II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1297 

To update the Commercial Space Launch Act by amending title 51, United 

States Code, to promote competitiveness of the U.S. commercial space 

sector, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2015 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. NELSON, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. 

GARDNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To update the Commercial Space Launch Act by amending 

title 51, United States Code, to promote competitiveness 

of the U.S. commercial space sector, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S. Commercial 

5 Space Launch Competitiveness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 51, UNITED STATES CODE. 

7 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 


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1 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi2 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

3 section or other provision of title 51, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 3. LIABILITY INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL RESPONSI5 BILITY REQUIREMENTS. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that it is in the public interest to update the method8 ology used to calculate the maximum probable loss from 

9 claims under section 50914 of title 51, United States 

10 Code, with a validated risk profile approach in order to 

11 consistently compute valid and reasonable maximum prob12 able loss values. 

13 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than September 

14 30, 2015, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation 

15 with the commercial space sector and insurance providers, 

16 shall— 

17 (1) evaluate and, if necessary, develop a plan to 

18 update the methodology used to calculate the max19 imum probable loss from claims under section 50914 

20 of title 51, United States Code; 

21 (2) in evaluating or developing a plan under 

22 paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) ensure that the Federal Government is 

24 not exposed to greater costs than intended and 

25 that launch companies are not required to purVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 May 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1297.IS S1297

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1 chase more insurance coverage than necessary; 

2 and 

3 (B) consider the impact of the cost to both 

4 the industry and the Government of imple5 menting an updated methodology; and 

6 (3) submit the evaluation, and any plan, to the 

7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, 

9 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa10 tives. 

11 SEC. 4. LAUNCH LIABILITY EXTENSION. 

12 Section 50915(f) is amended by striking ‘‘December 

13 31, 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2020’’. 

14 SEC. 5. COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH LICENSING AND EX15 PERIMENTAL PERMITS. 

16 Section 50906 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘launched or 

18 reentered’’ and inserting ‘‘launched or reentered 

19 under that permit’’; 

20 (2) by amending subsection (d)(1) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(1) research and development to test design 

23 concepts, equipment, or operating techniques;’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (d)(3) by striking ‘‘prior to 

25 obtaining a license’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ‘‘suborbital 

2 rocket design’’ and inserting ‘‘suborbital rocket or 

3 suborbital rocket design’’; and 

4 (5) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(g) The Secretary may issue a permit under this sec7 tion notwithstanding any license issued under this chapter. 

8 The issuance of a license under this chapter may not inval9 idate a permit issued under this section.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. LICENSING REPORT. 

11 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit 

13 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor14 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

15 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 

16 on approaches for streamlining the licensing and permit17 ting process of launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, or compo18 nents of launch or reentry vehicles, to enable non-launch 

19 flight operations related to space transportation. The re20 port shall include approaches to improve efficiency, reduce 

21 unnecessary costs, resolve inconsistencies, remove duplica22 tion, and minimize unwarranted constraints. 

23 SEC. 7. SPACE AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 


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1 of Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with the 

2 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Transportation, the 

3 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad4 ministration, the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

5 and the commercial space sector, shall— 

6 (1) assess current, and proposed near-term, 

7 commercial non-governmental activities conducted in 

8 space; 

9 (2) identify appropriate oversight authorities 

10 for the activities described in paragraph (1); 

11 (3) recommend an oversight approach that 

12 would prioritize safety, utilize existing authorities, 

13 minimize burdens, promote the U.S. commercial 

14 space sector, and meet the United States obligations 

15 under international treaties; and 

16 (4) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

18 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

19 House of Representatives a report on the assessment 

20 and recommended approaches. 

21 (b) EXCEPTION.—Nothing in this section shall apply 

22 to the activities of the ISS national laboratory as described 

23 in section 504 of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad24 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 18354), including any research or development projects 

2 utilizing the ISS national laboratory. 

