I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6531 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 20, 2016 

Mr. SMITH of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transi6 tion Authorization Act of 2016’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 


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Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2017. 

TITLE II—SUSTAINING NATIONAL SPACE COMMITMENTS 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress on sustaining national space commitments. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

TITLE III—MAXIMIZING UTILIZATION OF THE ISS AND LOWEARTH ORBIT 

Sec. 301. Operation of the ISS. 

Sec. 302. Transportation to ISS. 

Sec. 303. ISS transition plan. 

Sec. 304. Space communications. 

Sec. 305. Indemnification; NASA launch services and reentry services. 

TITLE IV—ADVANCING HUMAN DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 

Subtitle A—Human Space Flight and Exploration Goals and Objectives 

Sec. 411. Human space flight and exploration long-term goals. 

Sec. 412. Key objectives. 

Sec. 413. Vision for space exploration. 

Sec. 414. Stepping stone approach to exploration. 

Sec. 415. Update of exploration plan and programs. 

Sec. 416. Repeals. 

Sec. 417. Assured access to space. 

Subtitle B—Assuring Core Capabilities for Exploration 

Sec. 421. Space Launch System, Orion, and exploration ground systems. 

Subtitle C—Journey to Mars 

Sec. 431. Findings on human space exploration. 

Sec. 432. Human exploration roadmap. 

Sec. 433. Advanced space suit capability. 

Sec. 434. Asteroid robotic redirect mission. 

Sec. 435. Mars 2033 report. 

Subtitle D—TREAT Astronauts Act 

Sec. 441. Short title. 

Sec. 442. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 443. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight. 

TITLE V—ADVANCING SPACE SCIENCE 

Sec. 501. Maintaining a balanced space science portfolio. 

Sec. 502. Planetary science. 

Sec. 503. James Webb Space Telescope. 

Sec. 504. Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope. 

Sec. 505. Mars 2020 rover. 

Sec. 506. Europa. 

Sec. 507. Congressional declaration of policy and purpose. 

Sec. 508. Extrasolar planet exploration strategy. 

Sec. 509. Astrobiology strategy. 

Sec. 510. Astrobiology public-private partnerships. 

Sec. 511. Near-Earth objects. 


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Sec. 512. Near-Earth objects public-private partnerships. 

Sec. 513. Assessment of science mission extensions. 

Sec. 514. Stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy. 

Sec. 515. Radioisotope power systems. 

Sec. 516. Assessment of Mars architecture. 

Sec. 517. Collaboration. 

TITLE VI—AERONAUTICS 

Sec. 601. Sense of Congress on aeronautics. 

Sec. 602. Transformative aeronautics research. 

Sec. 603. Hypersonic research. 

Sec. 604. Supersonic research. 

Sec. 605. Rotorcraft research. 

TITLE VII—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 701. Space technology infusion. 

Sec. 702. Space technology program. 

TITLE VIII—MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY 

Subtitle A—Agency Information Technology and Cybersecurity 

Sec. 811. Information technology governance. 

Sec. 812. Information technology strategic plan. 

Sec. 813. Cybersecurity. 

Sec. 814. Security management of foreign national access. 

Sec. 815. Cybersecurity of web applications. 

Subtitle B—Collaboration Among Mission Directorates and Other Matters 

Sec. 821. Collaboration among Mission Directorates. 

Sec. 822. NASA launch capabilities collaboration. 

Sec. 823. Detection and avoidance of counterfeit parts. 

Sec. 824. Education and outreach. 

Sec. 825. Leveraging commercial satellite servicing capabilities across Mission 

Directorates. 

Sec. 826. Flight opportunities. 

Sec. 827. Sense of Congress on small class launch missions. 

Sec. 828. Baseline and cost controls. 

Sec. 829. Commercial technology transfer program. 

Sec. 830. Avoiding organizational conflicts of interest in major Administration 

acquisition programs. 

Sec. 831. Protection of Apollo landing sites. 

Sec. 832. NASA lease of non-excess property. 

Sec. 833. Termination liability. 

Sec. 834. Independent reviews. 

Sec. 835. NASA Advisory Council. 

Sec. 836. Cost estimation. 

Sec. 837. Facilities and infrastructure. 

Sec. 838. Human space flight accident investigations. 

Sec. 839. Orbital debris. 

Sec. 840. Review of orbital debris removal concepts. 

Sec. 841. Project and program reserves. 

Sec. 842. Space Act agreements. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra4 tion’’ means the National Aeronautics and Space 

5 Administration. 

6 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

8 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

9 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con11 gress’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

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

15 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

16 (4) CIS-LUNAR SPACE.—The term ‘‘cis-lunar 

17 space’’ means the region of space from the Earth 

18 out to and including the region around the surface 

19 of the Moon. 

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

21 means the region of space beyond low-Earth orbit, 

22 to include cis-lunar space. 

23 (6) GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.—The term 

24 ‘‘government astronaut’’ has the meaning given the 

25 term in section 50902 of title 51, United States 

26 Code. 


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1 (7) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter2 national Space Station. 

3 (8) ISS MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term 

4 ‘‘ISS management entity’’ means the organization 

5 with which the Administrator has a cooperative 

6 agreement under section 504(a) of the National Aer7 onautics and Space Administration Authorization 

8 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18354(a)). 

9 (9) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na10 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

11 (10) ORION.—The term ‘‘Orion’’ means the 

12 multipurpose crew vehicle described under section 

13 303 of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis14 tration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

15 18323). 

16 (11) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term 

17 ‘‘Space Launch System’’ has the meaning given the 

18 term in section 3 of the National Aeronautics and 

19 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

20 U.S.C. 18302). 

21 (12) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ASTRO22 NAUT.—The term ‘‘United States Government astro23 naut’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘government 

24 astronaut’’ in section 50902 of title 51, United 


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1 States Code, except it does not include an individual 

2 who is an international partner astronaut. 

3 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

4 APPROPRIATIONS 

5 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2017. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated to NASA for fiscal year 2017 $19,508,000,000, 

8 as follows: 

9 (1) For Exploration, $4,330,000,000. 

10 (2) For Space Operations, $5,023,000,000. 

11 (3) For Science, $5,500,000,000. 

12 (4) For Aeronautics, $640,000,000. 

13 (5) For Space Technology, $686,000,000. 

14 (6) For Education, $115,000,000. 

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

16 $2,788,600,000. 

17 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com18 pliance and Restoration, $388,000,000. 

19 (9) For Inspector General, $37,400,000. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION.—In addition to the amounts author21 ized to be appropriated for each account under subsection 

22 (a), there are authorized to be appropriated additional 

23 funds for each such account, but only if the authorized 

24 amounts for all such accounts are fully provided for in 

25 annual appropriation Acts, consistent with the discreVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 tionary spending limits in section 251(c) of the Balanced 

2 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

3 TITLE II—SUSTAINING NA4 TIONAL SPACE COMMIT5 MENTS 

6 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUSTAINING NATIONAL 

7 SPACE COMMITMENTS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) honoring current national space commit10 ments and building upon investments in space across 

11 successive Administrations demonstrates clear con12 tinuity of purpose by the United States, in collabora13 tion with its international, academic, and industry 

14 partners, to extend humanity’s reach into deep 

15 space, including cis-lunar space, the Moon, the sur16 face and moons of Mars, and beyond; 

17 (2) NASA leaders can best leverage investments 

18 in the United States space program by continuing to 

19 develop a balanced portfolio for space exploration 

20 and space science, including continued development 

21 of the Space Launch System, Orion, Commercial 

22 Crew Program, space and planetary science missions 

23 such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Wide24 Field Infrared Survey Telescope, and Europa misVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 sion, and ongoing operations of the ISS and Com2 mercial Resupply Services Program; 

3 (3) a national, government-led space program 

4 that builds on current science and exploration pro5 grams, advances human knowledge and capabilities, 

6 and opens the frontier beyond Earth for ourselves, 

7 commercial enterprise, and science, and with our 

8 international partners, is of critical importance to 

9 our national destiny and to a future guided by 

10 United States values and freedoms; 

11 (4) continuity of purpose and effective execu12 tion of core NASA programs are essential for effi13 cient use of resources in pursuit of timely and tan14 gible accomplishments; 

15 (5) NASA could improve its efficiency and ef16 fectiveness by working with industry to streamline 

17 existing programs and requirements, procurement 

18 practices, institutional footprint, and bureaucracy 

19 while preserving effective program oversight, ac20 countability, and safety; 

21 (6) it is imperative that the United States 

22 maintain and enhance its leadership in space explo23 ration and space science, and continue to expand 

24 freedom and economic opportunities in space for all 


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1 Americans that are consistent with the Constitution 

2 of the United States; and 

3 (7) NASA should be a multimission space agen4 cy, and should have a balanced and robust set of 

5 core missions in space science, space technology, aer6 onautics, human space flight and exploration, and 

7 education. 

8 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress makes the following findings: 

10 (1) Returns on the Nation’s investments in 

11 science, technology, and exploration accrue over dec12 ades-long timeframes, and a disruption of such in13 vestments could prevent returns from being fully re14 alized. 

15 (2) Past challenges to the continuity of such in16 vestments, particularly threats regarding the can17 cellation of authorized programs with bipartisan and 

18 bicameral support, have disrupted completion of 

19 major space systems thereby— 

20 (A) impeding planning and pursuit of na21 tional objectives in space science and human 

22 space exploration; 

23 (B) placing such investments in space 

24 science and space exploration at risk; and 


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1 (C) degrading the aerospace industrial 

2 base. 

3 (3) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad4 ministration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 

5 109–155; 119 Stat. 2895), National Aeronautics 

6 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 

7 (Public Law 110–422; 122 Stat. 4779), and Na8 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au9 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18301 et seq.) 

10 reflect a broad, bipartisan agreement on the path 

11 forward for NASA’s core missions in science, space 

12 technology, aeronautics, human space flight and ex13 ploration, and education, that serves as the founda14 tion for the policy updates by this Act. 

15 (4) Sufficient investment and maximum utiliza16 tion of the ISS and ISS National Laboratory with 

17 our international and industry partners is— 

18 (A) consistent with the goals and objectives 

19 of the United States space program; and 

20 (B) imperative to continuing United States 

21 global leadership in human space exploration, 

22 science, research, technology development, and 

23 education opportunities that contribute to devel24 opment of the next generation of American sci25 entists, engineers, and leaders, and to creating 


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1 the opportunity for economic development of 

2 low-Earth orbit. 

3 (5) NASA has made measurable progress in the 

4 development and testing of the Space Launch Sys5 tem and Orion exploration systems with the near6 term objectives of the initial integrated test flight 

7 and launch in 2018, a human mission in 2021, and 

8 continued missions with an annual cadence in cis9 lunar space and eventually to the surface of Mars. 

10 (6) The Commercial Crew Program has made 

11 measurable progress toward reestablishing the capa12 bility to launch United States Government astro13 nauts from United States soil into low-Earth orbit 

14 by the end of 2018. 

15 (7) The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, in its 

16 2015 Annual Report, urged continuity of purpose 

17 noting concerns over the potential for cost overruns 

18 and schedule slips that could accompany significant 

19 changes to core NASA programs. 

20 TITLE III—MAXIMIZING UTILIZA21 TION OF THE ISS AND LOW22 EARTH ORBIT 

23 SEC. 301. OPERATION OF THE ISS. 

24 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that— 


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1 (1) after 15 years of continuous human pres2 ence in low-Earth orbit, the ISS continues to over3 come challenges and operate safely; 

4 (2) the ISS is a unique testbed for future space 

5 exploration systems development, including long-du6 ration space travel; 

7 (3) the expansion of partnerships, scientific re8 search, and commercial applications of the ISS is es9 sential to ensuring the greatest return on invest10 ments made by the United States and its inter11 national space partners in the development, assem12 bly, and operations of that unique facility; 

13 (4) utilization of the ISS will sustain United 

14 States leadership and progress in human space ex15 ploration by— 

16 (A) facilitating the commercialization and 

17 economic development of low-Earth orbit; 

18 (B) serving as a testbed for technologies 

19 and a platform for scientific research and devel20 opment; and 

21 (C) serving as an orbital facility enabling 

22 research upon— 

23 (i) the health, well-being, and per24 formance of humans in space; and 


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1 (ii) the development of in-space sys2 tems enabling human space exploration be3 yond low-Earth orbit; and 

4 (5) the ISS provides a platform for funda5 mental, microgravity, discovery-based space life and 

6 physical sciences research that is critical for ena7 bling space exploration, protecting humans in space, 

8 increasing pathways for commercial space develop9 ment that depend on advances in basic research, and 

10 contributes to advancing science, technology, engi11 neering, and mathematics research. 

12 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The primary objectives of the ISS 

13 program shall be— 

14 (1) to achieve the long-term goal and objectives 

15 under section 202 of the National Aeronautics and 

16 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

17 U.S.C. 18312); and 

18 (2) to pursue a research program that advances 

19 knowledge and provides other benefits to the Nation. 

20 (c) CONTINUATION OF THE ISS.—Section 501 of the 

21 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author22 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351) is amended to read 

23 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 501. CONTINUATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE 

2 STATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It shall be 

4 the policy of the United States, in consultation with its 

5 international partners in the ISS program, to support full 

6 and complete utilization of the ISS through at least 2024. 

7 ‘‘(b) NASA ACTION.—In furtherance of the policy set 

8 forth in subsection (a), NASA shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) pursue international, commercial, and 

10 intragovernmental means to maximize ISS logistics 

11 supply, maintenance, and operational capabilities, 

12 reduce risks to ISS systems sustainability, and offset 

13 and minimize United States operations costs relating 

14 to the ISS; 

15 ‘‘(2) utilize, to the extent practicable, the ISS 

16 for the development of capabilities and technologies 

17 needed for the future of human space exploration 

18 beyond low-Earth orbit; and 

19 ‘‘(3) utilize, if practical and cost effective, the 

20 ISS for Science Mission Directorate missions in low21 Earth orbit.’’. 

22 SEC. 302. TRANSPORTATION TO ISS. 

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that reliance on for24 eign carriers for United States crew transfer is unaccept25 able, and the Nation’s human space flight program must 

26 acquire the capability to launch United States Government 


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1 astronauts on vehicles using United States rockets from 

2 United States soil as soon as it is safe, reliable, and af3 fordable to do so. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMERCIAL CREW

5 PROGRAM AND COMMERCIAL RESUPPLY SERVICES PRO6 GRAM.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) once developed and certified to meet the Ad8 ministration’s safety and reliability requirements, 

9 United States commercially provided crew transpor10 tation systems offer the potential of serving as the 

11 primary means of transporting United States Gov12 ernment astronauts and international partner astro13 nauts to and from the ISS and serving as ISS crew 

14 rescue vehicles; 

15 (2) the budgetary assumptions used by the Ad16 ministration in its planning for the Commercial 

17 Crew Program have consistently assumed signifi18 cantly higher funding levels than have been author19 ized and appropriated by Congress; 

20 (3) credibility in the Administration’s budgetary 

21 estimates for the Commercial Crew Program can be 

22 enhanced by an independently developed cost esti23 mate; 

24 (4) such credibility in budgetary estimates is an 

25 important factor in understanding program risk; 


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1 (5) United States access to low-Earth orbit is 

2 paramount to the continued success of the ISS and 

3 ISS National Laboratory; 

4 (6) a stable and successful Commercial Resup5 ply Services Program and Commercial Crew Pro6 gram are critical to ensuring timely provisioning of 

7 the ISS and to reestablishing the capability to 

8 launch United States Government astronauts from 

9 United States soil into orbit, ending reliance upon 

10 Russian transport of United States Government as11 tronauts to the ISS which has not been possible 

12 since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 

13 2011; 

14 (7) NASA should build upon the success of the 

15 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Pro16 gram and Commercial Resupply Services Program 

17 that have allowed private sector companies to part18 ner with NASA to deliver cargo and scientific experi19 ments to the ISS since 2012; 

20 (8) the 21st Century Launch Complex Program 

21 has enabled significant modernization and infra22 structure improvements at launch sites across the 

23 United States to support NASA’s Commercial Re24 supply Services Program and other civil and com25 mercial space flight missions; and 


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1 (9) the 21st Century Launch Complex Program 

2 should be continued in a manner that leverages 

3 State and private investments to achieve the goals of 

4 that program. 

5 (c) REAFFIRMATION.—Congress reaffirms— 

6 (1) its commitment to the use of a commercially 

7 developed, private sector launch and delivery system 

8 to the ISS for crew missions as expressed in the Na9 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au10 thorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–155; 119 

11 Stat. 2895), the National Aeronautics and Space 

12 Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (Public 

13 Law 110–422; 122 Stat. 4779), and the National 

14 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization 

15 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18301 et seq.); and 

16 (2) the requirement under section 

17 50111(b)(1)(A) of title 51, United States Code, that 

18 the Administration shall make use of United States 

19 commercially provided ISS crew transfer and crew 

20 rescue services to the maximum extent practicable. 

