I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4945 

To permanently secure the United States as the preeminent spacefaring 

nation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2016 

Mr. BRIDENSTINE (for himself and Mr. LAMBORN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Select Intelligence (Permanent Select), Rules, Ways and Means, Transportation 

and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To permanently secure the United States as the preeminent 

spacefaring nation, 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 ‘‘American Space Renaissance Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL SECURITY 

Sec. 101. Space doctrine, organization, acquisition, and architecture development. 

Sec. 102. Satellite communications. 

Sec. 103. Positioning, navigation, and timing. 

Sec. 104. Weather. 

Sec. 105. Space situational awareness. 

Sec. 106. Launch services. 

Sec. 107. Air Force Satellite Control Network. 

Sec. 108. Remote sensing. 

Sec. 109. Congressional defense committees defined. 

TITLE II—CIVIL 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

Sec. 203. Human mission to Mars. 

Sec. 204. Human presence in low-Earth orbit. 

Sec. 205. Space debris remediation. 

Sec. 206. GAO report on insuring NASA Class C and Class D payloads and 

cargo. 

TITLE III—COMMERCIAL 

Sec. 301. Office of Commercial Space Transportation. 

Sec. 302. Office of Spaceports. 

Sec. 303. Situational awareness of objects in Earth orbit. 

Sec. 304. Space traffic management. 

Sec. 305. Space-based data. 

Sec. 306. Department of Commerce space-related activities. 

Sec. 307. Commercial remote sensing licensing reform. 

Sec. 308. Weather. 

Sec. 309. American space competitiveness. 

Sec. 310. Space training aircraft. 

Sec. 311. Workforce enhancement. 

1 TITLE I—NATIONAL SECURITY 

2 SEC. 101. SPACE DOCTRINE, ORGANIZATION, ACQUISITION, 

3 AND ARCHITECTURE DEVELOPMENT. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) national security space capabilities play a 

7 critical strategic role to help ensure economic prosVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Apr 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4945.IH H4945

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1 perity, military deterrence, and power projection; 

2 and 

3 (2) civil and commercial space capabilities are 

4 critical for, and increasingly contribute to, national 

5 security missions. 

6 (b) NATIONAL SECURITY DOCTRINE ON SPACE.— 

7 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act, the President, in consultation with the Sec9 retary of Defense and the Director of National Intel10 ligence, shall develop— 

11 (1) doctrine for the Armed Forces and the in12 telligence community (as defined in section 3 of the 

13 National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3001)) 

14 governing the response of the United States to ef15 forts by state and nonstate actors to deliberately— 

16 (A) deny the United States or allies or 

17 partners of the United States access to space or 

18 space operations; or 

19 (B) degrade or destroy Government or 

20 commercial space assets of the United States or 

21 allies or partners of the United States; and 

22 (2) doctrine for the Armed Forces with respect 

23 to the rules of engagement for space forces. 

24 (c) PRINCIPAL DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SPACE

25 ADVISOR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 135 of title 10 is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following new sec3 tion: 

4 ‘‘§ 2279d. Principal Defense Space Advisor 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

6 designate an official of the Department to be the Principal 

7 Defense Space Advisor, who, in addition to the other du8 ties of such official, shall act as the principal advisor to 

9 the Secretary on all space matters. 

10 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Principal Defense 

11 Space Advisor shall be responsible for the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) Serving as the principal advisor to the Sec13 retary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, 

14 the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Joint Requirements 

15 Oversight Council, the Deputy’s Management Action 

16 Group, and the Defense Acquisition Board on all 

17 space matters. 

18 ‘‘(2) Serving as the Principal Advisor on Space 

19 Control under section 2279a of this title. 

20 ‘‘(3) Overseeing the entire space enterprise of 

21 the Department of Defense by reviewing all policies, 

22 strategies, plans, programming, and architecture as23 sessments relating to space. 

24 ‘‘(4) Conducting annual Defense-wide space 

25 strategic portfolio reviews in coordination with the 


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1 Defense Space Council and the Director of Cost As2 sessment and Program Evaluation. 

3 ‘‘(5) Chairing the Defense Space Council. 

4 ‘‘(6) Providing the Deputy’s Management Ac5 tion Group with independent assessments and rec6 ommendations, as requested by the Deputy Sec7 retary, in cases where members of the Defense 

8 Space Council are unable to reach consensus.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

11 by inserting after the item relating to section 2279c 

12 the following new item: 

‘‘2279d. Principal Defense Space Advisor.’’. 

13 (3) REPLACEMENT OF EXECUTIVE AGENT.— 

14 The position in the Department of Defense of the 

15 Principal Defense Space Advisor designated under 

16 section 2279d of title 10, United States Code, as 

17 added by paragraph (1), supersedes the position in 

18 the Department of Defense Executive Agent for 

19 Space. 

20 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 10, 

21 United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) in section 2279a(a), by striking ‘‘The 

23 Secretary of Defense’’ and all that follows 

24 through ‘‘such senior official,’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘The Principal Defense Space Advisor estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Apr 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4945.IH H4945

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1 lished by section 2279d of this title shall also 

2 serve as the Principal Advisor on Space Control 

3 and’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘Department of Defense 

5 Executive Agent for Space’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘Principal Defense Space Advisor’’ each place it 

7 appears. 

8 (d) SHARING OF CYBER AND SPACE SITUATIONAL

9 AWARENESS INFORMATION.— 

10 (1) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

12 of Defense shall develop and commence the imple13 mentation of a strategy to increase interoperability 

14 between systems that electronically share cyberspace 

15 situational awareness and space situational aware16 ness data and information across the space and 

17 cyberspace enterprises of the Department of De18 fense, including among space, cyberspace, and air 

19 operations centers. 

20 (2) SUBMISSION OF STRATEGY.—Not later than 

21 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

22 the Secretary shall submit to the congressional de23 fense committees the strategy developed under para24 graph (1), including— 


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1 (A) a plan to carry out the increased oper2 ability between space systems described in such 

3 paragraph; 

4 (B) a description of current and future ini5 tiatives to increase automated data transfer; 

6 (C) cost estimates for developing, pro7 curing, installing and sustaining the systems 

8 described in such paragraph; and 

9 (D) a description of any regulatory or leg10 islative actions required to fully implement the 

11 strategy. 

12 (e) INTEGRATED MAJOR SPACE PROGRAM ACQUISI13 TION.— 

14 (1) LIMITATION.—Of the funds authorized to 

15 be appropriated or otherwise made available for fis16 cal year 2017 for the Under Secretary of Defense 

17 for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, not more 

18 than 50 percent may be obligated or expended until 

19 the date on which the Under Secretary certifies to 

20 the congressional defense committees that the Under 

21 Secretary is compliant with the assessment, report22 ing, and notification requirements under section 

23 2275 of title 10, United States Code. 

24 (2) ANNUAL CERTIFICATIONS.—Section 2275 of 

25 title 10, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub2 section (h); 

3 (B) by inserting after subsection (f) the 

4 following new subsection (g): 

5 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION OF INTEGRATED PROGRAMS.— 

6 (1) During each of fiscal years 2018 through 2027, the 

7 Secretary of Defense shall certify to the congressional de8 fense committees that each major satellite acquisition pro9 gram that has received Milestone B approval is an inte10 grated program with respect to acquisition and delivery 

11 of segments of the program. 

12 ‘‘(2) A major satellite acquisition program may not 

13 receive Milestone C approval if the Secretary has not made 

14 a certification under paragraph (1) with respect to such 

15 program. 

16 ‘‘(3) For each major satellite acquisition program 

17 that the Secretary does not make a certification under 

18 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide the congres19 sional defense committees a briefing explaining why such 

20 certification may not be made, including a discussion of 

21 the matters described in subsection (e)(2).’’; and 

22 (C) in subsection (h), as redesignated by 

23 subparagraph (A), by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(5) MILESTONE C APPROVAL.—The term 

2 ‘Milestone C approval’ has the meaning given that 

3 term in section 2366(e) of this title.’’. 

4 (f) HOSTED PAYLOADS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2273 of title 10, 

6 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(d) HOSTED PAYLOADS.—(1) To the extent prac9 tical, the Secretary shall ensure that any space architec10 ture of the Department of Defense uses hosted payloads. 

11 ‘‘(2) Beginning January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall 

12 give preference to launching hosted payloads on launch ve13 hicles owned and operated by companies domiciled in the 

14 United States. 

15 ‘‘(3) For each space program of the Department re16 quiring the launch of assets into space, the Secretary shall 

17 ensure that any analysis of alternatives conducted for the 

18 program considers alternatives with hosted payloads and 

19 commercial services.’’. 

20 (2) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

22 Defense, in consultation with the Director of the 

23 Space and Missile Systems Center and the Principal 

24 Defense Space Advisor designated under section 

25 2279d of title 10, United States Code, as added by 


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1 subsection (c)(1), shall submit to the congressional 

2 defense committees a plan to increase the use of 

3 hosted payloads. The plan shall include the following 

4 elements: 

5 (A) An analysis of how the Secretary can 

6 increase the use of the Hosted Payload Solu7 tions program, including identification of 

8 planned missions over the next five fiscal years 

9 which may use hosted payloads. 

10 (B) Criteria and standards necessary for 

11 new entrants to qualify for Hosted Payload So12 lutions program certification. 

13 (g) PROTECTION CAPABILITIES.— 

14 (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than one year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary of Defense, in consultation with the Principal 

17 Defense Space Advisor designated under section 

18 2279d of title 10, United States Code, as added by 

19 subsection (c)(1), shall submit to the congressional 

20 defense committees an assessment of desirable pro21 tection capabilities that would enhance the integra22 tion of commercial space systems into national secu23 rity space architectures. 

24 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment under para25 graph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) A prioritized list by space mission area 

2 of protection capabilities that could improve the 

3 resilience of commercial space systems. 

4 (B) The estimated costs for commercial 

5 operators to integrate the highest priority pro6 tection capabilities into commercial systems. 

7 (C) An examination of any issues associ8 ated with the quality, integrity, security, reli9 ability, and continuity of commercial space 

10 data. 

11 (3) CONSULTATION.—Before submitting the as12 sessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

13 consult with appropriate representatives from the 

14 commercial space industry with respect to the initial 

15 findings and recommendations of the Secretary de16 veloped under such paragraph. 

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

19 (1) the Department of Defense should thor20 oughly examine the opportunities offered by high21 volume satellite manufacturing as the capability for 

22 such manufacturing emerges; and 

23 (2) high-volume satellite manufacturing could 

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1 mies of scale and also contribute to resiliency 

2 through proliferated constellations. 

3 SEC. 102. SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) current and future satellite communications 

7 architectures of the Department of Defense should 

8 be resilient and integrated; and 

9 (2) to achieve these goals, such architectures 

10 should include an enterprise-level situational aware11 ness network and capabilities to dynamically, effi12 ciently, and seamlessly allocate satellite communica13 tions capacity and shift between frequencies and lev14 els of protection. 

15 (b) ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES.— 

16 (1) MATTERS CONSIDERED.—Section 1611(a) 

17 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

18 Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92) is amended by add19 ing at the end the following new sentences: ‘‘Such 

20 analysis of alternatives shall provide detailed as21 sumptions with respect to a comparison between the 

22 full life-cycle associated costs for military and com23 mercial satellite communications, including estimates 

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1 ment-operated systems and other costs, including 

2 with respect to military construction. Such analysis 

3 of alternatives shall also consider technology develop4 ment of commercial satellite communications, includ5 ing high throughput capacity satellites, commercial 

6 investment, technology insertion plans, and up7 grades. Such analysis of alternatives shall also in8 clude available data and the results of the Path9 finder program of the Air Force Space and Missile 

10 Systems Center and the Defense Information Sys11 tems Agency.’’. 

12 (2) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—Such section is 

13 further amended by adding at the end the following 

14 new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(c) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.— 

16 ‘‘(1) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 

17 90 days after the date on which the Secretary com18 pletes the analysis of alternatives under subsection 

19 (a), and prior to submitting the report under sub20 section (b), the Comptroller General of the United 

21 States shall review such analysis. In addition to any 

22 other matters the Comptroller considers appropriate, 

23 the review shall assess whether such analysis meets 

24 the requirements of subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

2 to the congressional defense committees the review 

3 required under paragraph (1) along with the anal4 ysis of alternatives conducted under section 1611(a) 

5 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

6 Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92).’’. 