3 SEC. 8. SPACE SURVEILLANCE AND SITUATIONAL AWARE4 NESS DATA. 

5 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation in concur7 rence with the Secretary of Defense shall— 

8 (1) in consultation with the heads of other rel9 evant Federal agencies, study the feasibility of proc10 essing and releasing safety-related space situational 

11 awareness data and information to any entity con12 sistent with national security interests and public 

13 safety obligations of the United States; and 

14 (2) submit a report on the feasibility study to 

15 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans16 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

17 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

18 Representatives. 

19 SEC. 9. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN SAFETY REGULATION RE20 QUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) EXTENSION OF CERTAIN SAFETY REGULATION

22 REQUIREMENTS.—Section 50905(c)(3) is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘Beginning on October 1, 2015’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Beginning on October 1, 2020’’. 


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1 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Section 50905(c) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be con4 strued to limit the authority of the Secretary to dis5 cuss potential regulatory approaches with the com6 mercial space sector, including observations, find7 ings, and recommendations from the Commercial 

8 Space Transportation Advisory Committee, prior to 

9 the issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking.’’. 

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

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, 

12 in consultation with the commercial space sector, including 

13 the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Com14 mittee, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com16 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

17 of Representatives a report specifying key industry metrics 

18 that might indicate readiness of the commercial space sec19 tor and the Department of Transportation to transition 

20 to a regulatory approach under section 50905(c)(3) of title 

21 51, United States Code, that considers space flight partici22 pant, government astronaut, and crew safety. 

23 (d) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Beginning on December 31, 

24 2016, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Trans25 portation, in consultation and coordination with the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 May 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1297.IS S1297

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1 mercial space sector, including the Commercial Space 

2 Transportation Advisory Committee, shall submit to the 

3 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

4 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

5 Technology of the House of Representatives a report that 

6 identifies the activities, described in subsections (c) and 

7 (d) of section 50905 of title 51, United States Code, most 

8 appropriate for regulatory action, if any, and a proposed 

9 transition plan for such regulations. 

10 SEC. 10. INDUSTRY VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS. 

11 (a) INDUSTRY VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STAND12 ARDS.—Section 50905(c), as amended in section 9 of this 

13 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall continue to work with 

16 the commercial space sector, including the Commer17 cial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, to 

18 facilitate the development of voluntary consensus 

19 standards based on recommended best practices to 

20 improve the safety of crew, government astronauts, 

21 and space flight participants as the commercial 

22 space sector continues to mature.’’. 

23 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Beginning on December 31, 

24 2016, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Trans25 portation, in consultation and coordination with the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 May 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1297.IS S1297

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1 mercial space sector, including the Commercial Space 

2 Transportation Advisory Committee, shall submit to the 

3 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

4 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

5 Technology of the House of Representatives a report de6 tailing progress on the development of industry voluntary 

7 consensus standards under section 50905(c)(6) of title 51, 

8 United States Code. 

9 SEC. 11. GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUTS. 

10 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—Section 50901(15) is 

11 amended by inserting ‘‘, government astronauts,’’ after 

12 ‘‘crew’’ each place it appears. 

13 (b) DEFINITION OF GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.— 

14 Section 50902 is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

16 (22) as paragraphs (7) through (25), respectively; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(4) ‘government astronaut’ means an indi21 vidual who— 

22 ‘‘(A) is either— 

23 ‘‘(i) an employee of the United States 

24 Government, including the uniformed serv25 ices, engaged in the performance of a FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 May 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1297.IS S1297

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1 eral function under authority of law or an 

2 Executive act; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) an international partner astro4 naut; 

5 ‘‘(B) is identified by the Administrator of 

6 the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis7 tration; 

8 ‘‘(C) is carried within a launch vehicle or 

9 reentry vehicle; and 

10 ‘‘(D) may perform or may not perform ac11 tivities directly relating to the launch, reentry, 

12 or other operation of the launch vehicle or re13 entry vehicle. 