21 (d) USE OF NON-UNITED STATES HUMAN SPACE

22 FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES.—Section 

23 201(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra24 tion Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)) is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) USE OF NON-UNITED STATES HUMAN SPACE

2 FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Government 

4 may not acquire human space flight transportation 

5 services from a foreign entity unless— 

6 ‘‘(A) no United States Government-oper7 ated human space flight capability is available; 

8 ‘‘(B) no United States commercial provider 

9 is available; and 

10 ‘‘(C) it is a qualified foreign entity. 

11 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) COMMERCIAL PROVIDER.—The term 

13 ‘commercial provider’ means any person pro14 viding human space flight transportation serv15 ices, primary control of which is held by persons 

16 other than the Federal Government, a State or 

17 local government, or a foreign government. 

18 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED FOREIGN ENTITY.—The 

19 term ‘qualified foreign entity’ means a foreign 

20 entity that is in compliance with all applicable 

21 safety standards and is not prohibited from 

22 providing space transportation services under 

23 other law. 

24 ‘‘(C) UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PRO25 VIDER.—The term ‘United States commercial 


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1 provider’ means a commercial provider, orga2 nized under the laws of the United States or of 

3 a State, that is more than 50 percent owned by 

4 United States nationals. 

5 ‘‘(3) ARRANGEMENTS WITH FOREIGN ENTI6 TIES.—Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the 

7 Administrator from negotiating or entering into 

8 human space flight transportation arrangements 

9 with foreign entities to ensure safety of flight and 

10 continued ISS operations.’’. 

11 (e) COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Commer13 cial Crew Program shall be to assist in the develop14 ment of at least one commercially provided transpor15 tation system that can— 

16 (A) carry United States Government astro17 nauts safely, reliably, and affordably to and 

18 from the ISS; 

19 (B) serve as a crew rescue vehicle; and 

20 (C) accomplish subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

21 as soon as practicable. 

22 (2) PRIMARY CONSIDERATION.—The objective 

23 described in paragraph (1) shall be the primary con24 sideration in the acquisition strategy for the Com25 mercial Crew Program. 


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1 (3) SAFETY.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

3 shall protect the safety of government astro4 nauts by ensuring that each commercially pro5 vided transportation system under this sub6 section meets all applicable human rating re7 quirements in accordance with section 

8 403(b)(1) of the National Aeronautics and 

9 Space Administration Authorization Act of 

10 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18342(b)(1)). 

11 (B) LESSONS LEARNED.—Consistent with 

12 the findings and recommendations of the Co13 lumbia Accident Investigation Board, the Ad14 ministration shall ensure that safety and the 

15 minimization of the probability of loss of crew 

16 are the critical priorities of the Commercial 

17 Crew Program. 

18 (4) COST MINIMIZATION.—The Administrator 

19 shall strive through the competitive selection process 

20 to minimize the life cycle cost to the Administration 

21 through the planned period of commercially provided 

22 crew transportation services. 

23 (f) COMMERCIAL CARGO PROGRAM.—Section 401 of 

24 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au25 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18341) is amended 


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1 by striking ‘‘Commercial Orbital Transportation Services’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘Commercial Resupply Services’’. 

3 (g) COMPETITION.—It is the policy of the United 

4 States that, to foster the competitive development, oper5 ation, improvement, and commercial availability of space 

6 transportation services, and to minimize the life cycle cost 

7 to the Administration, the Administrator shall procure 

8 services for Federal Government access to and return from 

9 the ISS, whenever practicable, via fair and open competi10 tion for well-defined, milestone-based, Federal Acquisition 

11 Regulation-based contracts under section 201(a) of the 

12 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author13 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)). 

14 (h) TRANSPARENCY.— 

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

16 Congress that cost transparency and schedule trans17 parency aid in effective program management and 

18 risk assessment. 

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

20 the greatest extent practicable and in a manner that 

21 does not add costs or schedule delays to the pro22 gram, ensure all Commercial Crew Program and 

23 Commercial Resupply Services Program providers 

24 provide evidence-based support for their costs and 

25 schedules. 


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1 (i) ISS CARGO RESUPPLY SERVICES LESSONS

2 LEARNED.—Not later than 120 days after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 

4 appropriate committees of Congress a report that— 

5 (1) identifies the lessons learned to date from 

6 previous and existing Commercial Resupply Services 

7 contracts; 

8 (2) indicates whether changes are needed to the 

9 manner in which the Administration procures and 

10 manages similar services prior to the issuance of fu11 ture Commercial Resupply Services procurement op12 portunities; and 

13 (3) identifies any lessons learned from the Com14 mercial Resupply Services contracts that should be 

15 applied to the procurement and management of com16 mercially provided crew transfer services to and 

17 from the ISS or to other future procurements. 

18 SEC. 303. ISS TRANSITION PLAN. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

20 (1) NASA has been both the primary supplier 

21 and consumer of human space flight capabilities and 

22 services of the ISS and in low-Earth orbit; and 

23 (2) according to the National Research Council 

24 report ‘‘Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and 

25 Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space 


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1 Exploration’’ extending ISS beyond 2020 to 2024 or 

2 2028 will have significant negative impacts on the 

3 schedule of crewed missions to Mars, without signifi4 cant increases in funding. 

5 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) an orderly transition for United States 

8 human space flight activities in low-Earth orbit from 

9 the current regime, that relies heavily on NASA 

10 sponsorship, to a regime where NASA is one of 

11 many customers of a low-Earth orbit commercial 

12 human space flight enterprise may be necessary; and 

13 (2) decisions about the long-term future of the 

14 ISS impact the ability to conduct future deep space 

15 exploration activities, and that such decisions re16 garding the ISS should be considered in the context 

17 of the human exploration roadmap under section 

18 432 of this Act. 

19 (c) REPORTS.—Section 50111 of title 51, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(c) ISS TRANSITION PLAN.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in co24 ordination with the ISS management entity (as de25 fined in section 2 of the National Aeronautics and 


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1 Space Administration Transition Authorization Act 

2 of 2016), ISS partners, the scientific user commu3 nity, and the commercial space sector, shall develop 

4 a plan to transition in a step-wise approach from the 

5 current regime that relies heavily on NASA sponsor6 ship to a regime where NASA could be one of many 

7 customers of a low-Earth orbit non-governmental 

8 human space flight enterprise. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than December 1, 

10 2017, and biennially thereafter until 2023, the Ad11 ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

13 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech14 nology of the House of Representatives a report that 

15 includes— 

16 ‘‘(A) a description of the progress in 

17 achieving the Administration’s deep space 

18 human exploration objectives on ISS and pros19 pects for accomplishing future mission require20 ments, space exploration objectives, and other 

21 research objectives on future commercially sup22 plied low-Earth orbit platforms or migration of 

23 those objectives to cis-lunar space; 

24 ‘‘(B) steps NASA is taking and will take, 

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1 ducted on the ISS, to stimulate and facilitate 

2 commercial demand and supply of products and 

3 services in low-Earth orbit; 

4 ‘‘(C) an identification of barriers pre5 venting the commercialization of low-Earth 

6 orbit, including issues relating to policy, regula7 tions, commercial intellectual property, data, 

8 and confidentiality, that could inhibit the use of 

9 the ISS as a commercial incubator; 

10 ‘‘(D) the criteria for defining the ISS as a 

11 research success; 

12 ‘‘(E) the criteria used to determine wheth13 er the ISS is meeting the objective under sec14 tion 301(b)(2) of the National Aeronautics and 

15 Space Administration Transition Authorization 

16 Act of 2016; 

17 ‘‘(F) an assessment of whether the criteria 

18 under subparagraphs (D) and (E) are con19 sistent with the research areas defined in, and 

20 recommendations and schedules under, the cur21 rent National Academies of Sciences, Engineer22 ing, and Medicine Decadal Survey on Biological 

23 and Physical Sciences in Space; 

24 ‘‘(G) any necessary contributions that ISS 

25 extension would make to enabling execution of 


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1 the human exploration roadmap under section 

2 432 of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad3 ministration Transition Authorization Act of 

4 2016; 

5 ‘‘(H) the cost estimates for operating the 

6 ISS to achieve the criteria required under sub7 paragraphs (D) and (E) and the contributions 

8 identified under subparagraph (G); 

9 ‘‘(I) the cost estimates for extending oper10 ations of the ISS to 2024, 2028, and 2030; 

11 ‘‘(J) an evaluation of the feasible and pre12 ferred service life of the ISS beyond the period 

13 described in section 503 of the National Aero14 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

15 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18353), through at 

16 least 2028, as a unique scientific, commercial, 

17 and space exploration-related facility, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(i) a general discussion of inter20 national partner capabilities and prospects 

21 for extending the partnership; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the cost associated with extend23 ing the service life; 

24 ‘‘(iii) an assessment on the technical 

25 limiting factors of the service life of the 


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1 ISS, including a list of critical components 

2 and their expected service life and avail3 ability; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) such other information as may 

5 be necessary to fully describe the justifica6 tion for and feasibility of extending the 

7 service life of the ISS, including the poten8 tial scientific or technological benefits to 

9 the Federal Government, public, or to aca10 demic or commercial entities; 

11 ‘‘(K) an identification of the necessary ac12 tions and an estimate of the costs to deorbit the 

13 ISS once it has reached the end of its service 

14 life; 

15 ‘‘(L) the impact on deep space exploration 

16 capabilities, including a crewed mission to Mars 

17 in the 2030s, if the preferred service life of the 

18 ISS is extended beyond 2024 and NASA main19 tains a flat budget profile; and 

20 ‘‘(M) an evaluation of the functions, roles, 

21 and responsibilities for management and oper22 ation of the ISS and a determination of— 

23 ‘‘(i) those functions, roles, and re24 sponsibilities the Federal Government 


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1 should retain during the life cycle of the 

2 ISS; 

3 ‘‘(ii) those functions, roles, and re4 sponsibilities that could be transferred to 

5 the commercial space sector; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the metrics that would indicate 

7 the commercial space sector’s readiness 

8 and ability to assume the functions, roles, 

9 and responsibilities described in clause (ii); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iv) any necessary changes to any 

12 agreements or other documents and the 

13 law to enable the activities described in 

14 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

15 ‘‘(3) DEMONSTRATIONS.—If additional Govern16 ment crew, power, and transportation resources are 

17 available after meeting the Administration’s require18 ments for ISS activities defined in the human explo19 ration roadmap and related research, demonstrations 

20 identified under paragraph (2) may— 

21 ‘‘(A) test the capabilities needed to meet 

22 future mission requirements, space exploration 

23 objectives, and other research objectives de24 scribed in paragraph (2)(A); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) demonstrate or test capabilities, in2 cluding commercial modules or deep space habi3 tats, Environmental Control and Life Support 

4 Systems, orbital satellite assembly, exploration 

5 space suits, a node that enables a wide variety 

6 of activity, including multiple commercial mod7 ules and airlocks, additional docking or berth8 ing ports for commercial crew and cargo, oppor9 tunities for the commercial space sector to cost 

10 share for transportation and other services on 

11 the ISS, other commercial activities, or services 

12 obtained through alternate acquisition ap13 proaches.’’. 

14 SEC. 304. SPACE COMMUNICATIONS. 

15 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a plan, 

16 in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, to meet the 

17 Administration’s projected space communication and navi18 gation needs for low-Earth orbit and deep space oper19 ations in the 20-year period following the date of enact20 ment of this Act. 

21 (b) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

22 (1) the life cycle cost estimates and a 5-year 

23 funding profile; 


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1 (2) the performance capabilities required to 

2 meet the Administration’s projected space commu3 nication and navigation needs; 

4 (3) the measures the Administration will take 

5 to sustain the existing space communications and 

6 navigation architecture; 

7 (4) an identification of the projected space com8 munications and navigation network and infrastruc9 ture needs; 

10 (5) a description of the necessary upgrades to 

11 meet the needs identified in paragraph (4), includ12 ing— 

13 (A) an estimate of the cost of the up14 grades; 

15 (B) a schedule for implementing the up16 grades; and 

17 (C) an assessment of whether and how any 

18 related missions will be impacted if resources 

19 are not secured at the level needed; 

20 (6) the cost estimates for the maintenance of 

21 existing space communications network capabilities 

22 necessary to meet the needs identified in paragraph 

23 (4); 


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1 (7) the criteria for prioritizing resources for the 

2 upgrades described in paragraph (5) and the mainte3 nance described in paragraph (6); 

4 (8) an estimate of any reimbursement amounts 

5 the Administration may receive from other Federal 

6 agencies; 

7 (9) an identification of the projected Tracking 

8 and Data Relay Satellite System needs in the 20- 

9 year period following the date of enactment of this 

10 Act, including in support of relevant Federal agen11 cies, and cost and schedule estimates to maintain 

12 and upgrade the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 

13 System to meet the projected needs; 

14 (10) the measures the Administration is taking 

15 to meet space communications needs after all Track16 ing and Data Relay Satellite System third-genera17 tion communications satellites are operational; and 

18 (11) the measures the Administration is taking 

19 to mitigate threats to electromagnetic spectrum use. 

20 (c) SCHEDULE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

22 the plan to the appropriate committees of Congress. 


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1 SEC. 305. INDEMNIFICATION; NASA LAUNCH SERVICES AND 

2 REENTRY SERVICES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 201 of 

4 title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 20148. Indemnification; NASA launch services and 

7 reentry services 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Under such regulations in con9 formity with this section as the Administrator shall pre10 scribe taking into account the availability, cost, and terms 

11 of liability insurance, any contract between the Adminis12 tration and a provider may provide that the United States 

13 will indemnify the provider against successful claims (in14 cluding reasonable expenses of litigation or settlement) by 

15 third parties for death, bodily injury, or loss of or damage 

16 to property resulting from launch services and reentry 

17 services carried out under the contract that the contract 

18 defines as unusually hazardous or nuclear in nature, but 

19 only to the extent the total amount of successful claims 

20 related to the activities under the contract— 

21 ‘‘(1) is more than the amount of insurance or 

22 demonstration of financial responsibility described in 

23 subsection (c)(3); and 

24 ‘‘(2) is not more than the amount specified in 

25 section 50915(a)(1)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(b) TERMS OF INDEMNIFICATION.—A contract 

2 made under subsection (a) that provides indemnification 

3 shall provide for— 

4 ‘‘(1) notice to the United States of any claim or 

5 suit against the provider for death, bodily injury, or 

6 loss of or damage to property; and 

7 ‘‘(2) control of or assistance in the defense by 

8 the United States, at its election, of that claim or 

9 suit and approval of any settlement. 

10 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY INSURANCE OF THE PROVIDER.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provider under sub12 section (a) shall obtain liability insurance or dem13 onstrate financial responsibility in amounts to com14 pensate for the maximum probable loss from claims 

15 by— 

16 ‘‘(A) a third party for death, bodily injury, 

17 or property damage or loss resulting from a 

18 launch service or reentry service carried out 

19 under the contract; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the United States Government for 

21 damage or loss to Government property result22 ing from a launch service or reentry service car23 ried out under the contract. 

24 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM PROBABLE LOSSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall determine the maximum probable losses 

3 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

4 (1) not later than 90 days after the date that 

5 the provider requests such a determination and 

6 submits all information the Administrator re7 quires. 

8 ‘‘(B) REVISIONS.—The Administrator may 

9 revise a determination under subparagraph (A) 

10 of this paragraph if the Administrator deter11 mines the revision is warranted based on new 

12 information. 

13 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF INSURANCE.—For the total 

14 claims related to one launch or reentry, a provider 

15 shall not be required to obtain insurance or dem16 onstrate financial responsibility of more than— 

17 ‘‘(A)(i) $500,000,000 under paragraph 

18 (1)(A); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) $100,000,000 under paragraph 

20 (1)(B); or 

21 ‘‘(B) the maximum liability insurance 

22 available on the world market at reasonable 

23 cost. 

24 ‘‘(4) COVERAGE.—An insurance policy or dem25 onstration of financial responsibility under this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 section shall protect the following, to the extent of 

2 their potential liability for involvement in launch 

3 services or reentry services: 

4 ‘‘(A) The Government. 

5 ‘‘(B) Personnel of the Government. 

6 ‘‘(C) Related entities of the Government. 

7 ‘‘(D) Related entities of the provider. 

8 ‘‘(E) Government astronauts. 

9 ‘‘(d) NO INDEMNIFICATION WITHOUT CROSS-WAIV10 ER.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Administrator 

11 may not indemnify a provider under this section unless 

12 there is a cross-waiver between the Administration and the 

13 provider as described in subsection (e). 

