRANSITION.

24 (a) POLICY STATEMENT.—It is the policy of the

25 United States to possess the capability for assured human
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1 access to space. The Administrator shall act to ensure that

2 the United States retains that capacity on a continuous

3 basis. The Administrator shall conduct the transition from

4 the Space Shuttle orbiter to a replacement capacity in a

5 manner that efficiently uses the personnel, capabilities,

6 and infrastructure that are currently available to the ex7 tent feasible.

8 (b) PROGRESS REPORT.—Within 180 days after the

9 date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the

10 Administrator shall report to the Senate Committee on

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of

12 Representatives Committee on Science on the progress

13 and the estimated amount of time before the next genera14 tion human-rated NASA spacecraft will demonstrate

15 crewed, orbital spaceflight.

16 (c) POLICY COMPLIANCE REPORT.—If, 1 year before

17 the final flight of the Space Shuttle orbiter, the United

18 States has not demonstrated a replacement human space

19 flight system, the Administrator shall certify that the

20 United States cannot uphold the policy outlined in sub21 section (a) and shall provide a report to the Senate Com22 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the

23 House of Representatives Committee on Science

24 describing—
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1 (1) United States strategic risks associated with

2 the hiatus or gap;

3 (2) the estimated length of time during which

4 the United States will not have independent human

5 access to space;

6 (3) what steps will be taken to shorten that

7 length of time; and

8 (4) what other means will be used to allow

9 human access to space during that time.

10 (d) TRANSITION PLAN REPORT.—After providing the

11 information required by section 301 to the Committees,

12 the Administrator shall transmit a report to the Senate

13 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

14 and the House of Representatives Committee on Science

15 containing a detailed and comprehensive Space Shuttle

16 transition plan that includes any necessary recertification,

17 including requirements, assumptions, and milestones, in

18 order to utilize the Space Shuttle orbiter beyond calendar

19 year 2010.

20 (e) CONTRACT TERMINATIONS; VENDOR REPLACE21 MENTS.—The Administrator may not terminate any con22 tracts nor replace any vendors associated with the Space

23 Shuttle until the Administrator transmits the report re24 quired by subsection (b) to the Committees.
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1 SEC. 303. COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VEHICLES.

2 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator

3 should use current and emerging commercial launch vehi4 cles to fulfill appropriate mission needs, including the sup5 port of low-Earth orbit and lunar exploration operations.

6 SEC. 304. SECONDARY PAYLOAD CAPABILITY.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to help develop a cadre

8 of experienced engineers and to provide more routine and

9 affordable access to space, the Administrator shall provide

10 the capabilities to support secondary payloads on United

11 States launch vehicles, including free flyers, for satellites

12 or scientific payloads weighing less than 500 kilograms.

13 (b) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Administrator shall

14 initiate a feasibility study for establishing a National Free

15 Flyer Launch Center as a means of consolidating and inte16 grating secondary launch capabilities, launch opportuni17 ties, and payloads.

18 (c) ASSESSMENT.—The feasibility study required in

19 this section shall include an assessment of the potential

20 utilization of existing launch and launch support facilities

21 and capabilities in the states of Montana and New Mexico

22 and their respective contiguous states, and the state of

23 Alaska, and shall include an assessment of the feasibility

24 of integrating the potential National Free Flyer Launch

25 Center within the operations and facilities of an existing
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1 non-profit organization such as the Inland Northwest

2 Space Alliance in Missoula, Montana, or similar entity.

3 SEC. 305. POWER AND PROPULSION REPORTING.

4 The Administrator shall, within 180 days after the

5 date of enactment of this Act, provide to the Senate Com6 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the

7 House of Representatives Committee on Science, a full de8 scription of plans to develop and utilize nuclear power and

9 nuclear propulsion capabilities to achieve agency goals and

10 any requirements in this Act, and address how those plans

11 meet the intent of the Vision for Space Exploration and

12 the President’s Space Transportation Policy Directive.

13 SEC. 306. UTILIZATION OF NASA FIELD CENTERS AND

14 WORKFORCE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—In budgeting for and carrying out

16 elements of this title, the Administrator shall make the

17 most effective use of existing research, development, test18 ing, and space exploration expertise and facilities resident

19 within NASA field centers.

