IB 

Union Calendar No. 333 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5781 

[Report No. 111–576] 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 20, 2010 

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. HALL of Texas, Ms. GIFFORDS, 

and Mr. OLSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science and Technology 

JULY 28, 2010 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 20, 2010] 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5781 RH

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, and for other purposes. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5781 RH

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 ‘‘Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza6 tion Act of 2010’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2011. 

Sec. 102. Fiscal year 2012. 

Sec. 103. Fiscal year 2013. 

TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 

Subtitle A—Exploration 

Sec. 201. Reaffirmation of exploration policy. 

Sec. 202. Restructured Exploration program. 

Sec. 203. Space radiation. 

Subtitle B—International Space Station 

Sec. 211. Extension of ISS operations. 

Sec. 212. ISS research management institution. 

Sec. 213. ISS research management plan. 

Sec. 214. Outreach plan for United States ISS research. 

Sec. 215. ISS cargo resupply requirements and contingency capacity through 

2020. 

Sec. 216. Centrifuge. 

Sec. 217. Exploration technology development using the ISS. 

Sec. 218. Fundamental space life science and physical sciences and related technology research. 

Subtitle C—Space Shuttle 

Sec. 221. Contingent authorization of additional space shuttle mission. 

Sec. 222. Expanded scope of Space Shuttle Transition Liaison Office. 

Sec. 223. Post-Shuttle workforce transition initiative grant program. 

Sec. 224. Disposition of orbiter vehicles. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5781 RH

Subtitle D—Space and Flight Support 

Sec. 231. 21st Century Space Launch Complex Initiative. 

Subtitle E—Commercial Crew Transportation 

Sec. 241. Affirmation of policy. 

Sec. 242. Commercial crew and related commercial space initiatives. 

Sec. 243. Federal assistance for the development of commercial orbital human 

space transportation services. 

Subtitle F—General Provisions 

Sec. 251. Use of program funds. 

TITLE III—SCIENCE 

Subtitle A—Earth Science 

Sec. 301. Earth science applications. 

Sec. 302. Essential space-based Earth science and climate measurements. 

Sec. 303. Commercial remote sensing data purchases pilot project. 

Sec. 304. Report on temperature records. 

Subtitle B—Space Science 

Sec. 311. Suborbital programs. 

Sec. 312. Review of Explorer program. 

Sec. 313. Radioisotope thermoelectric generator material requirements and supply. 

TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

Sec. 401. Environmentally friendly aircraft research and development initiative. 

Sec. 402. Research on NextGen airspace management concepts and tools. 

Sec. 403. Research on aircraft cabin air quality. 

Sec. 404. Research on on-board volcanic ash sensor systems. 

Sec. 405. Aeronautics test facilities. 

Sec. 406. Expanded research program on composite materials used in aerospace. 

TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 501. Space technology program. 

TITLE VI—EDUCATION AND OUTREACH 

Sec. 601. STEM education and training. 

Sec. 602. Assessment of impediments to space science and engineering workforce 

development for minority and underrepresented groups at 

NASA. 

Sec. 603. Independent review of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship 

Program. 

Sec. 604. Hands-on space science and engineering education and training. 

TITLE VII—INSTITUTIONAL CAPABILITIES REVITALIZATION 

Sec. 701. Institutional management. 

Sec. 702. James E. Webb Cooperative Education Distinguished Scholar Program. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5781 RH

TITLE VIII—ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 801. Prohibition on expenditure of funds when 30 percent threshold is exceeded. 

Sec. 802. Project and program reserves. 

Sec. 803. Independent reviews. 

Sec. 804. Avoiding organizational conflicts of interest in major NASA acquisition 

programs. 

Sec. 805. Report to Congress. 

TITLE IX—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 901. Cloud computing. 

Sec. 902. Review of practices to detect and prevent the use of counterfeit parts. 

Sec. 903. Preservation and management of lunar sites. 

Sec. 904. Continuity of moderate resolution land imaging remote sensing data. 

Sec. 905. Space weather. 

Sec. 906. Use of operational commercial suborbital vehicles for research, development, and education. 

Sec. 907. Study on export control matters related to United States astronaut safety and NASA mission operations. 

Sec. 908. Amendment to the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. 

Sec. 909. Near-Earth objects. 

Sec. 910. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 911. Ethics programs in the Office of General Counsel. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) NASA is and should remain a multimission 

4 agency with a balanced and robust set of core mis5 sions in science, aeronautics, and human space flight 

6 and exploration. 

7 (2) NASA’s programs have the potential to in8 spire our youth to pursue studies and careers in 

9 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 

10 and the agency should carry out its activities in a 

11 manner that enhances the educational and outreach 

12 potential of its programs. 

13 (3) NASA should begin to reinvest in sustained 

14 fashion in a long-term space technology research and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5781 RH

1 development activity. Such investments are an impor2 tant catalyst for innovation, and they represent the 

3 critically important ‘‘seed corn’’ on which NASA’s 

4 ability to carry out challenging and productive mis5 sions in the future will depend. 

6 (4) The Space Shuttle workforce, both civil serv7 ants and contractors, encompasses skills and experi8 ence that will be needed in the Nation’s future human 

9 space flight activities, and the transition of that 

10 workforce to a challenging human space flight and ex11 ploration program needs to be carried out in as expe12 ditious and nondisruptive a manner as possible. 

13 (5) Human and robotic exploration of the solar 

14 system will be a significant undertaking of humanity 

15 in the 21st century and beyond, and it is in the na16 tional interest that the United States should assume 

17 a leadership role in a cooperative international explo18 ration initiative. Continuity of exploration goals is 

19 critical if progress is to be maximized and costly inef20 ficiencies are to be minimized. 

21 (6) Commercial activities have long contributed 

22 to the vitality and strength of the Nation’s space and 

23 aeronautics programs, and the growth of a healthy, 

24 self-sustaining United States commercial space and 

25 aeronautics sector should continue to be encouraged. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (7) Congress agrees with the finding of the Re2 view of United States Human Spaceflight Plans Com3 mittee that: ‘‘While there are many potential benefits 

4 of commercial services that transport crew to low5 Earth orbit, there are simply too many risks at the 

6 present time not to have a viable fallback option for 

7 risk mitigation.’’. 

8 (8) It is in the national interest for the United 

9 States Government to develop a government system to 

10 serve as an independent means—whether primary or 

11 backup—of crewed access to low-Earth orbit and be12 yond so that it is not dependent on either non-United 

13 States or commercial systems for its crewed access to 

14 space. 

15 (9) Development of the next crewed space trans16 portation system to low-Earth orbit should be guided 

17 by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board’s rec18 ommendation that ‘‘the design of the system should 

19 give overriding priority to crew safety, rather than 

20 trade safety against other performance criteria, such 

21 as low cost and reusability’’. 

22 (10) In an environment of constrained budgets, 

23 responsible stewardship of taxpayer-provided re24 sources makes it imperative that NASA’s exploration 

25 program be carried out in a manner that builds on 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5781 RH

1 the investments made to date in the Orion, Ares I, 

2 and heavy lift projects and other activities of the ex3 ploration program in existence prior to fiscal year 

4 2011 rather than discarding them. A restructured ex5 ploration program should pursue the incremental de6 velopment and demonstration of crewed and heavy-lift 

7 transportation systems in a manner that ensures that 

8 investments to provide assured access to low-Earth 

9 orbit also directly support the expeditious develop10 ment of the heavy lift launch vehicle system, minimize 

11 the looming human space flight ‘‘gap’’, provide a very 

12 high level of crew safety, and enable challenging mis13 sions beyond low-Earth orbit in a timely manner. 

14 (11) NASA’s programs in astrophysics, 

15 heliophysics, planetary science, and Earth science and 

16 climate research have greatly increased our under17 standing of both our home planet and the rest of the 

18 universe, and they have also provided numerous bene19 fits to our society. 

20 (12) NASA’s aeronautics program is under21 taking research and development that benefits our eco22 nomic development and competitiveness, enhances our 

23 quality of life and enables environmentally respon24 sible aviation operations, and strengthens our na25 tional defense. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (13) The ISS provides a unique research envi2 ronment and capabilities for basic and applied re3 search, as well as having the potential to serve as a 

4 testbed for human space flight technologies and oper5 ational concepts. It is critically important that NASA 

6 make needed investments to promote productive ISS 

7 utilization, including a meaningful program of 

8 grants in the life and physical sciences microgravity 

9 research disciplines. 

10 (14) It is in the national interest for the United 

11 States to have an export control policy that protects 

12 the national security while also enabling the United 

13 States aerospace industry to compete effectively in the 

14 global marketplace and the United States to under15 take cooperative programs in science and human 

16 space flight in an effective manner. 

17 (15) A strong, robust NASA program is in the 

18 national interest. Ensuring that it can continue to 

19 pursue cutting-edge space and aeronautical research 

20 and development activities and push back the frontier 

21 of space exploration requires a sustained and ade22 quate commitment in resources. However, NASA’s 

23 share of the Federal discretionary budgetary author24 ity has declined significantly relative to its post-Apol25 lo historical average share of 2.07 percent. It should 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5781 RH

1 be a national goal to restore NASA’s funding share to 

2 its post-Apollo historical average. 

3 (16) NASA should be vigilant in taking all nec4 essary steps to control cost and schedule growth in 

5 mission projects, including the development of an in6 tegrated cost containment strategy, and adopt meas7 ures that improve the performance and transparency 

8 of its cost and acquisition management practices. 

9 NASA should approach cost and schedule manage10 ment with the same level of innovation, rigor, and 

11 technical excellence that it applies to the execution of 

12 its mission projects. 

13 (17) NASA has been inconsistent in its treat14 ment of termination liability costs for contracts 

15 issued by different mission directorates and across 

16 various agency programs relative to historical prac17 tice. This inconsistency has hampered NASA’s ability 

18 to effectively execute its Exploration programs. 

19 (18) NASA’s temperature records substantially 

20 overlap with the records of the Climatic Research 

21 Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis25 trator’’ means the Administrator of NASA. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5781 RH

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

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

5 (4) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

7 (5) OSTP.—The term ‘‘OSTP’’ means the Office 

8 of Science and Technology Policy. 

9 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

10 APPROPRIATIONS 

11 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2011. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin13 istrator for fiscal year 2011 $19,000,000,000, to be allocated 

14 as follows: 

15 (1) For Science, $5,015,700,000, of which— 

16 (A) $1,801,800,000 shall be for Earth 

17 Science; 

18 (B) $1,485,700,000 shall be for Planetary 

19 Science; 

20 (C) $1,076,300,000 shall be for Astro21 physics; 

22 (D) $646,900,000 shall be for Heliophysics, 

23 of which $5,000,000 shall be an augmentation to 

24 the Explorers program; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (E) $5,000,000 shall be an augmentation to 

2 the total amount provided under subparagraphs 

3 (C) and (D) for Astrophysics and Heliophysics 

4 in order to augment the funding for the Science 

5 Mission Directorate’s suborbital research pro6 grams, to be allocated between the Astrophysics 

7 and Heliophysics suborbital programs at the Ad8 ministrator’s discretion. 

9 (2) For Aeronautics, $579,600,000. 

10 (3) For Space Technology, $572,200,000. 

11 (4) For Exploration, $4,535,300,000 of which— 

12 (A) $215,000,000 shall be for Human Re13 search; 

14 (B) $14,000,000 shall be for the Commercial 

15 Orbital Transportation System demonstration 

16 program; 

17 (C) $50,000,000 shall be for commercial 

18 crew transportation-related activities; 

19 (D) $4,156,300,000 shall be for the restruc20 tured exploration program described in section 

21 202; and 

22 (E) $100,000,000 shall be for the loan and 

23 loan guarantee program described in section 243. 

24 (5) For Space Operations, $4,594,300,000, of 

25 which— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (A) $989,100,000 shall be for the Space 

2 Shuttle program; 

3 (B) $2,804,800,000 shall be for the ISS, of 

4 which $75,000,000 shall be for fundamental 

5 space life science and physical sciences and re6 lated technology research using ground-based, 

7 free-flyer, and ISS facilities, including ISS Na8 tional Laboratory research; 

9 (C) $60,000,000 shall be for the Post-Shuttle 

10 Workforce Transition Initiative grant program 

11 described in section 223; and 

12 (D) $740,400,000 shall be for Space and 

13 Flight Support, of which $50,000,000 shall be for 

14 the 21st Century Launch Complex Initiative. 

15 (6) For Education, $145,800,000. 

16 (7) For Cross-Agency Support Programs, 

17 $3,111,400,000. 

18 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com19 pliance and Restoration, $407,300,000, of which 

20 $10,000,000 is an augmentation to the President’s re21 quested funding level in order to support the NASA 

22 laboratory revitalization initiative described in sec23 tion 701. 

24 (9) For Inspector General, $38,400,000. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 102. FISCAL YEAR 2012. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin3 istrator for fiscal year 2012 $19,450,000,000, to be allocated 

4 as follows: 

5 (1) For Science, $5,278,600,000 of which— 

6 (A) $1,944,500,000 shall be for Earth 

7 Science; 

8 (B) $1,547,200,000 shall be for Planetary 

9 Science; 

10 (C) $1,109,300,000 shall be for Astro11 physics; 

12 (D) $672,600,000 shall be for Heliophysics, 

13 of which $25,000,000 shall be an augmentation 

14 to the Explorers program; and 

15 (E) $5,000,000 shall be an augmentation to 

16 the total amount provided under subparagraphs 

17 (C) and (D) for Astrophysics and Heliophysics 

18 in order to augment the funding for the Science 

19 Mission Directorate’s suborbital research pro20 grams, to be allocated between the Astrophysics 

21 and Heliophysics suborbital programs at the Ad22 ministrator’s discretion. 

