I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4752 

To require the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to investigate 

and promote the exploration and development of space leading to human 

settlements beyond Earth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2016 

Mr. ROHRABACHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To require the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to investigate and promote the exploration and development of space leading to human settlements beyond 

Earth, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Space Exploration, De5 velopment, and Settlement Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) America’s activities in space have challenged 

2 mankind to travel beyond planet Earth and have 

3 provided us the opportunity to expand human knowl4 edge, to extend the limits of human consciousness, 

5 and to improve the human condition; 

6 (2) Section 217(a) of the National Aeronautics 

7 and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal 

8 Year 1989 states, ‘‘The Congress declares that the 

9 extension of human life beyond Earth’s atmosphere, 

10 leading ultimately to the establishment of space set11 tlements, will fulfill the purposes of advancing 

12 science, exploration, and development and will en13 hance the general welfare.’’; 

14 (3) numerous independent commissions, char15 tered by Congress or established by the President, 

16 have declared space settlements as a long-range ob17 jective of the American space program; 

18 (4) exploring, developing, and settling new 

19 physical areas are parts of our heritage and will 

20 most assuredly be parts of our future; 

21 (5) United States space policy requires long22 range goals and strategic direction in order to pro23 vide context for near-term space projects and pro24 grams; 


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1 (6) increasing awareness of planetary-scale exis2 tential risks to human civilization and the survival of 

3 the species make it prudent to develop a means to 

4 diversify the human population beyond Earth; 

5 (7) the development of space will create new 

6 jobs, catalyze new industries, accelerate innovation 

7 and new technologies, and enable America to tap 

8 vast new resources that will generate new wealth, 

9 enhance national security, and provide Americans 

10 with new and limitless opportunities; 

11 (8) the establishment of space settlements will 

12 inspire generations of future Americans; 

13 (9) the human settlement of space is fully con14 sistent with the policies and objectives articulated in 

15 the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958; 

16 and 

17 (10) the adoption of a ‘‘pioneering’’ orientation 

18 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administra19 tion is an essential step toward enabling the estab20 lishment of space settlements. 

21 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS 

22 AND SPACE ACT. 

23 (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY AND PURPOSE.—Sec24 tion 20102 of title 51, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 

2 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(d) EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND SETTLE6 MENT OF SPACE.—The Congress declares that expanding 

7 permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit in a 

8 way that enables human settlement and a thriving space 

9 economy will enhance the general welfare of the United 

10 States and requires the Administration to encourage and 

11 support the development of permanent space settle12 ments.’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (e), as so redesignated by 

14 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting after 

15 paragraph (9) the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(10) The expansion of permanent human pres17 ence beyond low-Earth orbit in a way that enables 

18 human settlement and a thriving space economy.’’; 

19 and 

20 (4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated by 

21 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘to 

22 (g)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘to (h)’’. 

23 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 20103 of title 51, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting, in paragraph (1)(D), ‘‘and de2 velopment’’ after ‘‘exploration’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) SPACE SETTLEMENT.—The term ‘space 

6 settlement’ means any community of humans living 

7 beyond Earth’s atmosphere that is able to economi8 cally sustain its population through a neutral or 

9 positive balance of trade of goods and services, and 

10 is able to expand its habitable real estate as need 

11 and desire of the community may warrant and inter12 national law permits.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. SPACE SETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

14 (a) SPACE DEVELOPMENT AND SETTLEMENT INFOR15 MATION.—Consistent with the national security interests 

16 of the United States, the National Aeronautics and Space 

17 Administration shall, in close cooperation with other ap18 propriate agencies, the private sector, academia, and the 

19 international community, obtain, produce, and provide in20 formation relating to all issues important for the develop21 ment of a thriving space economy and the development 

22 and establishment of human space settlements. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Once every two years after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

25 a report to the President, the Committee on Science, 


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1 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, 

2 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor3 tation of the Senate which describes the progress made 

4 toward expanding permanent human presence beyond low5 Earth orbit in a way that enables human settlement and 

6 a thriving space economy. 

7 (c) METRICS.—The National Aeronautics and Space 

8 Administration shall, as part of its first report as required 

9 by subsection (b), include one or more metrics by which 

10 to determine progress made toward space settlement 

11 against which all subsequent reports as required by sub12 section (b) shall be compared. The metrics may be revised 

13 as appropriate over time to reflect emerging technological, 

14 economic, and other trends. 

15 SEC. 5. REVIEW OF NATIONAL SPACE POLICY AS IT MAY RE16 LATE TO SPACE SETTLEMENT AND A THRIV17 ING SPACE ECONOMY. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

19 conduct a review of national space policy to incorporate 

20 as a long-term goal of the human spaceflight and explo21 ration program to expand human presence beyond low22 Earth orbit in a way that will enable human settlement 

23 and a thriving space economy. 

Æ 


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