20 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FIELD CENTERS.—The

21 Administrator shall take appropriate action to balance re22 sponsibilities between the field centers for leading the de23 velopment of systems relevant to the Vision for Space Ex24 ploration, including systems identified in this title or any

25 architecture studies performed by NASA.
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1 TITLE IV—ENABLING

2 COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

3 SEC. 401. COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta5 tion with the Associate Administrator for Space Transpor6 tation of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Direc7 tor of the Office of Space Commercialization of the De8 partment of Commerce, and any other relevant agencies,

9 shall develop a commercialization plan to support the

10 human missions to the Moon and Mars, to support Low11 Earth Orbit activities and Earth science mission and ap12 plications, and to transfer science research and technology

13 to society. The plan shall identify opportunities for the pri14 vate sector to participate in the future missions and activi15 ties, including opportunities for partnership between

16 NASA and the private sector in the development of tech17 nologies and services, shall emphasize the utilization by

18 NASA of advancements made by the private sector in

19 space launch and orbital hardware, and shall include op20 portunities for innovative collaborations between NASA

21 and the private sector under existing authorities of NASA

22 for reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements under

23 the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42

24 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.).
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1 (b) REPORT.—Within 180 days after the date of en2 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a copy

3 of the plan to the Senate Committee on Commerce,

4 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent5 atives Committee on Science.

6 SEC. 402. COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PRO7 GRAM.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall execute

9 a commercial technology transfer program with the goal

10 of facilitating the exchange services, products, and intel11 lectual property between NASA and the private sector.

12 This program shall be maintained in a manner that pro13 vides measurable benefits for the agency, the domestic

14 economy, and research communities.

15 (b) PROGRAM STRUCTURE.—In carrying out the pro16 gram described in paragraph (a), the Administrator shall

17 maintain the funding and program structure of NASA’s

18 existing technology transfer and commercialization organi19 zations through the end of fiscal year 2006.
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1 SEC. 403. AUTHORITY FOR COMPETITIVE PRIZE PROGRAM

2 TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF AD3 VANCED SPACE AND AERONAUTICAL TECH4 NOLOGIES.

5 Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act

6 of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is amended by adding

7 at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 316. PROGRAM ON COMPETITIVE AWARD OF PRIZES

9 TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF AD10 VANCED SPACE AND AERONAUTICAL TECH11 NOLOGIES.

12 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may

14 carry out a program to award prizes to stimulate in15 novation in basic and applied research, technology

16 development, and prototype demonstration that have

17 the potential for application to the performance of

18 the space and aeronautical activities of the Adminis19 tration.

20 ‘‘(2) USE OF PRIZE AUTHORITY.—In carrying

21 out the program, the Administrator shall seek to de22 velop and support technologies and areas identified

23 in section 134 of this Act or other areas that the

24 Administrator determines to be providing impetus to

25 NASA’s overall exploration and science architecture

26 and plans, such as private efforts to detect near
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1 Earth objects and, where practicable, utilize the

2 prize winner’s technologies in fulfilling NASA’s mis3 sions. The Administrator shall widely advertise any

4 competitions conducted under the program and must

5 include advertising to research universities.

6 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The program shall be

7 implemented in compliance with section 138 of the

8 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au9 thorization Act of 2005.

10 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—Recipients of

12 prizes under the program under this section shall be

13 selected through one or more competitions conducted

14 by the Administrator.

15 ‘‘(2) ADVERTISING.—The Administrator shall

16 widely advertise any competitions conducted under

17 the program.

18 ‘‘(c) REGISTRATION; ASSUMPTION OF RISK.—

19 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Each potential recipient

20 of a prize in a competition under the program under

21 this section shall register for the competition.

22 ‘‘(2) ASSUMPTION OF RISK.—In registering for

23 a competition under paragraph (1), a potential re24 cipient of a prize shall assume any and all risks, and

25 waive claims against the United States Government
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1 and its related entities, for any injury, death, dam2 age, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether

3 direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from par4 ticipation in the competition, whether such injury,

5 death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or

6 otherwise, except in the case of willful misconduct.

7 ‘‘(3) RELATED ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub8 section, the term ‘related entity’ includes a con9 tractor or subcontractor at any tier, a supplier, user,

10 customer, cooperating party, grantee, investigator,

11 or detailee.

12 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) TOTAL AMOUNT.—The total amount of

14 cash prizes available for award in competitions

15 under the program under this section in any fiscal

16 year may not exceed $50,000,000.