7 (c) TERMINALS.— 

8 (1) MULTIBAND.—With respect to any satellite 

9 communications terminal acquisition program of the 

10 Department beginning on or after the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 

12 ensure that— 

13 (A) such program will field multiband ter14 minals; 

15 (B) any requirements developed in support 

16 of such program, including through the Joint 

17 Requirements Oversight Council or the Require18 ments Oversight Councils of the military de19 partments, take into consideration the terminal 

20 user preferences. the ease of platform integra21 tion into space system design requirements, and 

22 the total cost of ownership, including 

23 sustainment costs; and 

24 (C) the Secretary— 


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1 (i) approves any exceptions to sub2 paragraphs (A) and (B); and 

3 (ii) not later than 60 days after such 

4 approval, notifies the congressional defense 

5 committees of such exceptions. 

6 (2) STRATEGY.— 

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

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

9 Defense, in consultation with the Under Sec10 retary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, 

11 and Logistics, Principal Defense Space Advisor 

12 designated under section 2279d of title 10, 

13 United States Code, as added by section 

14 101(c)(1), and the acquisition executives of the 

15 military departments, shall develop a strategy 

16 to recapitalize legacy non-multiband satellite 

17 communications terminals to multiband satellite 

18 communications terminals. 

19 (B) The strategy under subparagraph (A) 

20 shall include the following: 

21 (i) A comprehensive recapitalization 

22 schedule for all platforms in the Depart23 ment of Defense using satellite commu24 nications terminals. 


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1 (ii) A comprehensive list of all types 

2 of fielded non-multiband satellite commu3 nications terminals, the number of termi4 nals currently in service, and the projected 

5 schedule for recapitalizing the terminals. 

6 (iii) The priority, by military depart7 ment, of terminal recapitalization. 

8 (iv) Options for migrating the highest 

9 priority terminals in each military depart10 ment to multiband terminals. 

11 (3) BRIEFING.—Not later than one year after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 shall provide the congressional defense committees a 

14 briefing on the strategy developed under paragraph 

15 (2). 

16 (d) SPACE MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE PROTECTED

17 TACTICAL SERVICE FUNDING.—In addition to any other 

18 amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

19 of the Air Force for fiscal year 2017 for research, develop20 ment, test, and evaluation, Air Force, there is authorized 

21 to be appropriated to the Secretary $150,700,000 for the 

22 Space Modernization Initiative activities related to Pro23 tected Tactical Service development and demonstration, 

24 including for the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service ini25 tiative. 


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1 (e) PATHFINDER FUNDING.—Of the amounts au2 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Air 

3 Force for fiscal year 2017 for procurement, Air Force, 

4 there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

5 $30,000,000 for the Space and Missile Systems Center 

6 Satellite Communications Pathfinder program. 

7 (f) PILOT PROGRAM FUNDING.—In addition to any 

8 other amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary of the Air Force for any of fiscal years 2017 

10 through 2021 for operation and maintenance, Air Force, 

11 there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

12 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 

13 to carry out the pilot program for the acquisition of com14 mercial satellite communication services and enterprise15 level ground integration efforts under section 1605 of the 

16 Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National De17 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 

18 113–291; 10 U.S.C. 2208 note), as amended by section 

19 1612 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

20 Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92). 

21 (g) BRIEFING.—On a biannual basis, the Secretary 

22 of Defense shall provide the congressional defense commit23 tees a briefing on the progress of the following: 

24 (1) Satellite communications Pathfinder activi25 ties. 


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1 (2) The pilot program under section 1603 of 

2 the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 

3 (Public Law 113–66; 10 U.S.C. 2359 note). 

4 (3) Protected Tactical Service. 

5 (4) Any initiative regarding enterprise-level 

6 ground architecture or any other initiative the Sec7 retary determines appropriate. 

8 (h) DHS STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home10 land Security, in consultation with the Secretary of De11 fense, shall submit to the congressional defense commit12 tees a report on leveraging underused Mobile User Objec13 tive System satellite communications capacities of the De14 partment of Defense, or other narrowband communication 

15 systems, to complement the communications and com16 mand-and-control systems of the Department of Home17 land Security. Such report shall include an assessment of 

18 critical command-and-control requirements and 

19 connectivity requirements and existing capability short20 falls. 

21 (i) PRESERVATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC AC22 CESS.—The Federal Communications Commission— 

23 (1) shall ensure that commercial satellites oper24 ating in geostationary and non-geostationary orbit 

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1 magnetic spectrum in the 27.5–28.35 gigahertz band 

2 for current and future deployments of individually li3 censed earth stations; and 

4 (2) may not require commercial satellite entities 

5 to secure primary access to such band through par6 ticipation in an auction or through secondary market 

7 procedures. 

8 SEC. 103. POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, AND TIMING. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that the importance of positioning, navigation, and 

11 timing for national security and economic prosperity re12 quires highly reliable and secure positioning, navigation, 

13 and timing systems, such as the Global Positioning Sys14 tem, to support commercial, civil, and national security 

15 programs. 

16 (b) STRATEGY ON PNT SIGNALS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 

20 defense committees a strategy to ensure that posi21 tioning, navigation, and timing receivers of the De22 partment of Defense best leverage the global avail23 ability of positioning, navigation, and timing signals 

24 from the Global Positioning System, the Galileo sys25 tem, and other positioning, navigation, and timing 


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1 systems, including commercial positioning, naviga2 tion, and timing solutions that use commercial sat3 ellite constellations. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The strategy under paragraph 

5 (1) shall address the following: 

6 (A) Issues associated with monitoring and 

7 verification of the accuracy, integrity, avail8 ability, and security of foreign and commercial 

9 positioning, navigation, and timing signals. 

10 (B) Mechanisms for timely notification to 

11 military users of the current and projected reli12 ability of such foreign and commercial systems. 

13 (C) Methods for sharing information 

14 across the Global Positioning System, the 

15 Galileo system, and other positioning, naviga16 tion, and timing systems to improve the inter17 operability and effectiveness of the systems for 

18 military users. 

19 SEC. 104. WEATHER. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that— 

22 (1) commercial space-based weather satellite 

23 data and services that meet rigorous standards for 

24 quality, security, and reliability can help mitigate 

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1 crease resilience of the overall weather satellite ar2 chitecture, and augment Government weather sys3 tems to create more and better data at lower costs 

4 to the taxpayer; 

5 (2) the Department of Defense should incor6 porate commercial space-based weather satellite data 

7 into its weather modeling products; and 

8 (3) the Department of Defense should maximize 

9 the use of, and incentivizes the growth of, commer10 cial weather data and services of the United States 

11 and ensure that such data and services are secure, 

12 reliable, and enhance military effectiveness. 

13 (b) NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON WEATH14 ER.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

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

17 President shall establish a National Executive Com18 mittee on Weather to coordinate weather-related 

19 matters across the departments and agencies of the 

20 Federal Government. The President shall base the 

21 National Executive Committee on Weather on the 

22 National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and 

23 Timing Executive Committee. 

24 (2) CO-CHAIRS; MEMBERS.—The President 

25 shall appoint the Deputy Secretary of Defense and 


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1 the Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic 

2 and Atmospheric Administration to serve as co3 chairs of the National Executive Committee on 

4 Weather. The President shall appoint such other of5 ficials of the Federal Government to serve on the 

6 National Executive Committee on Weather as the 

7 President determines appropriate. 

8 (3) ORGANIZATION.—The National Executive 

9 Committee on Weather shall include— 

10 (A) a permanent national coordination of11 fice secretariat; 

12 (B) an international working group; and 

13 (C) an engineering working group. 

14 (c) COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA QUALITY, SECU15 RITY, AND RELIABILITY STANDARDS.—Not later than one 

16 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of Defense shall develop and certify quality, secu18 rity, and reliability standards, including cybersecurity 

19 standards, for weather data and systems to facilitate the 

20 use of commercial weather data and services by the Armed 

21 Forces. 

22 (d) SPACE SURVIVABILITY AND SURVEILLANCE

23 FUNDING.—Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated 

24 to the Secretary of the Air Force for fiscal year 2017 for 

25 research, development, test, and evaluation, Air Force, 


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1 there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

2 $40,000,000 for space survivability and surveillance. 

3 (e) GEOMAGNETIC STORM WARNING CAPABILITY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary of Defense, in coordination with the Adminis7 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad8 ministration and the Administrator of the National 

9 Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall com10 mence the development of a follow-on geomagnetic 

11 storm warning capability that includes— 

12 (A) the ability to forecast, detect, and 

13 issue warnings of electromagnetic pulse events, 

14 solar radio bursts, and energetic particles; and 

15 (B) a timely notification and warning 

16 mechanism for governmental entities and pri17 vate sector entities. 

18 (2) COMMERCIAL CAPABILITIES.—In carrying 

19 out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into full 

20 consideration commercial capabilities. 

21 (f) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR

22 AIR FORCE WEATHER AGENCY.— 

23 (1) CERTIFICATION.—Of the funds authorized 

24 to be appropriated or otherwise made available for 

25 fiscal year 2016 for the Air Force for weather model 


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1 forecasting (including with respect to operation and 

2 maintenance of the Air Force Weather Agency), not 

3 more than 10 percent may be obligated or expended 

4 until the date on which the Secretary of the Air 

5 Force certifies to the congressional defense commit6 tees that the Secretary has initiated a full and open 

7 competition to award a contract for the weather 

8 forecasting model used by the Air Force Weather 

9 Agency. 

10 (2) COMPETITION.—In carrying out the full 

11 and open competition for the weather forecasting 

12 model described in paragraph (1), Secretary shall es13 tablish the technical standards required for commer14 cial weather forecasting models to integrate into 

15 weather forecasting and data assimilation systems of 

16 the Department of Defense, including information 

17 assurance and security classification requirements. 

18 (g) COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA PILOT PRO19 GRAM.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program 

23 under which the Secretary shall award not fewer 

24 than one contract, using full and open competition, 

25 to assess the potential viability of using commercial 


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1 weather data in the weather modeling and fore2 casting of the Department of Defense. The pilot pro3 gram shall be conducted consistent with data stand4 ards established under subsection (c). 

5 (2) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap6 propriated to the Secretary of Defense for fiscal year 

7 2017 not less than $10,000,000 to carry out the 

8 pilot program under paragraph (1) by purchasing, 

9 evaluating, and calibrating commercial weather data 

10 that meets the standards and specifications set by 

11 the Secretary for purposes of the pilot program. 

12 (3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

14 of Defense shall provide to the congressional defense 

15 committees a briefing demonstrating how the Sec16 retary plans to implement the pilot program under 

17 paragraph (1). 

18 (h) SPACE BASED INFRARED SYSTEM WEATHER AP19 PLICATIONS.— 

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

21 Congress that— 

22 (A) the Space Based Infrared System has 

23 attributes including certain sensor capabilities, 

24 revisit rates, and polar reach which could en25 hance weather prediction capability, in addition 


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1 to weather data collected by the Department of 

2 Department, in support of meeting validated 

3 weather requirements; and 

4 (B) the Secretary of Defense should fully 

5 examine and exploit the weather capabilities of 

6 such system. 

7 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 

10 Services of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Senate a report examining the potential of the Space 

12 Based Infrared System to generate useful weather 

13 data in support of numerical weather models and 

14 validated weather requirements of the Department 

15 of Defense. 

16 (i) WEATHER REQUIREMENTS GAP MITIGATION.— 

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

18 Congress that the Department of Defense can lever19 age Defense Meteorological Satellite Program pay20 loads, including the Special Sensor Microwave 

21 Imager/Sounder, to help mitigate gaps in critical 

22 validated weather requirements. 

23 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

25 of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 


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1 Services of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Senate a report on using Defense Meteorological 

3 Satellite Program payloads to mitigate gaps in vali4 dated Department of Defense weather requirements, 

5 such as cloud characterization, theater weather im6 agery, ocean wind vectors, tropical cyclone intensity, 

7 snow depth, and sea ice weather requirements. 

8 (j) PROHIBITION ON RELIANCE ON FOREIGN COUN9 TRIES FOR SPACE-BASED WEATHER DATA.— 

10 (1) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Defense 

11 shall ensure that the Department of Defense does 

12 not plan to rely on space-based weather data for 

13 cloud characterization and theater weather imagery 

14 provided by foreign governments. 

15 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary shall submit to the congressional defense com18 mittees a certification that the Secretary is in com19 pliance with the prohibition under paragraph (1). 

20 (3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall provide to the congressional defense commit23 tees a briefing on how the Department of Defense 

24 plans to comply with the prohibition under para25 graph (1). 