14 ‘‘(5) ‘international partner astronaut’ means an 

15 individual designated under Article 11 of the Inter16 national Space Station Intergovernmental Agree17 ment, by a partner to that agreement other than the 

18 United States, as qualified to serve as an Inter19 national Space Station crew member. 

20 ‘‘(6) ‘International Space Station Intergovern21 mental Agreement’ means the Agreement Con22 cerning Cooperation on the International Space Sta23 tion, signed at Washington January 29, 1998 (TIAS 

24 12927).’’. 


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1 (c) DEFINITION OF LAUNCH.—Paragraph (7) of sec2 tion 50902, as redesignated, is amended by striking ‘‘and 

3 any payload, crew, or space flight participant’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘and any payload or human being’’. 

5 (d) DEFINITION OF LAUNCH SERVICES.—Paragraph 

6 (9) of section 50902, as redesignated, is amended by strik7 ing ‘‘payload, crew (including crew training), or space 

8 flight participant’’ and inserting ‘‘payload, crew (including 

9 crew training), government astronaut, or space flight par10 ticipant’’. 

11 (e) DEFINITION OF REENTER AND REENTRY.—Para12 graph (16) of section 50902, as redesignated, is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘and its payload, crew, or space flight partici14 pants, if any,’’ and inserting ‘‘and its payload or human 

15 beings, if any,’’. 

16 (f) DEFINITION OF REENTRY SERVICES.—Paragraph 

17 (17) of section 50902, as redesignated, is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘payload, crew (including crew training), or space 

19 flight participant, if any,’’ and inserting ‘‘payload, crew 

20 (including crew training), government astronaut, or space 

21 flight participant, if any,’’. 

22 (g) DEFINITION OF SPACE FLIGHT PARTICIPANT.— 

23 Paragraph (20) of section 50902, as redesignated, is 

24 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(20) ‘space flight participant’ means an indi2 vidual, who is not crew or a government astronaut, 

3 carried within a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle.’’. 

4 (h) DEFINITION OF THIRD PARTY.—Paragraph 

5 (24)(E) of section 50902, as redesignated, is amended by 

6 inserting ‘‘, government astronauts,’’ after ‘‘crew’’. 

7 (i) RESTRICTIONS ON LAUNCHES, OPERATIONS, AND

8 REENTRIES; SINGLE LICENSE OR PERMIT.—Section 

9 50904(d) is amended by striking ‘‘activities involving crew 

10 or space flight participants’’ and inserting ‘‘activities in11 volving crew, government astronauts, or space flight par12 ticipants’’. 

13 (j) LICENSE APPLICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS; 

14 APPLICATIONS.—Section 50905 is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘crews and 

16 space flight participants’’ and inserting ‘‘crew, gov17 ernment astronauts, and space flight participants’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘crew 

19 or space flight participants’’ and inserting ‘‘crew, 

20 government astronauts, or space flight participants’’; 

21 and 

22 (3) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘crew 

24 and space flight participants’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘crew, government astronauts, and space flight 

2 participants’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘to crew 

4 or space flight participants’’ each place it ap5 pears and inserting ‘‘to crew, government astro6 nauts, or space flight participants’’. 

7 (k) MONITORING ACTIVITIES.—Section 50907(a) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘crew or space flight participant 

9 training’’ and inserting ‘‘crew, government astronaut, or 

10 space flight participant training’’. 

11 (l) ADDITIONAL SUSPENSIONS.—Section 

12 50908(d)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘to crew or space 

13 flight participants’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘to 

14 any human being’’. 

15 (m) ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTY.—Section 

16 50917(b)(1)(D)(i) is amended by striking ‘‘crew or space 

17 flight participant training site,’’ and inserting ‘‘crew, gov18 ernment astronaut, or space flight participant training 

19 site,’’. 

20 (n) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER EXECUTIVE AGEN21 CIES, LAWS, AND INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS; NON22 APPLICATION.—Section 50919(g) is amended to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(g) NONAPPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This chapter does not 

2 apply to— 

3 ‘‘(A) a launch, reentry, operation of a 

4 launch vehicle or reentry vehicle, operation of a 

5 launch site or reentry site, or other space activ6 ity the Government carries out for the Govern7 ment; or 

8 ‘‘(B) planning or policies related to the 

9 launch, reentry, operation, or activity under 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The following 

12 activities are not space activities the Government 

13 carries out for the Government under paragraph (1): 

14 ‘‘(A) A government astronaut being carried 

15 within a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle under 

16 this chapter. 

17 ‘‘(B) A government astronaut performing 

18 activities directly relating to the launch, re19 entry, or other operation of the launch vehicle 

20 or reentry vehicle under this chapter.’’. 

21 (o) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act, 

22 or the amendments made by this Act, may be construed 

23 to modify or affect any law relating to astronauts. 


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1 SEC. 12. STREAMLINE COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH AC2 TIVITIES. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that eliminating duplicative requirements and ap5 provals for commercial launch and reentry operations will 

6 promote and encourage the development of the commercial 

7 space sector. 

8 (b) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaf9 firms that the Secretary of Transportation, in overseeing 

10 and coordinating commercial launch and reentry oper11 ations, should— 

12 (1) promote commercial space launches and re13 entries by the private sector; 

14 (2) facilitate Government, State, and private 

15 sector involvement in enhancing U.S. launch sites 

16 and facilities; 

17 (3) protect public health and safety, safety of 

18 property, national security interests, and foreign pol19 icy interests of the United States; and 

20 (4) consult with the head of another executive 

21 agency, including the Secretary of Defense or the 

22 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

23 Space Administration, as necessary to provide con24 sistent application of licensing requirements under 

25 chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code. 

26 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor2 tation under section 50918 of title 51, United States 

3 Code, and subject to section 50905(b)(2)(C) of that 

4 title, shall consult with the Secretary of Defense, the 

5 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

6 Space Administration, and the heads of other execu7 tive agencies, as appropriate— 

8 (A) to identify all requirements that are 

9 imposed to protect the public health and safety, 

10 safety of property, national security interests, 

11 and foreign policy interests of the United States 

12 relevant to any commercial launch of a launch 

13 vehicle or commercial reentry of a reentry vehi14 cle; and 

15 (B) to evaluate the requirements identified 

16 in subparagraph (A) and, in coordination with 

17 the licensee or transferee and the heads of the 

18 relevant executive agencies— 

19 (i) determine whether the satisfaction 

20 of a requirement of one agency could result 

21 in the satisfaction of a requirement of an22 other agency; and 

23 (ii) resolve any inconsistencies and re24 move any outmoded or duplicative require25 ments or approvals of the Federal GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 May 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1297.IS S1297

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1 ment relevant to any commercial launch of 

2 a launch vehicle or commercial reentry of 

3 a reentry vehicle. 

4 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

6 thereafter until the Secretary of Transportation de7 termines no outmoded or duplicative requirements or 

8 approvals of the Federal Government exist, the Sec9 retary of Transportation, in consultation with the 

10 Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of the Na11 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 

12 commercial space sector, and the heads of other ex13 ecutive agencies, as appropriate, shall submit to the 

14 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor15 tation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, 

16 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa17 tives, and the congressional defense committees a re18 port that includes the following: 

19 (A) A description of the process for the ap20 plication for and approval of a permit or license 

21 under chapter 509 of title 51, United States 

22 Code, for the commercial launch of a launch ve23 hicle or commercial reentry of a reentry vehicle, 

24 including the identification of— 


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1 (i) any unique requirements for oper2 ating on a United States Government 

3 launch site, reentry site, or launch prop4 erty; and 

5 (ii) any inconsistent, outmoded, or du6 plicative requirements or approvals. 