23 (2) For Aeronautics, $598,700,000, of which 

24 $78,900,000 shall be for the Aviation Safety Program, 

25 $80,400,000 shall be for the Aeronautics Test Pro26 gram, $83,900,000 shall be for the Airspace Systems 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 5781 RH

1 Program, $233,500,000 shall be for Fundamental Aer2 onautics, and $122,000,000 shall be for Integrated 

3 Systems Research. 

4 (3) For Space Technology, $1,012,200,000. 

5 (4) For Exploration, $4,881,800,000 of which— 

6 (A) $215,000,000 shall be for Human Re7 search; 

8 (B) $50,000,000 shall be for commercial 

9 crew transportation-related activities; 

10 (C) $4,516,800,000 shall be for the restruc11 tured exploration program described in section 

12 202; and 

13 (D) $100,000,000 shall be for the loan and 

14 loan guarantee program described in section 243. 

15 (5) For Space Operations, $3,930,300,000, of 

16 which— 

17 (A) $86,100,000 shall be for the Space Shut18 tle program; 

19 (B) $3,033,600,000 shall be for the ISS, of 

20 which $100,000,000 shall be for fundamental 

21 space life science and physical sciences and re22 lated technology research using ground-based, 

23 free-flyer, and ISS facilities, including ISS Na24 tional Laboratory research; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (C) $40,000,000 shall be for the Post-Shuttle 

2 Workforce Transition Initiative grant program 

3 described in section 223; and 

4 (D) $770,600,000 shall be for Space and 

5 Flight Support, of which $50,000,000 shall be for 

6 the 21st Century Launch Complex Initiative. 

7 (6) For Education, $145,800,000. 

8 (7) For Cross-Agency Support Programs, 

9 $3,189,600,000. 

10 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com11 pliance and Restoration, $373,800,000, of which 

12 $10,000,000 is an augmentation to the President’s re13 quested level in order to support the NASA laboratory 

14 revitalization initiative described in section 701. 

15 (9) For Inspector General, $39,200,000. 

16 SEC. 103. FISCAL YEAR 2013. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin18 istrator for fiscal year 2013 $19,960,000,000, to be allocated 

19 as follows: 

20 (1) For Science, $5,569,500,000, of which— 

21 (A) $2,089,500,000 shall be for Earth 

22 Science; 

23 (B) $1,591,200,000 shall be for Planetary 

24 Science; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (C) $1,149,100,000 shall be for Astro2 physics; 

3 (D) $734,700,000 shall be for Heliophysics, 

4 of which $55,000,000 shall be an augmentation 

5 to the Explorers program; and 

6 (E) $5,000,000 shall be an augmentation to 

7 the total amount provided under subparagraphs 

8 (C) and (D) for Astrophysics and Heliophysics 

9 in order to augment the funding for the Science 

10 Mission Directorate’s suborbital research pro11 grams, to be allocated between the Astrophysics 

12 and Heliophysics suborbital programs at the Ad13 ministrator’s discretion. 

14 (2) For Aeronautics, $609,400,000, of which 

15 $81,200,000 shall be for the Aviation Safety Program, 

16 $79,600,000 shall be for the Aeronautics Test Pro17 gram, $87,300,000 shall be for the Airspace Systems 

18 Program, $239,000,000 shall be for Fundamental Aer19 onautics, and $122,300,000 shall be for Integrated 

20 Systems Research. 

21 (3) For Space Technology, $1,059,700,000. 

22 (4) For Exploration, $4,888,500,000 of which— 

23 (A) $215,000,000 shall be for Human Re24 search; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (B) $5,000,000, shall be for the Exploration 

2 Technology and Demonstration program; 

3 (C) $5,000,000 shall be for the Exploration 

4 Precursor Robotic Missions program; 

5 (D) $50,000,000 shall be for commercial 

6 crew transportation-related activities; 

7 (E) $4,513,500,000 shall be for the restruc8 tured exploration program described in section 

9 202; and 

10 (F) $100,000,000 shall be for the loan and 

11 loan guarantee program described in section 243. 

12 (5) For Space Operations, $3,993,300,000, of 

13 which— 

14 (A) $3,179,400,000 shall be for the ISS, of 

15 which $100,000,000 shall be for fundamental 

16 space life science and physical sciences and re17 lated technology research using ground-based, 

18 free-flyer, and ISS facilities, including ISS Na19 tional Laboratory research; 

20 (B) $40,000,000 shall be for the Post-Shuttle 

21 Workforce Transition Initiative grant program 

22 described in section 223; and 

23 (C) $773,900,000 shall be for Space and 

24 Flight Support, of which $50,000,000 shall be for 

25 the 21st Century Launch Complex Initiative. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (6) For Education, $145,800,000. 

2 (7) For Cross-Agency Support Programs, 

3 $3,276,800,000. 

4 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com5 pliance and Restoration, $376,900,000, of which 

6 $10,000,000 is an augmentation to the President’s re7 quested funding level in order to support the NASA 

8 laboratory revitalization initiative described in sec9 tion 701. 

10 (9) For Inspector General, $40,100,000. 

11 TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 

12 Subtitle A—Exploration 

13 SEC. 201. REAFFIRMATION OF EXPLORATION POLICY. 

14 Congress reaffirms its support for the exploration pol15 icy set forth in sections 401 and 402 of the National Aero16 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

17 2008 (Public Law 110–422; 122 Stat. 4788-4789). 

18 SEC. 202. RESTRUCTURED EXPLORATION PROGRAM. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

21 develop a plan to restructure the exploration program in 

22 existence prior to fiscal year 2011 in order to develop and 

23 demonstrate in an integrated manner and as expeditiously 

24 and efficiently as practicable a governmentally owned crew 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 5781 RH

1 transportation system and heavy lift transportation system 

2 that satisfies the following requirements: 

3 (1) The plan shall make maximum practicable 

4 use of the design, development, and test work com5 pleted to date on the Orion crew exploration vehicle, 

6 Ares I crew launch vehicle, heavy lift launch vehicle 

7 system, and associated ground support and explo8 ration enabling systems, including spacesuit develop9 ment and related life support technology, and take 

10 best advantage of investments and contracts imple11 mented to date. 

12 (2) The performance capabilities of the crew 

13 transportation system shall be phased in a manner 

14 that is consistent with available and anticipated re15 sources, with the initial operational goal of having 

16 the crew transportation system developed under this 

17 section available to assure crewed access to low-Earth 

18 orbit and the ISS no later than December 31, 2015, 

19 in order to minimize the duration of the United 

20 States human space flight gap following the retire21 ment of the Space Shuttle fleet. If one or more United 

22 States commercial entities are certified to provide 

23 ISS crew transportation and rescue services, the crew 

24 transportation system developed under this section 

25 shall be available as a backup ISS crew transporVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 5781 RH

1 tation and rescue service as needed but shall not be 

2 utilized as the primary means of ISS crew transpor3 tation and rescue or otherwise compete with the com4 mercial system for ISS crew transportation and res5 cue services. 

6 (3) The crewed spacecraft element of the crew 

7 transportation system shall be evolvable on a contin8 uous development path to support— 

9 (A) ISS crew transportation and rescue ca10 pability; 

11 (B) non-ISS missions to, from, and in low12 Earth orbit; and 

13 (C) human missions beyond low-Earth 

14 orbit. 

15 (4) The crew transportation system shall be able 

16 to serve as a testbed for demonstrating operations con17 cepts for exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit, 

18 as well as for demonstrating technologies and car19 rying out risk reduction for the heavy lift launch ve20 hicle development program. 

21 (5) The crew transportation system shall have 

22 predicted levels of safety during ascent to low-Earth 

23 orbit, transit, and descent from low-Earth orbit that 

24 are not less than those required of the Ares I/Orion 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 5781 RH

1 configuration that has completed program prelimi2 nary design review. 

3 (6) In order to make the most cost-effective use 

4 of the funds available for the restructured exploration 

5 program, the Administrator shall pursue the expedi6 tious and cost-efficient development of a heavy lift 

7 launch system that utilizes the systems and flight and 

8 ground test activities of the crew transportation sys9 tem developed under this section to the maximum ex10 tent practicable. In developing the heavy lift launch 

11 vehicle— 

12 (A) the heavy lift launch vehicle shall be 

13 sized to enable challenging missions beyond low14 Earth orbit and evolvable on a continuous devel15 opment path to enable the efficient and cost-effec16 tive conduct of crewed missions to the full range 

17 of destinations envisioned in the National Aero18 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

19 Act of 2008, namely Lagrangian points, the 

20 Moon, near-Earth objects, and Mars and its 

21 moons; 

22 (B) not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

24 carry out a review of the heavy lift launch vehi25 cle requirements needed to support crewed misVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 5781 RH

1 sions to the full range of destinations envisioned 

2 in the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis3 tration Authorization Act of 2008, and shall se4 lect an exploration launch vehicle architecture to 

5 meet those requirements; 

6 (C) the development of the heavy lift launch 

7 vehicle authorized in this paragraph shall be 

8 completed as expeditiously as possible within 

9 available resources and shall take maximum ben10 efit from the prior investments made in the 

11 Orion, Ares I, and heavy lift projects and from 

12 investments made in the restructured program 

13 on the development, demonstration, and test of 

14 the crew transportation system; and 

15 (D) the Administrator shall strive to meet 

16 the goal of having the heavy lift launch vehicle 

17 authorized in this paragraph available for oper18 ational missions by the end of the current dec19 ade. 

20 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF RESTRUCTURED PRO21 GRAM.—The restructured exploration program shall be im22 plemented in a manner that— 

23 (1) facilitates the planned transition of Space 

24 Shuttle program personnel to the restructured explo25 ration program upon the retirement of the Space 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 5781 RH

1 Shuttle fleet, while providing for cost effective man2 agement and vehicle development; 

3 (2) provides for a robust flight and ground test 

4 and demonstration program; 

5 (3) streamlines program management processes 

6 to the maximum extent practicable while ensuring 

7 that the Government’s ability to meet its responsibil8 ities for cost discipline, safety, and mission assurance 

9 is maintained; 

10 (4) working with industry, eliminates unneces11 sary NASA and industry institutional infrastructure, 

12 other fixed costs, processes, and oversight, reducing ex13 ploration program fixed costs to the extent practicable 

14 and maximizing the program’s affordability; 

15 (5) incentivizes, through innovative management 

16 practices, NASA program and project managers and 

17 industry counterparts to establish and maintain real18 istic cost and schedule estimates, and take necessary 

19 steps to avoid cost and schedule growth; 

20 (6) seeks to minimize to the extent practicable 

21 the operating costs of the crew transportation system 

22 developed under the restructured exploration program; 

23 (7) enables the restructured exploration program 

24 to undertake in an incremental fashion increasingly 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 5781 RH

1 challenging uncrewed and crewed demonstration 

2 flights in and beyond low-Earth orbit; 

3 (8) allows the systems developed under the re4 structured exploration program to serve as potential 

5 testbeds for the demonstration of key enabling explo6 ration technologies and operational capabilities; and 

7 (9) prepares for and enables human missions to 

8 a variety of destinations in the inner solar system, 

9 including cislunar space, the Moon, Lagrangian 

10 points, near-Earth objects, and ultimately Mars and 

11 its moons. 

12 (c) SUPPORT SYSTEMS.—The restructured exploration 

13 program shall continue work on ground systems and other 

14 exploration-enabling technologies and capabilities needed to 

15 support the exploration program, including spacesuit devel16 opment, as expeditiously as possible within available re17 sources. 

18 (d) NASA LAUNCH SUPPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

19 MODERNIZATION PROGRAM FOR THE RESTRUCTURED EX20 PLORATION PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall carry 

22 out a program to prepare infrastructure at the Ken23 nedy Space Center that is needed to enable processing 

24 and launch of the elements of the restructured explo25 ration program, including simplifying vehicle interVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 5781 RH

1 faces and other ground processing and payload inte2 gration areas to minimize overall costs, enhance safe3 ty, and complement the purpose of this section. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The program required by this 

5 section shall include— 

6 (A) investments in support of the restruc7 tured exploration program to— 

8 (i) improve processing and launch op9 erations at the Kennedy Space Center; 

10 (ii) enhance the overall capabilities of 

11 the Eastern Range; and 

12 (iii) reduce the long-term cost of oper13 ations and maintenance; 

14 (B) measures in support of the restructured 

15 exploration program to provide multivehicle sup16 port and improvements in payload processing; 

17 and 

18 (C) such other measures in support of the 

19 restructured exploration program as the Admin20 istrator may consider appropriate. 

21 (e) REPORT ON NASA LAUNCH SUPPORT AND INFRA22 STRUCTURE MODERNIZATION PROGRAM FOR THE RE23 STRUCTURED EXPLORATION PROGRAM.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin25 istrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of the 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 5781 RH

1 Congress a report on the plan for the implementation of 

2 the program authorized in subsection (d). 

3 (f) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Adminis4 trator shall explore potential international collaborations 

5 that would enable more ambitious exploration missions in 

6 a timely manner and within available resources than would 

7 otherwise be possible, such as human lunar landings or the 

8 incremental establishment of a lunar research outpost. 

9 SEC. 203. SPACE RADIATION. 

10 (a) STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall develop a 

11 space radiation mitigation and management strategy and 

12 implementation plan that includes key milestones, a time13 table, and estimation of budget requirements. The strategy 

14 shall include a mechanism to coordinate NASA research, 

15 technology, facilities, engineering, operations, and other 

16 functions required to support the strategy and plan. The 

17 Administrator shall transmit the strategy and plan to the 

18 Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act. 