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1 SEC. 105. SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. 

2 (a) FUNDING.—In addition to any other amounts au3 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Air 

4 Force for fiscal year 2017 for research, development, test, 

5 and evaluation, Air Force, and operation and mainte6 nance, Air Force, there is authorized to be appropriated 

7 to the Secretary $30,200,000 for the operations and ac8 tivities of the Joint Interagency Combined Space Oper9 ations Center. 

10 (b) COMMERCIAL INTEGRATION CELL.—Not later 

11 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Com13 mander of United States Strategic Command, shall pro14 vide a briefing to the Committees on Armed Services of 

15 the House of Representatives and the Senate on making 

16 permanent the commercial integration cell pilot program 

17 conducted by the Joint Space Operations Center. 

18 (c) REPORT ON COMMERCIAL SATELLITES.—Not 

19 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Commit21 tees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

22 and the Senate a report that— 

23 (1) identifies space situational awareness sen24 sors desirable for commercial satellite operators and 

25 other non-Federal Government operators to inte26 grate into the systems of the operators prior to 


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1 launch to provide space situational awareness data; 

2 and 

3 (2) addresses issues associated with the quality, 

4 security, and reliability of the data derived from 

5 such commercial sensors. 

6 SEC. 106. LAUNCH SERVICES. 

7 (a) PRIORITY FOR UNITED STATES ENGINES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning January 1, 2023, 

9 in awarding a contract for the procurement of prop10 erty or services for space launch activities, the Sec11 retary of Defense shall treat any offer that proposes 

12 the use of a rocket engine described in paragraph 

13 (2) as costing the Federal Government 25 percent 

14 less than the price listed in the offer. 

15 (2) ENGINE DESCRIBED.—A rocket engine de16 scribed in this paragraph is a rocket engine that 

17 uses articles, materials, and supplies that are allow18 able under section 8302(a)(1) of title 41, United 

19 States Code, in an acquisition for public use and are 

20 not subject to an exception under chapter 83 of such 

21 title (popularly known as the ‘‘Buy American Act’’). 

22 (b) VENTURE-CLASS LAUNCH SERVICES.— 

23 (1) PROGRAM.—Not later than one year after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

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1 fense Space Advisor designated under section 2279d 

2 of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 

3 101(c)(1), and the Director of the Space Test Pro4 gram, shall establish a program to competitively 

5 award not fewer than four launch services contracts 

6 for venture-class launch missions. 

7 (2) FUNDING.—Of the funds authorized to be 

8 appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available 

9 for fiscal year 2017 to the Secretary of the Air 

10 Force, not less than $27,600,000 shall be obligated 

11 or expended to carry out the program established 

12 under subsection (a). 

13 (c) OPERATIONALLY RESPONSIVE SPACE.— 

14 (1) PRIORITIZATION.—Section 2273a(c) of title 

15 10, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘The mission’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘(1) In accordance with paragraph (2), the 

18 mission’’; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

20 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

21 and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraph (2): 

24 ‘‘(2)(A) The head of the Office shall ensure 

25 that, in developing the capabilities for operationally 


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1 responsive space, the Office prioritizes market re2 search and the identification of commercial capabili3 ties and services. 

4 ‘‘(B) Before commencing the development of 

5 any program, the head of the Office shall certify to 

6 the congressional defense committees that no com7 mercial capability or service, with or without minor 

8 modifications, can meet the requirements for which 

9 such program is being developed.’’. 

10 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 

12 of the Office of Operationally Responsive Space shall 

13 provide to the congressional defense committees a 

14 briefing outlining any rapid acquisition authority 

15 available to any other official of the Department of 

16 Defense that is not also available to the Director. 

17 (d) EVALUATION OF LAUNCH SERVICES BACKUP.— 

18 Of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act 

19 or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2017 for the 

20 Air Force for foreign comparative testing, not less than 

21 $4,000,000 shall be obligated or expended to conduct 

22 studies on the potential for non-domestic launch services 

23 providers domiciled on the territory of allies of the United 

24 States to serve as a backup to perform national security 

25 missions. 


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1 SEC. 107. AIR FORCE SATELLITE CONTROL NETWORK. 

2 (a) AIR FORCE SATELLITE CONTROL NETWORK.— 

3 Not later than January 1, 2018, the Secretary of the Air 

4 Force shall enter into a contract with a private entity to 

5 fully carry out the day-to-day operations of the Satellite 

6 Control Network of the Air Force. 

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

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

9 to the congressional defense committees a report that in10 cludes— 

11 (1) the detailed strategy of the Secretary to 

12 carry out subsection (a); and 

13 (2) an assessment of the use of a private entity 

14 to conduct all day-to-day constellation operations, 

15 not including mission planning and warfighting op16 erations. 

17 (c) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary submits the report under sub19 section (b), and every 180 days thereafter through Janu20 ary 1, 2020, the Secretary shall provide Congress with a 

21 briefing on carrying out subsection (a). 

22 SEC. 108. REMOTE SENSING. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that— 

25 (1) the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

26 and National Reconnaissance Office should continue 


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1 efforts to implement innovative technology upgrades, 

2 flexible licensing and sharing policies, analytic capa3 bility, cross-training, content-in-the-open, and use of 

4 international standards, such as the Open Geospatial 

5 Consortium; and 

6 (2) the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

7 should expand the use of open-source methods and 

8 data to effectively answer intelligence questions. 

9 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na11 tional Geospatial-Intelligence Agency shall provide to the 

12 congressional defense committees a briefing on funding re13 quirements and any new acquisition authorities necessary 

14 to accelerate the programs and initiatives outlined in the 

15 Commercial Geospatial Intelligence Strategy of the Na16 tional Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 

17 SEC. 109. CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DE18 FINED. 

19 In this title, the term ‘‘congressional defense commit20 tees’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

21 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code. 

22 TITLE II—CIVIL 

23 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this title: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of NASA. 

3 (2) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na4 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

5 SEC. 202. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS6 TRATION. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) lack of consistency in leadership along with 

10 budget uncertainty in out-years makes it extremely 

11 difficult for NASA to have a clear purpose or mis12 sion; and 

13 (2) NASA should undergo reorganization, alter14 ing its mission with a clearer focus, ridding itself of 

15 extraneous responsibilities handled elsewhere within 

16 the Federal Government or private industry, and 

17 standardizing activities across the whole of NASA. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to provide 

19 NASA with clearer congressional intent, budget clarity, 

20 and stability in leadership. 

21 (c) PIONEERING DOCTRINE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title 51, United States 

23 Code, is amended— 

24 (A) in section 20102— 

25 (i) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (I) by striking paragraphs (4), 

2 (5), and (9); 

3 (II) by redesignating paragraphs 

4 (6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (4), 

5 (5), and (6), respectively; and 

6 (III) by amending paragraphs (1) 

7 through (3) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) The expansion of the human sphere of in9 fluence throughout the Solar System. 

10 ‘‘(2) To be among those who first arrive at a 

11 destination in space and to open it for subsequent 

12 use and development by others. 

13 ‘‘(3) To create and prepare infrastructure pre14 cursors in support of the future use and develop15 ment of space by others.’’; 

16 (ii) by amending subsection (e) to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(e) PIONEERING DOCTRINE.—Congress declares 

19 that the general welfare of the United States requires that 

20 the unique competence in scientific and engineering sys21 tems of the Administration also be directed toward the 

22 pioneering of space. The objectives of such pioneering 

23 shall be to increase access to destinations in space, explore 

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1 ment, and transition those activities to Federal agencies 

2 outside of the Administration or persons or entities out3 side of the Federal Government.’’; 

4 (iii) by striking subsection (f) and re5 designating subsections (g) and (h) as sub6 sections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

7 (iv) in subsection (g) (as so redesig8 nated), by striking ‘‘(g)’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘(f)’’; 

10 (B) in section 20103— 

11 (i) by amending paragraph (1) to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘(1) AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE ACTIVITIES.— 

14 The term ‘aeronautical and space activities’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) research into, and the solution of, 

16 problems of flight— 

17 ‘‘(i) within the Earth’s atmosphere; 

18 ‘‘(ii) to or from space through the 

19 Earth’s atmosphere; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) beyond the Earth’s atmosphere; 

21 ‘‘(B) the development, construction, test22 ing, and operation for pioneering purposes of 

23 aeronautical and space vehicles; and 

24 ‘‘(C) such other activities as may be re25 quired for the pioneering of space.’’; and 


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1 (ii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(3) SPACE.—The term ‘space’ means the do4 main beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.’’; and 

5 (C) in section 20112— 

6 (i) by striking subsection (b); 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘(a) PLANNING, DI8 RECTING, AND CONDUCTING AERO9 NAUTICAL AND SPACE ACTIVITIES.—’’; 

10 and 

11 (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

12 scientific community in planning scientific 

13 measurements’’ and inserting ‘‘future uti14 lizers of space destinations, including com15 mercial entities, the scientific community, 

16 and academia, in planning for measure17 ments’’. 

18 (2) REPORT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad21 ministrator shall enter into an agreement with 

22 an independent entity outside of NASA to pre23 pare a report that— 

24 (i) identifies activities and assets of 

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1 neering Doctrine described in section 

2 20102(e), United States Code, that should 

3 be consolidated or downsized; and 

4 (ii) identifies activities and assets of 

5 NASA that are inconsistent with such Pio6 neering Doctrine and identifies which such 

7 activities or assets should be— 

8 (I) transferred to other Federal 

9 agencies; 

10 (II) privatized or otherwise trans11 ferred to commercial entities; or 

12 (III) otherwise eliminated. 

13 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

14 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

16 the report described in subparagraph (A). 

17 (C) ACTION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—It is the 

18 sense of Congress that, not later than 30 days 

19 after submitting the report described in sub20 paragraph (A), the Administrator should imple21 ment any recommendations of the report that 

22 the Administrator is permitted by law to imple23 ment. 

24 (D) CONGRESSIONAL ACTION.—It is the 

25 sense of Congress that, not later than 90 days 


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1 after receiving the report described in subpara2 graph (A), Congress should consider legislation 

3 that is necessary to implement all appropriate 

4 recommendations of such report. 

5 (d) ENSURING CONTINUITY IN NASA LEADER6 SHIP.— 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—Section 20111 of title 

8 51, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (A) in subsection (a)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘ADMINISTRATOR.— 

11 There is established’’ and inserting ‘‘AD12 MINISTRATOR.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established’’; 

14 (ii) in paragraph (1) (as designated 

15 by clause (i) of this subparagraph)— 

16 (I) by inserting ‘‘, pursuant to 

17 paragraph (2),’’ after ‘‘who shall be 

18 appointed’’; and 

19 (II) by inserting ‘‘The term of 

20 the Administrator shall be 5 years.’’ 

21 after ‘‘and activities thereof.’’; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(2) NOMINATIONS.—The President shall ap25 point the Administrator pursuant to paragraph (1), 


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1 from among the list of nominees provided by the 

2 vacating Administrator and the commission estab3 lished in section 202(d)(2) of the American Space 

4 Renaissance Act.’’. 

5 (2) COMMISSION.— 

6 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab7 lished a standing commission to be known as 

8 the NASA Leadership and Advising Commis9 sion (in this paragraph referred to as the 

10 ‘‘Commission’’). 

11 (B) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 

12 (i) provide to the President rec13 ommendations for nominees to serve as 

14 Administrator of NASA each time there is 

15 a vacancy in the office, in accordance with 

16 section 20111(a) of title 51, United States 

17 Code; 

18 (ii) provide to Congress, NASA, the 

19 Office of Management and Budget, and 

20 the Office of Science and Technology Pol21 icy, an analysis of, and recommendations 

22 for changes to, each long-term plan sub23 mitted by the Administrator pursuant to 

24 subsection (e)(4); and 


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1 (iii) provide to Congress an annual 

2 analysis of the President’s annual budget 

3 request for NASA. 

4 (C) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall 

5 consist of 21 members, including a Chairperson. 

6 The members other than the Chairperson shall 

7 be appointed as follows: 

8 (i) Four members shall be appointed 

9 by the President. 

10 (ii) Four members shall be appointed 

11 by the Speaker of the House of Represent12 atives. 

13 (iii) Four members shall be appointed 

14 by the minority leader of the House of 

15 Representatives. 

16 (iv) Four members shall be appointed 

17 by the majority leader of the Senate. 

18 (v) Four members shall be appointed 

19 by the minority leader of the Senate. 