7 (B) A description of current efforts, if any, 

8 to coordinate and work across executive agen9 cies to define interagency processes and proce10 dures for sharing information, avoiding duplica11 tion of effort, and resolving common agency re12 quirements. 

13 (C) Recommendations for legislation that 

14 may further— 

15 (i) streamline requirements in order 

16 to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary 

17 costs, resolve inconsistencies, remove dupli18 cation, and minimize unwarranted con19 straints; and 

20 (ii) consolidate or modify require21 ments across affected agencies into a sin22 gle application set that satisfies the re23 quirements identified in paragraph (1)(A). 

24 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub25 section— 


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1 (A) any applicable definitions set forth in 

2 section 50902 of title 51, United States Code, 

3 shall apply; 

4 (B) the terms ‘‘launch’’, ‘‘reenter’’, and 

5 ‘‘reentry’’ include landing of a launch vehicle or 

6 reentry vehicle; and 

7 (C) the terms ‘‘United States Government 

8 launch site’’ and ‘‘United States Government 

9 reentry site’’ include any necessary facility, at 

10 that location, that is commercially operated on 

11 United States Government property. 

12 SEC. 13. OPERATION AND UTILIZATION OF THE ISS. 

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that— 

15 (1) maximum utilization of partnerships, sci16 entific research, commercial applications, and explo17 ration test bed capabilities of the ISS is essential to 

18 ensuring the greatest return on investments made by 

19 the United States and its international partners in 

20 the development, assembly, and operations of that 

21 unique facility; and 

22 (2) every effort should be made to ensure that 

23 decisions regarding the service life of the ISS are 

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1 tinue providing effective and productive research and 

2 exploration test bed capabilities. 

3 (b) CONTINUATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE

4 STATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 501 of the National 

6 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization 

7 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351) is amended— 

8 (A) in the heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘THROUGH 2020’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘through 

11 at least 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘through at least 

12 2024’’. 

13 (2) MAINTENANCE OF THE UNITED STATES

14 SEGMENT AND ASSURANCE OF CONTINUED OPER15 ATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.— 

16 Section 503 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

17 Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

18 U.S.C. 18353) is amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘through 

20 at least September 30, 2020’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘through at least September 30, 2024’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘In 

23 carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘The Administrator’’. 


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1 (3) RESEARCH CAPACITY ALLOCATION AND IN2 TEGRATION OF RESEARCH PAYLOADS.—Section 

3 504(d) of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad4 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

5 18354(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

6 2020’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘at least 

7 September 30, 2024’’. 

8 (4) MAINTAINING USE THROUGH AT LEAST

9 2024.—Section 70907 is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 70907. Maintaining use through at least 2024 

11 ‘‘(a) POLICY.—The Administrator shall take all nec12 essary steps to ensure that the International Space Sta13 tion remains a viable and productive facility capable of po14 tential United States utilization through at least Sep15 tember 30, 2024. 

16 ‘‘(b) NASA ACTIONS.—In furtherance of the policy 

17 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall ensure, to 

18 the extent practicable, that the International Space Sta19 tion, as a designated national laboratory— 

20 ‘‘(1) remains viable as an element of overall ex21 ploration and partnership strategies and approaches; 

22 ‘‘(2) is considered for use by all NASA mission 

23 directorates, as appropriate, for technically appro24 priate scientific data gathering or technology risk re25 duction demonstrations; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) remains an effective, functional vehicle 

2 providing research and test bed capabilities for the 

3 United States through at least September 30, 

4 2024.’’. 

5 (5) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND6 MENTS.— 

7 (A) TABLE OF CONTENTS OF 2010 ACT.— 

8 The item relating to section 501 in the table of 

9 contents in section 1(b) of the National Aero10 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

11 Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 2806) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘through 2020’’. 

13 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS OF CHAPTER

14 709.—The table of contents for chapter 709 is 

15 amended by amending the item relating to sec16 tion 70907 to read as follows: 

‘‘70907. Maintaining use through at least 2024.’’. 

Æ 


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