20 (b) SPACE RADIATION RESEARCH FACILITIES.—The 

21 Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other ap22 propriate Federal agencies, shall assess the national capa23 bilities for carrying out critical ground-based research on 

24 space radiation biology, and shall identify any issues that 

25 could affect the ability to carry out that research. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (c) RESEARCH ON SOLAR PARTICLE EVENTS.—The 

2 Administrator shall carry out research on solar particle 

3 events to improve the predictions and forecasts of solar par4 ticle events that could affect human missions beyond low5 Earth orbit. 

6 (d) RADIATION RESEARCH ON NON-HUMAN PRI7 MATES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

9 transmit to the Congress not later than 1 year after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act a report on prior 

11 radiation research on non-human primates and the 

12 justification and rationale for any additional re13 search involving non-human primates. 

14 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report, 

15 the Administrator shall consult with other Govern16 ment agencies that have previously conducted radi17 ation research on non-human primates. 

18 Subtitle B—International Space 

19 Station 

20 SEC. 211. EXTENSION OF ISS OPERATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con22 sultation with the ISS partners, take all necessary measures 

23 to support the operation and full utilization of the Inter24 national Space Station through at least the year 2020, if 

25 it can continue to be operated safely over that period. The 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 5781 RH

1 Administrator shall, in consultation with the ISS partners, 

2 seek to minimize to the extent practicable the operating 

3 costs of the ISS. 

4 (b) VEHICLE AND COMPONENT REVIEW.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

6 (a), the Administrator shall— 

7 (A) conduct an in-depth assessment of all 

8 essential modules, operational systems and com9 ponents, structural elements, and permanent sci10 entific equipment on board or planned for deliv11 ery and installation aboard the ISS, including 

12 both United States and international partner 

13 elements, to determine anticipated spare or re14 placement requirements to ensure complete, effec15 tive, and safe function and full scientific utiliza16 tion of the ISS; and 

17 (B) provide the completed assessment to the 

18 Congress within 90 days after the date of enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF ASSESSMENT.—The re21 sults of the required assessment shall include, at a 

22 minimum, the following: 

23 (A) The identification of spare or replace24 ment elements and parts currently produced, in 

25 inventory, or on order, and the state of readiness 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 5781 RH

1 and schedule for delivery to the ISS, including 

2 the planned transportation means for such deliv3 ery. Each element identified shall include a de4 scription of its location, function, criticality for 

5 system integrity, and specifications regarding 

6 size, weight, and necessary configuration for 

7 launch and delivery. 

8 (B) The identification of anticipated re9 quirements for spare or replacement elements not 

10 currently in inventory or on order, a description 

11 of their location, function, criticality for system 

12 integrity, the anticipated cost and schedule for 

13 design, procurement, manufacture and delivery, 

14 and specifications regarding size, weight, and 

15 necessary configuration for launch and delivery, 

16 including available launch vehicles capable of 

17 transportation of such items to the ISS. 

18 (C) The identification of spare or replace19 ment parts existing or planned that due to size, 

20 weight, and launch configuration can only be 

21 carried to the ISS by the Space Shuttle. 

22 (3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Adminis23 trator shall enable the Comptroller General to monitor 

24 and, as appropriate, participate in the assessment re25 quired by paragraph (1) in such a way as to enable 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 5781 RH

1 the Comptroller General to provide to the Congress an 

2 independent review of the assessment. 

3 SEC. 212. ISS RESEARCH MANAGEMENT INSTITUTION. 

4 (a) DESIGNATION.—Pursuant to section 507 of the Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza6 tion Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16767), the Administrator shall 

7 designate an independent, nonprofit United States institu8 tion, based on the result of a competitive solicitation, for 

9 the management of fundamental space life science and 

10 physical sciences and related technology research to be con11 ducted on the ISS, as well as all research, including United 

12 States commercial research, that is funded by non-NASA 

13 United States domestic entities and carried out on the ISS. 

14 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The research management in15 stitution designated under subsection (a) shall make rec16 ommendations to the Administrator for— 

17 (1) competitively selecting, prioritizing, and 

18 overseeing United States ISS research projects across 

19 all United States users, sponsors, and disciplines, in20 cluding domestic entities other than NASA, seeking to 

21 carry out research on the ISS; 

22 (2) establishing a process for governance of 

23 United States ISS research users; 

24 (3) conducting outreach and education to en25 hance the utilization of the ISS; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (4) providing easily accessible information on 

2 the United States capabilities, research facilities, and 

3 resources associated with the United States research 

4 use of the ISS. 

5 (c) DEVIATIONS.—If the Administrator takes actions 

6 that deviate from the recommendations provided by the re7 search management institution under subsection (b), the 

8 Administrator shall transmit to the Congress a report ex9 plaining the reasons for such deviation. 

10 (d) OTHER GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.—Other govern11 ment agencies engaged in research and development are au12 thorized to enter into contracts with the nonprofit organiza13 tion designated under subsection (a) if it is determined by 

14 those agencies to be beneficial to meeting their mission re15 quirements for use of the ISS. 

16 SEC. 213. ISS RESEARCH MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination 

18 with the Associate Administrator for the Space Operations 

19 Mission Directorate, shall require that the institution des20 ignated under section 212(a) prepare for the Administrator 

21 a United States ISS research management plan that— 

22 (1) establishes a process for selecting United 

23 States ISS research; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (2) identifies the expertise and support available 

2 to researchers selected to carry out research on the 

3 ISS; 

4 (3) establishes a process for determining alloca5 tion schedules for research to be carried out on the 

6 ISS; 

7 (4) establishes a process for accommodating 

8 logistical and transportation requirements for ISS re9 search payloads; 

10 (5) prescribes flight schedules for research pay11 loads to the ISS (and research materials to be re12 turned to Earth, if necessary); and 

13 (6) addresses other factors associated with the se14 lection, management, and oversight of United States 

15 ISS research. 

16 (b) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The plan shall be 

17 transmitted to the Congress not later than 2 years after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 214. OUTREACH PLAN FOR UNITED STATES ISS RE20 SEARCH. 

21 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Congress 

23 a plan prepared by the institution designated under section 

24 212(a) for broadening and enhancing the outreach to potenVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 5781 RH

1 tial United States Government, academic, and commercial 

2 users of the ISS. 

3 SEC. 215. ISS CARGO RESUPPLY REQUIREMENTS AND CON4 TINGENCY CAPACITY THROUGH 2020. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ensure the 

6 availability of ISS cargo resupply capacity to support the 

7 full and productive utilization and the extended operations 

8 of the ISS through the year 2020. 

9 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall conduct 

10 an assessment of the ISS cargo resupply capacity required 

11 to support the enhanced research utilization and extended 

12 operations of the ISS through 2020. The assessment shall 

13 describe the methodology and assumptions used to define 

14 the cargo requirements and provide a breakdown of the 

15 cargo resupply requirements (upmass and downmass) to 

16 support scientific research, other research and development, 

17 operations and maintenance, crew supplies, and other nec18 essary activities. In addition, the assessment shall identify 

19 the systems to be used for ISS cargo resupply, the amount 

20 of cargo those systems will transport, and the timeline for 

21 cargo resupply services to the ISS. 

22 (c) ADDITIONAL RESUPPLY OPTIONS.—The Adminis23 trator shall explore with ISS partners options for ensuring 

24 the provision of needed upmass to and downmass from the 

25 ISS in the event that adequate commercial cargo resupply 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 5781 RH

1 capabilities are not available during any extended period 

2 after the date that the Space Shuttle is retired. Before rely3 ing on ISS partners to upmass or downmass cargo, the Ad4 ministrator must certify to the Congress that no United 

5 States or commercial cargo resupply capabilities are avail6 able. 

7 SEC. 216. CENTRIFUGE. 

8 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall carry out 

9 an assessment of innovative options for deploying a vari10 able-gravity centrifuge on the ISS. The assessment shall 

11 identify the requirements for a variable-gravity centrifuge 

12 to support fundamental and applied research on the ISS, 

13 including research to help mitigate the risk of long-term 

14 spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit. The assessment shall 

15 also— 

16 (1) review the requirements for development, 

17 launch, and operation of the facility on the ISS; 

18 (2) provide an estimate of the potential cost and 

19 timeline for developing and deploying the centrifuge 

20 capabilities evaluated as part of the assessment; 

21 (3) evaluate the status of previous work on devel22 opment of an in-flight centrifuge for the ISS and the 

23 cost and time that would be required to complete the 

24 work and launch the facility; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (4) identify the potential for international col2 laboration and other potential partnerships or inno3 vative acquisition approaches that could facilitate the 

4 development and deployment of a centrifuge facility 

5 for the ISS. 

6 (b) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 

7 shall transmit the assessment described in subsection (a) to 

8 the Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enact9 ment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 217. EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT 

11 USING THE ISS. 

12 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop priorities 

13 for technology development, testing, and demonstration ac14 tivities that enable and support NASA’s long-term plans 

15 for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and that require the 

16 capabilities of the ISS, and shall develop a plan, including 

17 milestones, a schedule, and an estimate of resource require18 ments, for carrying out the prioritized activities. The plan 

19 shall be developed for the period of fiscal years 2011 through 

20 2020. 

21 (b) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 

22 shall transmit the plan developed under subsection (a) to 

23 the Congress not later than 270 days after the date of enact24 ment of this Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 218. FUNDAMENTAL SPACE LIFE SCIENCE AND PHYS2 ICAL SCIENCES AND RELATED TECHNOLOGY 

3 RESEARCH. 

4 (a) STRATEGIC PLAN FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5 RESEARCH.— 

6 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator, in con7 sultation with academia, other Federal agencies, and 

8 other potential stakeholders, shall develop a strategic 

9 plan for carrying out competitive, peer-reviewed fun10 damental space life science and physical sciences and 

11 related technology research, including research on 

12 phenomena such as the response of fluids and mate13 rials to reduced gravity environments that need to be 

14 understood in developing exploration-related tech15 nologies and systems. The plan shall— 

16 (A) address the facilities and instrumenta17 tion that would enable and facilitate such re18 search; 

19 (B) be consistent with the priorities and 

20 recommendations established by the National 

21 Academies in its decadal survey of life and 

22 microgravity sciences; 

23 (C) provide a research timeline and identify 

24 the resource requirements for its implementation; 

25 (D) include an estimate of the number of 

26 students, including undergraduate, graduate, 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 5781 RH

1 and post-doctoral students, and early-career re2 searchers that would be supported in carrying 

3 out the plan; and 

4 (E) identify— 

5 (i) criteria for the proposed space re6 search, including— 

7 (I) a justification for the research 

8 to be carried out in the space micro9 gravity environment; 

10 (II) the use of model systems; 

11 (III) the testing of flight hardware 

12 to understand and ensure its func13 tioning in the microgravity environ14 ment; 

15 (IV) the use of controls to help 

16 distinguish among the direct and indi17 rect effects of microgravity, among 

18 other effects of the flight or space envi19 ronment; 

20 (V) approaches for facilitating 

21 data collection, analysis, and interpre22 tation; 

23 (VI) procedures to ensure repeti24 tion of experiments as needed; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (VII) support for timely presen2 tation of the peer-reviewed results of 

3 the research; 

4 (ii) instrumentation required to sup5 port the measurements and analysis of the 

6 research to be carried out under the stra7 tegic plan, including the potential use of in8 strumentation developed by other countries 

9 and the potential for a variable-gravity cen10 trifuge to support the research; 

11 (iii) the capabilities needed to support 

12 direct, real-time communications between 

13 astronauts working on research experiments 

14 onboard the ISS and the principal investi15 gator on the ground; and 

16 (iv) a process for involving the external 

17 user community in research planning, in18 cluding planning for relevant flight hard19 ware and instrumentation, and for utiliza20 tion of the ISS, free flyers, or other research 

21 platforms. 

22 (2) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

23 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad24 ministrator shall transmit the strategic plan devel25 oped under paragraph (1) to the Congress. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (b) INTEGRATED RESEARCH MANAGEMENT ORGANIZA2 TION.— 

3 (1) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

5 ensure that a responsible official is designated at 

6 NASA headquarters to lead a competitive, inte7 grated basic and applied research program in 

8 fundamental space life science and physical 

9 sciences and related technology. 

10 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The official des11 ignated under subparagraph (A) shall be respon12 sible for— 

13 (i) leading near-term and long-term 

14 strategic planning pursuant to the research 

15 plan developed under subsection (a); 

16 (ii) ensuring the input of the external 

17 user community in science planning proc18 esses; 

19 (iii) ensuring the implementation of 

20 an integrated, multidisciplinary and inter21 disciplinary, competitive research program 

22 in fundamental space life and physical 

23 sciences and related technology; 

24 (iv) supporting the appropriate inter25 action of research investigators and agency 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 5781 RH

1 managers and engineers in planning, de2 signing, testing, and operations related to 

3 such research projects; 

4 (v) monitoring progress of the program 

5 in achieving the objectives and milestones 

6 identified in the strategic plan developed 

7 under subsection (a)(1); and 

8 (vi) other functions required to support 

9 the research program under this section. 

10 (C) COORDINATION AND COMMUNICA11 TIONS.—The Administrator shall ensure that the 

12 responsible official coordinates and commu13 nicates the fundamental space life science and 

14 physical sciences and related technology research 

15 activities with relevant entities within NASA, 

16 with the ISS research management institution 

17 designated under section 212(a), and with other 

18 relevant agencies and organizations. 

19 (2) BUDGET REQUEST.—The Administrator 

20 shall, as part of the annual NASA fiscal year budget 

21 request— 

22 (A) identify and include a description of re23 search being carried out pursuant to section 204 

24 of the National Aeronautics and Space AdminisVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 5781 RH

1 tration Authorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

2 16633); 

3 (B) identify the percentage of the total re4 search budget for ISS research that the research 

5 described in subparagraph (A) represents; and 

6 (C) identify the programs proposed for car7 rying out research activities on the ISS and the 

8 proposed funding to support those research pro9 grams, including a breakdown for each of the 

10 programs identified of the funding requested for 

11 competitive grants. 