20 (D) CHAIRPERSON.—If practicable and ap21 propriate, the Chairperson of the Commission 

22 shall be a former Administrator or Deputy Ad23 ministrator of NASA selected by the other 

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1 propriate, the members shall appoint an appro2 priate alternative. 

3 (E) TERMS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

5 in clauses (ii) and (iii), each member, in6 cluding the Chairperson, shall be appointed 

7 for a term of 5 years that is renewable 

8 without limitation. 

9 (ii) TERMS OF INITIAL AP10 POINTEES.—Of the 4 initial members ap11 pointed by each of the officials listed in 

12 clauses (i) through (v) of subparagraph 

13 (C)— 

14 (I) one shall be appointed for a 

15 term of 2 years; 

16 (II) one shall be appointed for a 

17 term of 3 years; 

18 (III) one shall be appointed for a 

19 term of 4 years; and 

20 (IV) one shall be appointed for a 

21 term of 5 years. 

22 (iii) VACANCIES.—Any member ap23 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before 

24 the expiration of the term for which the 

25 member’s predecessor was appointed shall 


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1 be appointed only for the remainder of that 

2 term. A member may serve after the expi3 ration of that member’s term until a suc4 cessor has taken office. A vacancy in the 

5 Commission shall be filled in the manner 

6 in which the original appointment was 

7 made. 

8 (F) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of 

9 the Commission shall include a variety of space 

10 and aerospace policy, engineering, technical, 

11 science, legal, and finance professionals. 

12 (G) POWERS.— 

13 (i) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The 

14 Commission may, for the purpose of car15 rying out this paragraph, hold hearings, sit 

16 and act at times and places, take testi17 mony, and receive evidence as the Commis18 sion considers appropriate. 

19 (ii) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The 

20 Commission may secure directly from any 

21 employee or officer of NASA information 

22 necessary to enable the Commission to 

23 carry out this paragraph. Upon request of 

24 the Commission, and unless otherwise pro25 hibited by law, such employee or officer 


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1 shall furnish such information to the Com2 mission. 

3 (iii) SUBPOENA POWER.—The Com4 mission may issue subpoenas requiring the 

5 attendance and testimony of any witness 

6 and the production of any evidence relating 

7 to any matter which the Commission is 

8 empowered to investigate under this para9 graph. 

10 (H) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.— 

11 Members of the Commission may not receive 

12 additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason 

13 of their service on the Commission. 

14 (I) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member 

15 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 

16 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli17 cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 

18 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

19 (J) MEETINGS.— 

20 (i) INITIAL MEETING.—The first 

21 meeting of the Commission shall occur not 

22 later than 30 days after a quorum of mem23 bers has been appointed. 

24 (ii) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The 

25 Commission shall meet— 


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1 (I) not less than once per quar2 ter; 

3 (II) not less than 30 days after 

4 the date on which the Commission re5 ceives each long-term plan submitted 

6 to the Commission pursuant to sub7 section (e)(4); and 

8 (III) at the call of the Chair9 person. 

10 (K) QUORUM.—11 members of the Com11 mission shall constitute a quorum. 

12 (L) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.—To the extent 

13 provided for in advance in appropriations Acts, 

14 the Commission may appoint and fix the pay 

15 rate of a Director, a Press Secretary, and not 

16 more than 5 additional staff members, to sup17 port the duties of the Commission under this 

18 paragraph. 

19 (e) LONG-TERM PLANS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de21 velop a 10-year plan and a 20-year plan in accord22 ance with this subsection. 

23 (2) 20-YEAR PLAN.—The 20-year plan required 

24 under this subsection shall outline broad goals for 


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1 NASA for the 20-year period beginning with the 

2 year in which the plan is developed. 

3 (3) 10-YEAR PLAN.—The 10-year plan required 

4 under this subsection shall provide specific objectives 

5 and budget profiles, based on the broad goals out6 lined in the 20-year plan, for the 10-year period be7 ginning with the year in which the plan is developed. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years 

10 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Con11 gress and to the NASA Leadership and Advising 

12 Commission the most recent 10-year plan and 20- 

13 year plan developed under this subsection. 

14 (f) MULTI-YEAR FUNDING.— 

15 (1) BUDGET SUBMISSION.—Beginning with the 

16 annual budget submission for fiscal year 2018 and 

17 for each fiscal year thereafter the Administrator 

18 shall submit a multi-year budget request for NASA. 

19 (2) RULES ON APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law, beginning in fiscal year 

22 2018, any amounts made available for NASA 

23 shall be multi-year appropriations or no-year 

24 appropriations. 


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1 (B) POINT OF ORDER.—In the House of 

2 Representatives, it shall not be in order to con3 sider any provision of a general appropriations 

4 Act, or any amendment thereto or conference 

5 report thereon, providing appropriations for 

6 NASA unless the funds appropriated therein 

7 are multi-year or no-year appropriations. The 

8 point of order provided under the previous sen9 tence may be waived if the Chairperson of the 

10 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

11 files a statement with the Speaker that the one12 year funding is appropriate for that reason. 

13 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

15 be appropriated to NASA, to remain available 

16 for obligation until expended, for the purposes 

17 described in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (i) for fiscal year 2017, $250,000,000; 

19 and 

20 (ii) for each fiscal year thereafter, 

21 such sums as are necessary so that the 

22 amount available to the Administrator for 

23 such fiscal year under this paragraph is a 

24 total of $250,000,000. 


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1 (B) PURPOSES.—The Administrator may 

2 use amounts appropriated under subparagraph 

3 (A) to supplement spending for— 

4 (i) NASA aeronautics and exploration 

5 programs, projects, or activities subject to 

6 development challenges; and 

7 (ii) NASA infrastructure repair, main8 tenance, and upgrades. 

9 (g) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

10 (1) PROGRAMS THAT EXCEED COST PROJEC11 TIONS.— 

12 (A) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The di13 rectorate head of any program of NASA, or the 

14 head of any program of another agency for 

15 which NASA is the acquisition or procurement 

16 agent, that exceeds program life cost projec17 tions by less than 30 percent but not less than 

18 15 percent shall, for each such fiscal year— 

19 (i) be available to testify not less than 

20 once before the Committee on Science, 

21 Space, and Technology of the House of 

22 Representatives and once before the Com23 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans24 portation of the Senate, if requested to do 

25 so by such committees; and 


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1 (ii) ensure that staff of such program 

2 are available to update the staff of such 

3 committees on the status of the program 

4 not less than once during each fiscal quar5 ter. 

6 (B) CANCELLATION.—Any program of 

7 NASA that exceeds program life cost projec8 tions by not less than 30 percent shall be can9 celled and the Administrator shall not expend 

10 any additional funds on the program, other 

11 than termination costs, unless Congress author12 izes continuation of the program by law not 

13 later than 6 months after the end of the first 

14 fiscal year in which the program first began to 

15 exceed such cost projections by such percentage. 

16 (2) AUTOMATIC REMOVAL OF ADMINIS17 TRATOR.— 

18 (A) NASA INSPECTOR GENERAL RE19 PORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the NASA Inspector 

21 General shall submit to the Committee on 

22 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

23 Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

25 President, the NASA Leadership and Advising 


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1 Commission, and the Administrator a report 

2 recommending a mechanism for the automatic 

3 removal of an Administrator who has failed to 

4 achieve certain goals, which shall take into ac5 count— 

6 (i) the number of programs of NASA 

7 that exceed cost projections during the ten8 ure of the Administrator; 

9 (ii) the number of programs of NASA 

10 experiencing significant delays with respect 

11 to targeted milestones, launches, or deploy12 ments during the tenure of the Adminis13 trator; and 

14 (iii) lack of adherence to, or failure to 

15 complete, benchmarks in the long-term 

16 plans developed by the Administrator pur17 suant to subsection (e). 

18 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 60 

19 days after receipt by the Administrator of the 

20 report required under subparagraph (A), NASA 

21 shall implement the mechanism outlined in the 

22 report. 

23 (3) COST PROJECTION.—For purposes of this 

24 subsection, the term ‘‘cost projection’’ means, with 

25 respect to a program of NASA, the cost commitment 


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1 of such program as outlined in the Program Memo2 randum officially documenting the outcome of Key 

3 Decision Point A, and for the purposes of this sub4 section subject to the concurrence of the Committee 

5 on Appropriations and the Committee on Science, 

6 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa7 tives and the Committee on Appropriations and the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation of the Senate. 

10 (h) TRANSITION OF TECHNOLOGIES AND CAPABILI11 TIES.—NASA shall, whenever practicable and appro12 priate, transition technologies and capabilities to actors 

13 outside of NASA, including individuals, corporations, aca14 demic institutions, and nonprofit organizations, to the ex15 tent that doing so will not threaten national security. Such 

16 transfers shall be conducted in a transparent manner, and 

17 no such transfer shall infringe on intellectual property 

18 rights or other such clauses in NASA contracts. 

19 (i) LIABILITY INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL RESPON20 SIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 20138 of title 51, 

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(g) LAUNCH SERVICES PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) LIABILITY INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL RE2 SPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A pro4 vider that enters into a contract with NASA for 

5 a launch or reentry under the NASA Launch 

6 Services Program shall obtain liability insur7 ance or demonstrate financial responsibility in 

8 amounts to compensate for the maximum prob9 able loss from claims by— 

10 ‘‘(i) a third party for death, bodily in11 jury, or property damage or loss resulting 

12 from an activity carried out during launch 

13 or reentry; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) a Federal, State, or local govern15 ment against a person for damage or loss 

16 to Federal, State, or local government 

17 property resulting from an activity carried 

18 out during launch or reentry. 

19 ‘‘(B) AMOUNTS.—The Administrator shall 

20 determine the amounts required under subpara21 graph (A) of this paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(C) TOTAL CLAIMS.—For the total claims 

23 related to one launch or reentry, a provider is 

24 not required to obtain insurance or demonstrate 


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1 financial responsibility of more than the lesser 

2 of— 

3 ‘‘(i) for a claim described in— 

4 ‘‘(I) subparagraph (A)(i), 

5 $500,000,000; or 

6 ‘‘(II) subparagraph (A)(ii), 

7 $100,000,000; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the maximum liability insurance 

9 available on the world market at reason10 able cost. 

11 ‘‘(D) COVERAGE.—An insurance policy or 

12 demonstration of financial responsibility under 

13 this paragraph shall protect the following, to 

14 the extent of their potential liability for involve15 ment in launch services or reentry services, at 

16 no cost to the Government: 

17 ‘‘(i) The Government and personnel, 

18 contractors, and subcontractors of the Gov19 ernment. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Contractors, subcontractors, and 

21 customers of the provider. 

22 ‘‘(iii) Contractors and subcontractors 

23 of the customer. 

24 ‘‘(iv) Government astronauts. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM PROBABLE

2 LOSSES.—The Administrator shall determine the 

3 maximum probable losses under paragraph (1)(A)(i) 

4 and (ii) of this subsection associated with an activity 

5 under a contract described in this subsection not 

6 later than 90 days after a provider requires a deter7 mination and submits all information the Adminis8 trator requires. The Administrator shall amend the 

9 determination as warranted by new information. 

10 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS.—Not later than 

12 November 15 of each year, the Administrator 

13 shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

14 Space, and Technology of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re17 port on current determinations made under 

18 paragraph (2) of this subsection related to all 

19 contracts described in this subsection and the 

20 reasons for the determinations. 

21 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS.—Not later than May 

22 15 of each year, the Administrator shall review 

23 the amounts specified in paragraph (1)(C)(i) of 

24 this subsection and submit a report to Congress 

25 that contains proposed adjustments in the 


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1 amounts to conform with changed liability ex2 pectations and availability of insurance on the 

3 world market. The proposed adjustment takes 

4 effect 30 days after a report is submitted. 

5 ‘‘(4) COLLECTION AND CREDITING PAY6 MENTS.—The Administrator shall collect a payment 

7 owed for damage or loss to Government property 

8 under NASA jurisdiction or control resulting from 

9 an activity carried out under a contract described in 

10 this subsection. The payment shall be credited to the 

11 current applicable appropriation, fund, or account of 

12 NASA. 

13 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.—Any claim by a 

14 third party or space flight participant for death, 

15 bodily injury, or property damage or loss resulting 

16 from an activity carried out under a contract de17 scribed in this subsection shall be the exclusive juris18 diction of the Federal courts.’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

20 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1, 

21 2019. 

22 SEC. 203. HUMAN MISSION TO MARS. 

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

24 (1) In section 204 of the National Aeronautics 

25 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 18301 et seq.), Congress required NASA 

2 to contract with the National Academies to perform 

3 a study of human spaceflight. 

4 (2) The National Research Council of the Na5 tional Academies released a report entitled ‘‘Path6 ways to Exploration: Rationales and Approaches for 

7 a U.S. Program of Human Space Exploration’’ in 

8 June of 2014. The report called for Mars to be the 

9 ‘‘horizon goal’’ for human space exploration. 

10 (3) NASA continues to request funding levels, 

11 follow strategies, and pursue missions that the Na12 tional Research Council report identified as problem13 atic. 

14 (4) NASA has yet to provide adequate details 

15 or funding requests for a plan to successfully send 

16 American astronauts to Mars. 

17 (5) Billions of dollars have been invested in the 

18 Space Launch System and Orion capsule, which rep19 resent core elements of deep space exploration sys20 tems farthest along in development. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—The following is the sense 

22 of Congress: 

23 (1) NASA should request budget levels, and 

24 Congress should continue to appropriate funds and 

25 carry out stringent oversight necessary to keep the 


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1 Space Launch System and Orion capsule on track 

2 and on budget. 

3 (2) Congress should prioritize funding within 

4 NASA to meet the budget requirements of sending 

5 American astronauts to Mars. 

6 (3) NASA should utilize the Moon and cislunar 

7 space in order to accomplish the goal of sending 

8 American astronauts to Mars. 

9 (4) NASA should utilize commercial assets, 

10 when practicable and available, to support explo11 ration beyond Earth orbit, including to Mars. 

12 (c) MISSION TO MARS.—Until Americans land on 

13 Mars, NASA’s main human spaceflight priority shall be 

14 to land Americans on Mars. 

15 (d) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO MISSION.—Whenever 

16 possible, NASA aeronautics and exploration directorates 

17 shall seek to avoid developing technologies and capabilities 

18 that do not have applicability across multiple directorates, 

19 programs, or activities, including missions to Mars. 

20 (e) INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.—NASA shall, 

21 whenever practicable and not restricted by law— 

22 (1) seek to secure specific investments in capa23 bilities and technologies needed for deep space explo24 ration; and 


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1 (2) clearly communicate what capabilities and 

2 technologies are being pursued through international 

3 partnerships. 

4 (f) STRATEGIC PLANNING.— 

5 (1) LANDING ON MARS.—The first 20-year plan 

6 required under section 202(e)(1) shall designate a 5- 

7 year range by which NASA intends for American as8 tronauts to land on the surface of Mars. NASA shall 

9 include an update of this range in any subsequent 

10 20-year plan developed before such landing occurs. 

11 (2) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL CON12 CERNS.—The first 10-year plan required under sec13 tion 202(e)(1) shall address the concerns raised by 

14 the National Research Council report described in 

15 subsection (a)(3), including concerns regarding 

16 budget projections, the launch frequency of the 

17 Space Launch System, and the efficacy of the Aster18 oid Redirect Mission. Specifically, the plan shall— 

19 (A) provide for the cancellation of the As20 teroid Redirect Mission, unless NASA can com21 pellingly demonstrate the mission’s utility; 

22 (B) explain how NASA intends to avoid 

23 missions that lead to dead end technologies; 

24 and 


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1 (C) explain how NASA will look at all op2 tions to maximize the utility of early launches 

3 of the Space Launch System, including pay4 loads (such as pressurized habitable modules) 

5 and experiments. 

6 (3) CONTINUOUS PRESENCE BEYOND LOW7 EARTH ORBIT.—Each 10-year plan and 20-year plan 

8 required under section 202(e)(1) shall specify how 

9 NASA intends to maintain a permanent human 

10 presence beyond low-Earth orbit. 

11 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion shall be construed to supersede NASA’s long-term 

13 goal of human space flight and exploration, as provided 

14 in section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

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

16 18312(a)), to expand permanent human presence beyond 

17 low-Earth orbit and to do so, where practical, in a manner 

18 involving international partners. 

19 SEC. 204. HUMAN PRESENCE IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that— 

22 (1) the United States should maintain a contin23 uous human presence in low-Earth orbit; and 

24 (2) activities related to the transport of cargo 

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1 tats necessary for the purpose of housing Govern2 ment astronauts and science experiments, should, to 

3 the maximum extent practicable, be the purview of 

4 the commercial sector. 

5 (b) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.— 

6 (1) PLAN.—NASA shall formulate a plan for 

7 the remaining life of the International Space Station 

8 and continued human presence in low-Earth orbit, 

9 which shall be included in the first 10-year plan re10 quired under section 202(e)(1) and any subsequent 

11 10-year plans as necessary. The plan required under 

12 this paragraph shall— 

13 (A) describe how NASA intends to maxi14 mize the scientific utilization of the Inter15 national Space Station; 

16 (B) include specific objectives, such as as17 tronaut missions and science experiments, to be 

18 carried out during the remaining life of the 

19 International Space Station; 

20 (C) explore options for turning over the 

21 International Space Station to commercial oper22 ators; 

23 (D) identify a transition strategy for the 

24 end of the United States commitment to the 

25 International Space Station; 


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1 (E) be coordinated in conjunction with all 

2 countries partner to the International Space 

3 Station; 

4 (F) explore options for NASA’s continued 

5 involvement in the International Space Station 

6 in the event it is turned over to commercial op7 erators; and 

8 (G) seek to ensure a return on investment 

9 to United States taxpayers. 

10 (2) FUNDING.—It is the sense of Congress that 

11 the International Space Station should be fully fund12 ed in accordance with the President’s annual budget 

13 request for the remainder of its needed life. 

14 (3) TRANSITION STRATEGY.—NASA shall im15 plement a transition strategy for continued human 

16 presence in low-Earth orbit identified in the plan 

17 pursuant to paragraph (1)(D) as soon as NASA de18 termines that commercial habitats meet the require19 ments published pursuant to subsection (c)(1) and a 

20 demonstration has been successfully completed pur21 suant to subsection (c)(2). 

22 (c) COMMERCIAL HABITATS.— 

23 (1) PUBLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

24 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

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1 cial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, de2 velop and publish the requirements it considers nec3 essary for commercial contractors to provide on-orbit 

4 habitats to meet the human exploration and science 

5 missions of NASA, including housing Government 

6 astronauts and conducting scientific experiments. 

7 (2) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than December 

8 31, 2018, NASA shall establish a Commercial Habi9 tat Pilot Program to demonstrate the viability of 

10 using commercially built on-orbit habitats that meet 

11 the requirements published pursuant to paragraph 

12 (1). Under the Pilot Program, NASA shall enter 

13 into not less than 1 competitively bid agreement 

14 with a private sector entity to demonstrate the via15 bility and capabilities of crewed commercial low 

16 Earth orbit platforms. Any such an agreement shall 

17 include a commitment by the commercial partner to 

18 fund the development and construction of the private 

19 sector low-Earth orbit platform. If the private sector 

20 entity is successful in funding the fabrication of such 

21 a platform, the agreement with NASA shall— 

22 (A) provide for the launch of the platform 

23 via the addition of a launch to the Commercial 

24 Resupply Services program; and 


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1 (B) include a contingent contract for 

2 NASA to utilize no less than 50 percent of the 

3 volume of the low-Earth orbit platform for an 

4 initial 3-year term. 

5 (d) COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR RESUPPLY

6 AND CREW OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AND

7 FUTURE LOW-EARTH ORBIT PLATFORMS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—NASA shall continue to uti9 lize partnerships with commercial entities for resup10 ply and crew movement for as long as the United 

11 States maintains a human presence in low-Earth 

12 orbit. 

13 (2) FUNDING.—It is the sense of Congress that 

14 NASA should request budget levels, and Congress 

15 should continue to appropriate funds and carry out 

16 stringent oversight, necessary to keep the Commer17 cial Crew and Commercial Resupply programs on 

18 track and on budget. 

19 (e) PRIORITY FOR UNITED STATES ENGINES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—For any mission for which 

21 NASA solicits bids for launch providers beginning 

22 after December 31, 2022, NASA shall consider any 

23 such bid that proposes to use an engine built in the 

24 United States as 25 percent less than the total cost 

25 of the bid. 


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1 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub2 section, the term ‘‘engine built in the United States’’ 

3 means an engine which meets the requirements of 

4 the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.). 

5 (f) INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.—Nothing in 

6 this section shall be construed to limit NASA’s ability to 

7 enter into and utilize international partnerships for space 

8 exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. 

9 (g) SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS.—NASA shall, when 

10 practicable and not restricted by law, continue to enter 

11 into and utilize Space Act Agreements or other mecha12 nisms for partnering with the commercial space sector. 

13 SEC. 205. SPACE DEBRIS REMEDIATION. 

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

16 (1) the growing population of orbital space de17 bris poses a significant threat to the safety and cost18 effectiveness of future civil, commercial, and national 

19 security space activities in critical regions of Earth 

20 orbit; 

21 (2) scientific research conducted by NASA and 

22 other international space agencies concludes that the 

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1 mediate at least some of the existing orbital space 

2 debris; and 

3 (3) the United States Government does not cur4 rently have a coherent plan for developing the capa5 bilities for space debris remediation. 

6 (b) SPACE DEBRIS REMEDIATION.—Not later than 

7 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin8 istrator, working in collaboration with the Department of 

9 Defense, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis10 tration, and the Federal Aviation Administration, shall 

11 submit to Congress a report on the feasibility of remedi12 ating orbital space debris to reduce the collision risk for 

13 future space activities. The report shall address factors 

14 that include— 

15 (1) an assessment of the types of orbital space 

16 debris and orbital altitudes that are the highest pri17 ority for remediation; 

18 (2) a cost-benefit analysis of remediating the 

19 high priority space debris objects; 

20 (3) an assessment of the available technologies 

21 and policies to perform such remediation and any 

22 gaps that need to be addressed; 

23 (4) the feasibility of conducting a competitive 

24 bid process or prize competition to develop private 


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1 sector space debris remediation services that can be 

2 purchased by the United States Government; and 

3 (5) an assessment of Federal agency roles and 

4 responsibilities to provide oversight of remediation 

5 activities. 

6 SEC. 206. GAO REPORT ON INSURING NASA CLASS C AND 

7 CLASS D PAYLOADS AND CARGO. 

8 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 

10 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

13 on the feasibility of NASA insuring its Class C and Class 

14 D payloads and cargo, including— 

15 (1) the feasibility of insuring such payloads for 

16 a period of time that begins at the time of ignition 

17 and ends— 

18 (A) at the time when the payload is de19 ployed into its intended orbit; or 

20 (B) 1 year after the date on which the 

21 payload is deployed into its intended orbit; 

22 (2) any risk such insurance will place on United 

23 States taxpayers; 

24 (3) any effect of such insurance on launch 

25 prices; and 


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1 (4) the feasibility of requiring launch providers 

2 to include in launch bids the cost of providing first 

3 party insurance of such payloads. 

4 TITLE III—COMMERCIAL 

5 SEC. 301. OFFICE OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPOR6 TATION. 

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

8 (1) The commercial space industry is rapidly 

9 expanding and holds enormous potential for innova10 tion and economic growth for the United States. 

11 (2) The Office of Commercial Space Transpor12 tation of the Federal Aviation Administration plays 

13 a critical role in facilitating commercial space activi14 ties, and inadequate funding could hinder the indus15 try. 

16 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 50921 of title 51, 

17 United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) through (5) and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) $43,200,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

21 ‘‘(2) $55,500,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

22 ‘‘(3) $66,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

23 ‘‘(4) $80,500,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

24 ‘‘(5) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2021.’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

2 There are’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(b) The Assistant Secretary for Commercial Space 

5 Transportation shall serve as the Associate Administrator 

6 for Commercial Space Transportation.’’. 

7 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR

8 COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION.—Section 102(e) 

9 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘6’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘7’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting ‘‘an As13 sistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transpor14 tation,’’ after ‘‘an Assistant Secretary for Research 

15 and Technology,’’. 

16 (d) WORKLOAD METRIC.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assist19 ant Secretary for Commercial Space Transportation 

20 shall develop a metric for the workload of the Office. 

21 (2) CONTENTS OF METRIC.—In developing the 

22 metric required under paragraph (1), the Assistant 

23 Secretary shall take into consideration the conclu24 sions and recommendations contained in the report 

25 by the Government Accountability Office entitled 


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1 ‘‘Federal Aviation Administration: Commercial 

2 Space Launch Industry Developments Present Mul3 tiple Challenges’’ published in August 2015. 

4 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 50923 of 

5 title 51, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) uses the workload metric developed under 

12 section 301(c) of the American Space Renaissance 

13 Act.’’. 

14 (e) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) Not later than 1 year after the date of en16 actment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall 

17 issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to— 

18 (A) update the regulations that are under 

19 the authority of the Office contained in part 

20 400 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 

21 prioritizing the regulations in subchapter C of 

22 such part, to move to a performance-based ap23 proach to regulating the United States commer24 cial space industry; and 


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1 (B) carry out this Act and the amend2 ments made by this Act. 

3 (2) Not later than 3 years after the Secretary 

4 issues the regulations under paragraph (1), and 

5 every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall review 

6 all regulations under the authority of the Office and 

7 update such regulations as necessary. 

8 SEC. 302. OFFICE OF SPACEPORTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 509 of title 51, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in section 50902, by adding at the end the 

12 following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(26) ‘spaceport’ means any facility directly re14 lated to enabling spacecraft to launch or reentry, but 

15 only if such facility is located at, or in close prox16 imity to, a launch site or reentry site that is a 

17 launch site operator licensed by the Federal Aviation 

18 Administration.’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘§ 50924. Office of Spaceports 

21 ‘‘(a) FINDING.—Congress finds that a robust net22 work of space transportation infrastructure, including 

23 commercial spaceports, is vital to the growth of the domes24 tic commercial space industry. 

25 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish, within the Office of Commercial Space Trans3 portation, an Office of Spaceports to support, pro4 mote, enable, establish, and oversee domestic com5 mercial spaceports. 

6 ‘‘(2) RECOGNITION.—In carrying out paragraph 

7 (1), the Secretary shall recognize the unique needs 

8 and distinctions of spaceports that launch to orbit 

9 and those that are involved in suborbital launch ac10 tivities. 

11 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR.—The Assistant Secretary for Com12 mercial Space Transportation shall designate a Director 

13 of the Office of Spaceports.’’. 

14 (b) SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

15 MATCHING GRANTS.— 

16 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 51101 of title 51, 

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(7) ‘Secretary of Transportation’ and ‘Sec20 retary’ (as used in reference to the Secretary of 

21 Transportation) mean the Secretary of Transpor22 tation, acting through the Director of the Office of 

23 Spaceports.’’. 


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1 (2) FUNDING.—Section 51102 of title 51, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available to 

5 the Secretary under section 48103 of title 49, one-half of 

6 1 percent shall be set aside for project grants under this 

7 chapter.’’. 

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) The analysis for chapter 509 of title 51, 

10 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

‘‘50924. Office of Spaceports.’’. 

12 (d) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

13 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall conduct a study regarding space15 port activities carried out pursuant to chapter 509 

16 of title 51, United States Code, including— 

17 (A) funding options such as establishing a 

18 common user fee for launch providers or launch 

19 customers; 

20 (B) the adaptation of compliance require21 ments of the Airport Improvement Program for 

22 the unique operation of spaceports; and 

23 (C) any necessary changes to improve the 

24 spaceport application review process. 


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1 (2) USER-FUNDED SPACEPORTS.—In reviewing 

2 funding options described under paragraph (1)(A), 

3 the Comptroller General shall distinguish between 

4 spaceports that are user-funded and those that are 

5 not. 

6 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen8 eral shall submit to Congress a report containing the 

9 study required under paragraph (1). 

10 (e) DOT REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta12 tion with the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of 

13 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

14 and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

15 Space Administration, shall submit to Congress a report 

16 that— 

17 (1) describes the demand for launches and ways 

18 to improve and enhance space infrastructure; 

19 (2) analyzes whether additional domestic space20 ports, particularly spaceports capable of launch to 

21 polar orbits, are necessary to satisfy some of the de22 mand; and 

23 (3) outlines any potential locations for such 

24 spaceports. 


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1 (f) SPACEPORT DEVELOPMENT.—If the report under 

2 subsection (d) contains a recommendation of a potential 

3 location for a spaceport, the Assistant Secretary for Com4 mercial Space Transportation may collaborate with the ap5 plicable State government, local government, or private in6 dustry representing the area identified to facilitate the es7 tablishment and licensing of a spaceport. 

8 SEC. 303. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF OBJECTS IN EARTH 

9 ORBIT. 

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

11 (1) Earth’s orbit contains spacecraft and debris 

12 that poses a great danger to other objects on orbit. 

13 (2) The threat of collisions and increased space 

14 debris will only increase as barriers to access to 

15 space become lower, and the number and types of 

16 governmental, international, and commercial space 

17 actors continue to grow. 

18 (3) High-fidelity situational awareness of actors 

19 and objects in orbit is necessary to protect access to 

20 space and prevent catastrophic collisions. 

21 (4) There are a growing number of commercial, 

22 academic, and international sources of space situa23 tion awareness data and analytical techniques that 

24 can significantly enhance the safety and efficiency of 

25 on-orbit activities. 


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1 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 51.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 509 of title 51, 

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 50925. Information and services for situation 

6 awareness of objects in Earth orbit 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor8 tation— 

9 ‘‘(1) may— 

10 ‘‘(A) obtain data and information from an 

11 entity for situational awareness of an object in 

12 Earth orbit and the state of the space environ13 ment; and 

14 ‘‘(B) provide information and services for 

15 situational awareness of an object in Earth 

16 orbit and the state of the space environment to 

17 an entity if the Secretary determines that pro18 viding such information or services contributes 

19 to the public health and safety, the safety of 

20 property, or the safety of persons in outer space 

21 and is consistent with the national security and 

22 foreign policy interests of the United States; 

23 and 

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1 sists of commercial, academic, international, and 

2 government space situational awareness data and 

3 analysis experts to advise the Secretary on all mat4 ters related to obtaining, and disseminating to stake5 holders, data and information regarding objects in 

6 Earth orbit and the state of the space environment, 

7 in order to ensure the protection of sensitive na8 tional security information and intellectual property 

9 while maximizing the accuracy of data and informa10 tion to improve safety, efficiency, and innovation. 

11 ‘‘(b) ENTITIES.—The Secretary may provide infor12 mation and services under subsection (a) to, and may ob13 tain data and information under subsection (a) from, any 

14 entity, including any of the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) A State. 

16 ‘‘(2) A political subdivision of a State. 

17 ‘‘(3) Any other entity of the United States Gov18 ernment. 

19 ‘‘(4) The government of a foreign country. 

20 ‘‘(5) A private or quasi-governmental entity or21 ganized under the laws of the United States or a 

22 foreign country. 

23 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may not provide 

24 information or services under subsection (a) to an entity, 

25 other than the United States Government or an agency 


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1 or instrumentality thereof, unless the entity enters into an 

2 agreement with the Secretary under which the entity— 

3 ‘‘(1) agrees not to transfer any data or tech4 nical information received under the agreement, in5 cluding the analysis of data, to any other entity 

6 without the express approval of the Secretary; and 

7 ‘‘(2) agrees to any other terms and conditions 

8 considered necessary by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, in con10 sultation with the Space Awareness Advisory Committee, 

11 establish procedures to carry out this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) CONTRACTOR.—The Secretary shall, to the ex13 tent practicable, provide information or services under this 

14 section through a contractor. 

15 ‘‘(f) IMMUNITY.—The United States, any agencies 

16 and instrumentalities thereof, and any individuals, firms, 

17 corporations, and other persons acting for the United 

18 States, shall be immune from any suit in any court for 

19 any cause of action arising from the provision or receipt 

20 of space situational awareness information or services, 

21 whether or not provided in accordance with this section, 

22 or any related action or omission. 

23 ‘‘(g) NONDISCLOSURE.—Any information received 

24 under subsection (a), records of agreements entered into 

25 under subsection (c), or analyses or data provided as a 


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1 part of the provision of services or information under this 

2 section shall be exempt from disclosure under section 

3 552(b)(3) of title 5. 

4 ‘‘(h) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

6 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec7 retary of Transportation, in coordination with the 

8 Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the 

9 Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the 

10 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 

11 Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of 

12 such other Government departments and agencies as 

13 the Secretary considers appropriate, shall develop an 

14 implementation plan to establish the capability to 

15 provide information and services under subsection 

16 (a). 

17 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

18 the implementation plan to the following congres19 sional committees: 

20 ‘‘(A) The Select Committee on Intelligence 

21 of the Senate. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Permanent Select Committee on 

23 Intelligence of the House of Representatives. 

24 ‘‘(C) The Committee on Armed Services of 

25 the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The Committee on Armed Services of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 ‘‘(E) The Committee on Commerce, 

4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

5 ‘‘(F) The Committee on Transportation 

6 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa7 tives. 

8 ‘‘(G) The Committee on Science, Space, 

9 and Technology of the House of Representa10 tives. 

11 ‘‘(3) EXECUTION.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the submission of the implementation plans under 

13 paragraph (2), the Secretary of Transportation, in 

14 coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Sec15 retary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, the Ad16 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

17 Administration, the Director of National Intel18 ligence, and the heads of such other Government de19 partments and agencies as the Secretary considers 

20 appropriate, shall initiate the implementation plan, 

21 including the testing of the capabilities necessary to 

22 carry out the objectives in subsection (a)(1).’’. 

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (A) The analysis for chapter 509 of title 

2 51, United States Code, is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following: 

‘‘50925. Information and services for situation awareness of objects in Earth 

orbit.’’. 

4 (B) Section 50917(a) of such title is 

5 amended by inserting ‘‘or of an agreement de6 scribed in section 50924(c)’’ before the period 

7 at the end. 

8 SEC. 304. SPACE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 509 of title 51, United 

10 States Code, is further amended— 

11 (1) in section 50902, by adding at the end the 

12 following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(27) ‘space traffic management’ means a set 

14 of technical and regulatory provisions and processes 

15 used to oversee, coordinate, regulate, and promote 

16 safe and responsible space activities.’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sec18 tion: 

19 ‘‘§ 50926. Space traffic management 

20 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—Not later than September, 30, 

21 2020, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination 

22 with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the 

23 Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the National 

24 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of 


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1 National Intelligence, and the heads of such other Govern2 ment departments and agencies as the Secretary considers 

3 appropriate, shall designate a lead Government agency for 

4 space traffic management activities and services except for 

5 activities and services related to national security assets. 

6 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out space traffic man7 agement activities and services, the lead agency designated 

8 under subsection (a)— 

9 ‘‘(1) shall use the information and services for 

10 situational awareness of objects in Earth orbit col11 lected under section 50925; and 

12 ‘‘(2) may take such actions as are necessary to 

13 minimize the collision of objects in Earth orbit that 

14 could jeopardize the safety of individuals in space, 

15 degrade or destroy functional satellites, or lead to 

16 the creation of significant amounts of orbital debris. 

17 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—Not later than September 30, 

18 2020, the lead agency designated under subsection (a) 

19 shall, by performance-based regulation, establish proce20 dures to prevent the collision of objects on orbit. Such pro21 cedures shall clearly define the rationales for actions taken 

22 by the lead agency under subsection (b) and the specific 

23 steps the lead agency will follow to reach any decisions. 

24 Such rationales and steps shall be clearly communicated 


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1 to all affected actors. In developing such procedures, the 

2 head of the lead agency shall consider: 

3 ‘‘(1) Compelling the movement of space objects. 

4 ‘‘(2) Commenting on orbital regimes for non5 governmental space objects during the launch or 

6 mission licensing process. 

7 ‘‘(3) Requiring the placement of tracking de8 vices on all objects launched into space. 

9 ‘‘(4) Restricting unmaneuverable satellites from 

10 specific, highly congested orbital regions.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

12 chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code, is further 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘50926. Space traffic management.’’. 

14 (c) REPORT ON ADJUDICATION PROCESSES.—Not 

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

16 the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with rel17 evant departments and agencies, shall submit to Congress 

18 a report on adjudication processes for actors affected by 

19 section 50926 of title 51, United States Code (as added 

20 by subsection (a)). Such report shall contain statutory and 

21 regulatory recommendations. 

22 (d) PROHIBITION ON DELEGATION OF AUTHOR23 ITY.—No space traffic management activities described 

24 under section 50926 of title 51, United States Code (as 

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1 eral Aviation Administration Office of Air Traffic Organi2 zation nor by any other entity with responsibility for air 

3 traffic control. 

4 (e) INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND AUTHORI5 TIES.—Upon the issuance of the regulations containing 

6 the procedures required under section 50925(c) of title 51, 

7 United States Code, the Secretary of State shall seek to 

8 enter into bi- and multi-lateral agreements with other 

9 spacefaring nations based upon such regulations in order 

10 to normalize standards and authorities amongst 

11 spacefaring nations. 