17 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR LARGE

18 PRIZES.—No competition under the program may

19 result in the award of more than $1,000,000 in cash

20 prizes without the approval of the Administrator or

21 a designee of the Administrator.

22 ‘‘(e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—The

23 Administrator may utilize the authority in this section in

24 conjunction with or in addition to the utilization of any

25 other authority of the Administrator to acquire, support,
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1 or stimulate basic and applied research, technology devel2 opment, or prototype demonstration projects.

3 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated

4 for the program authorized by this section shall remain

5 available until expended.’’.

6 SEC. 404. COMMERCIAL GOODS AND SERVICES.

7 It is the sense of the Congress that NASA should

8 purchase commercially available space goods and services

9 to the fullest extent feasible in support of the human mis10 sions beyond Earth and should encourage commercial use

11 and development of space to the greatest extent prac12 ticable.

13 TITLE V—AERONAUTICS

14 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

15 SEC. 501. GOVERNMENTAL INTEREST IN AERONAUTICS.

16 Congress reaffirms the national commitment to aero17 nautics research made in the National Aeronautics and

18 Space Act of 1958. Aeronautical research and develop19 ment remains a core mission of NASA. NASA is the lead

20 agency for civil aeronautics research. NASA shall conduct

21 a robust program of aeronautics research that includes

22 fundamental basic research as well as research in the

23 fields of vehicle systems and of safety and security.
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1 SEC. 502. NATIONAL POLICY FOR AERONAUTICS RESEARCH

2 AND DEVELOPMENT.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall develop

4 through NASA and other relevant entities, a national aer5 onautics policy to guide the aeronautics programs of the

6 United States through the year 2020. The development

7 of this policy shall utilize external studies that have been

8 conducted on the state of United States aeronautics and

9 aviation research and have suggested policies to ensure

10 continued competitiveness.

11 (b) CONTENT.—At a minimum the national aero12 nautics policy shall describe—

13 (1) national goals for aeronautics research;

14 (2) the priority areas of research for aero15 nautics through fiscal year 2011;

16 (3) the basis of which and the process by which

17 priorities for ensuing fiscal years will be selected;

18 and

19 (4) respective roles and responsibilities of var20 ious Federal agencies in aeronautics research.

21 (c) NASA INPUT.—In providing input to and exe22 cuting the National Aeronautics Policy, the Administrator,

23 shall consider the following issues:

24 (1) The established governmental interest in

25 conducting research and development programs for

26 improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed,
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1 safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and vehicles, as

2 described in section 102(c)(2) of the National Aero3 nautics and Space Act of 1958 and reaffirmed in

4 section 501.

5 (2) The established governmental interest in

6 conducting research and development programs that

7 contribute to preservation of the role of the United

8 States as a global leader in aeronautical technologies

9 and in the application thereof in section 102(c)(5) of

10 the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958

11 and reaffirmed in section 501.

12 (3) The appropriate balance between long-term,

13 high risk research and shorter, more incremental re14 search, and the expected impact on the United

15 States economy and public good.

16 (4) The appropriate balance between in-house

17 research and procurement with industry and aca18 demia.

19 (5) The extent to which NASA should address

20 military and commercial aviation needs.

21 (6) How NASA will coordinate its aeronautics

22 program with other Federal agencies.

23 (7) Opportunities for partnerships with the pri24 vate sector.

25 (d) SCHEDULE.—
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1 (1) No later than 1 year after the date of en2 actment of this Act, the President shall submit the

3 national aeronautics policy to the Appropriations

4 Committees of the House of Representatives and the

5 Senate, the House Committee on Science, and the

6 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and

7 Transportation.

8 (2) No later than 60 days after the transmittal

9 of the policy, the Administrator shall submit

10 NASA’s response to the policy, to the Appropria11 tions Committees of the House of Representatives

12 and the Senate, the House Committee on Science,

13 and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science

14 and Transportation.

15 SEC. 503. HIGH PRIORITY AERONAUTICS RESEARCH AND

16 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In its role as lead agency for civil

18 aeronautics research and development, NASA shall de19 velop programs and projects in accordance with the Na20 tional Aeronautics Policy described in section 502, as well

21 program areas listed in subsection (b). These programs

22 must be driven by scientific merit.

23 (b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—In executing

24 an aeronautics research and development program, the

25 Administrator shall, at a minimum, within the budgetary
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1 and programmatic resources provided, conduct programs

2 in the following areas:

3 (1) FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.—The Adminis4 trator shall establish a program of long-term funda5 mental research in aeronautical sciences and tech6 nologies that is not tied to specific development

7 projects. The Administrator shall set aside no less

8 than 5 percent of the aeronautics budget for this

9 program. As part of this program, the Administrator

10 is encouraged to make merit-reviewed grants to in11 stitutions of higher learning, including such institu12 tions located in states that participate in the Experi13 mental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

14 (2) VEHICLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND TECH15 NOLOGY.—In order to maintain United States eco16 nomic competitiveness and protect the environment,

17 the Administrator shall establish programs in each

18 of the following technology areas:

19 (A) ENVIRONMENTAL AIRCRAFT RESEARCH

20 AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator shall

21 establish an initiative with the objective of de22 veloping and demonstrating in a relevant envi23 ronment, technologies to enable the following

24 commercial aircraft performance characteristics:
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1 (i) NOISE.—Noise levels on takeoff

2 and on airport approach and landing that

3 do not exceed ambient noise levels in the

4 absence of flight operations in the vicinity

5 of airports from which such commercial

6 aircraft would normally operate;

7 (ii) ENERGY CONSUMPTION.—Twenty8 five percent reduction in the energy re9 quired for medium to long range flights,

10 compared to aircraft in commercial service

11 as of the date of enactment of this Act;

12 and

13 (iii) EMISSIONS.—Nitrogen oxides on

14 take-off and landing that are significantly

15 reduced, without adversely affecting hydro16 carbons and smoke, relative to aircraft in

17 commercial service as of the date of enact18 ment of this Act.

19 (B) SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT RESEARCH

20 AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator shall

21 establish an initiative with the objective of de22 veloping and demonstrating in a relevant envi23 ronment within airframe and propulsion tech24 nologies to enable efficient, economical overland
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1 flight of supersonic civil transport aircraft with

2 no significant impact on the environment.

3 (C) ROTORCRAFT AND OTHER RUNWAY4 INDEPENDENT AIR VEHICLES.—The Adminis5 trator shall establish a rotorcraft and other

6 runway-independent air vehicles initiative with

7 the objective of developing and demonstrating

8 improved safety, noise, and environmental im9 pact in a relevant environment.

10 (D) HYPERSONICS RESEARCH.—The Ad11 ministrator shall establish a hypersonics re12 search program whose objective shall be to ex13 plore the science and technology of hypersonic

14 flight using air-breathing propulsion concepts,

15 through a mix of theoretical work, basic and

16 applied research, and development of flight re17 search demonstration vehicles. Emphasis in the

18 program shall be given to advancing and dem19 onstrating turbine engine technology in the

20 transition to hypersonic range Mach 3 to Mach

21 5.

22 (E) REVOLUTIONARY AERONAUTICAL CON23 CEPTS.—The Administrator shall establish a re24 search program which covers a unique range of

25 subsonic, fixed wing vehicles and propulsion
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1 concepts. This research is intended to push

2 technology barriers beyond current subsonic

3 technology. Propulsion concepts include ad4 vanced materials, morphing engines, hybrid en5 gines, and fuel cells.

6 (F) MORE ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT INITIA7 TIVE.—The Administrator shall establish a pro8 gram for innovative and focused research and

9 development such as fuel cell technologies.

10 (3) AIRSPACE SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—The Air11 space Systems Research program shall pursue re12 search and development to enable revolutionary im13 provements to and modernization of the National

14 Airspace system, as well as to enable the introduc15 tion of new systems for vehicles that can take advan16 tage of an improved, modern air transportation sys17 tem. In pursuing research and development in this

18 area, the Administrator shall align the projects of

19 the Airspace Systems Research program so that they

20 directly support the objectives of the Joint Planning

21 and Development Office’s Next Generation air

22 Transportation System Integrated Plan.

23 (4) AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY RE24 SEARCH.—The Aviation Safety and Security Re25 search program shall pursue research and develop-
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1 ment activities that directly address the safety and

2 security needs of the National Airspace System and

3 the aircraft that fly in it.

4 SEC. 504. TEST FACILITIES.

5 (a) Prior to completion of the National Aeronautics

6 Policy described in section 502 and transmittal of such

7 policy pursuant to subsection (d) of that section, the Ad8 ministrator may not close, suspend, or terminate contracts

9 for the operation of major aeronautical test facilities, in10 cluding wind tunnels, unless the Administrator—

11 (1) certifies in writing that such closure will not

12 have an adverse impact on NASA’s ability to execute

13 the National Policy and achieve the goals described

14 in that Policy; and

15 (2) provides notification to and receives concur16 rence from the Appropriations Committees of the

17 House of Representatives and the Senate, the House

18 Committee on Science, and the Senate Committee on

19 Commerce, Science and Transportation 60 days in

20 advance of such action.

21 SEC. 505. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

22 (a) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis23 trator shall encourage the development of a skilled and

24 diverse aeronautics research workforce using appropriate
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1 available tools such as grants, scholarships for service, and

2 fellowships.

3 (b) ALIGNMENT OF PROGRAMS.—Notwithstanding

4 any other provision of this title, the Administrator shall

5 align NASA’s aeronautics program with priorities estab6 lished by the Joint Planning and Development Office and

7 by the National Aeronautics Policy described in section

8 502 of this Act.

9 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS AD10 MINISTRATIVE IMPROVE11 MENTS

12 SEC. 601. EXTENSION OF INDEMNIFICATION AUTHORITY.

13 Section 309 of the National Aeronautics and Space

14 Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2458c) is amended by striking

15 ‘‘December 31, 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31,

16 2007’’, and by striking ‘‘September 30, 2005’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘December 31, 2009’’.

18 SEC. 602. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROVISIONS.

19 Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space

20 Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2457) is amended by inserting

21 after subsection (f) the following:

22 ‘‘(g) ASSIGNMENT OF PATENT RIGHTS, ETC.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under agreements entered

24 into pursuant to paragraph (5) or (6) of section
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1 203(c) of this Act (42 U.S.C. 2473(c)(5) or (6)), the

2 Administrator may—

3 ‘‘(A) grant or agree to grant in advance to

4 a participating party, patent licenses or assign5 ments, or options thereto, in any invention

6 made in whole or in part by an Administration

7 employee under the agreement; or

8 ‘‘(B) subject to section 209 of title 35,

9 grant a license to an invention which is Feder10 ally owned, for which a patent application was

11 filed before the signing of the agreement, and

12 directly within the scope of the work under the

13 agreement, for reasonable compensation when

14 appropriate.

15 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIVITY.—The Administrator shall

16 ensure, through such agreement, that the partici17 pating party has the option to choose an exclusive

18 license for a pre-negotiated field of use for any such

19 invention under the agreement or, if there is more

20 than 1 participating party, that the participating

21 parties are offered the option to hold licensing rights

22 that collectively encompass the rights that would be

23 held under such an exclusive license by one party.

24 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONS.—In consideration for the

25 Government’s contribution under the agreement,
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1 grants under this subsection shall be subject to the

2 following explicit conditions:

3 ‘‘(A) A nonexclusive, nontransferable, ir4 revocable, paid-up license from the participating

5 party to the Administration to practice the in6 vention or have the invention practiced through7 out the world by or on behalf of the Govern8 ment. In the exercise of such license, the Gov9 ernment shall not publicly disclose trade secrets

10 or commercial or financial information that is

11 privileged or confidential within the meaning of

12 section 552 (b)(4) of title 5, United States

13 Code, or which would be considered as such if

14 it had been obtained from a non-Federal party.

15 ‘‘(B) If the Administration assigns title or

16 grants an exclusive license to such an invention,

17 the Government shall retain the right—

18 ‘‘(i) to require the participating party

19 to grant to a responsible applicant a non20 exclusive, partially exclusive, or exclusive

21 license to use the invention in the appli22 cant’s licensed field of use, on terms that

23 are reasonable under the circumstances; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) if the participating party fails to

2 grant such a license, to grant the license

3 itself.

4 ‘‘(C) The Government may exercise its

5 right retained under subparagraph (B) only in

6 exceptional circumstances and only if the Gov7 ernment determines that—

8 ‘‘(i) the action is necessary to meet

9 health or safety needs that are not reason10 ably satisfied by the participating party;

11 ‘‘(ii) the action is necessary to meet

12 requirements for public use specified by

13 Federal regulations, and such requirements

14 are not reasonably satisfied by the partici15 pating party; or

16 ‘‘(iii) the action is necessary to comply

17 with an agreement containing provisions

18 described in section 12(c)(4)(B) of the Ste19 venson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act

20 of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(c)(4)(B)).

21 ‘‘(4) APPEAL AND REVIEW OF DETERMINA22 TION.—A determination under paragraph

23 (3)(C) is subject to administrative appeal and

24 judicial review under section 203(b) of title 35,

25 United States Code.’’.
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1 SEC. 603. RETROCESSION OF JURISDICTION.

2 Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act

3 of 1958, as amended by section 602 of this Act, is further

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 317. RETROCESSION OF JURISDICTION.

6 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ad7 ministrator may, whenever the Administrator considers it

8 desirable, relinquish to a State all or part of the legislative

9 jurisdiction of the United States over lands or interests

10 under the Administrator’s control in that State. Relin11 quishment of legislative jurisdiction under this section

12 may be accomplished (1) by filing with the Governor of

13 the State concerned a notice of relinquishment to take ef14 fect upon acceptance thereof, or (2) as the laws of the

15 State may otherwise provide.’’.

16 SEC. 604. RECOVERY AND DISPOSITION AUTHORITY.

17 Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act

18 of 1958, as amended by section 603 of this Act, is further

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 318. RECOVERY AND DISPOSITION AUTHORITY.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

22 ‘‘(1) CONTROL OF REMAINS.—Subject to para23 graph (2), when there is an accident or mishap re24 sulting in the death of a crewmember of a NASA

25 human space flight vehicle, the Administrator may

26 take control over the remains of the crewmember
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1 and order autopsies and other scientific or medical

2 tests.

3 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—Each crewmember shall

4 provide the Administrator with his or her pref5 erences regarding the treatment accorded to his or

6 her remains and the Administrator shall, to the ex7 tent possible, respect those stated preferences.

8 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 ‘‘(1) CREWMEMBER.—The term ‘crewmember’

10 means an astronaut or other person assigned to a

11 NASA human space flight vehicle.

12 ‘‘(2) NASA HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT VEHICLE.—

13 The term ‘NASA human space flight vehicle’ means

14 a space vehicle, as defined in section 308(f)(1),

15 that—

16 ‘‘(A) is intended to transport 1 or more

17 persons;

18 ‘‘(B) designed to operate in outer space;

19 and

20 ‘‘(C) is either owned by NASA, or owned

21 by a NASA contractor or cooperating party and

22 operated as part of a NASA mission or a joint

23 mission with NASA.’’.
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1 SEC. 605. REQUIREMENT FOR INDEPENDENT COST ANAL2 YSIS.

3 Section 301 of the National Aeronautics and Space

4 Administration Authorization Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C.

5 2459g) amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Phase B’’ in subsection (a) and

7 inserting ‘‘implementation’’;

8 (2) by striking ‘‘Chief Financial Officer’’ each

9 place it appears in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘Ad10 ministrator’’;

11 (3) by inserting ‘‘and consider’’ in subsection

12 (a) after ‘‘shall conduct’’; and

13 (4) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.—In this section,

16 the term ‘implementation’ means all activity in the life

17 cycle of a program or project after preliminary design,

18 independent assessment of the preliminary design, and ap19 proval to proceed into implementation, including critical

20 design, development, certification, launch, operations, dis21 posal of assets, and, for technology programs, develop22 ment, testing, analysis and communication of the results

23 to the customers.’’.
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1 SEC. 606. ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO BUSINESS OPPORTUNI2 TIES.

3 Title III of the National Aeronautics and Space Act

4 of 1958, as amended by section 604 of this Act, is further

5 amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 319. ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO BUSINESS OPPORTUNI7 TIES.

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may imple9 ment a pilot program providing for reduction in the wait10 ing period between publication of notice of a proposed con11 tract action and release of the solicitation for procure12 ments conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space

13 Administration.

14 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—The program implemented

15 under subsection (a) shall apply to non-commercial

16 acquisitions—

17 ‘‘(1) with a total value in excess of $100,000

18 but not more than $5,000,000, including options;

19 ‘‘(2) that do not involve bundling of contract re20 quirements as defined in section 3(o) of the Small

21 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(o)); and

22 ‘‘(3) for which a notice is required by section

23 8(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e))

24 and section 18(a) of the Office of Federal Procure25 ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416(a)).