12 Subtitle C—Space Shuttle 

13 SEC. 221. CONTINGENT AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL 

14 SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION. 

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

16 Congress that it is very important, in view of the extension 

17 of the life of the ISS until at least 2020, for the Shuttle 

18 fleet to leave the ISS in the best possible configuration for 

19 the post-Shuttle era and that NASA should take all nec20 essary steps to ensure the continued viability of the ISS 

21 in the event that there are delays in the delivery or the in22 ability to deliver critical parts and supplies once the Shut23 tle is retired. 

24 (b) CONTINGENT AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL

25 SHUTTLE MISSION BEYOND THE PLANNED MANIFEST.— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 5781 RH

1 The Administrator is authorized to conduct 1 additional 

2 Space Shuttle mission to the ISS beyond the missions con3 tained in the flight manifest as of February 1, 2010, if— 

4 (1) the Administrator determines that an addi5 tional Space Shuttle mission is a useful and nec6 essary step to reduce risks to the operation and utili7 zation of the ISS that are associated with the retire8 ment of the Shuttle fleet; and 

9 (2) the conditions in subsection (c) have been 

10 met. 

11 (c) CONDITIONS.—In order to comply with subsection 

12 (b), the Administrator shall determine and certify that all 

13 of the following conditions have been met: 

14 (1) The importance of conducting the additional 

15 Space Shuttle mission to the ISS outweighs the risks 

16 associated with conducting a Shuttle mission without 

17 a backup Shuttle launch-on-need capability. 

18 (2) Any actions resulting from safety inspections 

19 and reviews required by NASA’s Orbiter Modification 

20 Down Period (OMDP) and other safety guidance have 

21 been successfully addressed. 

22 (3) Workarounds addressing mandatory OMDP 

23 requirements, if any, have been identified and the as24 sociated risks have been characterized. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (4) The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has re2 viewed the safety issues associated with the additional 

3 Shuttle mission as well as NASA’s plans to mitigate 

4 any identified risks. 

5 (d) CONTINGENT AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—In the event that the additional Shuttle flight to 

7 the ISS is authorized, funding for the incremental costs as8 sociated with the additional mission is authorized as follows 

9 from within funds authorized in title I: 

10 (1) For fiscal year 2011, $700,000,000, to be 

11 taken in the amounts specified below from within the 

12 funding for the following accounts and transferred to 

13 the Space Shuttle account: 

14 (A) $175,000,000 from the ISS, except that 

15 at least $50,000,000 shall remain available for 

16 fundamental space life and physical sciences and 

17 related technology research. 

18 (B) $525,000,000 from the restructured ex19 ploration program. 

20 (2) For Fiscal Year 2012, $200,000,000, to be 

21 taken from within the funding for the ISS and trans22 ferred to the Space Shuttle account, except that at 

23 least $50,000,000 shall remain available for funda24 mental space life and physical sciences and related 

25 technology research. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 222. EXPANDED SCOPE OF SPACE SHUTTLE TRANSI2 TION LIAISON OFFICE. 

3 Section 613(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

4 Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

5 17761(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Space Shuttle 

7 Transition Liaison Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Post-Shut8 tle Transition Liaison Office’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2 years after 

10 the completion of the last Space Shuttle flight’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘2 years after the award of the final grant 

12 under section 223 of the National Aeronautics and 

13 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010’’. 

14 SEC. 223. POST-SHUTTLE WORKFORCE TRANSITION INITIA15 TIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, acting 

18 through the Post-Shuttle Transition Liaison Office es19 tablished under section 613(b) of the National Aero20 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

21 of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17761(b)), as amended by section 

22 222, is authorized to make grants for the establish23 ment, operation, coordination, and implementation of 

24 aerospace workforce and community transition strate25 gies. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (2) TRANSFER.—The Administrator may trans2 fer amounts made available under this section to 

3 other Federal agencies for the purpose of assisting in 

4 the transition of aerospace workers and communities 

5 adversely affected by the termination of the Space 

6 Shuttle program. 

7 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under sub8 section (a) shall use the funds made available through the 

9 grant to— 

10 (1) conduct community and business outreach; 

11 (2) develop and implement regional revitaliza12 tion and facilities reuse strategies; 

13 (3) support entrepreneurship and new business 

14 development initiatives; and 

15 (4) support workforce retraining. 

16 SEC. 224. DISPOSITION OF ORBITER VEHICLES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the termination of the Space 

18 Shuttle Program, the Administrator shall decommission 

19 any remaining Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles according to 

20 established safety and historic preservation procedures prior 

21 to their designation as surplus government property. The 

22 orbiter vehicles shall be made available and located for dis23 play and maintenance through a competitive procedure that 

24 takes into account geographical diversity, established pursu25 ant to the disposition plan developed under section 613(a) 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 5781 RH

1 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act 

2 of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17761(a)), with priority consideration 

3 given to eligible applicants meeting all conditions of that 

4 plan which would provide for the display and maintenance 

5 of orbiters at locations with the best potential value to the 

6 public, including where the location of the orbiters can ad7 vance educational opportunities in science, technology, en8 gineering, and mathematics disciplines, and with an histor9 ical relationship with the Space Shuttle orbiters. 

10 (b) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ORBITER.—Notwith11 standing the procedures in subsection (a), the Smithsonian 

12 Institution shall be entitled to receive one of the remaining 

13 Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles. The Administrator shall col14 laborate with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 

15 to determine which orbiter the Smithsonian Institution 

16 shall receive, and otherwise determine the timing and proce17 dures of transfer from NASA to the Smithsonian Institu18 tion. The Smithsonian Institution, which, as of the date of 

19 enactment of this Act, houses the Space Shuttle Enterprise, 

20 shall determine any new location for the Enterprise. 

21 (c) DISPLAY AND MAINTENANCE.—The orbiter vehicles 

22 made available under subsection (a) shall be displayed and 

23 maintained through agreements and procedures established 

24 pursuant to section 613(a) of the National Aeronautics and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 5781 RH

1 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

2 17761(a)). 

3 Subtitle D—Space and Flight 

4 Support 

5 SEC. 231. 21ST CENTURY SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX INITIA6 TIVE. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—Funding authorized in title I for the 

8 21st Century Space Launch Complex Initiative shall be 

9 available to carry out the following activities: 

10 (1) Investments to improve civil and national se11 curity operations at the Kennedy Space Center and 

12 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to enhance the 

13 overall capabilities of the Eastern Range and to re14 duce the long-term cost of operations and mainte15 nance. 

16 (2) Measures to provide multivehicle support, 

17 improvements in payload processing, and partnering 

18 at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 

19 Air Force Station. 

20 (3) Measures to support the restructured explo21 ration program. 

22 (4) Such other measures related to launch sup23 port and infrastructure modernization at the Ken24 nedy Space Center as the Administrator may consider 

25 appropriate to carry out NASA’s launch operations. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (b) REPORT ON THE 21ST CENTURY SPACE LAUNCH

2 COMPLEX INITIATIVE.— 

3 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis5 trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

6 the Congress a report on the plan for the implementa7 tion of the 21st Century Space Launch Complex Ini8 tiative. 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by this 

10 subsection shall include— 

11 (A) a description of those initiatives tied to 

12 the restructured exploration program; 

13 (B) a description of proposed initiatives in14 tended to be conducted jointly or in cooperation 

15 with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, 

16 or other installations or components of the 

17 United States Government; and 

18 (C) a timetable for carrying out activities 

19 and initiatives planned for the 21st Century 

20 Space Launch Complex Initiative. 

21 Subtitle E—Commercial Crew 

22 Transportation 

23 SEC. 241. AFFIRMATION OF POLICY. 

24 The Congress affirms the policy of— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
50 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (1) making use of United States commercially 

2 provided ISS crew transportation and crew rescue 

3 services to the maximum extent practicable; 

4 (2) limiting, to the maximum extent practicable, 

5 the use of the system developed under section 202 to 

6 non-ISS missions once commercial crew transpor7 tation and crew rescue services that meet safety re8 quirements become operational; and 

9 (3) facilitating, to the maximum extent prac10 ticable, the transfer of NASA-developed technologies to 

11 United States commercial orbital human space trans12 portation companies in order to help promote the de13 velopment of commercially provided ISS crew trans14 portation and crew rescue services. 

15 SEC. 242. COMMERCIAL CREW AND RELATED COMMERCIAL 

16 SPACE INITIATIVES. 

17 (a) COMMERCIAL SERVICES OPPORTUNITIES.—NASA 

18 shall seek, to the extent practicable, to make use of commer19 cially available space services, including commercially 

20 available services to transport United States Government 

21 astronauts to and from the ISS, provided that— 

22 (1) those commercial services have demonstrated 

23 the capability to meet NASA-specified ascent, transit, 

24 entry, and ISS proximity operations safety require25 ments; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
51 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (2) the services provider has completed, and 

2 NASA has verified, crewed flight demonstrations or 

3 operational flights that comply with NASA standards, 

4 policies, and procedures; and 

5 (3) the per-seat cost to the United States is not 

6 greater than the per-seat cost for the system developed 

7 under section 202. 

8 (b) HUMAN-RATING.—The Administrator shall estab9 lish requirements, standards, and processes for the human 

10 rating of space transportation systems that are equivalent 

11 to NASA safety processes and procedures. 

12 (c) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The Administrator 

13 shall make available, on a nonexclusive basis, NASA-devel14 oped technologies for transfer to potential United States 

15 commercial orbital human space transportation companies. 

16 NASA shall determine the appropriate means, through cost17 reimbursable arrangements or other mechanisms, to trans18 fer the technologies. 

19 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND FACILITIES.—The 

20 Administrator shall make available, to the extent prac21 ticable, NASA facilities and equipment to assist in the test22 ing and demonstration of commercial crew transportation 

23 systems, including those associated with NASA’s safety and 

24 mission assurance activities, such as NASA’s Independent 

25 Verification and Validation facility for software 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
52 

•HR 5781 RH

1 verification. The Administrator shall determine the appro2 priate means, through cost-reimbursable arrangements, 

3 agreements entered into under section 203(c)(5) of the Na4 tional Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 

5 2473(c)(5)), or other mechanisms, to provide technical as6 sistance and access to facilities to the commercial space sec7 tor. 

8 (e) NASA INSIGHT AND OVERSIGHT PROCESSES.— 

9 Any company that seeks to provide commercial crew trans10 portation services under contract to NASA shall enter into 

11 an arrangement with NASA that allows NASA to obtain 

12 ongoing insight into the design methodologies, processes, 

13 technologies, test data, and production and quality control 

14 practices employed in the development of the commercial 

15 crew transportation system throughout the development, 

16 test, demonstration, and production phases. NASA may 

17 offer early warning of conditions that could lead NASA to 

18 withhold certification of the crew transportation systems for 

19 the flight of United States Government personnel or to de20 cline to enter into a contract for services. NASA may not 

21 require the company to make changes to its design, tech22 nologies, or processes during the development, test, dem23 onstration, or production phases. 

24 (f) CONTRACTS FOR COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ISS 

25 CREW TRANSPORTATION AND CREW RESCUE SERVICES.— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
53 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (1) CERTIFICATION OF SAFETY AND RELI2 ABILITY.—Before entering into a contract for the use 

3 of commercially available commercial crew transpor4 tation or crew rescue services for United States Gov5 ernment astronauts, the Administrator shall certify 

6 that a commercial ISS crew transportation and crew 

7 rescue service provider with which a contract is 

8 planned has demonstrated the safety and reliability of 

9 its systems for crew transportation and crew rescue to 

10 be equivalent to NASA-promulgated safety and reli11 ability policies, procedures, and standards for human 

12 spaceflight. Individual certifications made under this 

13 paragraph shall be provided to the Committee on 

14 Science and Technology of the House of Representa15 tives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate. 

17 (2) FLIGHT EXPERIENCE.—The Administrator 

18 shall not enter into any contract or commit any 

19 United States Government funds for a commercial 

20 ISS crew transportation or rescue service to a service 

21 provider until sufficient successful flight experience 

22 has been accrued by the service provider’s system to 

23 provide to NASA the safety-related and reliability-re24 lated data and information needed to determine 

25 whether to fly its astronauts on that system. The AdVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
54 

•HR 5781 RH

1 ministrator shall require an amount of demonstrated 

2 flight experience for a commercial crew transpor3 tation system that is at least as much as NASA re4 quires under Alternative 1 as delineated in the NASA 

5 Policy Directive NPD 8610.7D, effective January 31, 

6 2008, for common launch vehicle configurations before 

7 Class A (high cost and high priority) payloads can be 

8 flown on them. 