12 (f) MEETING OF NATIONS.— 

13 (1) MEETING OF NATIONS.—The Secretary of 

14 State shall seek to convene a meeting of nations to 

15 develop a unified international space traffic manage16 ment regime based on the norms of behavior set by 

17 Federal law, regulation, and any bi- or multi-lateral 

18 agreement in place. 

19 (2) COORDINATION.—In developing the regime 

20 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall— 

21 (A) work in coordination with the Sec22 retary of Defense, the Secretary of Transpor23 tation, the Secretary of Commerce, the Admin24 istrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

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1 ligence, and the heads of such other Govern2 ment departments and agencies as the Sec3 retary determines appropriate; and 

4 (B) when practicable, use existing multilat5 eral mechanisms such as the United Nations 

6 Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer 

7 Space. 

8 SEC. 305. SPACE-BASED DATA. 

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

10 (1) The pace of development of new commercial 

11 space technologies and markets creates a beneficial 

12 opportunity for improving all space programs spon13 sored by the United States Government. 

14 (2) Industry is developing smaller, more afford15 able satellites which can be deployed in distributed 

16 constellations and enables cheaper launch services. 

17 (3) These investments from the private sector 

18 can address critical Government needs in space. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that all appropriate Federal agencies should explore 

21 how to take immediate advantage of the continued growth 

22 of space technologies, data, products, infrastructure, and 

23 services made available for commercial, market driven 

24 purposes, and should further establish programs to en25 courage the emergence of new commercial capabilities. 


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1 (c) TREATMENT OF COMMERCIAL SPACE-BASED

2 WEATHER DATA.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act, and consistent with United 

4 States law and the National Space Policy issued June 28, 

5 2010, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At6 mospheric Administration shall promulgate specific rules 

7 regarding the Administration’s treatment of weather data 

8 acquired from commercial space-based systems with re9 spect to Resolution 40 of the World Meteorological Orga10 nization. Such rules shall— 

11 (1) ensure that the National Oceanic and At12 mospheric Administration does not release more 

13 than the minimum amount of data required under 

14 the Resolution; and 

15 (2) consider data release time delays, data tiers, 

16 and Resolution restrictions. 

17 (d) REPORT ON EARTH SCIENCE MISSIONS.—Not 

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

19 Act, the Administrator of NASA, in consultation with the 

20 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to 

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

22 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

24 that includes— 


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1 (1) an evaluation of how emerging capabilities 

2 in industry can provide new or alternative architec3 tures for Federal Earth science missions that rou4 tinely collect data about atmospheric, oceanic, or ter5 restrial phenomena; 

6 (2) an evaluation of how emerging capabilities 

7 in industry can provide new in-space platforms and 

8 services for affordable in-space technology dem9 onstration, new sensor and instrument development, 

10 and other applications; and 

11 (3) a strategy for implementing new Federal 

12 programs that leverage such commercial capabilities, 

13 products, and services more rapidly and efficiently. 

14 SEC. 306. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SPACE-RELATED 

15 ACTIVITIES. 

16 (a) REPORT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Commerce shall provide to Congress a re20 port on feasibility and benefits of reorganizing por21 tions of the Department to better coordinate and 

22 support its space-related economic and regulatory 

23 activities. 

24 (2) OBJECTIVES.—Objectives of such reorga25 nization include— 


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1 (A) stronger Department of Commerce 

2 leadership in interagency functions where space 

3 commerce activities are either regulated or re4 viewed; and 

5 (B) bringing the benefits of space-based 

6 economic activities more directly to the atten7 tion of the Secretary. 

8 (3) OFFICES.—Offices to be considered for this 

9 reorganization are the Office of Commercial Remote 

10 Sensing Regulatory Affairs, the Office of Space 

11 Commerce, those portions of the International Trade 

12 Administration Bureau of Industry and Security 

13 that may have unique space-related functions, and 

14 other offices that the Secretary determines to be ap15 propriate. 

16 (b) PRIOR COMMENT.—Prior to the submission of the 

17 report to Congress, the Secretary shall allow for the Advi18 sory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing to com19 ment on the draft report. Such comments shall be trans20 mitted to Congress along with the report. 

21 SEC. 307. COMMERCIAL REMOTE SENSING LICENSING RE22 FORM. 

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

24 of Congress: 


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1 (1) The process for licensing commercial remote 

2 sensing under section 60121 of title 51, United 

3 States Code, should be reformed to allow license ap4 plicants to understand the legitimate and identifiable 

5 technical, national security, or foreign policy issues 

6 being considered and which specific department or 

7 agency is considering them, in an established, re8 sponsive timeline. 

9 (2) In order to protect United States leadership 

10 and commercial viability in remote sensing tech11 nologies, the Federal Government should not limit 

12 commercial entities from providing remote sensing 

13 capabilities or data products that are already offered 

14 or available in the international marketplace. 

15 (3) Before the Director of Commercial Remote 

16 Sensing Regulatory Affairs denies a license applica17 tion for, or places any restrictions on, a remote sens18 ing license, the Director should take into account 

19 mitigation procedures that are in place under law, 

20 regulation, or contract to protect national security. 

21 (b) DEADLINES FOR LICENSE APPLICATIONS AND

22 REVIEWS.—Section 60121(c) of title 51, United States 

23 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(c) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON APPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

2 and (3), the Secretary shall review any license appli3 cation and make a determination thereon within 60 

4 days of the receipt of such license application. 

5 ‘‘(2) FIRST EXTENDED REVIEW PERIOD.—If 

6 the Secretary determines that additional time is nec7 essary, the Secretary may extend the 60-day review 

8 period for a license application by not more than 30 

9 days. 

10 ‘‘(3) SECOND EXTENDED REVIEW PERIOD.— 

11 The Secretary may extend the extended review pe12 riod for a license application provided in paragraph 

13 (2) by not more than an additional 30 days only if 

14 the Secretary of Defense or the Director of National 

15 Intelligence determines that such an extension is 

16 necessary due to national security concerns. The 

17 Secretary may not extend the extended review period 

18 an additional 30 days if the decision for extension is 

19 not made within 3 days of the expiration of the re20 view period described in paragraph (2).’’. 

21 (c) RATIONALE FOR DENIAL.—Section 60121 of title 

22 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(f) RATIONALE FOR DENIAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DENIAL PAPERWORK.—In any case in 

2 which the Secretary denies a license under this sub3 chapter, the Secretary shall provide the applicant 

4 with a copy of the denial within 30 days of the de5 nial, which shall identify any other Federal entity 

6 with which the Secretary consulted in making the 

7 decision. Subject to paragraph (2), the copy of the 

8 denial shall include a clearly articulated rationale for 

9 the denial. 

10 ‘‘(2) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—If the ration11 ale for a denial described in paragraph (1) includes 

12 classified information, the Secretary shall provide to 

13 the applicant all such information for which the li14 cense applicant has the required security clearance. 

15 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

16 than 30 days after a license is denied under this 

17 subchapter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

18 a copy of the denial and the clearly articulated ra19 tionale for the denial, including all classified infor20 mation.’’. 

21 (d) RETROACTIVE LICENSING RESTRICTIONS.—Com22 mercial remote sensing licensing restrictions shall only be 

23 changed retroactively for national security issues certified 

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1 pensated for lost revenue from contracts signed based on 

2 services approved under the original license. 

3 (e) LIST OF APPROVED COUNTRIES FOR DIRECT

4 DOWNLINK.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

6 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and 

7 the Director of National Intelligence, shall keep a 

8 list of nations with respect to which United States 

9 commercial entities may receive expedited licensing 

10 action approval to directly downlink raw remote 

11 sensing data within resolution and license terms. 

12 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—When determining the 

13 list described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

14 consider nations where a valid export license can be 

15 obtained for space-related technology. 

16 (3) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review the 

17 list described in paragraph (1) once every 2 years 

18 and update as necessary. 

19 (f) REGULATIONS.— 

20 (1) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—Not 

21 later than 3 months after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall issue a 

23 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise regulations 

24 contained in part 960 of title 15, Code of Federal 

25 Regulations, in order to create different categories of 


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1 remote sensing licenses, taking into consideration 

2 the national security concerns of the United States 

3 as well as— 

4 (A) the type of entity applying for a li5 cense, such as an academic institution or com6 mercial entity; 

7 (B) the intended purpose of the license, 

8 such as conducting research or developing oper9 ational constellations; and 

10 (C) whether the license is intended to be 

11 used for a one-time payload. 

12 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later 

13 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 the Secretary shall revise the regulations described 

15 in paragraph (1) pursuant to such paragraph. 

16 SEC. 308. WEATHER. 

17 (a) COMMERCIAL SPACE-BASED DATA BUYS.—Be18 ginning in fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

19 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration shall include in its annual budget 

21 request a line item for commercial space-based data buys. 

22 (b) COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS TO PROGRAMS OF

23 RECORD.—When practicable, the National Oceanic and 

24 Atmospheric Administration shall incorporate commercial 

25 solutions, including purchases of commercial data streams, 


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1 to update, augment, or serve as a follow-on to its existing 

2 programs of record, and shall seek to avoid starting new 

3 programs of record unless such commercial solutions have 

4 been exhausted. Before commencing the development of 

5 any program, the Administrator shall certify to Congress 

6 that no commercial capability or service, with or without 

7 reasonable modifications, can meet the requirements for 

8 which such program is being developed. 

9 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—For the purposes of commer10 cial space-based data buys to meet mission requirements 

11 of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Infor12 mation Service, there are authorized to be appropriated— 

13 (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

14 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

15 (3) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

16 (4) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

17 (5) $130,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

18 SEC. 309. AMERICAN SPACE COMPETITIVENESS. 

19 (a) ENHANCED PAYLOAD REVIEW AND DETERMINA20 TION.— 

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

22 Congress that section 50904 of title 51, United 

23 States Code, provides the Secretary of Transpor24 tation with the authorities necessary to meet the ob25 ligations of the United States under the Treaty on 


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1 Principles Governing the Activities of States in the 

2 Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the 

3 Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, done at Wash4 ington, London, and Moscow on January 27, 1967, 

5 commonly known as the Outer Space Treaty of 

6 1967. 

7 (2) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 

8 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Assistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transpor10 tation shall issue such regulations as are necessary 

11 to provide for an enhanced review and determination 

12 process for payloads and associated activities after 

13 deployment pursuant to a license issued under chap14 ter 509 of title 51, United States Code. Such proc15 ess shall provide for the following: 

16 (A) The Assistant Secretary for Commer17 cial Space Transportation shall act as the final 

18 issuer of a launch or reentry license. 

19 (B) Review and determination by the As20 sistant Secretary, with enhanced appropriate 

21 coordination with and participation by the De22 partment of State, the Department of Defense, 

23 the Department of Commerce, NASA, the Of24 fice of the Director of National Intelligence, 


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1 and other Federal agencies, consistent with ap2 plicable law. 

3 (C) Evaluation of disclosures from a pay4 load owner or operator sufficient to determine 

5 if review and determination is necessary for a 

6 specific payload or payload class, and if review 

7 and determination is found necessary— 

8 (i) approval or denial of the planned 

9 activities associated with the deployed pay10 load within 60 days after submission by 

11 the payload owner or operator, with ap12 proval deemed if the Assistant Secretary 

13 does not reach a decision before the end of 

14 such period; 

15 (ii) establishment of specific condi16 tions, if necessary, that ensure the deploy17 ment of the payload and associated activi18 ties— 

19 (I) are consistent with the inter20 national treaty obligations of the 

21 United States; 

22 (II) do not harm the national se23 curity interests of the United States; 

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1 ating payloads and associated activi2 ties; and 

3 (IV) do not harm historic arti4 facts; 

5 (iii) provision to the payload owner or 

6 operator of a clearly articulated rationale, 

7 in any case in which the Assistant Sec8 retary for Commercial Space Transpor9 tation denies or intends to deny a launch 

10 or reentry license application due to the 

11 nature of the deployed payload and associ12 ated activities, that— 

13 (I) shall not prejudice the Assist14 ant Secretary in a subsequent review 

15 of the submission with remedies ad16 dressing the rationale; and 

17 (II) allows the applicant to access 

18 all relevant classified information for 

19 which the applicant or its assignees 

20 have the required security clearance; 

21 (iv) a requirement that the payload 

22 owner or operator— 

23 (I) inform the Assistant Sec24 retary of any material changes to the 


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1 payload or any associated activities 

2 prior to launch; and 

3 (II) report to the Assistant Sec4 retary any material anomalies or de5 partures from the submitted plan dur6 ing the course of operations; and 

7 (v) penalties for noncompliance with 

8 any conditions set forth in a license issued 

9 for the deployment of the payload and as10 sociated activities, which may include— 

11 (I) a maximum civil penalty of 

12 $1,000,000, that shall be adjudicated 

13 in district courts of the United States; 

14 and 

15 (II) the forfeiture of any current, 

16 or denial of future, launch or reentry 

17 licenses by or involving the payload 

18 owner or operator. 