14 ‘‘(e) CROSS-WAIVERS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, on be16 half of the United States and its departments, agen17 cies, and instrumentalities, shall reciprocally waive 

18 claims with a provider under which each party to the 

19 waiver agrees to be responsible, and agrees to ensure 

20 that its related entities are responsible, for damage 

21 or loss to its property, or for losses resulting from 

22 any injury or death sustained by its employees or 

23 agents, as a result of activities arising out of the 

24 performance of the contract. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The waiver made by the 

2 Government under paragraph (1) shall apply only to 

3 the extent that the claims are more than the amount 

4 of insurance or demonstration of financial responsi5 bility required under subsection (c)(1)(B). 

6 ‘‘(f) WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.—Indemnification under 

7 subsection (a) may exclude claims resulting from the will8 ful misconduct of the provider or its related entities. 

9 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION OF JUST AND REASONABLE

10 AMOUNT.—No payment may be made under subsection 

11 (a) unless the Administrator or the Administrator’s des12 ignee certifies that the amount is just and reasonable. 

13 ‘‘(h) PAYMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the approval by the 

15 Administrator, payments under subsection (a) may 

16 be made from funds appropriated for such pay17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator shall not 

19 approve payments under paragraph (1), except to 

20 the extent provided in an appropriation law or to the 

21 extent additional legislative authority is enacted pro22 viding for such payments. 

23 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.—If the 

24 Administrator requests additional appropriations to 

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1 quest for those appropriations shall be made in ac2 cordance with the procedures established under sec3 tion 50915. 

4 ‘‘(i) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The authority to indemnify 

6 under this section shall not create any rights in 

7 third persons that would not otherwise exist by law. 

8 ‘‘(2) OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this sec9 tion may be construed as prohibiting the Adminis10 trator from indemnifying a provider or any other 

11 NASA contractor under other law, including under 

12 Public Law 85–804 (50 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). 

13 ‘‘(3) ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT.—Notwithstanding 

14 any other provision of this section— 

15 ‘‘(A) all obligations under this section are 

16 subject to the availability of funds; and 

17 ‘‘(B) nothing in this section may be con18 strued to require obligation or payment of 

19 funds in violation of sections 1341, 1342, 1349 

20 through 1351, and 1511 through 1519 of title 

21 31, United States Code (commonly referred to 

22 as the ‘Anti-Deficiency Act’). 

23 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—The Admin24 istrator may not provide indemnification under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 tion for an activity that requires a license or permit under 

2 chapter 509. 

3 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.—The term 

5 ‘government astronaut’ has the meaning given the 

6 term in section 50902. 

7 ‘‘(2) LAUNCH SERVICES.—The term ‘launch 

8 services’ has the meaning given the term in section 

9 50902. 

10 ‘‘(3) PROVIDER.—The term ‘provider’ means a 

11 person that provides domestic launch services or do12 mestic reentry services to the Government. 

13 ‘‘(4) REENTRY SERVICES.—The term ‘reentry 

14 services’ has the meaning given the term in section 

15 50902. 

16 ‘‘(5) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘related en17 tity’ means a contractor or subcontractor. 

18 ‘‘(6) THIRD PARTY.—The term ‘third party’ 

19 means a person except— 

20 ‘‘(A) the United States Government; 

21 ‘‘(B) related entities of the Government in22 volved in launch services or reentry services; 

23 ‘‘(C) a provider; 

24 ‘‘(D) related entities of the provider in25 volved in launch services or reentry services; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) a government astronaut.’’. 

2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con3 tents for subchapter III of chapter 201 of title 51, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat5 ing to section 20147 the following: 

‘‘20148. Indemnification; NASA launch services and reentry services.’’. 

6 TITLE IV—ADVANCING HUMAN 

7 DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 

8 Subtitle A—Human Space Flight 

9 and Exploration Goals and Ob10 jectives 

11 SEC. 411. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT AND EXPLORATION LONG12 TERM GOALS. 

13 Section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics and 

14 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

15 U.S.C. 18312(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) LONG-TERM GOALS.—The long-term goals of 

17 the human space flight and exploration efforts of NASA 

18 shall be— 

19 ‘‘(1) to expand permanent human presence be20 yond low-Earth orbit and to do so, where practical, 

21 in a manner involving international, academic, and 

22 industry partners; 

23 ‘‘(2) crewed missions and progress toward 

24 achieving the goal in paragraph (1) to enable the po25 tential for subsequent human exploration and the exVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 tension of human presence throughout the solar sys2 tem; and 

3 ‘‘(3) to enable a capability to extend human 

4 presence, including potential human habitation on 

5 another celestial body and a thriving space economy 

6 in the 21st century.’’. 

7 SEC. 412. KEY OBJECTIVES. 

8 Section 202(b) of the National Aeronautics and 

9 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

10 U.S.C. 18312(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

12 inserting a semicolon; 

13 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(5) to achieve human exploration of Mars and 

17 beyond through the prioritization of those tech18 nologies and capabilities best suited for such a mis19 sion in accordance with the stepping stone approach 

20 to exploration under section 70504 of title 51, 

21 United States Code.’’. 

22 SEC. 413. VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION. 

23 Section 20302 of title 51, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘in cis-lunar 

2 space or’’ after ‘‘sustained human presence’’; 

3 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(b) FUTURE EXPLORATION OF MARS.—The Admin6 istrator shall manage human space flight programs, in7 cluding the Space Launch System and Orion, to enable 

8 humans to explore Mars and other destinations by defin9 ing a series of sustainable steps and conducting mission 

10 planning, research, and technology development on a time11 table that is technically and fiscally possible, consistent 

12 with section 70504.’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ORION.—The term ‘Orion’ means the mul16 tipurpose crew vehicle described under section 303 

17 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra18 tion Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

19 ‘‘(2) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term 

20 ‘Space Launch System’ means has the meaning 

21 given the term in section 3 of the National Aero22 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

23 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18302).’’. 


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1 SEC. 414. STEPPING STONE APPROACH TO EXPLORATION. 

2 Section 70504 of title 51, United States Code, is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘§ 70504. Stepping stone approach to exploration 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administration may con6 duct missions to intermediate destinations pursuant to the 

7 human exploration roadmap developed under section 432 

8 of this Act that shall be designed and implemented in a 

9 manner that gives strong consideration to how those ac10 tivities might also help meet the requirements of future 

11 exploration and utilization activities beyond Mars. The 

12 timetable of the Mars phase of the long-term international 

13 exploration initiative shall be determined by the avail14 ability of funding. 

15 ‘‘(b) COST EFFECTIVENESS.—In order to maximize 

16 the cost effectiveness of the long-term space exploration 

17 and utilization activities of the United States, the Admin18 istrator shall take all necessary steps, including engaging 

19 international, academic, and industry partners, to ensure 

20 that activities in the Administration’s human space explo21 ration program balance how those activities might also 

22 help meet the requirements of future exploration and utili23 zation activities leading to human habitation on the sur24 face of Mars. 

25 ‘‘(c) COMPLETION.—Within budgetary consider26 ations, once an exploration-related project enters its develVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 opment phase, the Administrator shall seek, to the max2 imum extent practicable, to complete that project without 

3 undue delays. 

4 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION.—In order to 

5 achieve the goal of successfully conducting a crewed mis6 sion to the surface of Mars, the President may invite the 

7 United States partners in the ISS program and other na8 tions, as appropriate, to participate in an international ini9 tiative under the leadership of the United States.’’. 

10 SEC. 415. UPDATE OF EXPLORATION PLAN AND PROGRAMS. 

11 Section 70502(2) of title 51, United States Code, is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(2) implement an exploration research and 

14 technology development program to enable human 

15 and robotic operations consistent with section 

16 20302(b) of this title;’’. 

17 SEC. 416. REPEALS. 

18 (a) SPACE SHUTTLE CAPABILITY ASSURANCE.—Sec19 tion 203 of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis20 tration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18313) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by striking subsection (b); 

23 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘subsection 

24 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 


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1 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

2 subsections (b) and (c), respectively. 

3 (b) SHUTTLE PRICING POLICY FOR COMMERCIAL

4 AND FOREIGN USERS.—Chapter 703 of title 51, United 

5 States Code, and the item relating to that chapter in the 

6 table of chapters for that title, are repealed. 

7 (c) SHUTTLE PRIVATIZATION.—Section 50133 of 

8 title 51, United States Code, and the item relating to that 

9 section in the table of sections for chapter 501 of that 

10 title, are repealed. 

11 SEC. 417. ASSURED ACCESS TO SPACE. 

12 Section 70501 of title 51, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(a) POLICY STATEMENT.—In order to ensure con17 tinuous United States leadership in exploration of space 

18 and as an essential instrument of national security, it is 

19 the policy of the United States— 

20 ‘‘(1) to maintain an uninterrupted capability for 

21 human space flight and operations— 

22 ‘‘(A) in low-Earth orbit; and 

23 ‘‘(B) beyond low-Earth orbit once the ca24 pabilities described in section 421 of the Na25 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration 


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1 Transition Authorization Act of 2016 become 

2 available; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to maintain an uninterrupted capability for 

4 human space flight.’’; and 

5 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Committee 

6 on Science and Technology of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Committee on Science, Space, and Tech10 nology of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate’’. 

13 Subtitle B—Assuring Core 

14 Capabilities for Exploration 

15 SEC. 421. SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM, ORION, AND EXPLO16 RATION GROUND SYSTEMS. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find18 ings: 

19 (1) NASA has made steady progress in devel20 oping and testing the Space Launch System and 

21 Orion exploration systems with the successful Explo22 ration Flight Test of Orion in December of 2014, 

23 the final qualification test firing of the 5-segment 

24 Space Launch System boosters in June 2016, and a 

25 full thrust, full duration test firing of the RS–25 


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1 Space Launch System core stage engine in August 

2 2016. 

3 (2) Through the 21st Century Launch Complex 

4 program and Exploration Ground Systems pro5 grams, NASA has made significant progress in 

6 transforming exploration ground systems infrastruc7 ture to meet NASA’s mission requirements for the 

8 Space Launch System and Orion and to modernize 

9 NASA’s launch complexes to the benefit of the civil, 

10 defense, and commercial space sectors. 

11 (b) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.— 

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

13 Congress that the Space Launch System is the most 

14 practical approach to reaching the Moon, Mars, and 

15 beyond. 

16 (2) REAFFIRMATION.—Congress reaffirms the 

17 policy and minimum capability requirements for the 

18 Space Launch System under section 302 of the Na19 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au20 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322). 

21 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SPACE LAUNCH SYS22 TEM, ORION, AND EXPLORATION GROUND SYSTEMS.—It 

23 is the sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) as the United States works to send humans 

25 on a series of missions to Mars in the 2030s, the 


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1 United States national space program should con2 tinue to make progress on its commitment by fully 

3 developing the Space Launch System, Orion, and re4 lated Exploration Ground Systems; 

5 (2) using the Space Launch System and Orion 

6 for a wide range of contemplated missions will facili7 tate the national defense, science, and exploration 

8 objectives of the United States; 

9 (3) the United States should have continuity of 

10 purpose for the Space Launch System and Orion in 

11 deep space exploration missions, using them begin12 ning with the uncrewed mission, EM–1, planned for 

13 2018, followed by the crewed mission, EM–2, in cis14 lunar space planned for 2021, and for subsequent 

15 missions beginning with EM–3 extending into cis16 lunar space and eventually to Mars; 

17 (4) the President’s annual budget requests for 

18 the Space Launch System and Orion development, 

19 test, and operational phases should strive to accu20 rately reflect the resource requirements of each of 

21 those phases; 

22 (5) the fully integrated Space Launch System, 

23 including an upper stage needed to go beyond low24 Earth orbit, will safely enable human space explo25 ration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond; and 


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1 (6) the Administrator should budget for and 

2 undertake a robust ground test and uncrewed and 

3 crewed flight test and demonstration program for 

4 the Space Launch System and Orion in order to pro5 mote safety and reduce programmatic risk. 

6 (d) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con7 tinue— 

8 (1) the development of the fully integrated 

9 Space Launch System, including an upper stage 

10 needed to go beyond low-Earth orbit, in order to 

11 safely enable human space exploration of the Moon, 

12 Mars, and beyond over the course of the next cen13 tury as required in section 302(c) of the National 

14 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization 

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

16 (2) to ensure, to the extent practical, that 

17 Orion meets the needs and the minimum capability 

18 requirements described in section 303 of the Na19 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au20 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

21 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

23 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech24 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 


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1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen2 ate— 

3 (1) detailing those components and systems of 

4 Orion that ensure it is in compliance with section 

5 303(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 18323(b)); and 

6 (2) detailing the expected date that Orion, inte7 grated with a vehicle other than the Space Launch 

8 System, could be available to transport crew and 

9 cargo to the International Space Station. 

10 (f) EXPLORATION MISSIONS.—The Administrator 

11 shall continue development of— 

12 (1) an uncrewed exploration mission to dem13 onstrate the capability of both the Space Launch 

14 System and Orion as an integrated system by 2018; 

15 (2) subject to applicable human rating proc16 esses and requirements, a crewed exploration mis17 sion to demonstrate the Space Launch System, in18 cluding the Core Stage and Exploration Upper 

19 Stages, by 2021; 

20 (3) subsequent missions beginning with EM–3 

21 at operational flight rate sufficient to maintain safe22 ty and operational readiness using the Space Launch 

23 System and Orion to extend into cis-lunar space and 

24 eventually to Mars; and 


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1 (4) a deep space habitat as a key element in a 

2 deep space exploration architecture along with the 

3 Space Launch System and Orion. 

4 (g) OTHER USES.—The Administrator shall assess 

5 the utility of the Space Launch System for use by the 

6 science community and for other Federal Government 

7 launch needs, including consideration of overall cost and 

8 schedule savings from reduced transit times and increased 

9 science returns enabled by the unique capabilities of the 

10 Space Launch System. 

11 (h) UTILIZATION REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con13 sultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Di14 rector of National Intelligence, shall prepare a re15 port that addresses the effort and budget required to 

16 enable and utilize a cargo variant of the 130-ton 

17 Space Launch System configuration described in 

18 section 302(c) of the National Aeronautics and 

19 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

20 U.S.C. 18322(c)). 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—In preparing the report, the 

22 Administrator shall— 

23 (A) consider the technical requirements of 

24 the scientific and national security communities 


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1 related to a cargo variant of the Space Launch 

2 System; and 

3 (B) directly assess the utility and esti4 mated cost savings obtained by using a cargo 

5 variant of the Space Launch System for na6 tional security and space science missions. 

7 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Administrator shall submit the report to the appro10 priate committees of Congress. 

11 Subtitle C—Journey to Mars 

12 SEC. 431. FINDINGS ON HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION. 

13 Congress makes the following findings: 

14 (1) In accordance with section 204 of the Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au16 thorization Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 2813), the Na17 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med18 icine, through its Committee on Human Spaceflight, 

19 conducted a review of the goals, core capabilities, 

20 and direction of human space flight, and published 

21 the findings and recommendations in a 2014 report 

22 entitled, ‘‘Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and 

23 Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space 

24 Exploration’’. 


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1 (2) The Committee on Human Spaceflight in2 cluded leaders from the aerospace, scientific, secu3 rity, and policy communities. 

4 (3) With input from the public, the Committee 

5 on Human Spaceflight concluded that many prac6 tical and aspirational rationales for human space 

7 flight together constitute a compelling case for con8 tinued national investment and pursuit of human 

9 space exploration toward the horizon goal of Mars. 

10 (4) According to the Committee on Human 

11 Spaceflight, the rationales include economic benefits, 

12 national security, national prestige, inspiring stu13 dents and other citizens, scientific discovery, human 

14 survival, and a sense of shared destiny. 

15 (5) The Committee on Human Spaceflight af16 firmed that Mars is the appropriate long-term goal 

17 for the human space flight program. 

18 (6) The Committee on Human Spaceflight rec19 ommended that NASA define a series of sustainable 

20 steps and conduct mission planning and technology 

21 development as needed to achieve the long-term goal 

22 of placing humans on the surface of Mars. 

23 (7) Expanding human presence beyond low24 Earth orbit and advancing toward human missions 

25 to Mars requires early planning and timely decisions 


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1 to be made in the near-term on the necessary 

2 courses of action for commitments to achieve short3 term and long-term goals and objectives. 