9 (3) ADMINISTRATOR’S ACTIONS.—To facilitate 

10 the ability of commercial crew transportation pro11 viders to comply with NASA human spaceflight safety 

12 and reliability requirements, the Administrator 

13 shall— 

14 (A) develop and communicate the human15 rating requirements established under subsection 

16 (b) to commercial space companies; 

17 (B) establish minimum acceptable safety 

18 levels; 

19 (C) provide technical assistance, to the max20 imum extent practicable, to the commercial space 

21 sector in understanding and applying NASA 

22 human-rating requirements, standards, and 

23 processes to commercial crew transportation and 

24 crew rescue systems; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
55 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (D) establish and communicate to the com2 mercial sector the process NASA will apply for 

3 securing ongoing NASA insight into the design 

4 methodologies, processes, technologies, test data, 

5 and production and quality control practices 

6 employed in the development of the commercial 

7 crew transportation system throughout the devel8 opment, test, demonstration, and production 

9 phases; 

10 (E) establish and communicate to the com11 mercial sector NASA’s process for certifying that 

12 commercial human spaceflight systems (includ13 ing mission control, operations, ground systems, 

14 and other supporting infrastructure) comply 

15 with NASA human-rating requirements and 

16 standards and related NASA policies and proce17 dures for safety and reliability, which process 

18 shall be no less stringent than the NASA policies 

19 and procedural requirements established for 

20 launch of Class A (high cost and high priority) 

21 payloads; and 

22 (F) ensure that the certification established 

23 under subparagraph (E) includes independent 

24 verification and validation of compliance with 

25 NASA policies, procedures, and standards. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
56 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (g) ASAP REVIEW OF NASA’S HUMAN-RATING RE2 QUIREMENTS, STANDARDS, AND PROCESSES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Aerospace Safety Advi4 sory Panel shall conduct a review to identify issues 

5 pertinent to the establishment of human-rating re6 quirements, standards, and processes for commercial 

7 crew transportation and rescue systems that are pro8 posed for transport of United States astronauts. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Aerospace Safety 

11 and Advisory Panel shall transmit to the Congress a 

12 report describing— 

13 (A) the Panel’s assessment of NASA’s cur14 rently established human-rating specifications 

15 and guidance; 

16 (B) the Panel’s view of the mandatory safe17 ty requirements that must be met with regard to 

18 human rating; and 

19 (C) the steps NASA and the commercial 

20 space industry need to take to ensure that com21 mercial crew transportation and rescue vehicles 

22 have human rating requirements, standards, and 

23 processes equivalent to those of NASA. 

24 (h) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The Adminis25 trator shall not proceed with a request for proposals, award 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
57 

•HR 5781 RH

1 any contract, or commit any United States Government 

2 funds for a commercial ISS crew transportation or rescue 

3 service to be provided by a commercial service provider 

4 until all indemnification and liability issues associated 

5 with the use of such systems by the United States Govern6 ment shall have been addressed and the Administrator has 

7 provided to the Congress a report describing the indem8 nification and liability provisions that are planned to be 

9 included in such contracts. 

10 (i) PREDICTED LEVEL OF SAFETY.—The Adminis11 trator shall not award any contract or commit any United 

12 States Government funds for a commercial ISS crew trans13 portation system service to a service provider unless that 

14 commercial crew transportation system has a predicted 

15 level of safety during ascent to low-Earth orbit, transit, and 

16 descent from low-Earth orbit that is not less than that speci17 fied for the Government system in section 202(a)(5). 

18 SEC. 243. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT 

19 OF COMMERCIAL ORBITAL HUMAN SPACE 

20 TRANSPORTATION SERVICES. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall estab22 lish a program to provide financial assistance in the form 

23 of direct loans or loan guarantees to commercial entities 

24 for the costs of development of orbital human space trans25 portation systems. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
58 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A loan or loan guarantee 

2 may be made under such program only for a project in 

3 the United States to develop commercial orbital human 

4 space transportation systems that would be used to provide 

5 transportation services to and from low-earth orbit. 

6 (c) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—A loan or loan guarantee 

7 may be made under such program only for a borrower who 

8 is determined by the Administrator to be eligible under the 

9 criteria established pursuant to subsection (i). 

10 (d) LIMITATIONS.—No loan or loan guarantee shall be 

11 made unless the Administrator determines that— 

12 (1) there is a reasonable prospect of repayment 

13 of the principal and interest on the obligation by the 

14 borrower; 

15 (2) the amount of the obligation (when combined 

16 with amounts available to the borrower from other 

17 sources which shall be a minimum of 25 percent of 

18 the total expected project development cost) is suffi19 cient to carry out the total development project. 

20 (e) SUPERIORITY OF RIGHTS.—The rights of the Ad21 ministrator, with respect to any property acquired pursu22 ant to a loan, shall be superior to the rights of any other 

23 person with respect to the property. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
59 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, a loan or loan guarantee made pur3 suant to this section shall— 

4 (1) bear interest at an annual rate, as deter5 mined by the Administrator, of— 

6 (A) in the case of a direct loan— 

7 (i) the cost of borrowing to the Depart8 ment of the Treasury for obligations of com9 parable maturity; or 

10 (ii) 4 percent; and 

11 (B) in the case of a guaranteed loan, the 

12 current applicable market rate for a loan of com13 parable maturity; and 

14 (2) have a term not to exceed 30 years. 

15 (g) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the terms and 

16 conditions of a loan or loan guarantee under this section, 

17 the Administrator shall consult with the Secretary of the 

18 Treasury. 

19 (h) FEES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

21 charge and collect fees for loans and loan guarantees 

22 in amounts the Administrator determines are suffi23 cient to cover applicable administrative expenses. 

24 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Fees collected under this 

25 subsection shall— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
60 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (A) be deposited by the Administrator into 

2 the Treasury of the United States; and 

3 (B) remain available until expended, subject 

4 to such other conditions as are contained in an5 nual appropriations Acts. 

6 (3) LIMITATION.—In charging and collecting fees 

7 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall take 

8 into consideration the amount of the obligation. 

9 (i) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue 

10 final regulations before making any loan or loan guarantee 

11 under the program. Such regulations shall include— 

12 (1) criteria that the Administrator shall use to 

13 determine eligibility for loans and loan guarantees 

14 under this section, including whether a borrower dem15 onstrates that a non-governmental market exists for 

16 the orbital human space transportation service, as 

17 evidenced by written statements of interest from po18 tential purchasers of the services; 

19 (2) criteria that the Administrator shall use to 

20 determine the amount of any fees charged under sub21 section (h), including criteria related to the amount 

22 of the obligation; and 

23 (3) any other policies, procedures, or information 

24 necessary to implement this section. 

25 (j) AUDIT.— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
61 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (1) ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDITS.—The Ad2 ministrator shall enter into an arrangement with an 

3 independent auditor for annual evaluations of the 

4 program under this section. 

5 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—The 

6 Comptroller General of the United States shall con7 duct a biennial review of the Administrator’s execu8 tion of the program under this section. 

9 (3) REPORT.—The results of the independent 

10 audit under paragraph (1) and the Comptroller Gen11 eral’s review under paragraph (2) shall be provided 

12 directly to the Committee on Science and Technology 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

15 (k) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Concurrent with the sub16 mission to the Congress of the President’s annual budget 

17 request in each year after the date of enactment of this sec18 tion, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on 

19 Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

20 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

21 of the Senate a report containing a summary of all activi22 ties carried out under this section. 

23 (l) MINIMIZING RISK.—The Administrator shall pro24 mulgate regulations and policies to carry out this section 

25 in accordance with Office of Management and Budget CirVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
62 

•HR 5781 RH

1 cular No. A-129, entitled ‘‘Policies for Federal Credit Pro2 grams and Non-Tax Receivables’’, as in effect on the date 

3 of enactment of this section. 

4 (m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) COST.—The term ‘‘cost’’ has the meaning 

6 given such term under section 502 of the Federal 

7 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

8 (2) OBLIGATION.—The term ‘‘obligation’’ means 

9 the loan issued under this section or the loan or other 

10 debt obligation that is guaranteed under this section. 

11 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the 

12 program established in subsection (a). 

13 Subtitle F—General Provisions 

14 SEC. 251. USE OF PROGRAM FUNDS. 

15 For all programs authorized under this title, author16 ized funds may be obligated only for performance of the pro17 grams. 

18 TITLE III—SCIENCE 

19 Subtitle A—Earth Science 

20 SEC. 301. EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS. 

21 The Administrator shall develop guidelines and proce22 dures for entering into arrangements with State, local, re23 gional, tribal, and other Federal Government agencies that 

24 seek to benefit from ongoing NASA technical information, 

25 capabilities, and support related to Earth science applicaVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
63 

•HR 5781 RH

1 tions and decision support systems. The guidelines and pro2 cedures shall include a definition of the partnership, mile3 stones, cost-sharing, and project-relevant criteria for the 

4 project. The guidelines and procedures shall define arrange5 ments for reimbursement for Government services, as appro6 priate, including the use of NASA spacecraft and aircraft, 

7 sensors, equipment, facilities, and associated personnel for 

8 the purpose of aiding State, local, regional, tribal, and other 

9 Federal Government needs. 

10 SEC. 302. ESSENTIAL SPACE-BASED EARTH SCIENCE AND 

11 CLIMATE MEASUREMENTS. 

12 The Administrator, in cooperation with the Adminis13 trator of NOAA and other relevant Federal agencies, shall 

14 enter into an arrangement with the National Academies for 

15 a study, to be completed, and transmitted to the Congress 

16 not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, to provide a prioritized list and definition of essential 

18 Earth science and climate measurements that should be col19 lected with space-based means, and maintained and 

20 archived by the Federal Government on a continuous basis. 

21 The study shall also identify which measurements could po22 tentially be obtained through international partnerships, 

23 from data purchases or other arrangements with private or 

24 commercial entities, or from other relevant sources. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
64 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 303. COMMERCIAL REMOTE SENSING DATA PUR2 CHASES PILOT PROJECT. 

3 (a) WORKSHOP.—Not later than 9 months after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall orga5 nize a workshop including relevant commercial remote sens6 ing data providers, scientists, and remote sensing data 

7 users, among other relevant stakeholders, to identify the es8 sential criteria for a pilot project for purchasing commer9 cial remote sensing data to support research in Earth 

10 science and for applied uses of the data to address State, 

11 local, regional, and tribal needs. The workshop shall address 

12 lessons learned and recommendations related to past experi13 ence with commercial data purchases, including those out14 lined in the National Research Council report entitled ‘‘To15 ward New Partnerships in Remote Sensing: Government, 

16 the Private Sector, and Earth Science Research’’. 

17 (b) PILOT PROJECT.—Not later than 18 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, after consideration of the 

19 results of the workshop under subsection (a) and after ob20 taining relevant information from potential commercial re21 mote sensing data providers and users of such data, the Ad22 ministrator shall establish a pilot project for the provision, 

23 through competitive solicitations, of commercial remote 

24 sensing data to serve research and applied uses of the data 

25 to serve State, local, regional, and tribal needs. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
65 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 304. REPORT ON TEMPERATURE RECORDS. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Administrator shall issue a report to the Con4 gress detailing the extent and degree to which NASA’s tem5 perature records overlap with the records at the Climatic 

6 Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, the reasons 

7 for and sources of that overlap, and the possibility that 

8 NASA’s temperature records have been compromised. 

9 Subtitle B—Space Science 

10 SEC. 311. SUBORBITAL PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall en13 sure that an individual who shall report directly to 

14 the Associate Administrator of the Science Mission 

15 Directorate is designated to lead NASA’s suborbital 

16 and airborne program. 

17 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The designated indi18 vidual shall be responsible for— 

19 (A) leading near-term and long-term stra20 tegic planning for the suborbital and airborne 

21 program; 

22 (B) ensuring the implementation of stra23 tegic and other relevant plans; 

24 (C) integrating NASA’s suborbital and air25 borne programs; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
66 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (D) ensuring the productivity of the sub2 orbital facilities and assets as necessary to carry 

3 out the plans; 

4 (E) coordinating NASA’s suborbital activi5 ties with associated NASA offices and Centers, 

6 universities, and other external institutions; and 

7 (F) monitoring progress on meeting the 

8 strategic objectives for enhanced suborbital and 

9 airborne activities, NASA workforce develop10 ment, and integration of suborbital activities 

11 within NASA’s overall plans and priorities. 

12 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pro14 vide to the Congress a strategic plan to support the full and 

15 productive use of NASA’s suborbital and airborne assets as 

16 a foundation for meeting its scientific research, engineering, 

17 workforce development, and education goals and objectives 

18 across NASA centers and mission directorates and in part19 nership with universities and other relevant external insti20 tutions. The strategic plan shall— 

21 (1) be developed in consultation with relevant 

22 NASA offices and Centers and with input from uni23 versities, nonprofit research institutions, and private 

24 industry; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
67 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (2) identify the needs and priorities for using 

2 NASA’s airborne and suborbital assets to support 

3 NASA’s scientific research, engineering, workforce de4 velopment, and educational goals; 

5 (3) identify and prioritize the required infra6 structure investments, including maintenance, up7 grades, and any enhanced facility or equipment capa8 bilities, that are required to carry out the needs and 

9 priorities described in paragraph (2); and 

10 (4) provide an estimate of the budget require11 ments and a schedule and timeline for implementing 

12 the plan. 

13 (c) TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.— 

14 The Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, expand 

15 the opportunities within NASA’s suborbital programs for 

16 training science and engineering students and for providing 

17 professional development for early career professionals. 

18 Training and development activities shall be expanded con19 sistent with the goals and objectives of the strategic plan 

20 to be developed under subsection (b). 

21 SEC. 312. REVIEW OF EXPLORER PROGRAM. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 

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

24 enter into an arrangement with the National Academies to 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
68 

•HR 5781 RH

1 conduct a review of the Explorer Program and offer any 

2 recommendations as it considers necessary. 

3 (b) SCOPE.—Such review shall address at least the fol4 lowing: 

5 (1) A review of existing or recent Explorer pro6 gram elements such as NASA’s University Class Ex7 plorer (UNEX), Small Explorer (SMEX), Medium 

8 Class Explorer (MIDEX), Explorers (EX), and Mis9 sions of Opportunity to assess the degree of— 

10 (A) innovation in instrumentation, and 

11 other technology and space mission elements; 

12 (B) flexibility and new approaches in man13 agement and collaboration; 

14 (C) project implementation within the 

15 planned budget and schedule; and 

16 (D) training opportunities for space sci17 entists and engineers. 

18 (2) The status, capability, and availability of 

19 launch vehicles and infrastructure to support the Ex20 plorer program elements. 