19 (3) EXEMPTIONS.—The following payloads, or 

20 classes of payload, and associated activities are ex21 empt from any regulations issued pursuant to this 

22 subsection: 

23 (A) An activity subject to regulation by the 

24 Federal Communications Commission under the 

25 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 


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1 seq.) or by the Secretary of Commerce under 

2 chapter 601 of title 51, United States Code. 

3 (B) A mission conducted for or with 1 or 

4 more Federal agencies, and determined to be 

5 subject to sufficient supervision by the en6 hanced interagency review process established 

7 under paragraph (2)(B). 

8 (b) EXEMPTION.—Chapter 509 of title 51, United 

9 States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec11 tion: 

12 ‘‘§ 50924. Exemption from non-space transportation 

13 vehicle regulations 

14 ‘‘No vehicle design or mission holding a permit or li15 cense under this chapter for purposes of space transpor16 tation shall be subject to any regulations promulgated by 

17 the Federal Aviation Administration for purposes of regu18 lating non-space transportation vehicles.’’; and 

19 (2) in the analysis for such chapter, by adding 

20 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘50924. Exemption from non-space transportation vehicle regulations.’’. 

21 (c) PRIZE ACCOUNT.—Chapter 505 of title 51, 

22 United States Code, is amended— 

23 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec24 tion: 


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1 ‘‘§ 50507. Prize for commercial space activities 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary for 

3 Commercial Space Transportation shall establish a prize 

4 for certain space-related activities carried out by a United 

5 States-owned commercial entity for activities under a li6 cense to operate space transportation under chapter 509 

7 of this title. 

8 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The activities for which 

9 an entity is eligible to receive a prize under this subsection 

10 shall include the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Operation of space stations beyond low12 Earth orbit housing space flight participants or sci13 entific experiments. 

14 ‘‘(2) Lunar missions. 

15 ‘‘(3) Asteroid missions. 

16 ‘‘(4) Mars missions. 

17 ‘‘(5) Debris clean up and salvage. 

18 ‘‘(6) Point-to-point missions on Earth. 

19 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

20 promulgate the requirements for qualification for a prize 

21 under this subsection, and the amount of such prize in 

22 relation to the activity accomplished.’’; and 

23 (2) in the analysis for such chapter, by adding 

24 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘50507. Prize for commercial space activities.’’. 


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1 (d) LIABILITY INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL RESPON2 SIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 50914 of title 51, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

5 (A) the matter preceding subparagraph 

6 (A) by inserting ‘‘and property’’ after ‘‘obtain 

7 liability’’; and 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘, State, or municipal 

10 government’’ after ‘‘United States Govern11 ment’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘Government prop13 erty’’ and inserting ‘‘United States Gov14 ernment, State, or municipal property, as 

15 applicable,’’; and 

16 (2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(e) LAUNCHES OR REENTRIES INVOLVING GOVERN19 MENT FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of 

20 Transportation shall establish requirements consistent 

21 with this chapter for proof of financial responsibility and 

22 other assurances necessary to protect Federal, State, and 

23 municipal governments and their executive agencies and 

24 personnel from liability, death, bodily injury, or property 

25 damage or loss as a result of a launch site or reentry site 


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1 or a reentry involving a facility or personnel of a Federal, 

2 State, or municipal government. The Secretary may not 

3 relieve a Federal, State, or municipal government of liabil4 ity under this subsection for death, bodily injury, or prop5 erty damage or loss resulting from the willful misconduct 

6 of the Federal, State, or municipal government or its 

7 agents.’’. 

8 (e) CREDIT FOR PAYLOADS LAUNCHED BY DOMES9 TIC LAUNCH PROVIDERS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of 

11 subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 

12 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 45S. SPACE PAYLOADS LAUNCHED BY DOMESTIC 

15 LAUNCH PROVIDERS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

17 space payload credit determined under this section for the 

18 taxable year is an amount equal to 10 percent of the sum 

19 of the insured value of all payloads of the taxpayer 

20 launched by a domestic launch provider, or on a launch 

21 vehicle that meets the requirements of the Buy American 

22 Act (41 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), during the taxable year. 

23 ‘‘(b) DOMESTIC LAUNCH PROVIDER.—The term ‘do24 mestic launch provider’ means a domestic C corporation 

25 or partnership in the trade or business of providing launch 


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1 services for space transportation pursuant to a license or 

2 permit under chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code, 

3 to conduct launch activities. 

4 ‘‘(c) LAUNCH.—A space flight vehicle shall be treated 

5 as launched if the ignition of a main engine occurs on a 

6 launch pad, a spaceport runway, or when released from 

7 an airborne platform.’’. 

8 (2) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

9 CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of such Code 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para11 graph (35), by striking the period at the end of 

12 paragraph (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by add13 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(37) the space payload credit determined 

15 under section 45S(a).’’. 

16 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec17 tions for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of 

18 chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45S. Space payloads launched by domestic launch providers.’’. 

20 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

21 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin22 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (f) STUDY ON LIFTING CERTAIN LAUNCH RESTRIC24 TIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to any decision by the 

2 United States Trade Representative to lift a restric3 tion on a commercial company utilizing an Indian 

4 launch vehicle, the United States Trade Representa5 tive shall— 

6 (A) notify the Comptroller General of the 

7 United States of the intent to lift such restric8 tion; and 

9 (B) allow for a public 30-day comment pe10 riod, beginning not earlier than the date of the 

11 submission of the study under paragraph (2), 

12 on the proposed decision and the results of such 

13 study. 

14 (2) STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after re15 ceiving a notification under paragraph (1), the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub17 mit to Congress and the United States Trade Rep18 resentative a study on the ramifications of lifting 

19 such restriction on the domestic launch industry. 

20 (g) LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Com22 merce shall establish a program to make loan guar23 antees to eligible entities to carry out eligible activi24 ties. 


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1 (2) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the pro2 gram established under paragraph (1) are— 

3 (A) to promote the creation of jobs in the 

4 United States space sector, including in manu5 facturing, operations, and construction; and 

6 (B) to encourage startup companies. 

7 (3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 

10 the Administrator of the National Aeronautics 

11 and Space Administration, the Director of Na12 tional Intelligence, and the Secretary of De13 fense, shall develop a list of activities that may 

14 qualify for a loan guarantee under this sub15 section. 

16 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the 

17 list of activities under subparagraph (A), the 

18 Secretary shall consider the following: 

19 (i) Manufacturing— 

20 (I) satellites; 

21 (II) space transportation vehicles; 

22 and 

23 (III) habitats. 

24 (ii) Hardware necessary for operations 

25 of satellites and other space vehicles, such 


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1 as control centers and other ground sta2 tions. 

3 (iii) Construction of, upgrades to, and 

4 maintenance of infrastructure necessary to 

5 support the space industry. 

6 (iv) Technology research and develop7 ment activities determined by the Sec8 retary to have the potential to advance the 

9 state of space-related technology in the 

10 United States. 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—The term 

12 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

13 (A) a commercial entity that is domesti14 cally owned or a domestic subsidiary; or 

15 (B) an FAA-licensed spaceport. 

16 (5) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary 

17 shall ensure that any guarantee made pursuant to 

18 this subsection is made in accordance with the same 

19 or substantially similar terms and conditions as con20 tained in section 1702 of the Energy Policy Act of 

21 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16512). 

22 (h) ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM FOR COMMER23 CIAL SPACE LAUNCH ACTIVITIES.— 

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

25 Congress that— 


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1 (A) commercial space launch services have 

2 expanded over the past several years and are 

3 expected to continue growing, to the benefit of 

4 national security and civil space interests; and 

5 (B) commercial space launch services will 

6 require assured access to the appropriate elec7 tromagnetic spectrum for their launch-related 

8 mission requirements. 

9 (2) SPECTRUM ALLOCATION AND AUTHORIZA10 TIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica12 tions Commission and the Assistant Secretary of 

13 Commerce for Communications and Information, in 

14 order to streamline the process for obtaining any 

15 necessary authorization to use electromagnetic spec16 trum for commercial space launch activities and 

17 thereby ensure certainty of access to the spectrum 

18 required for a robust and active commercial space 

19 launch services sector, shall take such actions as are 

20 necessary to— 

21 (A) ensure that the process for obtaining 

22 such an authorization (including the application 

23 process and the process for coordination be24 tween the Commission and the Assistant Sec25 retary and coordination between commercial 


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1 space launch companies and other users of the 

2 spectrum) is standardized and clearly defined; 

3 (B) minimize the number and complexity 

4 of such authorizations required per launch mis5 sion, to the extent practicable; and 

6 (C) allocate electromagnetic spectrum for 

7 commercial space launch activities on a co-pri8 mary, interference-protected basis. 

9 SEC. 310. SPACE TRAINING AIRCRAFT. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor11 tation shall establish a program to allow commercial enti12 ties to operate space training flights using aircraft with 

13 valid airworthiness certificates, including those in an ex14 perimental category, issued by the Federal Aviation Ad15 ministration. 

16 (b) EXEMPTIONS.—A space training flight operating 

17 under the program shall not be subject to— 

18 (1) the aircraft certification requirements of 

19 part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; 

20 and 

21 (2) the prohibition on the operation of aircraft 

22 with experimental certificates carrying persons or 

23 property for compensation or hire under part 91 of 

24 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—A space training flight is eligible 

2 for the exemptions under subsection (b) if— 

3 (1) such flight originates and terminates at an 

4 FAA-licensed spaceport; 

5 (2) the commercial entity operating the space 

6 training flight provides written notification to all 

7 passengers describing the exemptions such flight 

8 qualifies for under this section; and 

9 (3) all passengers of the flight provide the com10 mercial entity with written consent. 

11 (d) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

12 section shall be construed to prohibit a commercial entity 

13 from operating a flight using an experimental aircraft if 

14 such operation is otherwise permitted by law. 

15 SEC. 311. WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT. 

16 Section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) STOCK OR OPTION-RELATED COMPENSATION

19 TRANSFERRED BY A STARTUP DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL

20 SPACE COMPANY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person described in 

22 paragraph (2) may elect to include in his gross in23 come for the taxable year in which such person sells 

24 or otherwise disposes of stock or options described in 


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1 paragraph (2) in an arm’s length transaction, the 

2 excess of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the fair market value of such prop4 erty at the time of such sale or disposition (de5 termined without regard to any restriction other 

6 than a restriction which by its terms will never 

7 lapse), over 

8 ‘‘(B) the amount (if any) paid for such 

9 property. 

10 If such election is made, subsection (a) shall not 

11 apply with respect to the transfer of such stock or 

12 option. 

13 ‘‘(2) PERSON DESCRIBED.—A person is de14 scribed in this paragraph if the person— 

15 ‘‘(A) performs services in connection with 

16 which stock or option-related compensation is 

17 transferred by a domestic commercial space 

18 company during any taxable year in which the 

19 company incurs start-up expenditures (whether 

20 or not claimed by such company), and 

21 ‘‘(B) does not own or is considered as not 

22 owning within the meaning of section 318— 

23 ‘‘(i) more than 1 percent of the out24 standing stock of the corporation or stock 

25 possessing more than 1 percent of the total 


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1 combined voting power of all stock of the 

2 corporation, or 

3 ‘‘(ii) if the employer is not a corpora4 tion, does not own more than 1 percent of 

5 the capital or profits interest in the em6 ployer. 

7 ‘‘(3) DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL SPACE COM8 PANY.—The term ‘domestic commercial space com9 pany’ means a company engaging in a line of busi10 ness unique to a space company, such as launch, 

11 satellite operations, software development, satellite 

12 manufacturing, spacecraft manufacturing, and space 

13 transportation vehicle manufacturing, with oper14 ations and employees based in the United States. 

15 ‘‘(4) START-UP EXPENDITURES.—The term 

16 ‘start-up expenditures’ has the meaning given such 

17 term by section 195.’’. 

Æ 


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