4 (8) In addition to the 2014 report described in 

5 paragraph (1), there are several independently devel6 oped reports or concepts that describe potential 

7 Mars architectures or concepts and identify Mars as 

8 the long-term goal for human space exploration, in9 cluding NASA’s ‘‘The Global Exploration Roadmap’’ 

10 of 2013, ‘‘NASA’s Journey to Mars–Pioneering 

11 Next Steps in Space Exploration’’ of 2015, NASA 

12 Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s ‘‘Minimal Architecture 

13 for Human Journeys to Mars’’ of 2015, and Explore 

14 Mars’ ‘‘The Humans to Mars Report 2016’’. 

15 SEC. 432. HUMAN EXPLORATION ROADMAP. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that— 

18 (1) expanding human presence beyond low19 Earth orbit and advancing toward human missions 

20 to Mars in the 2030s requires early strategic plan21 ning and timely decisions to be made in the near22 term on the necessary courses of action for commit23 ments to achieve short-term and long-term goals and 

24 objectives; 


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1 (2) for strong and sustained United States 

2 leadership, a need exists to advance a human explo3 ration roadmap, addressing exploration objectives in 

4 collaboration with international, academic, and in5 dustry partners; 

6 (3) an approach that incrementally advances to7 ward a long-term goal is one in which nearer-term 

8 developments and implementation would influence 

9 future development and implementation; and 

10 (4) a human exploration roadmap should begin 

11 with low-Earth orbit, then address in greater detail 

12 progress beyond low-Earth orbit to cis-lunar space, 

13 and then address future missions aimed at human 

14 arrival and activities near and then on the surface 

15 of Mars. 

16 (b) HUMAN EXPLORATION ROADMAP.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de18 velop a human exploration roadmap, including a 

19 critical decision plan, to expand human presence be20 yond low-Earth orbit to the surface of Mars and be21 yond, considering potential interim destinations such 

22 as cis-lunar space and the moons of Mars. 

23 (2) SCOPE.—The human exploration roadmap 

24 shall include— 


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1 (A) an integrated set of exploration, 

2 science, and other goals and objectives of a 

3 United States human space exploration pro4 gram to achieve the long-term goal of human 

5 missions near or on the surface of Mars in the 

6 2030s; 

7 (B) opportunities for international, aca8 demic, and industry partnerships for explo9 ration-related systems, services, research, and 

10 technology if those opportunities provide cost 

11 savings, accelerate program schedules, or other12 wise benefit the goals and objectives developed 

13 under subparagraph (A); 

14 (C) sets and sequences of precursor mis15 sions in cis-lunar space and other missions or 

16 activities necessary— 

17 (i) to demonstrate the proficiency of 

18 the capabilities and technologies identified 

19 under subparagraph (D); and 

20 (ii) to meet the goals and objectives 

21 developed under subparagraph (A), includ22 ing anticipated timelines and missions for 

23 the Space Launch System and Orion; 

24 (D) an identification of the specific capa25 bilities and technologies, including the Space 


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1 Launch System, Orion, a deep space habitat, 

2 and other capabilities, that facilitate the goals 

3 and objectives developed under subparagraph 

4 (A); 

5 (E) a description of how cis-lunar ele6 ments, objectives, and activities advance the 

7 human exploration of Mars; 

8 (F) an assessment of potential human 

9 health and other risks, including radiation expo10 sure; 

11 (G) mitigation plans, whenever possible, to 

12 address the risks identified in subparagraph 

13 (F); 

14 (H) a description of those technologies al15 ready under development across the Federal 

16 Government or by other entities that facilitate 

17 the goals and objectives developed under sub18 paragraph (A); 

19 (I) a specific process for the evolution of 

20 the capabilities of the fully integrated Orion 

21 with the Space Launch System and a descrip22 tion of how these systems facilitate the goals 

23 and objectives developed under subparagraph 

24 (A) and demonstrate the capabilities and tech25 nologies described in subparagraph (D); 


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1 (J) a description of the capabilities and 

2 technologies that need to be demonstrated or 

3 research data that could be gained through the 

4 utilization of the ISS and the status of the de5 velopment of such capabilities and technologies; 

6 (K) a framework for international coopera7 tion in the development of all capabilities and 

8 technologies identified under this section, in9 cluding an assessment of the risks posed by re10 lying on international partners for capabilities 

11 and technologies on the critical path of develop12 ment; 

13 (L) a process for partnering with non-gov14 ernmental entities for future human space ex15 ploration; and 

16 (M) include information on the phasing of 

17 planned intermediate destinations, Mars mis18 sion risk areas and potential risk mitigation ap19 proaches, technology requirements and phasing 

20 of required technology development activities, 

21 the management strategy to be followed, related 

22 ISS activities, planned international collabo23 rative activities, potential commercial contribu24 tions, and other activities relevant to the 


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1 achievement of the goal established in this sec2 tion. 

3 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the 

4 human exploration roadmap, the Administrator shall 

5 consider— 

6 (A) using key exploration capabilities, 

7 namely the Space Launch System and Orion; 

8 (B) using existing commercially available 

9 technologies and capabilities or those tech10 nologies and capabilities being developed by in11 dustry for commercial purposes; 

12 (C) establishing an organizational ap13 proach to ensure collaboration and coordination 

14 among NASA’s Mission Directorates under sec15 tion 821, when appropriate, including to collect 

16 and return to Earth a sample from the Martian 

17 surface; 

18 (D) building upon the initial uncrewed 

19 mission, EM–1, and first crewed mission, EM– 

20 2, of the Space Launch System and Orion to 

21 establish a sustainable cadence of missions ex22 tending human exploration missions into cis23 lunar space, including anticipated timelines and 

24 milestones; 


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1 (E) developing the robotic and precursor 

2 missions and activities that will demonstrate, 

3 test, and develop key technologies and capabili4 ties essential for achieving human missions to 

5 Mars, including long-duration human oper6 ations beyond low-Earth orbit, space suits, solar 

7 electric propulsion, deep space habitats, envi8 ronmental control life support systems, Mars 

9 lander and ascent vehicle, entry, descent, land10 ing, ascent, Mars surface systems, and in situ 

11 resource utilization; 

12 (F) demonstrating and testing one or more 

13 habitat modules in cis-lunar space to prepare 

14 for Mars missions; 

15 (G) using public-private, firm, fixed-price 

16 partnerships, where practicable; 

17 (H) collaborating with international, aca18 demic, and industry partners, when appro19 priate; 

20 (I) any risks to human health and sensitive 

21 onboard technologies, including radiation expo22 sure; 

23 (J) any risks identified through research 

24 outcomes under the NASA Human Research 

25 Program’s Behavioral Health Element; and 


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1 (K) the recommendations and ideas of sev2 eral independently developed reports or con3 cepts that describe potential Mars architectures 

4 or concepts and identify Mars as the long-term 

5 goal for human space exploration, including the 

6 reports described under section 431. 

7 (4) CRITICAL DECISION PLAN ON HUMAN SPACE

8 EXPLORATION.—As part of the human exploration 

9 roadmap, the Administrator shall include a critical 

10 decision plan— 

11 (A) identifying and defining key decisions 

12 guiding human space exploration priorities and 

13 plans that need to be made before June 30, 

14 2020, including decisions that may guide 

15 human space exploration capability develop16 ment, precursor missions, long-term missions, 

17 and activities; 

18 (B) defining decisions needed to maximize 

19 efficiencies and resources for reaching the near, 

20 intermediate, and long-term goals and objec21 tives of human space exploration; and 

22 (C) identifying and defining timelines and 

23 milestones for a sustainable cadence of missions 

24 beginning with EM–3 for the Space Launch 


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1 System and Orion to extend human exploration 

2 from cis-lunar space to the surface of Mars. 

3 (5) REPORTS.— 

4 (A) INITIAL HUMAN EXPLORATION ROAD5 MAP.—The Administrator shall submit to the 

6 appropriate committees of Congress— 

7 (i) an initial human exploration road8 map, including a critical decision plan be9 fore December 1, 2017; and 

10 (ii) an updated human exploration 

11 roadmap periodically as the Administrator 

12 considers necessary but not less than bien13 nially. 

14 (B) CONTENTS.—Each human exploration 

15 roadmap under this paragraph shall include a 

16 description of— 

17 (i) the achievements and goals accom18 plished in the process of developing such 

19 capabilities and technologies during the 2- 

20 year period prior to the submission of the 

21 human exploration roadmap; and 

22 (ii) the expected goals and achieve23 ments in the following 2-year period. 

24 (C) SUBMISSION WITH BUDGET.—Each 

25 human exploration roadmap under this section 


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1 shall be included in the budget for that fiscal 

2 year transmitted to Congress under section 

3 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 433. ADVANCED SPACE SUIT CAPABILITY. 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appro7 priate committees of Congress a detailed plan for achiev8 ing an advanced space suit capability that aligns with the 

9 crew needs for exploration enabled by the Space Launch 

10 System and Orion, including an evaluation of the merit 

11 of delivering the planned suit system for use on the ISS. 

12 SEC. 434. ASTEROID ROBOTIC REDIRECT MISSION. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find14 ings: 

15 (1) NASA initially estimated that the Asteroid 

16 Robotic Redirect Mission would launch in December 

17 2020 and cost no more than $1,250,000,000, ex18 cluding launch and operations. 

19 (2) On July 15, 2016, NASA conducted its Key 

20 Decision Point–B review of the Asteroid Robotic Re21 direct Mission or approval for Phase B in mission 

22 formulation. 

23 (3) During the Key Decision Point–B review, 

24 NASA estimated that costs have grown to 

25 $1,400,000,000 excluding launch and operations for 


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1 a launch in December 2021 and the agency must 

2 evaluate whether to accept the increase or reduce the 

3 Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission’s scope to stay 

4 within the cost cap set by the Administrator. 

5 (4) In April 2015, the NASA Advisory Coun6 cil— 

7 (A) issued a finding that— 

8 (i) high-performance solar electric 

9 propulsion will likely be an important part 

10 of an architecture to send humans to 

11 Mars; and 

12 (ii) maneuvering a large test mass is 

13 not necessary to provide a valid in-space 

14 test of a new solar electric propulsion 

15 stage; 

16 (B) determined that a solar electric propul17 sion mission will contribute more directly to the 

18 goal of sending humans to Mars if the mission 

19 is focused entirely on development and valida20 tion of the solar electric propulsion stage; and 

21 (C) determined that other possible motiva22 tions for acquiring and maneuvering a boulder, 

23 such as asteroid science and planetary defense, 

24 do not have value commensurate with their 

25 probable cost. 


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1 (5) The Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission is 

2 competing for resources with other critical explo3 ration development programs, including the Space 

4 Launch System, Orion, commercial crew, and a hab5 itation module. 

6 (6) In 2014, the NASA Advisory Council rec7 ommended that NASA conduct an independent cost 

8 and technical assessment of the Asteroid Robotic 

9 Redirect Mission. 

10 (7) In 2015, the NASA Advisory Council rec11 ommended that NASA preserve the following key ob12 jectives if the program needed to be descoped: 

13 (A) Development of high power solar elec14 tric propulsion. 

15 (B) Ability to maneuver in a low gravity 

16 environment in deep space. 

17 (8) In January 2015 and July 2015, the NASA 

18 Advisory Council expressed its concern to NASA 

19 about the potential for growing costs for the pro20 gram and highlighted that choices would need to be 

21 made about the program’s content. 

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 


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1 (1) the technological and scientific goals of the 

2 Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission are not commen3 surate with the cost; and 

4 (2) alternative missions may provide a more 

5 cost effective and scientifically beneficial means to 

6 demonstrate the technologies needed for a human 

7 mission to Mars that would otherwise be dem8 onstrated by the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission. 

9 (c) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 180 

10 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis11 trator shall— 

12 (1) conduct an evaluation of— 

13 (A) alternative approaches to the Asteroid 

14 Robotic Redirect Mission for demonstrating the 

15 technologies and capabilities needed for a 

16 human mission to Mars that would otherwise be 

17 demonstrated by the Asteroid Robotic Redirect 

18 Mission; 

19 (B) the scientific and technical benefits of 

20 the alternative approaches under subparagraph 

21 (A) to future human space exploration com22 pared to scientific and technical benefits of the 

23 Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission; 

24 (C) the commercial benefits of the alter25 native approaches identified in subparagraph 


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1 (A), including the impact on the development of 

2 domestic solar electric propulsion technology to 

3 bolster United States competitiveness in the 

4 global marketplace; and 

5 (D) a comparison of the estimated costs of 

6 the alternative approaches identified in sub7 paragraph (A); and 

8 (2) submit to the appropriate committees of 

9 Congress a report on the evaluation under para10 graph (1), including any recommendations. 

11 SEC. 435. MARS 2033 REPORT. 

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

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con14 tract with an independent, non-governmental systems en15 gineering and technical assistance organization to study 

16 a Mars human space flight mission to be launched in 

17 2033. 

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

19 (1) a technical development, test, fielding, and 

20 operations plan using the Space Launch System, 

21 Orion, and other systems to successfully launch such 

22 a Mars human space flight mission by 2033; 

23 (2) an annual budget profile, including cost es24 timates, for the technical development, test, fielding, 


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1 and operations plan to carry out a Mars human 

2 space flight mission by 2033; and 

3 (3) a comparison of the annual budget profile 

4 to the 5-year budget profile contained in the Presi5 dent’s budget request for fiscal year 2017 under sec6 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code. 

7 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

9 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 

10 study, including findings and recommendations regarding 

11 the Mars 2033 human space flight mission described in 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (d) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

14 date the report is submitted under subsection (c), the Ad15 ministrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

16 Congress an assessment by the NASA Advisory Council 

17 of whether the proposal for a Mars human space flight 

18 mission to be launched in 2033 is in the strategic interests 

19 of the United States in space exploration. 

20 Subtitle D—TREAT Astronauts Act 

21 SEC. 441. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘To Research, 

23 Evaluate, Assess, and Treat Astronauts Act’’ or the 

24 ‘‘TREAT Astronauts Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 442. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

4 (1) Human space exploration can pose signifi5 cant challenges and is full of substantial risk, which 

6 has ultimately claimed the lives of 24 National Aero7 nautics and Space Administration astronauts serving 

8 in the line of duty. 

9 (2) As United States Government astronauts 

10 participate in long-duration and exploration space 

11 flight missions they may experience increased health 

12 risks, such as vision impairment, bone 

13 demineralization, and behavioral health and perform14 ance risks, and may be exposed to galactic cosmic 

15 radiation. Exposure to high levels of radiation and 

16 microgravity can result in acute and long-term 

17 health consequences that can increase the risk of 

18 cancer and tissue degeneration and have potential 

19 effects on the musculoskeletal system, central nerv20 ous system, cardiovascular system, immune function, 

21 and vision. 

22 (3) To advance the goal of long-duration and 

23 exploration space flight missions, United States Gov24 ernment astronaut Scott Kelly participated in a 1- 

25 year twins study in space while his identical twin 

26 brother, former United States Government astronaut 


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1 Mark Kelly, acted as a human control specimen on 

2 Earth, providing an understanding of the physical, 

3 behavioral, microbiological, and molecular reaction of 

4 the human body to an extended period of time in 

5 space. 

6 (4) Since the Administration currently provides 

7 medical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment for 

8 United States Government astronauts during their 

9 active employment, given the unknown long-term 

10 health consequences of long-duration space explo11 ration, the Administration has requested statutory 

12 authority from Congress to provide medical moni13 toring, diagnosis, and treatment to former United 

14 States Government astronauts for psychological and 

15 medical conditions associated with human space 

16 flight. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that— 

19 (1) the United States should continue to seek 

20 the unknown and lead the world in space exploration 

21 and scientific discovery as the Administration pre22 pares for long-duration and exploration space flight 

23 in deep space and an eventual mission to Mars; 


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1 (2) data relating to the health of astronauts will 

2 become increasingly valuable to improving our un3 derstanding of many diseases humans face on Earth; 

4 (3) the Administration should provide the type 

5 of monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment described in 

6 subsection (a) only for conditions the Administration 

7 considers unique to the training or exposure to the 

8 space flight environment of United States Govern9 ment astronauts and should not require any former 

10 United States Government astronauts to participate 

11 in the Administration’s monitoring; 

12 (4) such monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment 

13 should not replace a former United States Govern14 ment astronaut’s private health insurance; 

15 (5) expanded data acquired from such moni16 toring, diagnosis, and treatment should be used to 

17 tailor treatment, inform the requirements for new 

18 space flight medical hardware, and develop controls 

19 in order to prevent disease occurrence in the astro20 naut corps; and 

21 (6) the 340-day space mission of Scott Kelly 

22 aboard the ISS— 

23 (A) was pivotal for the goal of the United 

24 States for humans to explore deep space and 

25 Mars as the mission generated new insight into 


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1 how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, 

2 isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-dura3 tion space flight; and 

4 (B) will help support the physical and 

5 mental well-being of astronauts during longer 

6 space exploration missions in the future. 

7 SEC. 443. MEDICAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH RELAT8 ING TO HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 201 of 

10 title 51, United States Code, as amended by section 305 

11 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘§ 20149. Medical monitoring and research relating to 

14 human space flight 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro16 vision of law, the Administrator may provide for— 

17 ‘‘(1) the medical monitoring, and diagnosis, of 

18 a former United States government astronaut or a 

19 former payload specialist for conditions that the Ad20 ministrator considers potentially associated with 

21 human space flight; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the treatment of a former United States 

23 government astronaut or a former payload specialist 

24 for conditions that the Administrator considers asso25 ciated with human space flight, including scientific 


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1 and medical tests for psychological and medical con2 ditions. 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NO COST SHARING.—The medical moni5 toring, diagnosis, or treatment described in sub6 section (a) shall be provided without any deductible, 

7 copayment, or other cost-sharing obligation. 

8 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO LOCAL SERVICES.—The med9 ical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment described 

10 in subsection (a) may be provided by a local health 

11 care provider if it is unadvisable due to the health 

12 of the applicable former United States government 

13 astronaut or former payload specialist for that 

14 former United States government astronaut or 

15 former payload specialist to travel to the Lyndon B. 

16 Johnson Space Center, as determined by the Admin17 istrator. 

18 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY PAYMENT.—Payment or reim19 bursement for the medical monitoring, diagnosis, or 

20 treatment described in subsection (a) shall be sec21 ondary to any obligation of the United States Gov22 ernment or any third party under any other provi23 sion of law or contractual agreement to pay for or 

24 provide such medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treat25 ment. Any costs for items and services that may be 


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1 provided by the Administrator for medical moni2 toring, diagnosis, or treatment under subsection (a) 

3 that are not paid for or provided under such other 

4 provision of law or contractual agreement, due to the 

5 application of deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, 

6 other cost sharing, or otherwise, are reimbursable by 

7 the Administrator on behalf of the former United 

8 States government astronaut or former payload spe9 cialist involved to the extent such items or services 

10 are authorized to be provided by the Administrator 

11 for such medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment 

12 under subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONAL PAYMENT.—The Adminis14 trator may provide for conditional payments for or 

15 provide medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment 

16 described in subsection (a) that is obligated to be 

17 paid for or provided by the United States or any 

18 third party under any other provision of law or con19 tractual agreement to pay for or provide such med20 ical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment if— 

21 ‘‘(A) payment for (or the provision of) 

22 such medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treat23 ment services has not been made (or provided) 

24 or cannot reasonably be expected to be made 


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1 (or provided) promptly by the United States or 

2 such third party, respectively; and 

3 ‘‘(B) such payment (or such provision of 

4 services) by the Administrator is conditioned on 

5 reimbursement by the United States or such 

6 third party, respectively, for such medical moni7 toring, diagnosis, or treatment. 

8 ‘‘(c) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may not— 

9 ‘‘(1) provide for medical monitoring or diag10 nosis of a former United States government astro11 naut or former payload specialist under subsection 

12 (a) for any psychological or medical condition that 

13 is not potentially associated with human space flight; 

14 ‘‘(2) provide for treatment of a former United 

15 States government astronaut or former payload spe16 cialist under subsection (a) for any psychological or 

17 medical condition that is not associated with human 

18 space flight; or 

19 ‘‘(3) require a former United States govern20 ment astronaut or former payload specialist to par21 ticipate in the medical monitoring, diagnosis, or 

22 treatment authorized under subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(d) PRIVACY.—Consistent with applicable provisions 

24 of Federal law relating to privacy, the Administrator shall 


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1 protect the privacy of all medical records generated under 

2 subsection (a) and accessible to the Administration. 

3 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro4 mulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

7 ASTRONAUT.—In this section, the term ‘United States 

8 government astronaut’ has the meaning given the term 

9 ‘government astronaut’ in section 50902, except it does 

10 not include an individual who is an international partner 

11 astronaut. 

12 ‘‘(g) DATA USE AND DISCLOSURE.—The Adminis13 trator may use or disclose data acquired in the course of 

14 medical monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment of a former 

15 United States government astronaut or a former payload 

16 specialist under subsection (a), in accordance with sub17 section (d). Former United States government astronaut 

18 or former payload specialist participation in medical moni19 toring, diagnosis, or treatment under subsection (a) shall 

20 constitute consent for the Administrator to use or disclose 

21 such data.’’. 

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

23 chapter 201 of title 51, United States Code, as amended 

24 by section 305 of this Act, is further amended by inserting 

25 after the item relating to section 20148 the following: 

‘‘20149. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight.’’. 


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1 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, not later 

3 than the date of submission of the President’s an4 nual budget request for that fiscal year under sec5 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Ad6 ministrator shall publish a report, in accordance 

7 with applicable Federal privacy laws, on the activi8 ties of the Administration under section 20149 of 

9 title 51, United States Code. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

11 (1) shall include a detailed cost accounting of the 

12 Administration’s activities under section 20149 of 

13 title 51, United States Code, and a 5-year budget 

14 estimate. 

15 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Adminis16 trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

17 Congress each report under paragraph (1) not later 

18 than the date of submission of the President’s an19 nual budget request for that fiscal year under sec20 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code. 

21 (d) COST ESTIMATE.— 

22 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis24 trator shall enter into an arrangement with an inde25 pendent external organization to undertake an indeVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 pendent cost estimate of the cost to the Administra2 tion and the Federal Government to implement and 

3 administer the activities of the Administration under 

4 section 20149 of title 51, United States Code. The 

5 independent external organization may not be a 

6 NASA entity, such as the Office of Safety and Mis7 sion Assurance. 

8 (2) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

9 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Administrator shall submit to the appropriate com11 mittees of Congress the independent cost estimate 

12 under paragraph (1). 

13 (e) PRIVACY STUDY.— 

14 (1) STUDY.—The Administrator shall carry out 

15 a study on any potential privacy or legal issues re16 lated to the possible sharing beyond the Federal 

17 Government of data acquired under the activities of 

18 the Administration under section 20149 of title 51, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

22 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con23 gress a report containing the results of the study 

24 carried out under paragraph (1). 


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1 (f) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—The Inspector 

2 General of NASA shall periodically audit or review, as the 

3 Inspector General considers necessary to prevent waste, 

4 fraud, and abuse, the activities of the Administration 

5 under section 20149 of title 51, United States Code. 

6 TITLE V—ADVANCING SPACE 

7 SCIENCE 

8 SEC. 501. MAINTAINING A BALANCED SPACE SCIENCE 

9 PORTFOLIO. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SCIENCE PORTFOLIO.— 

11 Congress reaffirms the sense of Congress that— 

12 (1) a balanced and adequately funded set of ac13 tivities, consisting of research and analysis grant 

14 programs, technology development, suborbital re15 search activities, and small, medium, and large space 

16 missions, contributes to a robust and productive 

17 science program and serves as a catalyst for innova18 tion and discovery; and 

19 (2) the Administrator should set science prior20 ities by following the guidance provided by the sci21 entific community through the National Academies 

22 of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s decadal 

23 surveys. 


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1 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 

2 ensure, to the extent practicable, a steady cadence of 

3 large, medium, and small science missions. 

4 SEC. 502. PLANETARY SCIENCE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) Administration support for planetary 

7 science is critical to enabling greater understanding 

8 of the solar system and the origin of the Earth; 

9 (2) the United States leads the world in plan10 etary science and can augment its success in that 

11 area with appropriate international, academic, and 

12 industry partnerships; 

13 (3) a mix of small, medium, and large planetary 

14 science missions is required to sustain a steady ca15 dence of planetary exploration; and 

16 (4) robotic planetary exploration is a key com17 ponent of preparing for future human exploration. 

18 (b) MISSION PRIORITIES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the pri20 orities established in the most recent Planetary 

21 Science Decadal Survey, the Administrator shall en22 sure, to the greatest extent practicable, the comple23 tion of a balanced set of Discovery, New Frontiers, 

24 and Flagship missions at the cadence recommended 


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1 by the most recent Planetary Science Decadal Sur2 vey. 

3 (2) MISSION PRIORITY ADJUSTMENTS.—Con4 sistent with the set of missions described in para5 graph (1), and while maintaining the continuity of 

6 scientific data and steady development of capabilities 

7 and technologies, the Administrator may seek, if 

8 necessary, adjustments to mission priorities, sched9 ule, and scope in light of changing budget projec10 tions. 

11 SEC. 503. JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) the James Webb Space Telescope will— 

14 (A) significantly advance our under15 standing of star and planet formation, and im16 prove our knowledge of the early universe; and 

17 (B) support United States leadership in 

18 astrophysics; 

19 (2) consistent with annual Government Ac20 countability Office reviews of the James Webb Space 

21 Telescope program, the Administrator should con22 tinue robust surveillance of the performance of the 

23 James Webb Space Telescope project and continue 

24 to improve the reliability of cost estimates and con25 tractor performance data and other major space 


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1 flight projects in order to enhance NASA’s ability to 

2 successfully deliver the James Webb Space Telescope 

3 on time and within budget; 

4 (3) the on-time and on-budget delivery of the 

5 James Webb Space Telescope is a high congressional 

6 priority; and 

7 (4) the Administrator should ensure that inte8 grated testing is appropriately timed and sufficiently 

9 comprehensive to enable potential issues to be identi10 fied and addressed early enough to be handled with11 in the James Webb Space Telescope’s development 

12 schedule and prior to its launch. 

13 SEC. 504. WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY TELESCOPE. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that— 

16 (1) the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope 

17 (referred to in this section as ‘‘WFIRST’’) mission 

18 has the potential to enable scientific discoveries that 

19 will transform our understanding of the universe; 

20 and 

21 (2) the Administrator, to the extent practicable, 

22 should make progress on the technologies and capa23 bilities needed to position the Administration to 

24 meet the objectives, as outlined in the 2010 National 

25 Academies’ Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal 


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1 Survey, in a way that maximizes the scientific pro2 ductivity of meeting those objectives for the re3 sources invested. 

4 (b) CONTINUITY OF DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis5 trator shall ensure that the concept definition and pre6 formulation activities of the WFIRST mission continue 

7 while the James Webb Space Telescope is being com8 pleted. 

9 SEC. 505. MARS 2020 ROVER. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that— 

11 (1) the Mars 2020 mission, to develop a Mars 

12 rover and to enable the return of samples to Earth, 

13 should remain a priority for NASA; and 

14 (2) the Mars 2020 mission— 

15 (A) should significantly increase our un16 derstanding of Mars; 

17 (B) should help determine whether life pre18 viously existed on that planet; and 

19 (C) should provide opportunities to gather 

20 knowledge and demonstrate technologies that 

21 address the challenges of future human expedi22 tions to Mars. 

23 SEC. 506. EUROPA. 

24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find25 ings: 


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1 (1) Studies of Europa, Jupiter’s moon, indicate 

2 that Europa may provide a habitable environment, 

3 as it contains key ingredients known to support life. 

4 (2) In 2012, using the Hubble Space Telescope, 

5 NASA scientists observed water vapor around the 

6 south polar region of Europa, which provides poten7 tial evidence of water plumes in that region. 

8 (3) For decades, the Europa mission has con9 sistently ranked as a high priority mission for the 

10 scientific community. 

11 (4) The Europa mission was ranked as the top 

12 priority mission in the previous Planetary Science 

13 Decadal Survey and ranked as the second highest 

14 priority in the current Planetary Science Decadal 

15 Survey. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that— 

18 (1) the Europa mission could provide another 

19 avenue in which to capitalize on our Nation’s cur20 rent investment in the Space Launch System that 

21 would significantly reduce the transit time for such 

22 a deep space mission; and 

23 (2) a scientific, robotic exploration mission to 

24 Europa, as prioritized in both Planetary Science 

25 Decadal Surveys, should be supported. 


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1 SEC. 507. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY AND 

2 PURPOSE. 

3 Section 20102(d) of title 51, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(10) The search for life’s origin, evolution, dis6 tribution, and future in the universe.’’. 

7 SEC. 508. EXTRASOLAR PLANET EXPLORATION STRATEGY. 

8 (a) STRATEGY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

10 enter into an arrangement with the National Acad11 emies to develop a science strategy for the study and 

12 exploration of extrasolar planets, including the use 

13 of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the 

14 James Webb Space Telescope, a potential Wide15 Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission, or any 

16 other telescope, spacecraft, or instrument, as appro17 priate. 

18 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy shall— 

19 (A) outline key scientific questions; 

20 (B) identify the most promising research 

21 in the field; 

22 (C) indicate the extent to which the mis23 sion priorities in existing decadal surveys ad24 dress the key extrasolar planet research and ex25 ploration goals; 


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1 (D) identify opportunities for coordination 

2 with international partners, commercial part3 ners, and not-for-profit partners; and 

4 (E) make recommendations regarding the 

5 activities under subparagraphs (A) through 

6 (D), as appropriate. 

7 (b) USE OF STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall use 

8 the strategy— 

9 (1) to inform roadmaps, strategic plans, and 

10 other activities of the Administration as they relate 

11 to extrasolar planet research and exploration; and 

12 (2) to provide a foundation for future activities 

13 and initiatives related to extrasolar planet research 

14 and exploration. 

15 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

16 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na17 tional Academies shall submit to the Administrator and 

18 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report con19 taining the strategy developed under subsection (a). 

20 SEC. 509. ASTROBIOLOGY STRATEGY. 

21 (a) STRATEGY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

23 enter into an arrangement with the National Acad24 emies to develop a science strategy for astrobiology 

25 that would outline key scientific questions, identify 


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1 the most promising research in the field, and indi2 cate the extent to which the mission priorities in ex3 isting decadal surveys address the search for life’s 

4 origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the Uni5 verse. 

6 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The strategy shall 

7 include recommendations for coordination with inter8 national partners. 

9 (b) USE OF STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall use 

10 the strategy developed under subsection (a) in planning 

11 and funding research and other activities and initiatives 

12 in the field of astrobiology. 

13 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

14 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na15 tional Academies shall submit to the Administrator and 

16 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report con17 taining the strategy developed under subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 510. ASTROBIOLOGY PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appro21 priate committees of Congress a report describing how the 

22 Administration can expand collaborative partnerships to 

23 study life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in 

24 the universe. 


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1 SEC. 511. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS. 

2 Section 321 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

3 Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (51 U.S.C. note 

4 prec. 71101) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(e) PROGRAM REPORT.—The Director of the Office 

7 of Science and Technology Policy and the Administrator 

8 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

10 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep11 resentatives, not later than 1 year after the date of enact12 ment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra13 tion Transition Authorization Act of 2016, an initial re14 port that provides— 

15 ‘‘(1) recommendations for carrying out the Sur16 vey program and an associated proposed budget; 

17 ‘‘(2) an analysis of possible options that the Ad18 ministration could employ to divert an object on a 

19 likely collision course with Earth; and 

20 ‘‘(3) a description of the status of efforts to co21 ordinate and cooperate with other countries to dis22 cover hazardous asteroids and comets, plan a mitiga23 tion strategy, and implement that strategy in the 

24 event of the discovery of an object on a likely colli25 sion course with Earth. 


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1 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—After the initial report 

2 under subsection (e), the Administrator shall annually 

3 transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

4 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

5 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep6 resentatives a report that includes— 

7 ‘‘(1) a summary of all activities carried out 

8 under subsection (d) since the date of enactment of 

9 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

10 Transition Authorization Act of 2016, including the 

11 progress toward achieving 90 percent completion of 

12 the survey described in subsection (d); and 

13 ‘‘(2) a summary of expenditures for all activi14 ties carried out under subsection (d) since the date 

15 of enactment of the National Aeronautics and Space 

16 Administration Transition Authorization Act of 

17 2016. 

18 ‘‘(g) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator, in collabora19 tion with other relevant Federal agencies, shall carry out 

20 a technical and scientific assessment of the capabilities 

21 and resources— 

22 ‘‘(1) to accelerate the survey described in sub23 section (d); and 

24 ‘‘(2) to expand the Administration’s Near-Earth 

25 Object Program to include the detection, tracking, 


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1 cataloguing, and characterization of potentially haz2 ardous near-Earth objects less than 140 meters in 

3 diameter. 

4 ‘‘(h) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

5 the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics and 

6 Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 

7 2016, the Administrator shall transmit the results of the 

8 assessment under subsection (g) to the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

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

11 House of Representatives.’’. 

12 SEC. 512. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PART13 NERSHIPS. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that the Administration should seek to leverage the 

16 capabilities of the private sector and philanthropic organi17 zations to the maximum extent practicable in carrying out 

18 the Near-Earth Object Survey Program in order to meet 

19 the goal of that program under section 321(d)(1) of the 

20 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author21 ization Act of 2005 (51 U.S.C. note prec. 71101(d)(1)). 

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

23 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

24 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report de25 scribing how the Administration can expand collaborative 


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1 partnerships to detect, track, catalogue, and categorize 

2 near-Earth objects. 

3 SEC. 513. ASSESSMENT OF SCIENCE MISSION EXTENSIONS. 

4 Section 30504 of title 51, United States Code, is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘§ 30504. Assessment of science mission extensions 

7 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

9 carry out triennial reviews within each of the Science 

10 divisions to assess the cost and benefits of extending 

11 the date of the termination of data collection for 

12 those missions that exceed their planned missions’ 

13 lifetime. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting an as15 sessment under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

16 shall consider whether and how extending missions 

17 impacts the start of future missions. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND CONSIDERATION OF PO19 TENTIAL BENEFITS OF INSTRUMENTS ON MISSIONS.— 

20 When deciding whether to extend a mission that has an 

21 operational component, the Administrator shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) consult with any affected Federal agency; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) take into account the potential benefits of 

2 instruments on missions that are beyond their 

3 planned mission lifetime. 

4 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall submit to 

5 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

6 of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

7 Technology of the House of Representatives, at the same 

8 time as the submission to Congress of the Administra9 tion’s annual budget request for each fiscal year, a report 

10 detailing any assessment under subsection (a) that was 

11 carried out during the previous year.’’. 

12 SEC. 514. STRATOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY FOR INFRARED 

13 ASTRONOMY. 

14 The Administrator may not terminate science oper15 ations of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared As16 tronomy before December 31, 2017. 

17 SEC. 515. RADIOISOTOPE POWER SYSTEMS. 

18 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that— 

20 (1) exploration of the outer reaches of the solar 

21 system is enabled by radioisotope power systems; 

22 (2) establishing continuity in the production of 

23 the material needed for radioisotope power systems 

24 is essential to maintaining the availability of such 


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1 systems for future deep space exploration missions; 

2 and 

3 (3) Federal agencies supporting the Adminis4 tration through the production of such material 

5 should do so in a cost-effective manner so as not to 

6 impose excessive reimbursement requirements on the 

7 Administration. 

8 (b) ANALYSIS OF REQUIREMENTS AND RISKS.—The 

9 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

10 and the Administrator, in consultation with other Federal 

11 agencies, shall conduct an analysis of— 

12 (1) the requirements of the Administration for 

13 radioisotope power system material that is needed to 

14 carry out planned, high priority robotic missions in 

15 the solar system and other surface exploration activi16 ties beyond low-Earth orbit; and 

17 (2) the risks to missions of the Administration 

18 in meeting those requirements, or any additional re19 quirements, due to a lack of adequate radioisotope 

20 power system material. 

21 (c) CONTENTS OF ANALYSIS.—The analysis con22 ducted under subsection (b) shall— 

23 (1) detail the Administration’s current pro24 jected mission requirements and associated time25 frames for radioisotope power system material; 


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1 (2) explain the assumptions used to determine 

2 the Administration’s requirements for the material, 

3 including— 

4 (A) the planned use of advanced thermal 

5 conversion technology such as advanced 

6 thermocouples and Stirling generators and con7 verters; and 

8 (B) the risks and implications of, and con9 tingencies for, any delays or unanticipated tech10 nical challenges affecting or related to the Ad11 ministration’s mission plans for the anticipated 

12 use of advanced thermal conversion technology; 

13 (3) assess the risk to the Administration’s pro14 grams of any potential delays in achieving the sched15 ule and milestones for planned domestic production 

16 of radioisotope power system material; 

17 (4) outline a process for meeting any additional 

18 Administration requirements for the material; 

19 (5) estimate the incremental costs required to 

20 increase the amount of material produced each year, 

21 if such an increase is needed to support additional 

22 Administration requirements for the material; 

23 (6) detail how the Administration and other 

24 Federal agencies will manage, operate, and fund 

25 production facilities and the design and development 


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1 of all radioisotope power systems used by the Ad2 ministration and other Federal agencies as nec3 essary; 

4 (7) specify the steps the Administration will 

5 take, in consultation with the Department of En6 ergy, to preserve the infrastructure and workforce 

7 necessary for production of radioisotope power sys8 tems and ensure that its reimbursements to the De9 partment of Energy associated with such preserva10 tion are equitable and justified; and 

11 (8) detail how the Administration has imple12 mented or rejected the recommendations from the 

13 National Research Council’s 2009 report titled ‘‘Ra14 dioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Main15 taining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration.’’. 

16 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

18 shall submit the results of the analysis to the appropriate 

19 committees of Congress. 

20 SEC. 516. ASSESSMENT OF MARS ARCHITECTURE. 

21 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

22 into an arrangement with the National Academies of 

23 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to assess— 

24 (1) the Administration’s Mars exploration ar25 chitecture and its responsiveness to the strategies, 


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1 priorities, and guidelines put forward by the Na2 tional Academies’ planetary science decadal surveys 

3 and other relevant National Academies Mars-related 

4 reports; 

5 (2) the long-term goals of the Administration’s 

6 Mars Exploration Program and such program’s abil7 ity to optimize the science return, given the current 

8 fiscal posture of the program; 

9 (3) the Mars exploration architecture’s relation10 ship to Mars-related activities to be undertaken by 

11 foreign agencies and organizations; and 

12 (4) the extent to which the Mars exploration ar13 chitecture represents a reasonably balanced mission 

14 portfolio. 

15 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

16 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad17 ministrator shall submit the results of the assessment to 

18 the appropriate committees of Congress. 

19 SEC. 517. COLLABORATION. 

20 The Administration shall continue to develop first-of21 a-kind instruments that, once proved, can be transitioned 

22 to other agencies for operations. Whenever responsibilities 

23 for the development of sensors or for measurements are 

24 transferred to the Administration from another agency, 


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1 the Administration shall seek, to the extent possible, to 

2 be reimbursed for the assumption of such responsibilities. 

3 TITLE VI—AERONAUTICS 

4 SEC. 601. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON AERONAUTICS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) a robust aeronautics research portfolio will 

7 help maintain the United States status as a leader 

8 in aviation, enhance the competitiveness of the 

9 United States in the world economy, and improve 

10 the quality of life of all citizens; 

11 (2) aeronautics research is essential to the Ad12 ministration’s mission, continues to be an important 

13 core element of the Administration’s mission, and 

14 should be supported; 

15 (3) the Administrator should coordinate and 

16 consult with relevant Federal agencies and the pri17 vate sector to minimize duplication of efforts and le18 verage resources; and 

19 (4) carrying aeronautics research to a level of 

20 maturity that allows the Administration’s research 

21 results to be transferred to the users, whether pri22 vate or public sector, is critical to their eventual 

23 adoption. 


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1 SEC. 602. TRANSFORMATIVE AERONAUTICS RESEARCH. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

3 should look strategically into the future and ensure that 

4 the Administration’s Center personnel are at the leading 

5 edge of aeronautics research by encouraging investigations 

6 into the early-stage advancement of new processes, novel 

7 concepts, and innovative technologies that have the poten8 tial to meet national aeronautics needs. 

9 SEC. 603. HYPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

10 (a) ROADMAP FOR HYPERSONIC RESEARCH.—Not 

11 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

12 the Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other 

13 relevant Federal agencies, shall develop and submit to the 

14 appropriate committees of Congress a research and devel15 opment roadmap for hypersonic aircraft research. 

16 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the roadmap is to 

17 explore hypersonic science and technology using air18 breathing propulsion concepts, through a mix of theo19 retical work, basic and applied research, and development 

20 of flight research demonstration vehicles. 

21 (c) CONTENTS.—The roadmap shall recommend ap22 propriate Federal agency contributions, coordination ef23 forts, and technology milestones. 

24 SEC. 604. SUPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the ability to fly commercial aircraft over 

2 land at supersonic speeds without adverse impacts 

3 on the environment or on local communities could 

4 open new global markets and enable new transpor5 tation capabilities; and 

6 (2) continuing the Administration’s research 

7 program is necessary to assess the impact in a rel8 evant environment of commercial supersonic flight 

9 operations and provide the basis for establishing ap10 propriate sonic boom standards for such flight oper11 ations. 

12 (b) ROADMAP FOR SUPERSONIC RESEARCH.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

15 shall develop and submit to the appropriate commit16 tees of Congress a roadmap that allows for flexible 

17 funding profiles for supersonic aeronautics research 

18 and development. 

19 (2) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the roadmap 

20 is to develop and demonstrate, in a relevant environ21 ment, airframe and propulsion technologies to mini22 mize the environmental impact, including noise, of 

23 supersonic overland flight in an efficient and eco24 nomical manner. 

25 (3) CONTENTS.—The roadmap shall include— 


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1 (A) the baseline research as embodied by 

2 the Administration’s existing research on super3 sonic flight; 

4 (B) a list of specific technological, environ5 mental, and other challenges that must be over6 come to minimize the environmental impact, in7 cluding noise, of supersonic overland flight; 

8 (C) a research plan to address the chal9 lenges under subparagraph (B), including a 

10 project timeline for accomplishing relevant re11 search goals; 

12 (D) a plan for coordination with stake13 holders, including relevant government agencies 

14 and industry; and 

15 (E) a plan for how the Administration will 

16 ensure that sonic boom research is coordinated 

17 as appropriate with relevant Federal agencies. 

18 SEC. 605. ROTORCRAFT RESEARCH. 

19 (a) ROADMAP FOR ROTORCRAFT RESEARCH.—Not 

20 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other 

22 relevant Federal agencies, shall prepare and submit to the 

23 appropriate committees of Congress a roadmap for re24 search relating to rotorcraft and other runway-inde25 pendent air vehicles. 


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1 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the roadmap is to 

2 develop and demonstrate improved safety, noise, and envi3 ronmental impact in a relevant environment. 

4 (c) CONTENTS.—The roadmap shall include specific 

5 goals for the research, a timeline for implementation, 

6 metrics for success, and guidelines for collaboration and 

7 coordination with industry and other Federal agencies. 

8 TITLE VII—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

9 SEC. 701. SPACE TECHNOLOGY INFUSION. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SPACE TECHNOLOGY.— 

11 It is the sense of Congress that space technology is crit12 ical— 

13 (1) to developing technologies and capabilities 

14 that will make the Administration’s core missions 

15 more affordable and more reliable; 

16 (2) to enabling a new class of Administration 

17 missions beyond low-Earth orbit; and 

18 (3) to improving technological capabilities and 

19 promote innovation for the Administration and the 

20 Nation. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROPULSION TECH22 NOLOGY.—It is the sense of Congress that advancing pro23 pulsion technology would improve the efficiency of trips 

24 to Mars and could shorten travel time to Mars, reduce 

25 astronaut health risks, and reduce radiation exposure, 


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1 consumables, and mass of materials required for the jour2 ney. 

3 (c) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

4 that the Administrator shall develop technologies to sup5 port the Administration’s core missions, as described in 

6 section 2(3) of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad7 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

8 18301(3)), and support sustained investments in early 

9 stage innovation, fundamental research, and technologies 

10 to expand the boundaries of the national aerospace enter11 prise. 

12 (d) PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES.—A goal of propul13 sion technologies developed under subsection (c) shall be 

14 to significantly reduce human travel time to Mars. 

15 SEC. 702. SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

16 (a) SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

17 The Administrator shall conduct a space technology pro18 gram (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’) to 

19 research and develop advanced space technologies that 

20 could deliver innovative solutions across the Administra21 tion’s space exploration and science missions. 

22 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the Program, 

23 the Administrator shall consider— 


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1 (1) the recommendations of the National Acad2 emies’ review of the Administration’s Space Tech3 nology roadmaps and priorities; and 

4 (2) the applicable enabling aspects of the step5 ping stone approach to exploration under section 

6 70504 of title 51, United States Code. 

7 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the Program, 

8 the Administrator shall— 

9 (1) to the extent practicable, use a competitive 

10 process to select research and development projects; 

11 (2) to the extent practicable and appropriate, 

12 use small satellites and the Administration’s sub13 orbital and ground-based platforms to demonstrate 

14 space technology concepts and developments; and 

15 (3) as appropriate, partner with other Federal 

16 agencies, universities, private industry, and foreign 

17 countries. 

18 (d) SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS.—The Adminis19 trator shall organize and manage the Administration’s 

20 Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small 

21 Business Technology Transfer Program within the Pro22 gram. 

23 (e) NON-DUPLICATION CERTIFICATION.—The Ad24 ministrator shall submit a budget for each fiscal year, as 

25 transmitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, 


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1 United States Code, that avoids duplication of projects, 

2 programs, or missions conducted by the Program with 

3 other projects, programs, or missions conducted by an4 other office or Directorate of the Administration. 

5 (f) COLLABORATION, COORDINATION, AND ALIGN6 MENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

8 (A) ensure that the Administration’s 

9 projects, programs, and activities in support of 

10 technology research and development of ad11 vanced space technologies are fully coordinated 

12 and aligned; 

13 (B) ensure that the results of the projects, 

14 programs, and activities under subparagraph 

15 (A) are shared and leveraged within the Admin16 istration; and 

17 (C) ensure that the organizational respon18 sibility for research and development activities 

19 in support of human space exploration not initi20 ated as of the date of enactment of this Act is 

21 established on the basis of a sound rationale. 

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

23 Congress that projects, programs, and missions 

24 being conducted by the Human Exploration and Op25 erations Mission Directorate in support of research 


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1 and development of advanced space technologies and 

2 systems focusing on human space exploration should 

3 continue in that Directorate. 

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

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

6 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report— 

7 (1) comparing the Administration’s space tech8 nology investments with the high-priority technology 

9 areas identified by the National Academies in the 

10 National Research Council’s report on the Adminis11 tration’s Space Technology Roadmaps; and 

12 (2) including— 

13 (A) identification of how the Administra14 tion will address any gaps between the agency’s 

15 investments and the recommended technology 

16 areas, including a projection of funding require17 ments; and 

18 (B) identification of the rationale described 

19 in subsection (f)(1)(C). 

20 (h) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall in21 clude in the Administration’s annual budget request for 

22 each fiscal year the rationale for assigning organizational 

23 responsibility for, in the year prior to the budget fiscal 

24 year, each initiated project, program, and mission focused 


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1 on research and development of advanced technologies for 

2 human space exploration. 

3 TITLE VIII—MAXIMIZING 

4 EFFICIENCY 

5 Subtitle A—Agency Information 

6 Technology and Cybersecurity 

7 SEC. 811. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in a 

9 manner that reflects the unique nature of NASA’s mission 

10 and expertise— 

11 (1) ensure the NASA Chief Information Officer, 

12 Mission Directorates, and Centers have appropriate 

13 roles in the management, governance, and oversight 

14 processes related to information technology oper15 ations and investments and information security pro16 grams for the protection of NASA systems; 

17 (2) ensure the NASA Chief Information Officer 

18 has the appropriate resources and insight to oversee 

19 NASA information technology and information secu20 rity operations and investments; 

21 (3) provide an information technology program 

22 management framework to increase the efficiency 

23 and effectiveness of information technology invest24 ments, including relying on metrics for identifying 

25 and reducing potential duplication, waste, and cost; 


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1 (4) improve the operational linkage between the 

2 NASA Chief Information Officer and each NASA 

3 Mission Directorate, Center, and mission support of4 fice to ensure both agency and mission needs are 

5 considered in agency-wide information technology 

6 and information security management and oversight; 

7 (5) review the portfolio of information tech8 nology investments and spending, including informa9 tion technology-related investments included as part 

10 of activities within NASA Mission Directorates that 

11 may not be considered information technology, to en12 sure investments are recognized and reported appro13 priately based on guidance from the Office of Man14 agement and Budget; 

15 (6) consider appropriate revisions to the char16 ters of information technology boards and councils 

17 that inform information technology investment and 

18 operation decisions; and 

19 (7) consider whether the NASA Chief Informa20 tion Officer should have a seat on any boards or 

21 councils described in paragraph (6). 

22 (b) GAO STUDY.— 

23 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall conduct a study of the effective25 ness of the Administration’s Information Technology 


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1 Governance in ensuring information technology re2 sources are aligned with agency missions and are 

3 cost effective and secure. 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an as5 sessment of— 

6 (A) the resources available for overseeing 

7 Administration-wide information technology op8 erations, investments, and security measures 

9 and the NASA Chief Information Officer’s visi10 bility and involvement into information tech11 nology oversight and access to those resources; 

12 (B) the effectiveness and challenges of the 

13 Administration’s information technology struc14 ture, decisionmaking processes and authorities, 

15 including impacts on its ability to implement in16 formation security; and 

17 (C) the impact of NASA Chief Information 

18 Officer approval authority over information 

19 technology investments that exceed a defined 

20 monetary threshold, including any potential im21 pacts of such authority on the Administration’s 

22 missions, flights programs and projects, re23 search activities, and Center operations. 

24 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller GenVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Dec 21, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6531.IH H6531

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1 eral shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

2 Congress a report detailing the results of the study 

3 under paragraph (1), including any recommenda4 tions. 

5 SEC. 812. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Ad7 ministrator shall develop an information technology stra8 tegic plan to guide NASA information technology manage9 ment and strategic objectives. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the strategic 

11 plan, the Administrator shall ensure that the strategic 

12 plan addresses— 

13 (1) the deadline under section 306(a) of title 5, 

14 United States Code; and 

15 (2) the requirements under section 3506 of title 

16 44, United States Code. 

17 (c) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan shall address, in 

18 a manner that reflects the unique nature of NASA’s mis19 sion and expertise— 

20 (1) near- and long-term goals and objectives for 

21 leveraging information technology; 

22 (2) a plan for how NASA will submit to Con23 gress a list of information technology projects, in24 cluding completion dates and risk level in accordance 


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1 with guidance from the Office of Management and 

2 Budget; 

3 (3) an implementation overview for an agency4 wide approach to information technology investments 

5 and operations, including reducing barriers to cross6 Center collaboration; 

7 (4) coordination by the NASA Chief Informa8 tion Officer with Centers and Mission Directorates 

9 to ensure that information technology policies are ef10 fectively and efficiently implemented across the 

11 agency; 

12 (5) a plan to increase the efficiency and effec13 tiveness of information technology investments, in14 cluding a description of how unnecessarily duplica15 tive, wasteful, legacy, or outdated information tech16 nology across NASA will be identified and elimi17 nated, and a schedule for the identification and 

18 elimination of such information technology; 

19 (6) a plan for improving the information secu20 rity of agency information and agency information 

21 systems, including improving security control assess22 ments and role-based security training of employees; 

23 and 


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1 (7) submission by NASA to Congress of infor2 mation regarding high-risk projects and cybersecu3 rity risks. 

4 (d) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The Adminis5 trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con6 gress the strategic plan under subsection (a) and any up7 dates thereto. 

8 SEC. 813. CYBERSECURITY. 

9 (a) FINDING.—The security of NASA information 

10 and information systems is vital to the success of the mis11 sion of the agency. 

12 (b) INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

15 shall implement the information security plan devel16 oped under paragraph (2) and take such further ac17 tions as the Administrator considers necessary to 

18 improve the information security system in accord19 ance with this section. 

20 (2) INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.—Subject to 

21 paragraphs (3) and (4), the Administrator shall de22 velop an agency-wide information security plan to 

23 enhance information security for NASA information 

24 and information infrastructure. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the plan 

2 under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall ensure 

3 that the plan— 

4 (A) reflects the unique nature of NASA’s 

5 mission and expertise; 

6 (B) is informed by policies, standards, 

7 guidelines, and directives on information secu8 rity required for Federal agencies; 

9 (C) is consistent with the standards and 

10 guidelines under section 11331 of title 40, 

11 United States Code; and 

12 (D) meets applicable National Institute of 

13 Standards and Technology information security 

14 standards and guidelines. 

15 (4) CONTENTS.—The plan shall address— 

16 (A) an overview of the requirements of the 

17 information security system; 

18 (B) an agency-wide risk management 

19 framework for information security; 

20 (C) a description of the information secu21 rity system management controls and common 

22 controls that are necessary to ensure compli23 ance with information security-related require24 ments; 


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1 (D) an identification and assignment of 

2 roles, responsibilities, and management commit3 ment for information security at the agency; 

4 (E) coordination among organizational en5 tities, including between each Center, facility, 

6 Mission Directorate, and mission support office, 

7 and among agency entities responsible for dif8 ferent aspects of information security; 

9 (F) the need to protect the information se10 curity of mission-critical systems and activities 

11 and high-impact and moderate-impact informa12 tion systems; and 

13 (G) a schedule of frequent reviews and up14 dates, as necessary, of the plan. 

15 SEC. 814. SECURITY MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN NATIONAL 

16 ACCESS. 

17 The Administrator shall notify the appropriate com18 mittees of Congress when the agency has implemented rec19 ommendations from the National Academy of Public Ad20 ministration on foreign national access management, 

21 based on reports from January 2014 and March 2016. 

22 SEC. 815. CYBERSECURITY OF WEB APPLICATIONS. 

23 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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1 flects the unique nature of NASA’s mission and exper2 tise— 

3 (1) develop a plan, including such actions and 

4 milestones as are necessary, to fully remediate secu5 rity vulnerabilities of NASA web applications within 

6 a timely fashion after discovery; and 

7 (2) provide an update on its plan to implement 

8 the recommendation from the NASA Inspector Gen9 eral in the audit report dated July 10, 2014 (IG– 

10 14–023), to remove from the Internet or otherwise 

11 secure all NASA web applications in development or 

12 testing mode. 

13 Subtitle B—Collaboration Among 

14 Mission Directorates and Other 

15 Matters 

16 SEC. 821. COLLABORATION AMONG MISSION DIREC17 TORATES. 

18 The Administrator shall encourage an interdiscipli19 nary approach among all NASA Mission Directorates and 

20 divisions, whenever appropriate, for projects or missions— 

21 (1) to improve coordination, and encourage col22 laboration and early planning on scope; 

23 (2) to determine areas of overlap or alignment; 

24 (3) to find ways to leverage across divisional 

25 perspectives to maximize outcomes; and 


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1 (4) to be more efficient with resources and 

2 funds. 

3 SEC. 822. NASA LAUNCH CAPABILITIES COLLABORATION. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) The Launch Services Program is respon7 sible for the acquisition, management, and technical 

8 oversight of commercial launch services for NASA’s 

9 science and robotic missions. 

10 (2) The Commercial Crew Program is respon11 sible for the acquisition, management, and technical 

12 oversight of commercial crew transportation systems. 

13 (3) The Launch Services Program and Com14 mercial Crew Program have worked together to gain 

15 exceptional technical insight into the contracted 

16 launch service providers that are common to both 

17 programs. 

18 (4) The Launch Services Program has a long 

19 history of oversight of 12 different launch vehicles 

20 and over 80 launches. 

21 (5) Co-location of the Launch Services Program 

22 and Commercial Crew Program has enabled the 

23 Commercial Crew Program to efficiently obtain the 

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1 gineering and analytical support to the Commercial 

2 Crew Program. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) the Launch Services Program and Commer6 cial Crew Program each benefit from communication 

7 and coordination of launch manifests, technical in8 formation, and common launch vehicle insight be9 tween the programs; and 

10 (2) such communication and coordination is en11 abled by the co-location of the programs. 

12 (c) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pursue a 

13 strategy for acquisition of crewed transportation services 

14 and non-crewed launch services that continues to enhance 

15 communication, collaboration, and coordination between 

16 the Launch Services Program and the Commercial Crew 

17 Program. 

18 SEC. 823. DETECTION AND AVOIDANCE OF COUNTERFEIT 

19 PARTS. 

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

21 (1) A 2012 investigation by the Committee on 

22 Armed Services of the Senate of counterfeit elec23 tronic parts in the Department of Defense supply 

24 chain from 2009 through 2010 uncovered 1,800 

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1 posed the threat such counterfeit parts pose to serv2 ice members and national security. 

3 (2) Since 2010, the Comptroller General of the 

4 United States has identified in 3 separate reports 

5 the risks and challenges associated with counterfeit 

6 parts and counterfeit prevention at both the Depart7 ment of Defense and NASA, including inconsistent 

8 definitions of counterfeit parts, poorly targeted qual9 ity control practices, and potential barriers to im10 provements to these practices. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that the presence of counterfeit electronic parts in 

13 the NASA supply chain poses a danger to United States 

14 Government astronauts, crew, and other personnel and a 

15 risk to the agency overall. 

16 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis19 trator shall revise the NASA Supplement to the 

20 Federal Acquisition Regulation to improve the detec21 tion and avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts in 

22 the supply chain. 

23 (2) CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.—In revis24 ing the regulations under paragraph (1), the Admin25 istrator shall— 


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1 (A) require each covered contractor— 

2 (i) to detect and avoid the use or in3 clusion of any counterfeit parts in elec4 tronic parts or products that contain elec5 tronic parts; 

6 (ii) to take such corrective actions as 

7 the Administrator considers necessary to 

8 remedy the use or inclusion described in 

9 clause (i); and 

10 (iii) including a subcontractor, to no11 tify the applicable NASA contracting offi12 cer not later than 30 calendar days after 

13 the date the covered contractor becomes 

14 aware, or has reason to suspect, that any 

15 end item, component, part, or material 

16 contained in supplies purchased by NASA, 

17 or purchased by a covered contractor or 

18 subcontractor for delivery to, or on behalf 

19 of, NASA, contains a counterfeit electronic 

20 part or suspect counterfeit electronic part; 

21 and 

22 (B) prohibit the cost of counterfeit elec23 tronic parts, suspect counterfeit electronic 

24 parts, and any corrective action described under 


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1 subparagraph (A)(ii) from being included as al2 lowable costs under agency contracts, unless— 

3 (i)(I) the covered contractor has an 

4 operational system to detect and avoid 

5 counterfeit electronic parts and suspect 

6 counterfeit electronic parts that has been 

7 reviewed and approved by NASA or the 

8 Department of Defense; and 

9 (II) the covered contractor has pro10 vided the notice under subparagraph 

11 (A)(iii); or 

12 (ii) the counterfeit electronic parts or 

13 suspect counterfeit electronic parts were 

14 provided to the covered contractor as Gov15 ernment property in accordance with part 

16 45 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

17 (3) SUPPLIERS OF ELECTRONIC PARTS.—In re18 vising the regulations under paragraph (1), the Ad19 ministrator shall— 

20 (A) require NASA and covered contractors, 

21 including subcontractors, at all tiers— 

22 (i) to obtain electronic parts that are 

23 in production or currently available in 

24 stock from— 


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1 (I) the original manufacturers of 

2 the parts or their authorized dealers; 

3 or 

4 (II) suppliers who obtain such 

5 parts exclusively from the original 

6 manufacturers of the parts or their 

7 authorized dealers; and 

8 (ii) to obtain electronic parts that are 

9 not in production or currently available in 

10 stock from suppliers that meet qualifica11 tion requirements established under sub12 paragraph (C); 

13 (B) establish documented requirements 

14 consistent with published industry standards or 

15 Government contract requirements for— 

16 (i) notification of the agency; and 

17 (ii) inspection, testing, and authen18 tication of electronic parts that NASA or 

19 a covered contractor, including a subcon20 tractor, obtains from any source other 

21 than a source described in subparagraph 

22 (A); 

23 (C) establish qualification requirements, 

24 consistent with the requirements of section 

25 2319 of title 10, United States Code, pursuant 


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1 to which NASA may identify suppliers that 

2 have appropriate policies and procedures in 

3 place to detect and avoid counterfeit electronic 

4 parts and suspect counterfeit electronic parts; 

5 and 

6 (D) authorize a covered contractor, includ7 ing a subcontractor, to identify and use addi8 tional suppliers beyond those identified under 

9 subparagraph (C) if— 

10 (i) the standards and processes for 

11 identifying such suppliers comply with es12 tablished industry standards; 

13 (ii) the covered contractor assumes re14 sponsibility for the authenticity of parts 

15 provided by such suppliers under para16 graph (2); and 

17 (iii) the selection of such suppliers is 

18 subject to review and audit by NASA. 

19 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) COVERED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘cov21 ered contractor’’ means a contractor that supplies 

22 an electronic part, or a product that contains an 

23 electronic part, to NASA. 

24 (2) ELECTRONIC PART.—The term ‘‘electronic 

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1 ing a microcircuit, transistor, capacitor, resistor, or 

2 diode, that is intended for use in a safety or mission 

3 critical application. 

4 SEC. 824. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) United States competitiveness in the 21st 

8 century requires engaging the science, technology, 

9 engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this 

10 section as ‘‘STEM’’) talent in all States; 

11 (2) the Administration is uniquely positioned to 

12 educate and inspire students and the broader public 

13 on STEM subjects and careers; 

14 (3) the Administration’s Education and Com15 munication Offices, Mission Directorates, and Cen16 ters have been effective in delivering educational 

17 content because of the strong engagement of Admin18 istration scientists and engineers in the Administra19 tion’s education and outreach activities; and 

20 (4) the Administration’s education and outreach 

21 programs, including the Experimental Program to 

22 Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the 

23 Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, re24 flect the Administration’s successful commitment to 


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1 growing and diversifying the national science and 

2 engineering workforce. 

3 (b) CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

4 ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con6 tinue engagement with the public and education op7 portunities for students via all the Administration’s 

8 Mission Directorates to the maximum extent prac9 ticable. 

10 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

12 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con13 gress a report on the Administration’s near-term 

14 outreach plans for advancing space law education. 

15 SEC. 825. LEVERAGING COMMERCIAL SATELLITE SERV16 ICING CAPABILITIES ACROSS MISSION DI17 RECTORATES. 

18 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find19 ings: 

20 (1) Refueling and relocating aging satellites to 

21 extend their operational lifetimes is a capacity that 

22 NASA will substantially benefit from and is impor23 tant for lowering the costs of ongoing scientific, na24 tional security, and commercial satellite operations. 


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1 (2) The technologies involved in satellite serv2 icing, such as dexterous robotic arms, propellant 

3 transfer systems, and solar electric propulsion, are 

4 all critical capabilities to support a human explo5 ration mission to Mars. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) satellite servicing is a vital capability that 

9 will bolster the capacity and affordability of NASA’s 

10 ongoing scientific and human exploration operations 

11 while simultaneously enhancing the ability of domes12 tic companies to compete in the global marketplace; 

13 and 

14 (2) future NASA satellites and spacecraft 

15 across Mission Directorates should be constructed in 

16 a manner that allows for servicing in order to maxi17 mize operational longevity and affordability. 

18 (c) LEVERAGING OF CAPABILITIES.—The Adminis19 trator shall identify orbital assets in both the Science Mis20 sion Directorate and the Human Exploration and Oper21 ations Mission Directorate that could benefit from satellite 

22 servicing-related technologies, and shall work across all 

23 NASA Mission Directorates to evaluate opportunities for 

24 the private sector to perform such services or advance 

25 technical capabilities by leveraging the technologies and 


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1 techniques developed by NASA programs and other indus2 try programs. 

3 SEC. 826. FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES. 

4 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PAYLOADS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to conduct nec6 essary research, the Administrator shall continue 

7 and, as the Administrator considers appropriate, ex8 pand the development of technology payloads for— 

9 (A) scientific research; and 

10 (B) investigating new or improved capabili11 ties. 

12 (2) FUNDS.—For the purpose of carrying out 

13 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make funds 

14 available for— 

15 (A) flight testing; 

16 (B) payload development; and 

17 (C) hardware related to subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B). 

19 (b) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaf20 firms that the Administrator should provide flight oppor21 tunities for payloads to microgravity environments and 

22 suborbital altitudes as authorized by section 907 of the 

23 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author24 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18405). 


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1 SEC. 827. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SMALL CLASS LAUNCH 

2 MISSIONS. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (1) Venture Class Launch Services contracts 

5 awarded under the Launch Services Program will 

6 expand opportunities for future dedicated launches 

7 of CubeSats and other small satellites and small or8 bital science missions; and 

9 (2) principal investigator-led small orbital 

10 science missions, including CubeSat class, Small Ex11 plorer (SMEX) class, and Venture class, offer valu12 able opportunities to advance science at low cost, 

13 train the next generation of scientists and engineers, 

14 and enable participants to acquire skills in systems 

15 engineering and systems integration that are critical 

16 to maintaining the Nation’s leadership in space and 

17 to enhancing United States innovation and competi18 tiveness abroad. 

19 SEC. 828. BASELINE AND COST CONTROLS. 

20 Section 30104(a)(1) of title 51, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Proce23 dural Requirements 7120.5c, dated March 22, 

24 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘Procedural Requirements 

25 7120.5E, dated August 14, 2012’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (f) by striking ‘‘beginning 18 

2 months after the date the Administrator transmits a 

3 report under subsection (e)(1)(A)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘beginning 18 months after the Administrator 

5 makes such a determination’’. 

6 SEC. 829. COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Section 50116(a) of title 51, United States Code, is 

9 amended by inserting ‘‘, while protecting national secu10 rity’’ after ‘‘research community’’. 

11 SEC. 830. AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN12 TEREST IN MAJOR ADMINISTRATION ACQUI13 SITION PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) REVISED REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

15 than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

16 the Administrator shall revise the Administration Supple17 ment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uni18 form guidance and recommend revised requirements for 

19 organizational conflicts of interest by contractors in major 

20 acquisition programs in order to address the elements 

21 identified in subsection (b). 