21 (3) Projected launch capabilities and facilities 

22 for Explorers, including private sector launch capa23 bilities. 

24 (4) The frequency of Explorer missions. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
69 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (5) The balance of Explorer missions among 

2 theme areas and between larger and smaller mission 

3 sizes. 

4 (6) The opportunities and challenges for partner 

5 participation in Explorer missions, including inter6 national and interagency collaborations. 

7 (7) The contributions of Explorers to a robust 

8 space science program, and the value of the Explorer 

9 Program for the Nation’s scientific research and engi10 neering community, including its impact on training 

11 of younger researchers and engineers. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 16 months after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

14 to the Congress the review and a plan for responding to 

15 the recommendations of the review. 

16 SEC. 313. RADIOISOTOPE THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR 

17 MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPLY. 

18 (a) ANALYSIS OF REQUIREMENTS AND RISKS.—The 

19 Administrator, in consultation with other Federal agencies, 

20 shall conduct an analysis of NASA requirements for radio21 isotope power system material which is needed to carry out 

22 planned, high priority robotic missions in the solar system 

23 and other surface exploration activities beyond low-Earth 

24 orbit, as well as the risks to NASA missions in meeting 

25 those requirements, or any additional requirements, due to 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
70 

•HR 5781 RH

1 a lack of adequate domestic production of radioisotope 

2 power system material. The analysis shall— 

3 (1) detail NASA’s current projected mission re4 quirements for radioisotope power system material; 

5 (2) explain the assumptions used to determine 

6 NASA’s requirements for the material, including— 

7 (A) the planned use of Advanced Stirling 

8 Radioisotope Generator technology; 

9 (B) the status of and timeline for com10 pleting development and demonstration of the 

11 Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator tech12 nology, including the development of flight readi13 ness requirements; and 

14 (C) the risks, implications, and contin15 gencies for NASA mission plans of any delays or 

16 unanticipated technical challenges related to the 

17 anticipated use of Advanced Stirling Radioiso18 tope Generator technology; 

19 (3) assess the risk to NASA programs of any po20 tential delays in achieving the schedule and mile21 stones for planned domestic production of radioisotope 

22 power system material; 

23 (4) outline a process for meeting any additional 

24 NASA requirements for the material; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
71 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (5) estimate the incremental costs required to in2 crease the amount of material produced each year, if 

3 such an increase is needed to support additional 

4 NASA requirements for the material. 

5 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con7 sultation with other Federal agencies, shall transmit the re8 sults of the analysis to the Congress. 

9 TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

10 SEC. 401. ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AIRCRAFT RE11 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

12 Section 302 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

13 Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

14 17721) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(b) PLAN.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de21 velop a plan and associated timetable for this initia22 tive identifying key milestones, including projected 

23 flight demonstrations to validate vehicle and tech24 nology concepts in a relevant environment. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
72 

•HR 5781 RH

1 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 270 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the National Aero3 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

4 of 2010, the Administrator shall transmit the plan to 

5 the Congress.’’. 

6 SEC. 402. RESEARCH ON NEXTGEN AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT 

7 CONCEPTS AND TOOLS. 

8 The Administrator shall review at least annually the 

9 alignment and timing of NASA’s research and development 

10 activities in support of the NextGen airspace management 

11 modernization initiative and shall make any necessary ad12 justments by reprioritizing or retargeting NASA’s research 

13 and development activities in support of the NextGen ini14 tiative. 

15 SEC. 403. RESEARCH ON AIRCRAFT CABIN AIR QUALITY. 

16 The Administrator shall initiate research on aircraft 

17 cabin air quality that complements research conducted by 

18 the Federal Aviation Administration and its Center of Ex19 cellence on Research in the Intermodal Transport Environ20 ment, including research on innovative aircraft cabin air 

21 quality sensors operating during ground and flight oper22 ations and on innovative warning and mitigation tech23 nologies for poor air quality. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
73 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 404. RESEARCH ON ON-BOARD VOLCANIC ASH SENSOR 

2 SYSTEMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall conduct a 

4 study to assess the feasibility of establishing a project fo5 cused on the development of a low-cost on-board volcanic 

6 ash sensor system. 

7 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The study shall consider, at a 

8 minimum— 

9 (1) NASA’s unique capabilities; 

10 (2) opportunities for collaboration, both nation11 ally and internationally; and 

12 (3) projected resource requirements, research 

13 milestones, and potential accomplishments. 

14 SEC. 405. AERONAUTICS TEST FACILITIES. 

15 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con16 gress that— 

17 (1) NASA must reverse the deteriorating condi18 tion of its aeronautics ground test facilities and in19 frastructure, as this condition is hampering the effec20 tiveness and efficiency of aeronautics research per21 formed by both NASA and industry participants 

22 making use of NASA facilities, thus reducing the com23 petitiveness of the United States aviation industry; 

24 (2) NASA has a role in providing test capabili25 ties that are not economically viable as commercial 

26 entities and thus are not available elsewhere; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
74 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (3) to ensure continued access to reliable and ef2 ficient national-class test capabilities by researchers, 

3 NASA should seek to establish strategic partnerships 

4 with other Federal agencies, academic institutions, 

5 and industry. 

6 (b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a plan to 

7 stabilize and, where possible, reverse the deterioration of 

8 NASA’s aeronautics ground test facilities. The Adminis9 trator shall transmit such plan to the Congress not later 

10 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 406. EXPANDED RESEARCH PROGRAM ON COMPOSITE 

12 MATERIALS USED IN AEROSPACE. 

13 The Administrator shall expand NASA’s research pro14 gram on composite materials used in aerospace applica15 tions to address— 

16 (1) progressive damage analysis, aging, inspec17 tion techniques, and new manufacturing and repair 

18 techniques; and 

19 (2) ways to mitigate how the environment, oper20 ating fluids, and mechanical loads interact with com21 posite materials over time. 

22 TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

23 SEC. 501. SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall estab25 lish a space technology program to enable research and deVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
75 

•HR 5781 RH

1 velopment on advanced space technologies and systems that 

2 are independent of specific space mission flight projects. The 

3 program shall support— 

4 (1) early-stage concepts and innovation; 

5 (2) development of innovative technologies in 

6 areas such as in-space propulsion, power generation 

7 and storage, liquid rocket propulsion, avionics, struc8 tures, and materials that may enable new approaches 

9 to human and robotic space missions; 

10 (3) flight demonstrations of technologies, includ11 ing those that have the potential to benefit multiple 

12 NASA mission directorates, other Federal Government 

13 agencies, and the commercial space industry; and 

14 (4) research, development, and demonstration of 

15 enabling technologies in support of future exploration 

16 missions. 

17 (b) PROCEDURE.—In establishing the space technology 

18 program under this section, the Administrator shall— 

19 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, use a 

20 competitive process to select projects to be supported 

21 as part of the program; 

22 (2) support the development of an organization 

23 to investigate innovative concepts for technological 

24 approaches, systems, architectures, or mission strate25 gies; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
76 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (3) make use of small satellites and NASA sub2 orbital platforms, to the extent practicable, to dem3 onstrate space technology concepts and developments; 

4 and 

5 (4) undertake partnerships with other Federal 

6 agencies, universities, private industry, and other 

7 spacefaring nations, as appropriate. 

8 (c) DECADAL SURVEY.—The Administrator shall enter 

9 into an arrangement with the National Academies for a 

10 decadal survey study to make recommendations for research 

11 and development priorities for NASA’s space technology 

12 program over the next decade. Included in the decadal sur13 vey shall be an identification and prioritization of key tech14 nology research and development activities needed to enable 

15 a robust exploration technology program, from basic re16 search and development through flight demonstrations. The 

17 Administrator shall transmit the results of the study to the 

18 Congress not later than 20 months after the date of enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 TITLE VI—EDUCATION AND 

21 OUTREACH 

22 SEC. 601. STEM EDUCATION AND TRAINING. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to create the diverse, 

24 skilled scientific and technical workforce essential to meet25 ing the challenges facing NASA and the Nation in the 21st 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
77 

•HR 5781 RH

1 century, the Administrator shall develop, conduct, support, 

2 promote, and coordinate formal and informal educational 

3 and training activities that leverage NASA’s unique content 

4 expertise and facilities to— 

5 (1) contribute to improving science, technology, 

6 engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and 

7 training at all levels in the United States; and 

8 (2) enhance awareness and understanding of 

9 STEM, including space and Earth sciences, aero10 nautics, and engineering. 

11 (b) PROGRAMS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall carry 

13 out evidence-based programs designed to— 

14 (A) increase student interest and participa15 tion, including by women, underrepresented mi16 nority students, and students in rural schools; 

17 (B) improve public literacy and support; 

18 and 

19 (C) improve the teaching and learning of 

20 space and Earth sciences, aeronautics, engineer21 ing, and other STEM disciplines supported by 

22 NASA. 

23 (2) INCLUDED PROGRAMS.—Programs authorized 

24 under this subsection may include— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
78 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (A) informal educational programming de2 signed to excite and inspire students and the 

3 general public about space and Earth science, 

4 aeronautics, engineering, and other STEM dis5 ciplines supported by NASA while strengthening 

6 their content knowledge in these disciplines; 

7 (B) teacher training and professional devel8 opment opportunities for pre-service and in-serv9 ice elementary and secondary school teachers de10 signed to increase the content knowledge of teach11 ers in space and Earth science, aeronautics, en12 gineering, and other STEM disciplines supported 

13 by NASA, especially through hands-on research 

14 and technology experiences; 

15 (C) research opportunities for secondary 

16 school students, including internships at NASA 

17 and its field centers, that provide secondary 

18 school students with hands-on research and tech19 nology experiences as well as exposure to working 

20 scientists and engineers; 

21 (D) research opportunities at NASA and its 

22 field centers for undergraduate and graduate stu23 dents pursuing degrees in space and Earth 

24 sciences, aeronautics, engineering, and other 

25 STEM disciplines supported by NASA; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
79 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (E) competitive scholarships, fellowships, 

2 and traineeships for undergraduate and grad3 uate students in space and Earth sciences, aero4 nautics, engineering, and other STEM dis5 ciplines supported by NASA; and 

6 (F) competitive grants for institutions of 

7 higher education, with special consideration for 

8 minority serving institutions, including 2-year 

9 institutions of higher education, to establish or 

10 expand degree programs or courses in space and 

11 Earth sciences, aeronautics, engineering, and 

12 other STEM disciplines supported by NASA. 

13 (c) ORGANIZATION OF STEM EDUCATION PRO14 GRAMS.— 

15 (1) DIRECTOR OF STEM EDUCATION.—The Ad16 ministrator shall appoint or designate a Director of 

17 STEM Education, who shall have the principal re18 sponsibility to oversee and coordinate all NASA pro19 grams and activities in support of STEM education 

20 and training, including space and Earth sciences, 

21 aeronautics, and engineering. 

22 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall be an 

23 individual who, by reason of professional background 

24 and experience, is specially qualified to advise the 

25 Administrator on all matters pertaining to STEM 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
80 

•HR 5781 RH

1 education and training, including space and Earth 

2 sciences, aeronautics, and engineering, at NASA. 

3 (3) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 

4 (A) oversee and coordinate all programs in 

5 support of STEM education and training, in6 cluding space and Earth sciences, aeronautics, 

7 and engineering; 

8 (B) represent NASA as the principal inter9 agency liaison for all STEM education and 

10 training programs, unless otherwise represented 

11 by the Administrator or the Associate Adminis12 trator for Education; 

13 (C) prepare the annual budget and advise 

14 the Associate Administrator for Education and 

15 the Administrator on all budgetary issues for 

16 STEM education and training relative to the 

17 programs of NASA; 

18 (D) establish, periodically update, and 

19 maintain a publicly accessible online inventory 

20 of STEM education and training programs and 

21 activities; 

22 (E) develop, implement, and update the 

23 STEM education and training strategic plan re24 quired under subsection (d); 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
81 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (F) increase, to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, the participation and advancement of 

3 women and underrepresented minorities at every 

4 level of STEM education and training; and 

5 (G) perform such other matters relating to 

6 STEM education and training as are required 

7 by the Administrator or the Associate Adminis8 trator for Education. 

9 (d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Director of STEM Edu10 cation shall develop, implement, and update once every 3 

11 years a STEM education and training strategic plan for 

12 NASA. The plan shall— 

13 (1) identify and prioritize annual and long-term 

14 STEM education and training goals and objectives 

15 for NASA; 

16 (2) describe the role of each NASA program or 

17 activity in contributing to the goals and objectives 

18 identified under paragraph (1); 

19 (3) specify the metrics that will be used to assess 

20 progress toward achieving those goals and objectives; 

21 and 

22 (4) describe the approaches that will be taken to 

23 assess the effectiveness of each STEM education pro24 gram and activity supported by NASA. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
82 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (e) OUTREACH TO STUDENTS FROM UNDERREP2 RESENTED GROUPS.—The Administrator shall seek to en3 sure that program participants include minority and 

4 underrepresented groups, including students from a high5 need local education agency as defined in section 2102(3) 

6 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 6602(3)). 

8 (f) CONSULTATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER

9 AGENCIES.—In carrying out the programs and activities 

10 authorized under this section, the Administrator shall— 

11 (1) consult with the Secretary of Education and 

12 the Director of the National Science Foundation re13 garding activities designed to improve elementary 

14 and secondary STEM education and training, and 

15 recruit minorities that are underrepresented in 

16 STEM teaching; and 

17 (2) consult and partner with the Director of the 

18 National Science Foundation in carrying out pro19 grams under this section designed to build capacity 

20 in STEM education and training at the under21 graduate and graduate level. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
83 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 602. ASSESSMENT OF IMPEDIMENTS TO SPACE 

2 SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE DE3 VELOPMENT FOR MINORITY AND UNDERREP4 RESENTED GROUPS AT NASA. 