26 ‘‘(c) NOTICE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Notice of acquisitions subject to the pro2 gram authorized by this section shall be made acces3 sible through the single Government-wide point of

4 entry designated in the Federal Acquisition Regula5 tion, consistent with section 30(c)(4) of the Office of

6 Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C.

7 426(c)(4)).

8 ‘‘(2) Providing access to notice in accordance

9 with paragraph (1) satisfies the publication require10 ments of section 8(e) of the Small Business Act (15

11 U.S.C. 637(e)) and section 18(a) of the Office of

12 Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416(a)).

13 ‘‘(d) SOLICITATION.—Solicitations subject to the pro14 gram authorized by this section shall be made accessible

15 through the Government-wide point of entry, consistent

16 with requirements set forth in the Federal Acquisition

17 Regulation, except for adjustments to the wait periods as

18 provided in subsection (e).

19 ‘‘(e) WAIT PERIOD.—

20 ‘‘(1) Whenever a notice required by section

21 8(e)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

22 637(e)(1)(A)) and section 18(a) of the Office of

23 Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416(a))

24 is made accessible in accordance with subsection (c)

25 of this section, the wait period set forth in section
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1 8(e)(3)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

2 637(e)(3)(A)) and section 18(a)(3)(A) of the Office

3 of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C.

4 416(a)(3)(A)), shall be reduced by 5 days. If the so5 licitation applying to that notice is accessible elec6 tronically in accordance with subsection (d) simulta7 neously with issuance of the notice, the wait period

8 set forth in section 8(e)(3)(A) of the Small Business

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e)(3)(A)) and section

10 18(a)(3)(A) of the Office of Federal Procurement

11 Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416(a)(3)(A)) shall not apply

12 and the period specified in section 8(e)(3)(B) of the

13 Small Business Act and section 18(a)(3)(B) of the

14 Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act for sub15 mission of bids or proposals shall begin to run from

16 the date the solicitation is electronically accessible.

17 ‘‘(2) When a notice and solicitation are made

18 accessible simultaneously and the wait period is

19 waived pursuant to paragraph (1), the deadline for

20 the submission of bids or proposals shall be not less

21 than 5 days greater than the minimum deadline set

22 forth in section 8(e)(3)(B) of the Small Business

23 Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e)(3)(B)) and section

24 18(a)(3)(B) of the Office of Federal Procurement

25 Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416(a)(3)(B)).
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1 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—

2 ‘‘(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed

3 as modifying regulatory requirements set forth in

4 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, except with re5 spect to—

6 ‘‘(A) the applicable wait period between

7 publication of notice of a proposed contract ac8 tion and release of the solicitation; and

9 ‘‘(B) the deadline for submission of bids or

10 proposals for procurements conducted in ac11 cordance with the terms of this pilot program.

12 ‘‘(2) This section shall not apply to the extent

13 the President determines it is inconsistent with any

14 international agreement to which the United States

15 is a party.

16 ‘‘(g) STUDY.—Within 18 months after the effective

17 date of the program, NASA, in coordination with the

18 Small Business Administration, the General Services Ad19 ministration, and the Office of Management and Budget,

20 shall evaluate the impact of the pilot program and submit

21 to Congress a report that—

22 ‘‘(1) sets forth in detail the results of the test,

23 including the impact on competition and small busi24 ness participation; and
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1 ‘‘(2) addresses whether the pilot program

2 should be made permanent, continued as a test pro3 gram, or allowed to expire.

4 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pub5 lish proposed revisions to the NASA Federal Acquisition

6 Regulation Supplement necessary to implement this sec7 tion in the Federal Register not later than 120 days after

8 the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics and

9 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005. The Ad10 ministrator shall—

11 ‘‘(1) make the proposed regulations available

12 for public comment for a period of not less than 60

13 days; and

14 ‘‘(2) publish final regulations in the Federal

15 Register not later than 240 days after the date of

16 enactment of that Act.

17 ‘‘(i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The pilot program author19 ized by this section shall take effect on the date

20 specified in the final regulations promulgated pursu21 ant to subsection (h)(2).

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The date so specified shall

23 be no less than 30 days after the date on which the

24 final regulation is published.
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1 ‘‘(j) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to

2 conduct the pilot program under subsection (a) and to

3 award contracts under such program shall expire 2 years

4 after the effective date established in the final regulations

5 published in the Federal Register under subsection

6 (h)(2).’’.

7 SEC. 607. REPORTS ELIMINATION.

8 (a) REPEALS.—The following provisions of law are

9 repealed:

10 (1) Section 201 of the National Aeronautics

11 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2000

12 (42 U.S.C. 2451 note).

13 (2) Section 304(d) of the Federal Aviation Ad14 ministration Research, Engineering, and Develop15 ment Authorization Act of 1992 (49 U.S.C. 47508

16 note).

17 (b) AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) Section 315 of the National Aeronautics

19 and Space Administration Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C.

20 2459j) is amended by striking subsection (a) and re21 designating subsections (b) through (f) as sub22 sections (a) through (e).

23 (2) Section 315(a) of the National Aeronautics

24 and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal

25 Year 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2487a(c)) is amended by
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1 striking subsection (c) and redesignating subsection

2 (d) as subsection (c).

3 (3) Section 323 of the National Aeronautics

4 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2000

5 is amended by striking subsection (a).

6 SEC. 608. SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING.

7 (a) PLAN.—In consultation with the Small Business

8 Administration, the Administrator shall develop a plan to

9 maximize the number and amount of contracts awarded

10 to small business concerns (within the meaning given that

11 term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

12 632) and to meet established contracting goals for such

13 concerns.

14 (b) PRIORITY.—The Administrator shall establish, as

15 a priority, meeting the contracting goals developed in con16 junction with the Small Business Administration to maxi17 mize the amount of prime contracts, as measured in dol18 lars, awarded in each fiscal year by NASA to small busi19 ness concerns (within the meaning given that term in sec20 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)).

21 SEC. 609. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW

22 AND REPORT.

23 (a) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the United

24 States shall conduct a review of NASA’s policies, proc25 esses, and procedures in the planning and management
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1 of applications research and development implemented in

2 calendar years 2001 to 2005 within the Applied Sciences

3 Directorate and former Earth Science Applications Pro4 gram. A formal and transparent peer review process that

5 instills public and stakeholder confidence in NASA’s spon6 sored applications research and development programs is

7 important and the process by which this program defines

8 requirements, scopes programs, selects peer reviewers,

9 manages the research competition, and selects proposals

10 is of concern. The review shall include—

11 (1) the program planning and analysis process

12 used to formulate applied science research and devel13 opment requirements, priorities, and solicitation

14 schedules, including changes to the process within

15 the period under review, and the effects of such

16 planning on the quality and clarity of applied

17 sciences research announcements;

18 (2) the peer review process including—

19 (A) membership selection, determination of

20 qualifications and use of NASA and non-NASA

21 reviewers;

22 (B) management of conflicts of interest,

23 including reviewers funded by the program with

24 a significant consulting or contractual relation25 ship with NASA, and individuals who both re-
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1 view proposals and participate in the submis2 sion of proposals under the same solicitation

3 announcement;

4 (C) compensation of non-NASA proposal

5 reviewers;

6 (3) the process for assigning or allocating ap7 plied research to NASA researchers and to non8 NASA researchers; and

9 (4) alternative models for NASA planning and

10 management of applied science and applications re11 search, including an evaluation of—

12 (A) the National Institutes of Health’s in13 tramural and extramural research program

14 structure, peer review process, management of

15 conflicts of interests, compensation of reviewers,

16 and the effects of compensation on reviewer ef17 ficiency and quality;

18 (B) the Department of Agriculture’s re19 search programs and structure, peer review

20 process, management of conflicts of interest,

21 compensation of reviewers, and the effects of

22 compensation on reviewer efficiency and quality;

23 and
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1 (C) the ‘‘best practices’’ of both in the

2 planning, selection, and management of applied

3 sciences research and development.

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

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

6 submit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce,

7 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent8 atives Committee on Science describing the results of the

9 review conducted under subsection (a), including rec10 ommendations for NASA best practices.

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 90 days after

12 receipt of the report, NASA shall provide the Senate Com13 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the

14 House of Representatives Committee on Science a plan de15 scribing the implementation of those recommendations.

Passed the Senate September 28, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1281

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the National Aeroand 2010. poses, for fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and the Inspector General, and for other pur- aeronautics, exploration, exploration capabilities, nautics and Space Administration for science,