22 (b) ELEMENTS.—The revised regulations under sub23 section (a) shall, at a minimum— 

24 (1) address organizational conflicts of interest 

25 that could potentially arise as a result of— 


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1 (A) lead system integrator contracts on 

2 major acquisition programs and contracts that 

3 follow lead system integrator contracts on such 

4 programs, particularly contracts for production; 

5 (B) the ownership of business units per6 forming systems engineering and technical as7 sistance functions, professional services, or 

8 management support services in relation to 

9 major acquisition programs by contractors who 

10 simultaneously own business units competing to 

11 perform as either the prime contractor or the 

12 supplier of a major subsystem or component for 

13 such programs; 

14 (C) the award of major subsystem con15 tracts by a prime contractor for a major acqui16 sition program to business units or other affili17 ates of the same parent corporate entity, and 

18 particularly the award of subcontracts for soft19 ware integration or the development of a pro20 prietary software system architecture; or 

21 (D) the performance by, or assistance of, 

22 contractors in technical evaluations on major 

23 acquisition programs; 

24 (2) require the Administration to request advice 

25 on systems architecture and systems engineering 


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1 matters with respect to major acquisition programs 

2 from objective sources independent of the prime con3 tractor; 

4 (3) require that a contract for the performance 

5 of systems engineering and technical assistance 

6 functions for a major acquisition program contains 

7 a provision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate 

8 of the contractor from participating as a prime con9 tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 

10 of a system under the program; and 

11 (4) establish such limited exceptions to the re12 quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as the Admin13 istrator considers necessary to ensure that the Ad14 ministration has continued access to advice on sys15 tems architecture and systems engineering matters 

16 from highly qualified contractors with domain expe17 rience and expertise, while ensuring that such advice 

18 comes from sources that are objective and unbiased. 

19 SEC. 831. PROTECTION OF APOLLO LANDING SITES. 

20 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

21 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with rel22 evant Federal agencies and stakeholders, shall assess the 

23 issues relating to protecting and preserving historically 

24 important Apollo Program lunar landing sites and Apollo 


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1 program artifacts residing on the lunar surface, including 

2 those pertaining to Apollo 11 and Apollo 17. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the assessment, the 

4 Director shall include— 

5 (1) a determination of what risks to the protec6 tion and preservation of those sites and artifacts 

7 exist or may exist in the future; 

8 (2) a determination of what measures are re9 quired to ensure such protection and preservation; 

10 (3) a determination of the extent to which addi11 tional domestic legislation or international treaties 

12 or agreements will be required; and 

13 (4) specific recommendations for protecting and 

14 preserving those lunar landing sites and artifacts. 

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the 

17 appropriate committees of Congress the results of the as18 sessment. 

19 SEC. 832. NASA LEASE OF NON-EXCESS PROPERTY. 

20 Section 20145(g) of title 51, United States Code, is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘10 years after December 26, 2007’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2018’’. 

23 SEC. 833. TERMINATION LIABILITY. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) the ISS, the Space Launch System, and the 

2 Orion will enable the Nation to continue operations 

3 in low-Earth orbit and to send its astronauts to deep 

4 space; 

5 (2) the James Webb Space Telescope will revo6 lutionize our understanding of star and planet for7 mation and how galaxies evolved, and will advance 

8 the search for the origins of our universe; 

9 (3) as a result of their unique capabilities and 

10 their critical contribution to the future of space ex11 ploration, these systems have been designated by 

12 Congress and the Administration as priority invest13 ments; 

14 (4) contractors are currently holding program 

15 funding, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions 

16 of dollars, to cover the potential termination liability 

17 should the Government choose to terminate a pro18 gram for convenience; 

19 (5) as a result, hundreds of millions of taxpayer 

20 dollars are unavailable for meaningful work on these 

21 programs; 

22 (6) according to the Government Accountability 

23 Office, the Administration procures most of its 

24 goods and services through contracts, and it termi25 nates very few of them; 


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1 (7) in fiscal year 2010, the Administration ter2 minated 28 of 16,343 active contracts and orders, a 

3 termination rate of about 0.17 percent; and 

4 (8) the Administration should vigorously pursue 

5 a policy on termination liability that maximizes the 

6 utilization of its appropriated funds to make max7 imum progress in meeting established technical goals 

8 and schedule milestones on these high-priority pro9 grams. 

10 SEC. 834. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 

11 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appro13 priate committees of Congress a report describing— 

14 (1) the Administration’s procedures for con15 ducting independent reviews of projects and pro16 grams at life cycle milestones; 

17 (2) how the Administration ensures the inde18 pendence of the individuals who conduct those re19 views prior to their assignment; 

20 (3) the internal and external entities inde21 pendent of project and program management that 

22 conduct reviews of projects and programs at life 

23 cycle milestones; and 

24 (4) how the Administration ensures the inde25 pendence of such entities and their members. 


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1 SEC. 835. NASA ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

2 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

3 into an arrangement with the National Academy of Public 

4 Administration to assess the effectiveness of the NASA 

5 Advisory Council and to make recommendations to Con6 gress for any change to— 

7 (1) the functions of the Council; 

8 (2) the appointment of members to the Council; 

9 (3) the qualifications for members of the Coun10 cil; 

11 (4) the duration of terms of office for members 

12 of the Council; 

13 (5) the frequency of meetings of the Council; 

14 (6) the structure of leadership and Committees 

15 of the Council; and 

16 (7) the levels of professional staffing for the 

17 Council. 

18 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the assess19 ment under subsection (a), the National Academy of Pub20 lic Administration shall consider— 

21 (1) the impacts of broadening the Council’s role 

22 to include providing consultation and advice to Con23 gress under section 20113(g) of title 51, United 

24 States Code; 


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1 (2) the past activities of the NASA Advisory 

2 Council and the activities of other analogous Federal 

3 advisory bodies; and 

4 (3) any other issues that the National Academy 

5 of Public Administration determines could poten6 tially impact the effectiveness of the Council. 

7 (c) REPORT.—The National Academy of Public Ad8 ministration shall submit to the appropriate committees 

9 of Congress the results of the assessment, including any 

10 recommendations. 

11 (d) CONSULTATION AND ADVICE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 20113(g) of title 51, 

13 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

14 Congress’’ after ‘‘advice to the Administration’’. 

15 (2) SUNSET.—Effective September 30, 2017, 

16 section 20113(g) of title 51, United States Code, is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘and Congress’’. 

18 SEC. 836. COST ESTIMATION. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) realistic cost estimating is critically impor22 tant to the ultimate success of major space develop23 ment projects; and 

24 (2) the Administration has devoted significant 

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1 estimating capabilities, but it is important that the 

2 Administration continue its efforts to develop and 

3 implement guidance in establishing realistic cost es4 timates. 

5 (b) GUIDANCE AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 

6 shall provide to its acquisition programs and projects, in 

7 a manner consistent with the Administration’s Space 

8 Flight Program and Project Management Requirements— 

9 (1) guidance on when to use an Independent 

10 Cost Estimate and Independent Cost Assessment; 

11 and 

12 (2) criteria to use to make a determination 

13 under paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 837. FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

15 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con16 gress that— 

17 (1) the Administration must address, mitigate, 

18 and reverse, where possible, the deterioration of its 

19 facilities and infrastructure, as their condition is 

20 hampering the effectiveness and efficiency of re21 search performed by both the Administration and in22 dustry participants making use of Administration fa23 cilities, thus harming the competitiveness of the 

24 United States aerospace industry; 


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1 (2) the Administration has a role in providing 

2 laboratory capabilities to industry participants that 

3 are not economically viable as commercial entities 

4 and thus are not available elsewhere; 

5 (3) to ensure continued access to reliable and 

6 efficient world-class facilities by researchers, the Ad7 ministration should establish strategic partnerships 

8 with other Federal agencies, institutions of higher 

9 education, and industry, as appropriate; and 

10 (4) decisions on whether to dispose of, main11 tain, or modernize existing facilities must be made 

12 in the context of meeting Administration and other 

13 needs, including those required to meet the activities 

14 supporting the human exploration roadmap under 

15 section 432 of this Act, and shall consider other na16 tional laboratory needs as the Administrator deems 

17 appropriate. 

18 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

19 that the Administration maintain reliable and efficient fa20 cilities and infrastructure and that decisions on whether 

21 to dispose of, maintain, or modernize existing facilities or 

22 infrastructure be made in the context of meeting future 

23 Administration needs. 

24 (c) PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de2 velop a facilities and infrastructure plan. 

3 (2) GOAL.—The goal of the plan is to position 

4 the Administration to have the facilities and infra5 structure, including laboratories, tools, and ap6 proaches, necessary to meet future Administration 

7 and other Federal agencies’ laboratory needs. 

8 (3) CONTENTS.—The plan shall identify— 

9 (A) current Administration and other Fed10 eral agency laboratory needs; 

11 (B) future Administration research and de12 velopment and testing needs; 

13 (C) a strategy for identifying facilities and 

14 infrastructure that are candidates for disposal, 

15 that is consistent with the national strategic di16 rection set forth in— 

17 (i) the National Space Policy; 

18 (ii) the National Aeronautics Re19 search, Development, Test, and Evaluation 

20 Infrastructure Plan; 

21 (iii) the National Aeronautics and 

22 Space Administration Authorization Act of 

23 2005 (Public Law 109–155; 119 Stat. 

24 2895), National Aeronautics and Space 

25 Administration Authorization Act of 2008 


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1 (Public Law 110–422; 122 Stat. 4779), 

2 and National Aeronautics and Space Ad3 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

4 U.S.C. 18301 et seq.); and 

5 (iv) the human exploration roadmap 

6 under section 432 of this Act; 

7 (D) a strategy for the maintenance, repair, 

8 upgrading, and modernization of Administra9 tion facilities and infrastructure, including lab10 oratories and equipment; and 

11 (E) criteria for— 

12 (i) prioritizing deferred maintenance 

13 tasks; 

14 (ii) maintaining, repairing, upgrading, 

15 or modernizing Administration facilities 

16 and infrastructure; and 

17 (iii) implementing processes, plans, 

18 and policies for guiding the Administra19 tion’s Centers on whether to maintain, re20 pair, upgrade, or modernize a facility or 

21 infrastructure and for determining the type 

22 of instrument to be used. 

23 (d) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH POLICY.—Not 

24 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, the Administrator shall establish and make publicly 


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1 available a policy that guides the Administration’s use of 

2 existing authorities to out-grant, lease, excess to the Gen3 eral Services Administration, sell, decommission, demolish, 

4 or otherwise transfer property, facilities, or infrastructure. 

5 This policy shall establish criteria for the use of authori6 ties, best practices, standardized procedures, and guide7 lines for how to appropriately manage property, infra8 structure, and facilities. 

9 (e) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

11 transmit the plan developed under subsection (c) to the 

12 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

15 SEC. 838. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT ACCIDENT INVESTIGA16 TIONS. 

17 Section 70702 of title 51, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by amending subsection (a)(3) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(3) any other orbital or suborbital space vehi22 cle carrying humans that is— 

23 ‘‘(A) owned by the Federal Government; or 

24 ‘‘(B) being used pursuant to a contract or 

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1 ment for carrying a government astronaut or a 

2 researcher funded by the Federal Government; 

3 or’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.—The term 

7 ‘government astronaut’ has the meaning given the 

8 term in section 50902. 

9 ‘‘(2) SPACE ACT AGREEMENT.—The term 

10 ‘Space Act Agreement’ means an agreement entered 

11 into by the Administration pursuant to its other 

12 transactions authority under section 20113(e).’’. 

13 SEC. 839. ORBITAL DEBRIS. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

15 (1) orbital debris poses serious risks to the 

16 operational space capabilities of the United States; 

17 (2) an international commitment and integrated 

18 strategic plan are needed to mitigate the growth of 

19 orbital debris wherever possible; and 

20 (3) the delay in the Office of Science and Tech21 nology Policy’s submission of a report on the status 

22 of international coordination and development of or23 bital debris mitigation strategies is inconsistent with 

24 such risks. 

25 (b) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) COORDINATION.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

4 Congress a report on the status of efforts to coordi5 nate with foreign countries within the Inter-Agency 

6 Space Debris Coordination Committee to mitigate 

7 the effects and growth of orbital debris under sec8 tion 1202(b)(1) of the National Aeronautics and 

9 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

10 U.S.C. 18441(b)(1)). 

11 (2) MITIGATION STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di13 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

14 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con15 gress a report on the status of the orbital debris 

16 mitigation strategy required under section 

17 1202(b)(2) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

18 Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

19 U.S.C. 18441(b)(2)). 

20 SEC. 840. REVIEW OF ORBITAL DEBRIS REMOVAL CON21 CEPTS. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) orbital debris in low-Earth orbit poses sig25 nificant risks to spacecraft; 


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1 (2) such orbital debris may increase due to col2 lisions between existing debris objects; and 

3 (3) understanding options to address and re4 move orbital debris is important for ensuring safe 

5 and effective spacecraft operations in low-Earth 

6 orbit. 

7 (b) REVIEW.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis10 trator— 

11 (A) in collaboration with the heads of other 

12 relevant Federal agencies, shall solicit and re13 view concepts and options for removing orbital 

14 debris from low-Earth orbit; and 

15 (B) shall submit to the appropriate com16 mittees of Congress a report on the solicitation 

17 and review under subparagraph (A), including 

18 recommendations on the best options for de19 creasing the risks associated with orbital debris. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The solicitation and re21 view under paragraph (1) shall address the require22 ments for and feasibility of developing and imple23 menting each of the options. 


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1 SEC. 841. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that— 

4 (1) the judicious use of program and project re5 serves provides the Administration’s project and pro6 gram managers with the flexibility needed to manage 

7 projects and programs to ensure that the impacts of 

8 contingencies can be mitigated; and 

9 (2) the Administration should vigorously pursue 

10 a policy on termination liability that maximizes the 

11 utilization of its appropriated funds to make max12 imum progress in meeting established technical goals 

13 and schedule milestones on these high-priority pro14 grams. 

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

16 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

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

18 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

20 describing— 

21 (1) the Administration’s criteria for establishing 

22 the amount of reserves held at the project and pro23 gram levels; 

24 (2) how such criteria relate to the agency’s pol25 icy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level; 

26 and 


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1 (3) the Administration’s criteria for waiving the 

2 policy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level 

3 and alternative strategies and mechanisms aimed at 

4 controlling program and project costs when a waiver 

5 is granted. 

6 SEC. 842. SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS. 

7 (a) COST SHARING.—To the extent that the Adminis8 trator determines practicable, the funds provided by the 

9 Government under a funded Space Act Agreement shall 

10 not exceed the total amount provided by other parties to 

11 the Space Act Agreement. 

12 (b) NEED.—A funded Space Act Agreement may be 

13 used only when the use of a standard contract, grant, or 

14 cooperative agreement is not feasible or appropriate, as 

15 determined by the Associate Administrator for Procure16 ment. 

17 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Adminis18 trator shall make available for public notice and comment 

19 each proposed Space Act Agreement at least 30 days be20 fore entering into such agreement, with appropriate 

21 redactions for proprietary, sensitive, or classified informa22 tion. 

23 (d) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator shall pub24 licly disclose on the Administration’s website and make 

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1 ment, with appropriate redactions for proprietary, sen2 sitive, or classified information, not later than 60 days 

3 after such agreement is signed. 

4 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

5 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

6 after the end of each fiscal year, the Administrator 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

8 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

9 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans10 portation of the Senate a report on the use of Space 

11 Act Agreement authority by the Administration dur12 ing the previous fiscal year. 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include for 

14 each Space Act Agreement in effect at the time of 

15 the report— 

16 (A) an indication of whether the agreement 

17 is a reimbursable, non-reimbursable, or funded 

18 Space Act Agreement; 

19 (B) a description of— 

20 (i) the subject and terms; 

21 (ii) the parties; 

22 (iii) the responsible— 

23 (I) Mission Directorate; 

24 (II) Center; or 

25 (III) headquarters element; 


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1 (iv) the value; 

2 (v) the extent of the cost sharing 

3 among Federal Government and non-Fed4 eral sources; 

5 (vi) the time period or schedule; and 

6 (vii) all milestones; and 

7 (C) an indication of whether the agreement 

8 was renewed during the previous fiscal year. 

9 (3) ANTICIPATED AGREEMENTS.—The report 

10 shall also include a list of all anticipated reimburs11 able, non-reimbursable, and funded Space Act 

12 Agreements for the upcoming fiscal year. 

13 (4) CUMULATIVE PROGRAM BENEFITS.—The 

14 report shall also include, with respect to the Space 

15 Act Agreements covered by the report, a summary 

16 of— 

17 (A) the technology areas in which research 

18 projects were conducted under such agreements; 

19 (B) the extent to which the use of the 

20 Space Act Agreements— 

21 (i) has contributed to a broadening of 

22 the technology and industrial base avail23 able for meeting Administration needs; and 

24 (ii) has fostered within the technology 

25 and industrial base new relationships and 


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1 practices that support the United States; 

2 and 

3 (C) the total amount of value received by 

4 the Federal Government during the fiscal year 

5 pursuant to such Space Act Agreements; 

6 (5) an assessment of modifications needed to 

7 maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and 

8 highly specialized benefits to the aerospace industry 

9 and the American public; and 

10 (6) implementation steps, including a timeline, 

11 milestones, and an estimate of resources required for 

12 carrying out the plan. 

Æ 


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