5 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter into 

6 an arrangement for an independent assessment of any im7 pediments to space science and engineering workforce devel8 opment for minority and underrepresented groups at 

9 NASA, including recommendations on— 

10 (1) measures to address such impediments; 

11 (2) opportunities for augmenting the impact of 

12 space science and engineering workforce development 

13 activities and for expanding proven, effective pro14 grams; and 

15 (3) best practices and lessons learned, as identi16 fied through the assessment, to help maximize the ef17 fectiveness of existing and future programs to increase 

18 the participation of minority and underrepresented 

19 groups in the space science and engineering workforce 

20 at NASA. 

21 (b) REPORT.—A report on the assessment carried out 

22 under subsection (a) shall be transmitted to the Congress 

23 not later than 15 months after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
84 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—To the extent practicable, the 

2 Administrator shall take all necessary steps to address any 

3 impediments identified in the assessment. 

4 SEC. 603. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SPACE 

5 GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOWSHIP PRO6 GRAM. 

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

9 (1) the National Space Grant College and Fel10 lowship Program, established in title II of the Na11 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author12 ization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 2486 et seq.), has been 

13 an important program through which the Federal 

14 Government has partnered with State and local gov15 ernments, universities, private industry, and other or16 ganizations to enhance the understanding and use of 

17 space and aeronautics activities and their benefits 

18 through education, the fostering of interdisciplinary 

19 and multidisciplinary space research and training, 

20 and supporting Federal funding for graduate fellow21 ships in space-related fields; and 

22 (2) enhancing the National Space Grant College 

23 and Fellowship Program’s effectiveness will support 

24 the program’s maximum contribution to NASA’s and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
85 

•HR 5781 RH

1 the Nation’s goals for science, technology, engineering 

2 and mathematics (STEM) education and training. 

3 (b) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

4 arrangement with the National Academies for a review of 

5 the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, 

6 including its structure and capabilities for supporting 

7 STEM education and training, and recommendations on 

8 measures, if needed, to enhance the program’s effectiveness. 

9 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—The Administrator shall transmit 

10 the results of the review to the Congress not later than 18 

11 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 604. HANDS-ON SPACE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 

13 EDUCATION AND TRAINING. 

14 (a) PILOT PROJECTS.— 

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

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

17 shall competitively select pilot projects that test and 

18 demonstrate new forms of collaborative and hands-on 

19 education and training projects related to aero20 nautics, exploration, science, space operations, and 

21 human spaceflight, that serve to stimulate and engage 

22 students in science and engineering, and that foster 

23 skills including engineering, teamwork, project man24 agement, and problem solving. In particular, the pilot 

25 projects shall emphasize engineering and technologyVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
86 

•HR 5781 RH

1 related education and training. The pilot projects 

2 shall include a breadth of activities that range in 

3 scope and complexity and shall also test and dem4 onstrate selection, evaluation, mentoring, and related 

5 tools and services required to support the projects. The 

6 program shall be directed at serving undergraduates. 

7 The Administrator may include broader participation 

8 from pre-collegiate and graduate students, as appro9 priate. To the extent practicable, the initiative shall 

10 also be accessible to NASA’s young science, technical, 

11 and project management professionals. 

12 (2) PROJECTS.—Pursuant to subsection (b), the 

13 pilot projects shall be carried out through competitive 

14 solicitations. The duration of a project awarded under 

15 the pilot program shall be no more than 4 years. The 

16 pilot projects program shall— 

17 (A) include a range of projects of varying 

18 scope and complexity; 

19 (B) provide participants with experience in 

20 areas such as— 

21 (i) formulating, planning, designing, 

22 developing, testing and integrating, and op23 erating mission or flight hardware; 

24 (ii) systems engineering; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
87 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (iii) analyzing data from a mission or 

2 investigation; and 

3 (iv) documentation, reporting, and re4 views; 

5 (C) include defined and measurable objec6 tives; 

7 (D) provide mentoring for participants; 

8 (E) provide for evaluation of the project 

9 and documentation of the outcomes of the project 

10 and its contribution to education and training; 

11 and 

12 (F) encourage outreach to and partnerships 

13 with universities, Federal agencies, private enti14 ties, and other institutions involved in student 

15 collaborations and hands-on training and edu16 cation, including organizations that focus on en17 gaging young girls in science and engineering 

18 hands-on education and training activities. 

19 (3) EMPHASIS ON PARTICIPATION OF INDIVID20 UALS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY POPU21 LATIONS.—The Administrator shall make it an em22 phasis of the pilot projects to seek the involvement of 

23 participants from underserved and underrepresented 

24 minority populations. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
88 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (4) FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCESS TO

2 SPACE.—The Administrator shall ensure, to the extent 

3 practicable, the availability and accessibility of plat4 forms for flying and launching into space student’s 

5 collaborative and hands-on projects. 

6 (5) FORUM FOR PARTICIPANT PRESENTATIONS.— 

7 The Administrator shall organize a forum for stu8 dents and other participants in the pilot projects to 

9 discuss and present their work, at an appropriate 

10 stage of the project, and to engage with other students 

11 and young professionals involved in ongoing collabo12 rative and hands-on training activities related to 

13 space science and engineering, aeronautics, space ex14 ploration, and human spaceflight. 

15 (6) WORKSHOP.—The Administrator shall orga16 nize a workshop or workshops involving the competi17 tively-selected pilot project teams for the purposes of 

18 collecting information on the results of the pilot 

19 projects (including on selection, evaluation tools, and 

20 mentoring services) and identifying lessons learned 

21 and best practices for NASA-supported collaborative 

22 and hands-on education and training projects. 

23 (7) REPORT AND STRATEGY.—Not later than 3 

24 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad25 ministrator shall transmit to the Committee on 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
89 

•HR 5781 RH

1 Science and Technology of the House of Representa2 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

3 Transportation of the Senate a report— 

4 (A) on the outcomes of existing student col5 laborative and hands-on projects such as those 

6 being conducted as part of NASA’s science pro7 grams; 

8 (B) on the results of the pilot projects; and 

9 (C) on best practices of NASA’s student col10 laborations and hands-on education and train11 ing activities. 

12 The report shall define decision criteria, a strategy, 

13 and a process for extending successful projects or 

14 transitioning them into an ongoing, competitive pro15 gram. 

16 (b) INFORMATION EXCHANGE.—The Administrator 

17 shall support mission directorates sponsoring student col18 laborative and hands-on education and training projects in 

19 exchanging information, sharing knowledge, and leveraging 

20 activities, as appropriate. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator such 

23 sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011, 2012, 2013, 

24 and 2014 to carry out this section, to remain available until 

25 expended. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
90 

•HR 5781 RH

1 TITLE VII—INSTITUTIONAL 

2 CAPABILITIES REVITALIZATION 

3 SEC. 701. INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT. 

4 (a) MODERNIZATION OF LABORATORIES, FACILITIES, 

5 AND EQUIPMENT.— 

6 (1) STRATEGY.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

8 develop a strategy for the maintenance, repair, 

9 upgrading, and modernization of NASA’s lab10 oratories, facilities, and equipment. 

11 (B) CRITERIA.—The strategy shall include 

12 criteria for prioritizing deferred maintenance 

13 tasks and also for upgrading or modernizing lab14 oratories, facilities, and equipment. 

15 (C) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—The strategy 

16 shall also include an assessment of modifications 

17 needed to maximize usage of facilities that offer 

18 unique and highly specialized benefits to the 

19 aerospace industry and the American public. 

20 (2) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a 

21 plan for implementing the strategy in paragraph (1), 

22 including a timeline, milestones, and an estimate of 

23 resources required for carrying out the plan. 

24 (3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Adminis25 trator shall transmit to the Congress the strategy 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
91 

•HR 5781 RH

1 under paragraph (1) and the plan under paragraph 

2 (2) not later than 180 days after the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPITAL FUND.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es6 tablish a capital fund at each of NASA’s field centers 

7 for the modernization of facilities and laboratories. 

8 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDING.—The Administrator 

9 shall ensure to the maximum extent practicable that 

10 all financial savings achieved by closing outdated or 

11 surplus facilities at a NASA field center shall be 

12 made available to that center’s capital fund for the 

13 purpose of modernizing the field center’s facilities and 

14 laboratories and for upgrading the infrastructure at 

15 the field center. 

16 SEC. 702. JAMES E. WEBB COOPERATIVE EDUCATION DIS17 TINGUISHED SCHOLAR PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator is author19 ized to establish a national cooperative education program 

20 to complement existing NASA Center-administered coopera21 tive education initiatives. 

22 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Administrator shall 

23 encourage and seek applications from the pool of American 

24 students pursuing science, technology, engineering, or mathVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
92 

•HR 5781 RH

1 ematics degrees who wish to gain working experience in 

2 NASA. 

3 (c) SELECTION.—From the applications, the Adminis4 trator shall select 10 finalists annually as James E. Webb 

5 Cooperative Education Distinguished Scholars. 

6 (d) AWARD.—The James E. Webb Cooperative Edu7 cation Distinguished Scholars shall be provided with— 

8 (1) learning experiences that will enhance their 

9 understanding of activities conducted in the various 

10 NASA Centers in furtherance of NASA’s missions and 

11 priorities; 

12 (2) exposure to NASA headquarters functions 

13 and activities; and 

14 (3) stipends for living expenses. 

15 TITLE VIII—ACQUISITION 

16 MANAGEMENT 

17 SEC. 801. PROHIBITION ON EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS WHEN 

18 30 PERCENT THRESHOLD IS EXCEEDED. 

19 Section 103(e) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

20 Administration Authorization of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16613(e)) 

21 is amended by striking ‘‘beginning 18 months after the date 

22 the Administrator transmits a report under subsection 

23 (d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘beginning 18 months after the Ad24 ministrator makes such determination’’. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
93 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 802. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 

2 To ensure that the establishment, maintenance, and al3 lotment of project and program reserves contribute to pru4 dent management, not later than 180 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

6 to the Congress a report describing NASA’s criteria for es7 tablishing the amount of reserves at the project and pro8 gram levels and how such criteria complement NASA’s pol9 icy of budgeting at a 70 percent confidence level. 

10 SEC. 803. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 

11 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Congress 

13 a report describing NASA’s procedures for conducting inde14 pendent reviews of projects and programs at lifecycle mile15 stones and how NASA ensures the independence of the indi16 viduals who conduct those reviews prior to their assign17 ment. 

18 SEC. 804. AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN19 TEREST IN MAJOR NASA ACQUISITION PRO20 GRAMS. 

21 (a) REVISED REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

22 than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Administrator shall revise the NASA Supplement to the 

24 Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uniform guid25 ance and tighten existing requirements for preventing orgaVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
94 

•HR 5781 RH

1 nizational conflicts of interest by contractors in major ac2 quisition programs. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The revised regulations required by 

4 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 

5 (1) address organizational conflicts of interest 

6 that could potentially arise as a result of— 

7 (A) lead system integrator contracts on 

8 major acquisition programs and contracts that 

9 follow lead system integrator contracts on such 

10 programs, particularly contracts for production; 

11 (B) the ownership of business units per12 forming systems engineering and technical as13 sistance functions, professional services, or man14 agement support services in relation to major ac15 quisition programs by contractors who simulta16 neously own business units competing to perform 

17 as either the prime contractor or the supplier of 

18 a major subsystem or component for such pro19 grams; 

20 (C) the award of major subsystem contracts 

21 by a prime contractor for a major acquisition 

22 program to business units or other affiliates of 

23 the same parent corporate entity, and particu24 larly the award of subcontracts for software inteVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5781.RH H5781

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
95 

•HR 5781 RH

1 gration or the development of a proprietary soft2 ware system architecture; or 

3 (D) the performance by, or assistance of, 

4 contractors in technical evaluations on major ac5 quisition programs; 

6 (2) ensure that NASA receives advice, when ap7 propriate, on systems architecture and systems engi8 neering matters with respect to major acquisition pro9 grams from federally funded research and develop10 ment centers or other sources independent of the 

11 prime contractor; 

12 (3) require that a contract for the performance 

13 of systems engineering and technical assistance func14 tions for a major acquisition program contains a pro15 vision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate of 

16 the contractor from participating as a prime con17 tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 

18 of a system under the program; and 

19 (4) establish such limited exceptions to the re20 quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as may be nec21 essary to ensure that NASA has continued access to 

22 advice on systems architecture and systems engineer23 ing matters from highly qualified contractors with do24 main experience and expertise, while ensuring that 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
96 

•HR 5781 RH

1 such advice comes from sources that are objective and 

2 unbiased. 

3 SEC. 805. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

4 The Administrator shall transmit to the Congress, not 

5 later than April 30 of each year, an estimate of the total 

6 termination liability as of the end of the second fiscal quar7 ter for all NASA contracts with a total value in excess of 

8 $200,000,000. 

9 TITLE IX—OTHER PROVISIONS 

10 SEC. 901. CLOUD COMPUTING. 

11 (a) DEFINITION.—As defined by the National Institute 

12 of Standards and Technology, for purposes of this section, 

13 the term ‘‘cloud computing’’ means a model for enabling 

14 convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of 

15 configurable computing resources that can be rapidly 

16 provisioned with minimal management effort or service 

17 provider interaction. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after NASA has 

19 entered into a contract for its first use of a non-Federal 

20 cloud computing facility, the Comptroller General shall 

21 transmit to the Congress a report detailing whether sen22 sitive but unclassified and classified NASA information 

23 was processed on that facility and if so, how NASA ensured 

24 that data access and security requirements were in place 

25 to safeguard NASA’s scientific and technical information. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
97 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 902. REVIEW OF PRACTICES TO DETECT AND PREVENT 

2 THE USE OF COUNTERFEIT PARTS. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

4 this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the Con5 gress a review of NASA’s processes and controls to detect 

6 and prevent the use of counterfeit parts in NASA mission 

7 projects and related assets. The review shall examine— 

8 (1) the trends in known and identified counter9 feit parts in NASA’s supply chain; 

10 (2) NASA’s processes and controls to detect coun11 terfeit parts and prevent their incorporation into 

12 NASA mission projects, instruments, and other mis13 sion-related assets; and 

14 (3) any gaps in NASA’s controls and processes 

15 for detecting counterfeit parts and preventing their 

16 incorporation into NASA missions and related assets. 

17 SEC. 903. PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LUNAR 

18 SITES. 

19 (a) INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE.—The Director of 

20 OSTP, in cooperation with the Administrator, other rel21 evant Federal agencies, commercial entities, and inter22 national bodies, shall enter into a dialogue to identify the 

23 questions and research needed to understand— 

24 (1) the potential adverse impacts of various uses 

25 of the Moon on scientific research activities; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
98 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (2) the potential adverse impacts of such uses on 

2 lunar areas of historical, cultural, or scientific value; 

3 and 

4 (3) how to prevent or mitigate such impacts. 

5 (b) GRANTS PROGRAM.—The Administrator, in co6 operation with other relevant Federal agencies and stake7 holders, shall establish a grants program to conduct re8 search for the purpose of identifying and characterizing po9 tential impacts related to lunar activities and describing 

10 potential means for managing and mitigating the impacts. 

11 (c) INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK.—As a result of the 

12 dialogue under subsection (a), the Director of OSTP shall 

13 initiate an effort to establish an international framework 

14 for identifying, protecting, and preserving lunar areas de15 termined to be of significant historical, cultural, or sci16 entific value. 

17 (d) REPORT.—The Director of OSTP shall provide a 

18 report on the results of the international dialogue under 

19 subsection (a) and the establishment of an international 

20 framework under subsection (c), to be transmitted to the 

21 Congress not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
99 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 904. CONTINUITY OF MODERATE RESOLUTION LAND 

2 IMAGING REMOTE SENSING DATA. 

3 (a) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—The Congress reaf4 firms the finding in section 2(1) of the Land Remote Sens5 ing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601(1)) which states 

6 that ‘‘The continuous collection and utilization of land re7 mote sensing data from space are of major benefit in study8 ing and understanding human impacts on the global envi9 ronment, in managing the Earth’s natural resources, in 

10 carrying out national security functions, and in planning 

11 and conducting many other activities of scientific, eco12 nomic, and social importance.’’. 

13 (b) CONTINUOUS LAND REMOTE SENSING DATA COL14 LECTION.—The Director of OSTP shall take steps in con15 sultation with other relevant Federal agencies to ensure, to 

16 the maximum extent practicable, the continuous collection 

17 of space-based medium-resolution observations of the 

18 Earth’s land cover and to ensure that the data are made 

19 available in such ways as to facilitate the widest possible 

20 use. 

21 SEC. 905. SPACE WEATHER. 

22 (a) STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The Di23 rector of OSTP, in coordination with the Administrator 

24 and with other relevant Federal agencies, space weather co25 ordinating bodies, industry, academia, and other stake26 holders, shall prepare a long-term strategy for a sustainable 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
100 

•HR 5781 RH

1 space weather program and develop a plan to implement 

2 the strategy. The implementation plan shall— 

3 (1) define individual agency responsibilities for 

4 carrying out the strategy; 

5 (2) identify the milestones and schedule required 

6 for each agency’s contributions; 

7 (3) provide an estimate of the resources required 

8 for each agency to carry out its responsibilities; 

9 (4) establish a process for coordinating agency 

10 responsibilities, programs, and budgets required for 

11 implementing the plan; and 

12 (5) identify opportunities for private sector and 

13 international contributions to implementing the plan. 

14 (b) STUDY ON PREDICTION.—The Director of OSTP 

15 shall enter into an arrangement with the National Acad16 emies to assess the status of capabilities for space weather 

17 prediction and recommend the highest priority basic re18 search, infrastructure, and operational needs required to 

19 improve the Nation’s ability to predict space weather 

20 events. The study should also address the benefits of space 

21 weather prediction. The Director shall transmit the results 

22 of the study to the Congress not later than 18 months after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
101 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 906. USE OF OPERATIONAL COMMERCIAL SUBORBITAL 

2 VEHICLES FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 

3 AND EDUCATION. 

4 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall prepare a plan 

5 describing the processes required to support the use of com6 mercial reusable suborbital flight vehicles for carrying out 

7 competitively selected scientific and engineering investiga8 tions and educational activities. The plan shall— 

9 (1) describe NASA, space flight operator, and 

10 supporting contractor responsibilities for developing 

11 standard payload interfaces and conducting payload 

12 safety analyses, payload integration and processing, 

13 payload operations, and safety assurance for NASA14 sponsored space flight participants, among other func15 tions required to fly NASA-sponsored payloads and 

16 space flight participants on commercial suborbital ve17 hicles; 

18 (2) identify NASA-provided hardware, software, 

19 or services that may be provided to space flight opera20 tors on a cost-reimbursable basis, through agreements 

21 entered into under section 203(c)(5) of the National 

22 Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 

23 2473(c)(5)), or on a contractual basis; and 

24 (3) describe the United States Government and 

25 space flight operator responsibilities for liability and 

26 indemnification with respect to commercial suborbital 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
102 

•HR 5781 RH

1 vehicle flights that involve NASA-sponsored payloads 

2 or activities, NASA-supported space flight partici3 pants, or other NASA-related contributions. 

4 (b) COMMERCIAL REUSABLE SUBORBITAL CAPABILI5 TIES AND RISKS.—The Administrator shall assess and 

6 characterize the potential capabilities and performance of 

7 commercial reusable suborbital vehicles for addressing sci8 entific research, including research requiring access to low 

9 gravity and microgravity environments, for carrying out 

10 technology demonstrations related to science, exploration, or 

11 space operations requirements, and for providing opportu12 nities for educating and training space scientists and engi13 neers, once those vehicles become operational. The assess14 ment shall also characterize the risks of using potential 

15 commercial reusable suborbital flights to NASA-sponsored 

16 researchers, investigators, and scientific investigations and 

17 flight hardware. The Administrator shall make a deter18 mination on the need to enter into arrangements with com19 mercial reusable suborbital service providers for flights or 

20 flight services to acquire analytical data to inform the as21 sessment. 

22 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—The plan and assessment described 

23 in subsections (a) and (b) shall be transmitted to the Con24 gress not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

25 this Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
103 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (d) IN GENERAL.—The report of the National Acad2 emy of Sciences entitled ‘‘Revitalizing NASA’s Suborbital 

3 Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation and De4 veloping Workforce’’ found that suborbital science missions 

5 were critical to building an aerospace workforce capable of 

6 meeting the needs of current and future human and robotic 

7 space exploration. 

8 (e) MANAGEMENT.—The Administrator shall designate 

9 an officer or employee of the Space Technology Program 

10 to act as the responsible official for the Commercial Reus11 able Suborbital Research Program in the Space Technology 

12 Program. The designee shall be responsible for the develop13 ment of short-term and long-term strategic plans related to 

14 the use of commercial reusable suborbital vehicles to support 

15 NASA’s requirements for competitively-selected science, 

16 technology demonstration, and educational activities. 

17 (f) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall estab18 lish a Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program 

19 within the Space Technology Program that shall fund the 

20 development of competitively selected payloads for scientific 

21 research, technology development, and education, and shall 

22 provide flight opportunities for those payloads to micro23 gravity environments and suborbital altitudes that meet the 

24 requirements of such investigations. The Commercial Reus25 able Suborbital Research Program may fund engineering 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
104 

•HR 5781 RH

1 and integration demonstrations, proofs of concept, or ex2 periments for commercial reusable vehicle flights, once the 

3 vehicles have met the requirements consistent with sub4 section (h). The program shall coordinate with NASA’s Mis5 sion Directorates to help achieve NASA’s research, tech6 nology, and education goals. 

7 (g) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit a re8 port annually to the Congress describing progress in car9 rying out the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research 

10 program, including the number and type of suborbital mis11 sions planned in each fiscal year. The plan and assessment 

12 described in subsections (a) and (b) shall be transmitted 

13 to the Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enact14 ment of this Act, before the transmittal of which the Admin15 istrator shall not be constrained in the execution of this sec16 tion. 

17 (h) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The Adminis18 trator shall not proceed with a request for proposals, award 

19 any contract, commit any United States Government funds, 

20 or enter into any other agreement for the provision of a 

21 commercial reusable suborbital vehicle launch service of a 

22 NASA-sponsored payload or spaceflight participant until 

23 all indemnification and liability issues associated with the 

24 use of such systems by the United States Government shall 

25 have been addressed and the Administrator has provided 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
105 

•HR 5781 RH

1 to the Congress a report describing the indemnification and 

2 liability provisions that are planned to be included in such 

3 contracts or agreements. 

4 SEC. 907. STUDY ON EXPORT CONTROL MATTERS RELATED 

5 TO UNITED STATES ASTRONAUT SAFETY AND 

6 NASA MISSION OPERATIONS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of OSTP, in con8 sultation with the Administrator and other relevant Federal 

9 agencies, shall conduct a study to examine the need for a 

10 process for granting real-time, limited waivers to export 

11 control license restrictions or regulations that are necessary 

12 for United States Government entities and contractors to 

13 enter into technical discussions and to share technical data 

14 with foreign government entities and contractors to resolve 

15 anomalies that may— 

16 (1) threaten the safety of United States astro17 nauts aboard cooperative crewed spacecraft such as 

18 the ISS; or 

19 (2) impair the operations of international civil 

20 research and other spacecraft that involve the na21 tional interests of the United States. 

22 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—The results of the study shall be 

23 transmitted to the Congress not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
106 

•HR 5781 RH

1 SEC. 908. AMENDMENT TO THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS 

2 AND SPACE ACT OF 1958. 

3 Section 202 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act 

4 of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2472) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(d) The Administrator and the Deputy Administrator 

7 may be retired commissioned military personnel.’’. 

8 SEC. 909. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS. 

9 (a) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.—The Administrator 

10 shall designate a responsible official for coordinating 

11 NASA’s near-Earth object observation activities and 

12 NASA’s interactions with other Federal agencies and inter13 national entities on near-Earth object surveys, defense, and 

14 efforts related to addressing any threats to the United States 

15 posed by near-Earth objects. The responsible official shall 

16 report directly to the Administrator. 

17 (b) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY ON NEAR-EARTH OB18 JECT SURVEY.—The Congress reaffirms the direction set 

19 forth in section 321(d)(1) of the National Aeronautics and 

20 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

21 16691(d)(1)) that directed the Administrator ‘‘to plan, de22 velop, and implement a Near-Earth Object Survey program 

23 to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize the physical 

24 characteristics of near-Earth objects equal to or greater than 

25 140 meters in diameter in order to assess the threat of such 

26 near-Earth objects to the Earth’’. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
107 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (c) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY WITH RESPECT TO

2 THREATS POSED BY NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS.—The Con3 gress reaffirms the direction set forth in section 804 of the 

4 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author5 ization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17794) that directed the Di6 rector of OSTP by October 15, 2010, to— 

7 (1) develop a policy for notifying Federal agen8 cies and relevant emergency response institutions of 

9 an impending near-Earth object threat, if near-term 

10 public safety is at risk; and 

11 (2) recommend a Federal agency or agencies to 

12 be responsible for— 

13 (A) protecting the United States from a 

14 near-Earth object that is expected to collide with 

15 Earth; and 

16 (B) implementing a deflection campaign, in 

17 consultation with international bodies, should 

18 one be necessary. 

19 (d) ARECIBO OBSERVATORY.—Congress reiterates its 

20 support for the use of the Arecibo Observatory for NASA21 funded near-Earth object-related activities. The Adminis22 trator shall coordinate with the Director of the National 

23 Science Foundation to ensure the availability of the Arecibo 

24 Observatory’s planetary radar to support these activities. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
108 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (e) PLAN.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to 

3 the Congress a plan for carrying out the direction re4 affirmed by subsection (b). 

5 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From the 

6 funds authorized for Planetary Science in title I, 

7 $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2012 and $1,000,000 in fiscal 

8 year 2013 shall be for supporting competitively awarded 

9 grants for investigation of innovative approaches to car10 rying out the congressionally mandated survey of near11 Earth objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in diame12 ter. 

13 SEC. 910. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that NASA shall endeavor 

15 to carry out, to the extent feasible and technologically pos16 sible, the top recommendation from the decadal survey in 

17 each mission area. 

18 SEC. 911. ETHICS PROGRAMS IN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL 

19 COUNSEL. 

20 (a) REAFFIRMATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUN21 SEL.—The legal staff of the Office of General Counsel of 

22 NASA is reminded that as Government attorneys they have 

23 a special obligation to instruct NASA staff to comply with 

24 applicable Federal law and regulations. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
109 

•HR 5781 RH

1 (b) BIENNIAL ETHICS TRAINING FOR COUNSEL.—All 

2 NASA counsel shall be required to receive ethics training 

3 in the legal obligations of Government attorneys on a bien4 nial basis. 

5 (c) CERTIFICATION OF TRAINING.—Certification of 

6 participation in such a program shall be included in each 

7 counsel’s personnel record. 

8 (d) DESIGNATED ETHICS OFFICER.—The General 

9 Counsel of NASA may not serve as NASA’s designated eth10 ics officer. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 333 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5781 

[Report No. 111–576] 

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeropurposes. nautics and Space Administration, and for other 

JULY 28, 2010 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS