IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4412 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 10, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

JUNE 19, 2014 

Committee discharged; ordered returned to the House 

JUNE 23, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author4 ization Act of 2014’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2014. 

TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 

Subtitle A—Exploration 

Sec. 201. Space exploration policy. 

Sec. 202. Stepping stone approach to exploration. 

Sec. 203. Space Launch System. 

Sec. 204. Orion crew capsule. 

Sec. 205. Space radiation. 

Sec. 206. Planetary protection for human exploration missions. 

Subtitle B—Space Operations 

Sec. 211. International Space Station. 

Sec. 212. Barriers impeding enhanced utilization of the ISS’s National Laboratory by commercial companies. 

Sec. 213. Utilization of International Space Station for science missions. 

Sec. 214. International Space Station cargo resupply services lessons learned. 

Sec. 215. Commercial crew program. 

Sec. 216. Space communications. 

TITLE III—SCIENCE 

Subtitle A—General 

Sec. 301. Science portfolio. 

Sec. 302. Radioisotope power systems. 

Sec. 303. Congressional declaration of policy and purpose. 

Sec. 304. University class science missions. 

Sec. 305. Assessment of science mission extensions. 

Subtitle B—Astrophysics 

Sec. 311. Decadal cadence. 

Sec. 312. Extrasolar planet exploration strategy. 

Sec. 313. James Webb Space Telescope. 

Sec. 314. National Reconnaissance Office telescope donation. 

Sec. 315. Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope. 


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Sec. 316. Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. 

Subtitle C—Planetary Science 

Sec. 321. Decadal cadence. 

Sec. 322. Near-Earth objects. 

Sec. 323. Near-Earth objects public-private partnerships. 

Sec. 324. Research on near-earth object tsunami effects. 

Sec. 325. Astrobiology strategy. 

Sec. 326. Astrobiology public-private partnerships. 

Sec. 327. Assessment of Mars architecture. 

Subtitle D—Heliophysics 

Sec. 331. Decadal cadence. 

Sec. 332. Review of space weather. 

Subtitle E—Earth Science 

Sec. 341. Goal. 

Sec. 342. Decadal cadence. 

Sec. 343. Venture class missions. 

Sec. 344. Assessment. 

TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

Sec. 401. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 402. Aeronautics research goals. 

Sec. 403. Unmanned aerial systems research and development. 

Sec. 404. Research program on composite materials used in aeronautics. 

Sec. 405. Hypersonic research. 

Sec. 406. Supersonic research. 

Sec. 407. Research on NextGen airspace management concepts and tools. 

Sec. 408. Rotorcraft research. 

Sec. 409. Transformative aeronautics research. 

Sec. 410. Study of United States leadership in aeronautics research. 

TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 501. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 502. Space Technology Program. 

Sec. 503. Utilization of the International Space Station for technology demonstrations. 

TITLE VI—EDUCATION 

Sec. 601. Education. 

Sec. 602. Independent review of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. 

Sec. 603. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE VII—POLICY PROVISIONS 

Sec. 701. Asteroid Retrieval Mission. 

Sec. 702. Termination liability sense of Congress. 

Sec. 703. Baseline and cost controls. 

Sec. 704. Project and program reserves. 

Sec. 705. Independent reviews. 


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Sec. 706. Commercial technology transfer program. 

Sec. 707. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Council. 

Sec. 708. Cost estimation. 

Sec. 709. Avoiding organizational conflicts of interest in major Administration 

acquisition programs. 

Sec. 710. Facilities and infrastructure. 

Sec. 711. Detection and avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts. 

Sec. 712. Space Act Agreements. 

Sec. 713. Human spaceflight accident investigations. 

Sec. 714. Fullest commercial use of space. 

Sec. 715. Orbital debris. 

Sec. 716. Review of orbital debris removal concepts. 

Sec. 717. Use of operational commercial suborbital vehicles for research, development, and education. 

Sec. 718. Fundamental space life and physical sciences research. 

Sec. 719. Restoring commitment to engineering research. 

Sec. 720. Liquid rocket engine development program. 

Sec. 721 Remote satellite servicing demonstrations. 

Sec. 722. Information technology governance. 

Sec. 723. Strengthening Administration security. 

Sec. 724. Prohibition on use of funds for contractors that have committed 

fraud or other crimes. 

Sec. 725. Protection of Apollo landing sites. 

Sec. 726. Astronaut occupational healthcare. 

Sec. 727. Sense of Congress on access to observational data sets. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

5 Administration. 

6 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Administra8 tion. 

9 (3) ORION CREW CAPSULE.—The term ‘‘Orion 

10 crew capsule’’ means the multipurpose crew vehicle 

11 described in section 303 of the National Aeronautics 

12 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 

13 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 


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1 (4) SPACE ACT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Space 

2 Act Agreement’’ means an agreement created under 

3 the authority to enter into ‘‘other transactions’’ 

4 under section 20113(e) of title 51, United States 

5 Code. 

6 (5) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Space 

7 Launch System’’ means the follow-on Government8 owned civil launch system developed, managed, and 

9 operated by the Administration to serve as a key 

10 component to expand human presence beyond low11 Earth orbit, as described in section 302 of the Na12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au13 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322). 

14 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

15 APPROPRIATIONS 

16 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2014. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad18 ministration for fiscal year 2014 $17,646,500,000 as fol19 lows: 

20 (1) For Space Exploration, $4,113,200,000, of 

21 which— 

22 (A) $1,918,200,000 shall be for the Space 

23 Launch System, of which $318,200,000 shall be 

24 for Exploration Ground Systems; 


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1 (B) $1,197,000,000 shall be for the Orion 

2 crew capsule; 

3 (C) $302,000,000 shall be for Exploration 

4 Research and Development; and 

5 (D) $696,000,000 shall be for Commercial 

6 Crew Development activities. 

7 (2) For Space Operations, $3,778,000,000, of 

8 which $2,984,100,000 shall be for the International 

9 Space Station Program. 

10 (3) For Science, $5,151,200,000, of which— 

11 (A) $1,826,000,000 shall be for Earth 

12 Science; 

13 (B) $1,345,000,000 shall be for Planetary 

14 Science, with up to $30,000,000 for the 

15 Astrobiology Institute; 

16 (C) $668,000,000 shall be for Astro17 physics; 

18 (D) $658,200,000 shall be for the James 

19 Webb Space Telescope; and 

20 (E) $654,000,000 shall be for 

21 Heliophysics. 

22 (4) For Aeronautics, $566,000,000. 

23 (5) For Space Technology, $576,000,000. 

24 (6) For Education, $116,600,000. 

25 (7) For Cross-Agency Support, $2,793,000,000. 


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1 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com2 pliance and Restoration, $515,000,000. 

3 (9) For Inspector General, $37,500,000. 

4 TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 

5 Subtitle A—Exploration 

6 SEC. 201. SPACE EXPLORATION POLICY. 

7 (a) POLICY.—Human exploration deeper into the 

8 solar system shall be a core mission of the Administration. 

9 It is the policy of the United States that the goal of the 

10 Administration’s exploration program shall be to success11 fully conduct a crewed mission to the surface of Mars to 

12 begin human exploration of that planet. The use of the 

13 surface of the Moon, cis-lunar space, near-Earth asteroids, 

14 Lagrangian points, and Martian moons may be pursued 

15 provided they are properly incorporated into the Human 

16 Exploration Roadmap described in section 70504 of title 

17 51, United States Code. 

18 (b) VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION.—Section 

19 20302 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

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

22 ‘‘(1) ORION CREW CAPSULE.—The term ‘Orion 

23 crew capsule’ means the multipurpose crew vehicle 

24 described in section 303 of the National Aeronautics 


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1 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 

2 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

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

4 ‘Space Launch System’ means the follow-on Govern5 ment-owned civil launch system developed, managed, 

6 and operated by the Administration to serve as a 

7 key component to expand human presence beyond 

8 low-Earth orbit, as described in section 302 of the 

9 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au10 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322).’’. 

11 (c) KEY OBJECTIVES.—Section 202(b) of the Na12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza13 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

15 the semicolon; 

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

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(5) to accelerate the development of capabili20 ties to enable a human exploration mission to the 

21 surface of Mars and beyond through the 

22 prioritization of those technologies and capabilities 

23 best suited for such a mission in accordance with the 

24 Human Exploration Roadmap under section 70504 

25 of title 51, United States Code.’’. 


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

2 FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES.—Section 

3 201(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra4 tion Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

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

7 FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—NASA may not obtain non9 United States human space flight capabilities unless 

10 no domestic commercial or public-private partnership 

11 provider that the Administrator has determined to 

12 meet safety and affordability requirements estab13 lished by NASA for the transport of its astronauts 

14 is available to provide such capabilities. 

15 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub16 section, the term ‘domestic commercial provider’ 

17 means a person providing space transportation serv18 ices or other space-related activities, the majority 

19 control of which is held by persons other than a 

20 Federal, State, local, or foreign government, foreign 

21 company, or foreign national.’’. 

22 (e) REPEAL OF SPACE SHUTTLE CAPABILITY ASSUR23 ANCE.—Section 203 of the National Aeronautics and 

24 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

25 U.S.C. 18313) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (b); 

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

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

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

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

6 SEC. 202. STEPPING STONE APPROACH TO EXPLORATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 70504 of title 51, United 

8 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 70504. Stepping stone approach to exploration 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to maximize the cost 

11 effectiveness of the long-term space exploration and utili12 zation activities of the United States, the Administrator 

13 shall direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mis14 sion Directorate, or its successor division, to develop a 

15 Human Exploration Roadmap to define the specific capa16 bilities and technologies necessary to extend human pres17 ence to the surface of Mars and the sets and sequences 

18 of missions required to demonstrate such capabilities and 

19 technologies. 

20 ‘‘(b) INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION.—The Presi21 dent should invite the United States partners in the Inter22 national Space Station program and other nations, as ap23 propriate, to participate in an international initiative 

24 under the leadership of the United States to achieve the 


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1 goal of successfully conducting a crewed mission to the 

2 surface of Mars. 

3 ‘‘(c) ROADMAP REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the 

4 Human Exploration Roadmap, the Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) include the specific set of capabilities and 

6 technologies that contribute to extending human 

7 presence to the surface of Mars and the sets and se8 quences of missions necessary to demonstrate the 

9 proficiency of these capabilities and technologies 

10 with an emphasis on using or not using the Inter11 national Space Station, lunar landings, cis-lunar 

12 space, trans-lunar space, Lagrangian points, and the 

13 natural satellites of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, as 

14 testbeds, as necessary, and shall include the most 

15 appropriate process for developing such capabilities 

16 and technologies; 

17 ‘‘(2) include information on the phasing of 

18 planned intermediate destinations, Mars mission risk 

19 areas and potential risk mitigation approaches, tech20 nology requirements and phasing of required tech21 nology development activities, the management strat22 egy to be followed, related International Space Sta23 tion activities, and planned international collabo24 rative activities, potential commercial contributions, 

25 and other activities relevant to the achievement of 


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1 the goal established in section 201(a) of the Na2 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au3 thorization Act of 2014; 

4 ‘‘(3) describe those technologies already under 

5 development across the Federal Government or by 

6 nongovernment entities which meet or exceed the 

7 needs described in paragraph (1); 

8 ‘‘(4) provide a specific process for the evolution 

9 of the capabilities of the fully integrated Orion crew 

10 capsule with the Space Launch System and how 

11 these systems demonstrate the capabilities and tech12 nologies described in paragraph (1); 

13 ‘‘(5) provide a description of the capabilities 

14 and technologies that need to be demonstrated or re15 search data that could be gained through the utiliza16 tion of the International Space Station and the sta17 tus of the development of such capabilities and tech18 nologies; 

19 ‘‘(6) describe a framework for international co20 operation in the development of all technologies and 

21 capabilities required in this section, as well as an as22 sessment of the risks posed by relying on inter23 national partners for capabilities and technologies on 

24 the critical path of development; 


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1 ‘‘(7) describe a process for utilizing nongovern2 mental entities for future human exploration beyond 

3 lunar landings and cis-lunar space and specify what, 

4 if any, synergy could be gained from— 

5 ‘‘(A) partnerships using Space Act Agree6 ments (as defined in section 2 of the National 

7 Aeronautics and Space Administration Author8 ization Act of 2014); or 

9 ‘‘(B) other acquisition instruments; 

10 ‘‘(8) include in the Human Exploration Road11 map an addendum from the National Aeronautics 

12 and Space Administration Advisory Council, and an 

13 addendum from the Aerospace Safety Advisory 

14 Panel, each with a statement of review of the 

15 Human Exploration Roadmap that shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) subjects of agreement; 

17 ‘‘(B) areas of concern; and 

18 ‘‘(C) recommendations; and 

19 ‘‘(9) include in the Human Exploration Road20 map an examination of the benefits of utilizing cur21 rent Administration launch facilities for trans-lunar 

22 missions. 

23 ‘‘(d) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall update 

24 such Human Exploration Roadmap as needed but no less 

25 frequently than every 2 years and include it in the budget 


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1 for that fiscal year transmitted to Congress under section 

2 1105(a) of title 31, and describe— 

3 ‘‘(1) the achievements and goals reached in the 

4 process of developing such capabilities and tech5 nologies during the 2-year period prior to the sub6 mission of the update to Congress; and 

7 ‘‘(2) the expected goals and achievements in the 

8 following 2-year period. 

9 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘Orion 

10 crew capsule’ and ‘Space Launch System’ have the mean11 ings given such terms in section 20302.’’. 

12 (b) REPORT.— 

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

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis15 trator shall transmit a copy of the Human Explo16 ration Roadmap developed under section 70504 of 

17 title 51, United States Code, to the Committee on 

18 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

19 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

21 (2) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall trans22 mit a copy of each updated Human Exploration 

23 Roadmap to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

24 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

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1 tation of the Senate not later than 7 days after such 

2 Human Exploration Roadmap is updated. 

3 SEC. 203. SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the Space Launch System is the most prac6 tical approach to reaching the Moon, Mars, and be7 yond, and Congress reaffirms the policy and min8 imum capability requirements for the Space Launch 

9 System contained in section 302 of the National 

10 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization 

11 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322); 

12 (2) the primary goal for the design of the fully 

13 integrated Space Launch System, including an 

14 upper stage needed to go beyond low-Earth orbit, is 

15 to safely carry a total payload to enable human 

16 space exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond 

17 over the course of the next century as required in 

18 section 302(c) of the National Aeronautics and 

19 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

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

21 (3) In order to promote safety and reduce pro22 grammatic risk, the Administrator shall budget for 

23 and undertake a robust ground test and uncrewed 

24 and crewed flight test and demonstration program 

25 for the Space Launch System and the Orion crew 


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1 capsule and shall budget for an operational flight 

2 rate sufficient to maintain safety and operational 

3 readiness. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the President’s annual budget requests for the 

6 Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule develop7 ment, test, and operational phases should strive to accu8 rately reflect the resource requirements of each of those 

9 phases, consistent with the policy established in section 

10 201(a) of this Act. 

11 (c) IN GENERAL.—Given the critical importance of 

12 a heavy-lift launch vehicle and crewed spacecraft to enable 

13 the achievement of the goal established in section 201(a) 

14 of this Act, as well as the accomplishment of intermediate 

15 exploration milestones and the provision of a backup capa16 bility to transfer crew and cargo to the International 

17 Space Station, the Administrator shall make the expedi18 tious development, test, and achievement of operational 

19 readiness of the Space Launch System and the Orion crew 

20 capsule the highest priority of the exploration program. 

21 (d) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE22 VIEW.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact23 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit 

24 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

2 on the Administration’s acquisition of ground systems in 

3 support of the Space Launch System. The report shall as4 sess the extent to which ground systems acquired in sup5 port of the Space Launch System are focused on the direct 

6 support of the Space Launch System and shall identify 

7 any ground support projects or activities that the Admin8 istration is undertaking that do not solely or primarily 

9 support the Space Launch System. 

10 (e) UTILIZATION REPORT.—The Administrator, in 

11 consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Direc12 tor of National Intelligence, shall prepare a report that 

13 addresses the effort and budget required to enable and 

14 utilize a cargo variant of the 130-ton Space Launch Sys15 tem configuration described in section 302(c) of the Na16 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza17 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)). This report shall 

18 also include consideration of the technical requirements of 

19 the scientific and national security communities related to 

20 such Space Launch System and shall directly assess the 

21 utility and estimated cost savings obtained by using such 

22 Space Launch System for national security and space 

23 science missions. The Administrator shall transmit such 

24 report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech25 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 


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1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

2 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act. 

4 (f) NAMING COMPETITION.—Beginning not later 

5 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act and 

6 concluding not later than 1 year after such date of enact7 ment, the Administrator shall conduct a well-publicized 

8 competition among students in elementary and secondary 

9 schools to name the elements of the Administration’s ex10 ploration program, including— 

11 (1) a name for the deep space human explo12 ration program as a whole, which includes the Space 

13 Launch System, the Orion crew capsule, and future 

14 missions; and 

15 (2) a name for the Space Launch System. 

16 (g) ADVANCED BOOSTER COMPETITION.— 

17 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Admin19 istrator of the Administration shall transmit to the 

20 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

21 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

22 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen23 ate a report that— 


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1 (A) describes the estimated total develop2 ment cost of an advanced booster for the Space 

3 Launch System; 

4 (B) details any reductions or increases to 

5 the development cost of the Space Launch Sys6 tem which may result from conducting a com7 petition for an advanced booster; and 

8 (C) outlines any potential schedule delay to 

9 the Space Launch System 2017 Exploration 

10 Mission–1 launch as a result of increased costs 

11 associated with conducting a competition for an 

12 advanced booster. 

13 (2) COMPETITION.—If the Associate Adminis14 trator reports reductions pursuant to paragraph 

15 (1)(B), and no adverse schedule impact pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1)(C), then the Administration shall con17 duct a full and open competition for an advanced 

18 booster for the Space Launch System to meet the 

19 requirements described in section 302(c) of the Na20 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au21 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)), to 

22 begin as soon as practicable after the development of 

23 the upper stage has been initiated. 


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1 SEC. 204. ORION CREW CAPSULE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Orion crew capsule shall meet 

3 the practical needs and the minimum capability require4 ments described in section 303 of the National Aero5 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

6 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

9 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech10 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

11 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen12 ate— 

13 (1) detailing those components and systems of 

14 the Orion crew capsule that ensure it is in compli15 ance with section 303(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 18323(b)); 

17 (2) detailing the expected date that the Orion 

18 crew capsule will be available to transport crew and 

19 cargo to the International Space Station; and 

20 (3) certifying that the requirements of section 

21 303(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 18323(b)(3)) will 

22 be met by the Administration. 

23 SEC. 205. SPACE RADIATION. 

24 (a) STRATEGY AND PLAN.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de26 velop a space radiation mitigation and management 


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1 strategy and implementation plan to enable the 

2 achievement of the goal established in section 201 

3 that includes key research and monitoring require4 ments, milestones, a timetable, and an estimate of 

5 facility and budgetary requirements. 

6 (2) COORDINATION.—The strategy shall include 

7 a mechanism for coordinating Administration re8 search, technology, facilities, engineering, operations, 

9 and other functions required to support the strategy 

10 and plan. 

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

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 shall transmit the strategy and plan to the Com14 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

15 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen17 ate. 

18 (b) SPACE RADIATION RESEARCH FACILITIES.—The 

19 Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other ap20 propriate Federal agencies, shall assess the national capa21 bilities for carrying out critical ground-based research on 

22 space radiation biology and shall identify any issues that 

23 could affect the ability to carry out that research. 


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1 SEC. 206. PLANETARY PROTECTION FOR HUMAN EXPLO2 RATION MISSIONS. 

3 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

4 arrangement with the National Academies for a study to 

5 explore the planetary protection ramifications of potential 

6 future missions by astronauts such as to the lunar polar 

7 regions, near-Earth asteroids, the moons of Mars, and the 

8 surface of Mars. 

9 (b) SCOPE.—The study shall— 

10 (1) collate and summarize what has been done 

11 to date with respect to planetary protection meas12 ures to be applied to potential human missions such 

13 as to the lunar polar regions, near-Earth asteroids, 

14 the moons of Mars, and the surface of Mars; 

15 (2) identify and document planetary protection 

16 concerns associated with potential human missions 

17 such as to the lunar polar regions, near-Earth aster18 oids, the moons of Mars, and the surface of Mars; 

19 (3) develop a methodology, if possible, for defin20 ing and classifying the degree of concern associated 

21 with each likely destination; 

22 (4) assess likely methodologies for addressing 

23 planetary protection concerns; and 

24 (5) identify areas for future research to reduce 

25 current uncertainties. 


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1 (c) COMPLETION DATE.—Not later than 2 years 

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

3 shall provide the results of the study to the Committee 

4 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate. 

7 Subtitle B—Space Operations 

8 SEC. 211. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. 

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

10 (1) The International Space Station is an ideal 

11 testbed for future exploration systems development, 

12 including long-duration space travel. 

13 (2) The use of the private market to provide 

14 cargo and crew transportation services is currently 

15 the most expeditious process to restore domestic ac16 cess to the International Space Station and low17 Earth orbit. 

18 (3) Government access to low-Earth orbit is 

19 paramount to the continued success of the Inter20 national Space Station and National Laboratory. 

21 (b) IN GENERAL.—The following is the policy of the 

22 United States: 

23 (1) The United States International Space Sta24 tion program shall have two primary objectives: sup25 porting achievement of the goal established in secVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:47 Jun 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4412.RFS2 H4412

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1 tion 201 of this Act and pursuing a research pro2 gram that advances knowledge and provides benefits 

3 to the Nation. It shall continue to be the policy of 

4 the United States to, in consultation with its inter5 national partners in the International Space Station 

6 program, support full and complete utilization of the 

7 International Space Station. 

8 (2) The International Space Station shall be 

9 utilized to the maximum extent practicable for the 

10 development of capabilities and technologies needed 

11 for the future of human exploration beyond low12 Earth orbit and shall be considered in the develop13 ment of the Human Exploration Roadmap developed 

14 under section 70504 of title 51, United States Code. 

15 (3) The Administrator shall, in consultation 

16 with the International Space Station partners— 

17 (A) take all necessary measures to support 

18 the operation and full utilization of the Inter19 national Space Station; and 

20 (B) seek to minimize, to the extent prac21 ticable, the operating costs of the International 

22 Space Station. 

23 (4) Reliance on foreign carriers for crew trans24 fer is unacceptable, and the Nation’s human space 

25 flight program must acquire the capability to launch 


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1 United States astronauts on United States rockets 

2 from United States soil as soon as is safe and prac3 tically possible, whether on Government-owned and 

4 operated space transportation systems or privately 

5 owned systems that have been certified for flight by 

6 the appropriate Federal agencies. 

7 (c) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaf8 firms— 

9 (1) its commitment to the development of a 

10 commercially developed launch and delivery system 

11 to the International Space Station for crew missions 

12 as expressed in the National Aeronautics and Space 

13 Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public 

14 Law 109–155), the National Aeronautics and Space 

15 Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (Public 

16 Law 110–422), and the National Aeronautics and 

17 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 

18 (Public Law 111–267); 

19 (2) that the Administration shall make use of 

20 United States commercially provided International 

21 Space Station crew transfer and crew rescue services 

22 to the maximum extent practicable; 

23 (3) that the Orion crew capsule shall provide an 

24 alternative means of delivery of crew and cargo to 

25 the International Space Station, in the event other 


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1 vehicles, whether commercial vehicles or partner-sup2 plied vehicles, are unable to perform that function; 

3 and 

4 (4) the policy stated in section 501(b) of the 

5 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au6 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351(b)) that 

7 the Administration shall pursue international, com8 mercial, and intragovernmental means to maximize 

9 International Space Station logistics supply, mainte10 nance, and operational capabilities, reduce risks to 

11 International Space Station systems sustainability, 

12 and offset and minimize United States operations 

13 costs relating to the International Space Station. 

14 (d) ASSURED ACCESS TO LOW-EARTH ORBIT.—Sec15 tion 70501(a) of title 51, United States Code, is amended 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(a) POLICY STATEMENT.—It is the policy of the 

18 United States to maintain an uninterrupted capability for 

19 human space flight and operations in low-Earth orbit, and 

20 beyond, as an essential instrument of national security 

21 and the capability to ensure continued United States par22 ticipation and leadership in the exploration and utilization 

23 of space.’’. 

24 (e) REPEALS.— 


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1 (1) USE OF SPACE SHUTTLE OR ALTER2 NATIVES.—Chapter 701 of title 51, United States 

3 Code, and the item relating to such chapter in the 

4 table of chapters for such title, are repealed. 

5 (2) SHUTTLE PRICING POLICY FOR COMMER6 CIAL AND FOREIGN USERS.—Chapter 703 of title 

7 51, United States Code, and the item relating to 

8 such chapter in the table of chapters for such title, 

9 are repealed. 

10 (3) SHUTTLE PRIVATIZATION.—Section 50133 

11 of title 51, United States Code, and the item relat12 ing to such section in the table of sections for chap13 ter 501 of such title, are repealed. 

14 (f) EXTENSION CRITERIA REPORT.—Not later than 

15 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin16 istrator shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

17 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

19 the Senate a report on the feasibility of extending the op20 eration of the International Space Station that includes— 

21 (1) criteria for defining the International Space 

22 Station as a research success; 

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1 oped under section 70504 of title 51, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (3) cost estimates for operating the Inter4 national Space Station to achieve the criteria re5 quired under paragraph (1); 

6 (4) cost estimates for extending operations to 

7 2024 and 2030; 

8 (5) an assessment of how the defined criteria 

9 under paragraph (1) respond to the National Acad10 emies Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical 

11 Sciences in Space; and 

12 (6) an identification of the actions and cost es13 timate needed to deorbit the International Space 

14 Station once a decision is made to deorbit the lab15 oratory. 

16 (g) STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INTERNATIONAL SPACE

17 STATION RESEARCH.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

19 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with 

20 the Administrator, academia, other Federal agencies, 

21 the International Space Station National Laboratory 

22 Advisory Committee, and other potential stake23 holders, shall develop and transmit to the Committee 

24 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

25 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 


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1 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a stra2 tegic plan for conducting competitive, peer-reviewed 

3 research in physical and life sciences and related 

4 technologies on the International Space Station 

5 through at least 2020. 

6 (2) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The strategic plan 

7 shall— 

8 (A) be consistent with the priorities and 

9 recommendations established by the National 

10 Academies in its Decadal Survey on Biological 

11 and Physical Sciences in Space; 

12 (B) provide a research timeline and iden13 tify resource requirements for its implementa14 tion, including the facilities and instrumenta15 tion necessary for the conduct of such research; 

16 and 

17 (C) identify— 

18 (i) criteria for the proposed research, 

19 including— 

20 (I) a justification for the research 

21 to be carried out in the space micro22 gravity environment; 

23 (II) the use of model systems; 

24 (III) the testing of flight hard25 ware to understand and ensure its 


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1 functioning in the microgravity envi2 ronment; 

3 (IV) the use of controls to help 

4 distinguish among the direct and indi5 rect effects of microgravity, among 

6 other effects of the flight or space en7 vironment; 

8 (V) approaches for facilitating 

9 data collection, analysis, and interpre10 tation; 

11 (VI) procedures to ensure repeti12 tion of experiments, as needed; 

13 (VII) support for timely presen14 tation of the peer-reviewed results of 

15 the research; 

16 (VIII) defined metrics for the 

17 success of each study; and 

18 (IX) how these activities enable 

19 the Human Exploration Roadmap de20 scribed in section 70504 of title 51, 

21 United States Code; 

22 (ii) instrumentation required to sup23 port the measurements and analysis of the 

24 research to be carried out under the stra25 tegic plan; 


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1 (iii) the capabilities needed to support 

2 direct, real-time communications between 

3 astronauts working on research experi4 ments onboard the International Space 

5 Station and the principal investigator on 

6 the ground; 

7 (iv) a process for involving the exter8 nal user community in research planning, 

9 including planning for relevant flight hard10 ware and instrumentation, and for utiliza11 tion of the International Space Station, 

12 free flyers, or other research platforms; 

13 (v) the acquisition strategy the Ad14 ministration plans to use to acquire any 

15 new support capabilities which are not 

16 operational on the International Space Sta17 tion as of the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, and the criteria the Administration 

19 will apply if less than full and open com20 petition is selected; and 

21 (vi) defined metrics for success of the 

22 research plan. 

23 (3) REPORT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

2 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

3 and Technology of the House of Representa4 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

5 and Transportation of the Senate a report on 

6 the progress of the organization chosen for the 

7 management of the International Space Station 

8 National Laboratory as directed in section 504 

9 of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin10 istration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

11 18354). 

12 (B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The re13 port shall assess the management, organization, 

14 and performance of such organization and shall 

15 include a review of the status of each of the 7 

16 required activities listed in section 504(c) of 

17 such Act (42 U.S.C. 18354(c)). 

18 SEC. 212. BARRIERS IMPEDING ENHANCED UTILIZATION OF 

19 THE ISS’S NATIONAL LABORATORY BY COM20 MERCIAL COMPANIES. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that— 

23 (1) enhanced utilization of the International 

24 Space Station’s National Laboratory requires a full 

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1 tion and actions needed to be taken to remove or 

2 mitigate them to the maximum extent practicable; 

3 and 

4 (2) doing so will allow the Administration to en5 courage commercial companies to invest in micro6 gravity research using National Laboratory research 

7 facilities. 

8 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

9 into an arrangement with the National Academies for an 

10 assessment to— 

11 (1) identify barriers impeding enhanced utiliza12 tion of the International Space Station’s National 

13 Laboratory; 

14 (2) recommend ways to encourage commercial 

15 companies to make greater use of the International 

16 Space Station’s National Laboratory, including cor17 porate investment in microgravity research; and 

18 (3) identify any legislative changes that may be 

19 required. 

20 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than one year after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

22 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech23 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

24 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

25 the results of the assessment described in subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 213. UTILIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STA2 TION FOR SCIENCE MISSIONS. 

3 The Administrator shall utilize the International 

4 Space Station for Science Mission Directorate missions in 

5 low-Earth orbit wherever it is practical and cost effective 

6 to do so. 

7 SEC. 214. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CARGO RESUP8 PLY SERVICES LESSONS LEARNED. 

9 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report to 

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

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate that— 

14 (1) identifies the lessons learned to date from 

15 the Commercial Resupply Services contract; 

16 (2) indicates whether changes are needed to the 

17 manner in which the Administration procures and 

18 manages similar services upon the expiration of the 

19 existing Commercial Resupply Services contract; and 

20 (3) identifies any lessons learned from the Com21 mercial Resupply Services contract that should be 

22 applied to the procurement and management of com23 mercially provided crew transfer services to and 

24 from the International Space Station. 


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1 SEC. 215. COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that once developed and certified to meet the Admin4 istration’s safety and reliability requirements, United 

5 States commercially provided crew transportation systems 

6 offer the potential of serving as the primary means of 

7 transporting American astronauts and international part8 ner astronauts to and from the International Space Sta9 tion and serving as International Space Station emergency 

10 crew rescue vehicles. At the same time, the budgetary as11 sumptions used by the Administration in its planning for 

12 the Commercial Crew Program have consistently assumed 

13 significantly higher funding levels than have been author14 ized and appropriated by Congress. It is the sense of Con15 gress that credibility in the Administration’s budgetary es16 timates for the Commercial Crew Program can be en17 hanced by an independently developed cost estimate. Such 

18 credibility in budgetary estimates is an important factor 

19 in understanding program risk. 

20 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Administra21 tion’s Commercial Crew Program shall be to assist the de22 velopment of at least one crew transportation system to 

23 carry Administration astronauts safely, reliably, and 

24 affordably to and from the International Space Station 

25 and to serve as an emergency crew rescue vehicle as soon 

26 as practicable within the funding levels authorized. The 


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1 Administration shall not use any considerations beyond 

2 this objective in the overall acquisition strategy. 

3 (c) SAFETY.—Consistent with the findings and rec4 ommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation 

5 Board, the Administration shall— 

6 (1) ensure that, in its evaluation and selection 

7 of contracts for the development of commercial crew 

8 transportation capabilities, safety is the highest pri9 ority; and 

10 (2) seek to ensure that minimization of the 

11 probability of loss of crew shall be an important se12 lection criterion of the Commercial Crew Transpor13 tation Capability Contract. 

14 (d) COST MINIMIZATION.—The Administrator shall 

15 strive through the competitive selection process to mini16 mize the life cycle cost to the Administration through the 

17 planned period of commercially provided crew transpor18 tation services. 

19 (e) TRANSPARENCY.—Transparency is the corner20 stone of ensuring a safe and reliable commercial crew 

21 transportation service to the International Space Station. 

22 The Administrator shall, to the greatest extent prac23 ticable, ensure that every commercial crew transportation 

24 services provider has provided evidence-based support for 

25 their costs and schedule. 


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1 (f) INDEPENDENT COST AND SCHEDULE ESTI2 MATE.— 

3 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

4 after the Federal Acquisition Regulation-based con5 tract for the Commercial Crew Transportation Capa6 bility Contract is awarded, the Administrator shall 

7 arrange for the initiation of an Independent Cost 

8 and Schedule Estimate for— 

9 (A) all activities associated with the devel10 opment, test, demonstration, and certification 

11 of commercial crew transportation systems; 

12 (B) transportation and rescue services re13 quired by the Administration for International 

14 Space Station operations through calendar year 

15 2020 or later if Administration requirements so 

16 dictate; and 

17 (C) the estimated date of operational read18 iness for the program each assumption listed in 

19 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

20 (2) ASSUMPTIONS.—The Independent Cost and 

21 Schedule Estimate shall provide an estimate for each 

22 of the following scenarios: 

23 (A) An appropriation of $600,000,000 over 

24 the next 3 fiscal years. 


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1 (B) An appropriation of $700,000,000 

2 over the next 3 fiscal years. 

3 (C) An appropriation of $800,000,000 over 

4 the next 3 fiscal years. 

5 (D) The funding level assumptions over 

6 the next 3 fiscal years that are included as part 

7 of commercial crew transportation capability 

8 contract awards. 

9 (3) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after initiation of the Independent Cost and Sched11 ule Estimate under paragraph (1), the Adminis12 trator shall transmit the results of the Independent 

13 Cost and Schedule Estimate to the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

15 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

17 (g) IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES.— 

18 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

19 completion of the Independent Cost and Schedule 

20 Estimate under subsection (f), the Administrator 

21 shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

22 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

23 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans24 portation of the Senate a report containing 4 dis25 tinct implementation strategies based on such IndeVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:47 Jun 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4412.RFS2 H4412

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1 pendent Cost and Schedule Estimate for the final 

2 stages of the commercial crew program. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—These options shall in4 clude— 

5 (A) a strategy that assumes an appropria6 tion of $600,000,000 over the next 3 fiscal 

7 years; 

8 (B) a strategy that assumes an appropria9 tion of $700,000,000 over the next 3 fiscal 

10 years; 

11 (C) a strategy that assumes an appropria12 tion of $800,000,000 over the next 3 fiscal 

13 years; and 

14 (D) a strategy that has yet to be consid15 ered previously in any budget submission but 

16 that the Administration believes could ensure 

17 the flight readiness date of 2017 for at least 

18 one provider. 

19 (3) INCLUSIONS.—Each strategy shall include 

20 the contracting instruments the Administration will 

21 employ to acquire the services in each phase of de22 velopment or acquisition and the number of commer23 cial providers the Administration will include in the 

24 program. 


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1 SEC. 216. SPACE COMMUNICATIONS. 

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

3 in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, for updat4 ing the Administration’s space communications and navi5 gation architecture for low-Earth orbital and deep space 

6 operations so that it is capable of meeting the Administra7 tion’s communications needs over the next 20 years. The 

8 plan shall include lifecycle cost estimates, milestones, esti9 mated performance capabilities, and 5-year funding pro10 files. The plan shall also include an estimate of the 

11 amounts of any reimbursements the Administration is 

12 likely to receive from other Federal agencies during the 

13 expected life of the upgrades described in the plan. At a 

14 minimum, the plan shall include a description of the fol15 lowing: 

16 (1) Steps to sustain the existing space commu17 nications and navigation network and infrastructure 

18 and priorities for how resources will be applied and 

19 cost estimates for the maintenance of existing space 

20 communications network capabilities. 

21 (2) Upgrades needed to support space commu22 nications and navigation network and infrastructure 

23 requirements, including cost estimates and schedules 

24 and an assessment of the impact on missions if re25 sources are not secured at the level needed. 


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1 (3) Projected space communications and navi2 gation network requirements for the next 20 years, 

3 including those in support of human space explo4 ration missions. 

5 (4) Projected Tracking and Data Relay Sat6 ellite System requirements for the next 20 years, in7 cluding those in support of other relevant Federal 

8 agencies, and cost and schedule estimates to main9 tain and upgrade the Tracking and Data Relay Sat10 ellite System to meet projected requirements. 

11 (5) Steps the Administration is taking to meet 

12 future space communications requirements after all 

13 Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System third-gen14 eration communications satellites are operational. 

15 (6) Steps the Administration is taking to miti16 gate threats to electromagnetic spectrum use. 

17 (b) SCHEDULE.—The Administrator shall transmit 

18 the plan developed under this section to the Committee 

19 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

21 and Transportation of the Senate not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE III—SCIENCE 

2 Subtitle A—General 

3 SEC. 301. SCIENCE PORTFOLIO. 

4 (a) BALANCED AND ADEQUATELY FUNDED ACTIVI5 TIES.—Section 803 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

6 Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 

7 2832) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 803. OVERALL SCIENCE PORTFOLIO—SENSE OF THE 

9 CONGRESS. 

10 ‘‘Congress reaffirms its sense, expressed in the Na11 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza12 tion Act of 2010, that a balanced and adequately funded 

13 set of activities, consisting of research and analysis grants 

14 programs, technology development, small, medium, and 

15 large space missions, and suborbital research activities, 

16 contributes to a robust and productive science program 

17 and serves as a catalyst for innovation and discovery.’’. 

18 (b) DECADAL SURVEYS.—In proposing the funding 

19 of programs and activities for the Administration for each 

20 fiscal year, the Administrator shall to the greatest extent 

21 practicable follow guidance provided in the current decadal 

22 surveys from the National Academies’ Space Studies 

23 Board. 


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1 SEC. 302. RADIOISOTOPE POWER SYSTEMS. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that conducting deep space exploration requires ra4 dioisotope power systems, and establishing continuity in 

5 the production of the material needed to power these sys6 tems is paramount to the success of these future deep 

7 space missions. It is further the sense of Congress that 

8 Federal agencies supporting the Administration through 

9 the production of such material should do so in a cost ef10 fective manner so as not to impose excessive reimburse11 ment requirements on the Administration. 

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

13 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

14 and the Administrator, in consultation with other Federal 

15 agencies, shall conduct an analysis of— 

16 (1) the requirements of the Administration for 

17 radioisotope power system material that is needed to 

18 carry out planned, high priority robotic missions in 

19 the solar system and other surface exploration activi20 ties beyond low-Earth orbit; and 

21 (2) the risks to missions of the Administration 

22 in meeting those requirements, or any additional re23 quirements, due to a lack of adequate radioisotope 

24 power system material. 

25 (c) CONTENTS OF ANALYSIS.—The analysis con26 ducted under subsection (b) shall— 


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1 (1) detail the Administration’s current pro2 jected mission requirements and associated time3 frames for radioisotope power system material; 

4 (2) explain the assumptions used to determine 

5 the Administration’s requirements for the material, 

6 including— 

7 (A) the planned use of advanced thermal 

8 conversion technology such as advanced 

9 thermocouples and Stirling generators and con10 verters; and 

11 (B) the risks and implications of, and con12 tingencies for, any delays or unanticipated tech13 nical challenges affecting or related to the Ad14 ministration’s mission plans for the anticipated 

15 use of advanced thermal conversion technology; 

16 (3) assess the risk to the Administration’s pro17 grams of any potential delays in achieving the sched18 ule and milestones for planned domestic production 

19 of radioisotope power system material; 

20 (4) outline a process for meeting any additional 

21 Administration requirements for the material; 

22 (5) estimate the incremental costs required to 

23 increase the amount of material produced each year, 

24 if such an increase is needed to support additional 

25 Administration requirements for the material; 


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1 (6) detail how the Administration and other 

2 Federal agencies will manage, operate, and fund 

3 production facilities and the design and development 

4 of all radioisotope power systems used by the Ad5 ministration and other Federal agencies as nec6 essary; 

7 (7) specify the steps the Administration will 

8 take, in consultation with the Department of En9 ergy, to preserve the infrastructure and workforce 

10 necessary for production of radioisotope power sys11 tems and ensure that its reimbursements to the De12 partment of Energy associated with such preserva13 tion are equitable and justified; and 

14 (8) detail how the Administration has imple15 mented or rejected the recommendations from the 

16 National Research Council’s 2009 report titled ‘‘Ra17 dioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Main18 taining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration’’. 

19 (d) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

21 transmit the results of the analysis to the Committee on 

22 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep23 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

24 and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 303. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY AND 

2 PURPOSE. 

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

4 amended by adding at the end the following new para5 graph: 

6 ‘‘(10) The direction of the unique competence 

7 of the Administration to the search for life’s origin, 

8 evolution, distribution, and future in the Universe. 

9 In carrying out this objective, the Administration 

10 may use any practicable ground-based, airborne, or 

11 space-based technical means and spectra of electro12 magnetic radiation.’’. 

13 SEC. 304. UNIVERSITY CLASS SCIENCE MISSIONS. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that principal investigator-led small orbital science 

16 missions, including CubeSat class, University Explorer 

17 (UNEX) class, Small Explorer (SMEX) class, and Ven18 ture class, offer valuable opportunities to advance science 

19 at low cost, train the next generation of scientists and en20 gineers, and enable participants in the program to acquire 

21 skills in systems engineering and systems integration that 

22 are critical to maintaining the Nation’s leadership in space 

23 and to enhancing the United States innovation and com24 petitiveness abroad. 

25 (b) REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR-LED

26 SMALL ORBITAL SCIENCE MISSIONS.—The Administrator 


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1 shall conduct a review of the science missions described 

2 in subsection (a). The review shall include— 

3 (1) the status, capability, and availability of ex4 isting small orbital science mission programs and 

5 the extent to which each program enables the par6 ticipation of university scientists and students; 

7 (2) the opportunities such mission programs 

8 provide for scientific research; 

9 (3) the opportunities such mission programs 

10 provide for training and education, including sci11 entific and engineering workforce development, in12 cluding for the Administration’s scientific and engi13 neering workforce; and 

14 (4) the extent to which commercial applications 

15 such as hosted payloads, free flyers, and data buys 

16 could provide measurable benefits for such mission 

17 programs, while preserving the principle of inde18 pendent peer review as the basis for mission selec19 tion. 

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

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

22 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

23 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

25 on the review required under subsection (b) and on recVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:47 Jun 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4412.RFS2 H4412

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1 ommendations to enhance principal investigator-led small 

2 orbital science missions conducted by the Administration 

3 in accordance with the results of the review required by 

4 subsection (b). 

5 SEC. 305. ASSESSMENT OF SCIENCE MISSION EXTENSIONS. 

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

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘§ 30504. Assessment of science mission extensions 

9 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall carry 

10 out biennial reviews within each of the Science divisions 

11 to assess the cost and benefits of extending the date of 

12 the termination of data collection for those missions that 

13 exceed their planned missions’ lifetime. The assessment 

14 shall take into consideration how extending missions im15 pacts the start of future missions. 

16 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND CONSIDERATION OF PO17 TENTIAL BENEFITS OF INSTRUMENTS ON MISSIONS.— 

18 When deciding whether to extend a mission that has an 

19 operational component, the Administrator shall consult 

20 with any affected Federal agency and shall take into ac21 count the potential benefits of instruments on missions 

22 that are beyond their planned mission lifetime. 

23 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Administrator shall transmit to 

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

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, at the 

2 same time as the submission to Congress of the Adminis3 tration’s annual budget request for each fiscal year, a re4 port detailing any assessment required by subsection (a) 

5 that was carried out during the previous year.’’. 

6 Subtitle B—Astrophysics 

7 SEC. 311. DECADAL CADENCE. 

8 In carrying out section 301(b), the Administrator 

9 shall seek to ensure to the extent practicable a steady ca10 dence of large, medium, and small astrophysics missions. 

11 SEC. 312. EXTRASOLAR PLANET EXPLORATION STRATEGY. 

12 (a) STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall enter into 

13 an arrangement with the National Academies to develop 

14 a science strategy for the study and exploration of 

15 extrasolar planets, including the use of the Transiting 

16 Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the James Webb Space Tele17 scope, a potential Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope 

18 mission, or any other telescope, spacecraft, or instrument 

19 as appropriate. Such strategy shall— 

20 (1) outline key scientific questions; 

21 (2) identify the most promising research in the 

22 field; 

23 (3) indicate the extent to which the mission pri24 orities in existing decadal surveys address the key 

25 extrasolar planet research goals; 


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1 (4) identify opportunities for coordination with 

2 international partners, commercial partners, and 

3 other not-for-profit partners; and 

4 (5) make recommendations on the above as ap5 propriate. 

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

7 the strategy to— 

8 (1) inform roadmaps, strategic plans, and other 

9 activities of the Administration as they relate to 

10 extrasolar planet research and exploration; and 

11 (2) provide a foundation for future activities 

12 and initiatives. 

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

14 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na15 tional Academies shall transmit a report to the Adminis16 trator, and to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech17 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 

19 containing the strategy developed under subsection (a). 

20 SEC. 313. JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that— 

22 (1) the James Webb Space Telescope will revo23 lutionize our understanding of star and planet for24 mation and how galaxies evolved, and advance the 

25 search for the origins of the universe; 


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1 (2) the James Webb Space Telescope will en2 able American scientists to maintain their leadership 

3 in astrophysics and other disciplines; 

4 (3) the James Webb Space Telescope program 

5 is making steady progress towards a launch in 2018; 

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

7 James Webb Space Telescope is a high congressional 

8 priority; and 

9 (5) maintaining this progress will require the 

10 Administrator to ensure that integrated testing is 

11 appropriately timed and sufficiently comprehensive 

12 to enable potential issues to be identified and ad13 dressed early enough to be handled within the James 

14 Webb Space Telescope’s development schedule prior 

15 to launch. 

16 SEC. 314. NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE TELESCOPE 

17 DONATION. 

18 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report to 

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

21 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate out23 lining the cost of the Administration’s potential plan for 

24 developing the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope as 

25 described in the 2010 National Academies’ astronomy and 


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1 astrophysics decadal survey, including an alternative plan 

2 for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope 2.4, which 

3 includes the donated 2.4-meter aperture National Recon4 naissance Office telescope. Due to the budget constraints 

5 on the Administration’s science programs, this report shall 

6 include— 

7 (1) an assessment of cost efficient approaches 

8 to develop the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope; 

9 (2) a comparison to the development of mission 

10 concepts that exclude the utilization of the donated 

11 asset; 

12 (3) an assessment of how the Administration’s 

13 existing science missions will be affected by the utili14 zation of the donated asset described in this section; 

15 and 

16 (4) a description of the cost associated with 

17 storing and maintaining the donated asset. 

18 SEC. 315. WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY TELESCOPE. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that the Administrator, to the extent practicable, 

21 should make progress on the technologies and capabilities 

22 needed to position the Administration to meet the objec23 tives of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission, 

24 as outlined in the 2010 National Academies’ astronomy 

25 and astrophysics decadal survey, in a way that maximizes 


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1 the scientific productivity of meeting those objectives for 

2 the resources invested. It is further the sense of Congress 

3 that the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission 

4 has the potential to enable scientific discoveries that will 

5 transform our understanding of the universe. 

6 (b) CONTINUITY OF DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis7 trator shall ensure that the concept definition and pre8 formulation activities of a Wide-Field Infrared Survey Tel9 escope mission continue while the James Webb Space Tel10 escope is being completed. 

11 SEC. 316. STRATOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY FOR INFRARED 

12 ASTRONOMY. 

13 The Administrator shall not use any funding appro14 priated to the Administration for fiscal year 2014 for the 

15 shutdown of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared 

16 Astronomy or for the preparation therefor. 

17 Subtitle C—Planetary Science 

18 SEC. 321. DECADAL CADENCE. 

19 In carrying out section 301(b), the Administrator 

20 shall seek to ensure to the greatest extent practicable that 

21 the Administration carries out a balanced set of planetary 

22 science programs in accordance with the priorities estab23 lished in the most recent decadal survey for planetary 

24 science. Such programs shall include, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) a Discovery-class mission at least once every 

2 24 months; 

3 (2) a New Frontiers-class mission at least once 

4 every 60 months; and 

5 (3) at least one Flagship-class mission per 

6 decadal survey period, including a Europa mission 

7 with a goal of launching by 2021. 

8 SEC. 322. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find10 ings: 

11 (1) Near-Earth objects pose a serious and cred12 ible threat to humankind, as many scientists believe 

13 that a major asteroid or comet was responsible for 

14 the mass extinction of the majority of the Earth’s 

15 species, including the dinosaurs, approximately 

16 65,000,000 years ago. 

17 (2) Similar objects have struck the Earth or 

18 passed through the Earth’s atmosphere several times 

19 in the Earth’s history and pose a similar threat in 

20 the future. 

21 (3) Several such near-Earth objects have only 

22 been discovered within days of the objects’ closest 

23 approach to Earth, and recent discoveries of such 

24 large objects indicate that many large near-Earth 

25 objects remain to be discovered. 


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1 (4) The efforts undertaken by the Administra2 tion for detecting and characterizing the hazards of 

3 near-Earth objects should continue to seek to fully 

4 determine the threat posed by such objects to cause 

5 widespread destruction and loss of life. 

6 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

7 term ‘‘near-Earth object’’ means an asteroid or comet with 

8 a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units 

9 from the Sun. 

10 (c) NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY.—The Adminis11 trator shall continue to detect, track, catalogue, and char12 acterize the physical characteristics of near-Earth objects 

13 equal to or greater than 140 meters in diameter in order 

14 to assess the threat of such near-Earth objects to the 

15 Earth, pursuant to the George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth 

16 Object Survey Act (42 U.S.C. 16691). It shall be the goal 

17 of the Survey program to achieve 90 percent completion 

18 of its near-Earth object catalogue (based on statistically 

19 predicted populations of near-Earth objects) by 2020. 

20 (d) WARNING AND MITIGATION OF POTENTIAL HAZ21 ARDS OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS.—Congress reaffirms 

22 the policy set forth in section 20102(g) of title 51, United 

23 States Code (relating to detecting, tracking, cataloguing, 

24 and characterizing asteroids and comets). 


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

2 of Science and Technology Policy and the Administrator 

3 shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

4 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

6 Senate, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, an initial report that provides— 

8 (1) recommendations for carrying out the Sur9 vey program and an associated proposed budget; 

10 (2) analysis of possible options that the Admin11 istration could employ to divert an object on a likely 

12 collision course with Earth; and 

13 (3) a description of the status of efforts to co14 ordinate and cooperate with other countries to dis15 cover hazardous asteroids and comets, plan a mitiga16 tion strategy, and implement that strategy in the 

17 event of the discovery of an object on a likely colli18 sion course with Earth. 

19 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Subsequent to the initial re20 port the Administrator shall annually transmit to the 

21 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

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

24 that provides— 


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1 (1) a summary of all activities carried out pur2 suant to subsection (c) since the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, including the progress toward achieving 

4 90 percent completion of the survey described in 

5 subsection (c); and 

6 (2) a summary of expenditures for all activities 

7 carried out pursuant to subsection (c) since the date 

8 of enactment of this Act. 

9 (g) STUDY.—The Administrator, in collaboration 

10 with other relevant Federal agencies, shall carry out a 

11 technical and scientific assessment of the capabilities and 

12 resources to— 

13 (1) accelerate the survey described in subsection 

14 (c); and 

15 (2) expand the Administration’s Near-Earth 

16 Object Program to include the detection, tracking, 

17 cataloguing, and characterization of potentially haz18 ardous near-Earth objects less than 140 meters in 

19 diameter. 

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

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

22 transmit the results of the assessment carried out under 

23 subsection (g) to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

2 Senate. 

3 SEC. 323. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PART4 NERSHIPS. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the Administration should seek to leverage the 

7 capabilities of the private sector and philanthropic organi8 zations to the maximum extent practicable in carrying out 

9 the Near-Earth Object Survey program in order to meet 

10 the goal of the Survey program. 

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

12 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

13 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com15 merce, Science, Transportation of the Senate a report de16 scribing how the Administration can expand collaborative 

17 partnerships to detect, track, catalogue, and categorize 

18 near-Earth objects. 

19 SEC. 324. RESEARCH ON NEAR-EARTH OBJECT TSUNAMI 

20 EFFECTS. 

21 (a) REPORT ON POTENTIAL TSUNAMI EFFECTS

22 FROM NEAR-EARTH OBJECT IMPACT.—The Adminis23 trator, in collaboration with the Administrator of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other 

25 relevant agencies, shall prepare a report identifying and 


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1 describing existing research activities and further research 

2 objectives that would increase our understanding of the 

3 nature of the effects of potential tsunamis that could occur 

4 if a near-Earth object were to impact an ocean of Earth. 

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

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

7 transmit the report required and prepared under sub8 section (a) to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech9 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

10 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

11 SEC. 325. ASTROBIOLOGY STRATEGY. 

12 (a) STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall enter into 

13 an arrangement with the National Academies to develop 

14 a science strategy for astrobiology that would outline key 

15 scientific questions, identify the most promising research 

16 in the field, and indicate the extent to which the mission 

17 priorities in existing decadal surveys address the search 

18 for life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the 

19 Universe. The strategy shall include recommendations for 

20 coordination with international partners. 

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

22 the strategy developed under subsection (a) in planning 

23 and funding research and other activities and initiatives 

24 in the field of astrobiology. 


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

2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na3 tional Academies shall transmit a report to the Adminis4 trator, and to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech5 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

6 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 

7 containing the strategy developed under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 326. ASTROBIOLOGY PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com11 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

12 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, Transportation of the Senate a report describing 

14 how the Administration can expand collaborative partner15 ships to study life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and fu16 ture in the Universe. 

17 SEC. 327. ASSESSMENT OF MARS ARCHITECTURE. 

18 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter 

19 into an arrangement with the National Academies to as20 sess— 

21 (1) the Administration’s revised post-2016 

22 Mars exploration architecture and its responsiveness 

23 to the strategies, priorities, and guidelines put for24 ward by the National Academies’ planetary science 


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1 decadal surveys and other relevant National Acad2 emies Mars-related reports; 

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

4 Mars Exploration Program and such program’s abil5 ity to optimize the science return, given the current 

6 fiscal posture of the program; 

7 (3) the Mars architecture’s relationship to 

8 Mars-related activities to be undertaken by agencies 

9 and organizations outside of the United States; and 

10 (4) the extent to which the Mars architecture 

11 represents a reasonably balanced mission portfolio. 

12 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

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

14 transmit the results of the assessment to the Committee 

15 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation of the Senate. 

18 Subtitle D—Heliophysics 

19 SEC. 331. DECADAL CADENCE. 

20 In carrying out section 301(b), the Administrator 

21 shall seek to ensure to the extent practicable a steady ca22 dence of large, medium, and small heliophysics missions. 

23 SEC. 332. REVIEW OF SPACE WEATHER. 

24 (a) REVIEW.—The Director of the Office of Science 

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1 trator, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration, the Director of the National 

3 Science Foundation, and heads of other relevant Federal 

4 agencies, shall enter into an arrangement with the Na5 tional Academies to provide a comprehensive study that 

6 reviews current and planned ground-based and space7 based space weather monitoring requirements and capa8 bilities, identifies gaps, and identifies options for a robust 

9 and resilient capability. The study shall inform the process 

10 of identifying national needs for future space weather 

11 monitoring, forecasts, and mitigation. The National Acad12 emies shall give consideration to international and private 

13 sector efforts and collaboration that could potentially con14 tribute to national space weather needs. The study shall 

15 also review the current state of research capabilities in ob16 serving, modeling, and prediction and provide rec17 ommendations to ensure future advancement of predictive 

18 capability. 

19 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 14 

20 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na21 tional Academies shall transmit a report containing the 

22 results of the study provided under subsection (a) to the 

23 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 

24 and to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 


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1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

3 Subtitle E—Earth Science 

4 SEC. 341. GOAL. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the Administration is being asked to undertake 

7 important Earth science activities in an environment of 

8 increasingly constrained fiscal resources, and that any 

9 transfer of additional responsibilities to the Administra10 tion, such as climate instrument development and meas11 urements that are currently part of the portfolio of the 

12 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, should 

13 be accompanied by the provision of additional resources 

14 to allow the Administration to carry out the increased re15 sponsibilities without adversely impacting its implementa16 tion of its existing Earth science programs and priorities. 

17 (b) GENERAL.—The Administrator shall continue to 

18 carry out a balanced Earth science program that includes 

19 Earth science research, Earth systematic missions, com20 petitive Venture class missions, other missions and data 

21 analysis, mission operations, technology development, and 

22 applied sciences, consistent with the recommendations and 

23 priorities established in the National Academies’ Earth 

24 Science Decadal Survey. 


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1 (c) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall col2 laborate with other Federal agencies, including the Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, non-gov4 ernment entities, and international partners, as appro5 priate, in carrying out the Administration’s Earth science 

6 program. The Administration shall continue to develop 

7 first-of-a-kind instruments that, once proved, can be 

8 transitioned to other agencies for operations. 

9 (d) REIMBURSEMENT.—Whenever responsibilities for 

10 the development of sensors or for measurements are trans11 ferred to the Administration from another agency, the Ad12 ministration shall seek, to the extent possible, to be reim13 bursed for the assumption of such responsibilities. 

14 SEC. 342. DECADAL CADENCE. 

15 In carrying out section 341(b), the Administrator 

16 shall seek to ensure to the extent practicable a steady ca17 dence of large, medium, and small Earth science missions. 

18 SEC. 343. VENTURE CLASS MISSIONS. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that the Administration’s 

20 Venture class missions provide opportunities for innova21 tion in the Earth science program, offer low-cost ap22 proaches for high-quality competitive science investiga23 tions, enable frequent flight opportunities to engage the 

24 Earth science and applications community, and serve as 

25 a training ground for students and young scientists. It is 


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1 further the sense of Congress that the Administration 

2 should seek to increase the number of Venture class 

3 projects to the extent practicable as part of a balanced 

4 Earth science program. 

5 SEC. 344. ASSESSMENT. 

6 The Administrator shall carry out a scientific assess7 ment of the Administration’s Earth science global datasets 

8 for the purpose of identifying those datasets that are use9 ful for understanding regional changes and variability, and 

10 for informing applied science research. The Administrator 

11 shall complete and transmit the assessment to the Com12 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology in the House 

13 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 

15 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

17 SEC. 401. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) a robust aeronautics research portfolio will 

20 help maintain the United States status as a leader 

21 in aviation, enhance the competitiveness of the 

22 United States in the world economy and improve the 

23 quality of life of all citizens; 

24 (2) aeronautics research is essential to the Ad25 ministration’s mission, continues to be an important 


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1 core element of the Administration’s mission and 

2 should be supported; 

3 (3) the Administrator should coordinate and 

4 consult with relevant Federal agencies and the pri5 vate sector to minimize duplication and leverage re6 sources; and 

7 (4) carrying aeronautics research to a level of 

8 maturity that allows the Administration’s research 

9 results to be transitioned to the users, whether pri10 vate or public sector, is critical to their eventual 

11 adoption. 

12 SEC. 402. AERONAUTICS RESEARCH GOALS. 

13 The Administrator shall ensure that the Administra14 tion maintains a strong aeronautics research portfolio 

15 ranging from fundamental research through integrated 

16 systems research with specific research goals, including 

17 the following: 

18 (1) ENHANCE AIRSPACE OPERATIONS AND

19 SAFETY.—The Administration’s Aeronautics Re20 search Mission Directorate shall address research 

21 needs of the Next Generation Air Transportation 

22 System and identify critical gaps in technology 

23 which must be bridged to enable the implementation 

24 of the Next Generation Air Transportation System 


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1 so that safety and productivity improvements can be 

2 achieved as soon as possible. 

3 (2) IMPROVE AIR VEHICLE PERFORMANCE.— 

4 The Administration’s Aeronautics Research Mission 

5 Directorate shall conduct research to improve air6 craft performance and minimize environmental im7 pacts. The Associate Administrator for the Aero8 nautics Research Mission Directorate shall consider 

9 and pursue concepts to reduce noise, emissions, and 

10 fuel consumption while maintaining high safety 

11 standards, and shall conduct research related to the 

12 impact of alternative fuels on the safety, reliability 

13 and maintainability of current and new air vehicles. 

14 (3) STRENGTHEN AVIATION SAFETY.—The Ad15 ministration’s Aeronautics Research Mission Direc16 torate shall proactively address safety challenges as17 sociated with current and new air vehicles and with 

18 operations in the Nation’s current and future air 

19 transportation system. 

20 (4) DEMONSTRATE CONCEPTS AT THE SYSTEM

21 LEVEL.—The Administration’s Aeronautics Research 

22 Mission Directorate shall mature the most promising 

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1 propriate to ensure that they perform in an inte2 grated manner as well as they do when operated in3 dividually. 

4 SEC. 403. UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND DE5 VELOPMENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta7 tion with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad8 ministration and other Federal agencies, shall carry out 

9 research and technological development to facilitate the 

10 safe integration of unmanned aerial systems into the Na11 tional Airspace System, including— 

12 (1) positioning and navigation systems; 

13 (2) sense and avoid capabilities; 

14 (3) secure data and communication links; 

15 (4) flight recovery systems; and 

16 (5) human systems integration. 

17 (b) ROADMAP.—The Administrator shall update a 

18 roadmap for unmanned aerial systems research and devel19 opment and transmit this roadmap to the Committee on 

20 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

22 and Transportation of the Senate not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (c) COOPERATIVE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AC25 TIVITIES.—Section 31504 of title 51, United States Code, 


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1 is amended by inserting ‘‘Operational flight data derived 

2 from these cooperative agreements shall be made available, 

3 in appropriate and usable formats, to the Administration 

4 and the Federal Aviation Administration for the develop5 ment of regulatory standards.’’ after ‘‘in remote areas.’’. 

6 SEC. 404. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON COMPOSITE MATERIALS 

7 USED IN AERONAUTICS. 

8 (a) PURPOSE OF RESEARCH.—The Administrator 

9 shall continue the Administration’s cooperative research 

10 program with industry to identify and demonstrate more 

11 effective and safe ways of developing, manufacturing, and 

12 maintaining composite materials for use in airframes, sub13 systems, and propulsion components. 

14 (b) EXPOSURE OF RESEARCH TO NEXT GENERATION

15 OF ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS.—To the extent prac16 ticable, the Administration’s cooperative research program 

17 with industry on composite materials shall provide timely 

18 access to that research to the next generation of engineers 

19 and technicians at universities, community colleges, and 

20 vocational schools, thereby helping to develop a workforce 

21 ready to take on the development, manufacture, and main22 tenance of components reliant on advanced composite ma23 terials. 

24 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator, in over25 seeing the Administration’s work on composite materials, 


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1 shall consult with relevant Federal agencies and partners 

2 in industry to accelerate safe development and certifi3 cation processes for new composite materials and design 

4 methods while maintaining rigorous inspection of new 

5 composite materials. 

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

7 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

8 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech9 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

10 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

11 detailing the Administration’s work on new composite ma12 terials and the coordination efforts among Federal agen13 cies and industry partners. 

14 SEC. 405. HYPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

15 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with other 

17 Federal agencies, shall develop and transmit to the Com18 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a research and 

21 development roadmap for hypersonic aircraft research 

22 with the objective of exploring hypersonic science and 

23 technology using air-breathing propulsion concepts, 

24 through a mix of theoretical work, basic and applied re25 search, and development of flight research demonstration 


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1 vehicles. The roadmap shall prescribe appropriate agency 

2 contributions, coordination efforts, and technology mile3 stones. 

4 SEC. 406. SUPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the ability to fly commercial aircraft over 

7 land at supersonic speeds without adverse impacts 

8 on the environment or on local communities could 

9 open new global markets and enable new transpor10 tation capabilities; and 

11 (2) continuing the Administration’s research 

12 program is necessary to assess the impact in a rel13 evant environment of commercial supersonic flight 

14 operations and provide the basis for establishing ap15 propriate sonic boom standards for such flight oper16 ations. 

17 (b) ROADMAP FOR SUPERSONIC RESEARCH.—Not 

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

19 the Administrator shall develop and transmit to the Com20 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

21 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a roadmap that 

23 allows for flexible funding profiles for supersonic aero24 nautics research and development with the objective of de25 veloping and demonstrating, in a relevant environment, 


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1 airframe and propulsion technologies to minimize the envi2 ronmental impact, including noise, of supersonic overland 

3 flight in an efficient and economical manner. The roadmap 

4 shall include— 

5 (1) the baseline research as embodied by the 

6 Administration’s existing research on supersonic 

7 flight; 

8 (2) a list of specific technological, environ9 mental, and other challenges that must be overcome 

10 to minimize the environmental impact, including 

11 noise, of supersonic overland flight; 

12 (3) a research plan to address such challenges, 

13 as well as a project timeline for accomplishing rel14 evant research goals; 

15 (4) a plan for coordination with stakeholders, 

16 including relevant government agencies and indus17 try; and 

18 (5) a plan for how the Administration will en19 sure that sonic boom research is coordinated as ap20 propriate with relevant Federal agencies. 

21 SEC. 407. RESEARCH ON NEXTGEN AIRSPACE MANAGE22 MENT CONCEPTS AND TOOLS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con24 sultation with other Federal agencies, review at least an25 nually the alignment and timing of the Administration’s 


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1 research and development activities in support of the 

2 NextGen airspace management modernization initiative, 

3 and shall make any necessary adjustments by 

4 reprioritizing or retargeting the Administration’s research 

5 and development activities in support of the NextGen ini6 tiative. 

7 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Administrator shall re8 port to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate an11 nually regarding the progress of the Administration’s re12 search and development activities in support of the 

13 NextGen airspace management modernization initiative, 

14 including details of technologies transferred to relevant 

15 Federal agencies for eventual operation implementation, 

16 consultation with other Federal agencies, and any adjust17 ments made to research activities. 

18 SEC. 408. ROTORCRAFT RESEARCH. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with other 

21 Federal agencies, shall prepare and transmit to the Com22 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

23 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a roadmap for 

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1 pendent air vehicles, with the objective of developing and 

2 demonstrating improved safety, noise, and environmental 

3 impact in a relevant environment. The roadmap shall in4 clude specific goals for the research, a timeline for imple5 mentation, metrics for success, and guidelines for collabo6 ration and coordination with industry and other Federal 

7 agencies. 

8 SEC. 409. TRANSFORMATIVE AERONAUTICS RESEARCH. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator, 

10 in looking strategically into the future and ensuring that 

11 the Administration’s Center personnel are at the leading 

12 edge of aeronautics research, should encourage investiga13 tions into the early-stage advancement of new processes, 

14 novel concepts, and innovative technologies that have the 

15 potential to meet national aeronautics needs. The Admin16 istrator shall continue to ensure that awards for the inves17 tigation of these concepts and technologies are open for 

18 competition among Administration civil servants at its 

19 Centers, separate from other awards open only to non-Ad20 ministration sources. 

21 SEC. 410. STUDY OF UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN AERO22 NAUTICS RESEARCH. 

23 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

24 arrangement with the National Academies for a study to 

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1 nautics research compared to the rest of the world. The 

2 study shall— 

3 (1) seek to define metrics by which relative 

4 leadership in civil aeronautics research can be deter5 mined; 

6 (2) ascertain how the United States compares 

7 to other countries in the field of civil aeronautics re8 search and any relevant trends; and 

9 (3) provide recommendations on what can be 

10 done to regain or retain global leadership, includ11 ing— 

12 (A) identifying research areas where 

13 United States expertise has been or is at risk 

14 of being overtaken; 

15 (B) defining appropriate roles for the Ad16 ministration; 

17 (C) identifying public-private partnerships 

18 that could be formed; and 

19 (D) estimating the impact on the Adminis20 tration’s budget should such recommendations 

21 be implemented. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pro24 vide the results of the study to the Committee on Science, 

25 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 


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1 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor2 tation of the Senate. 

3 TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

4 SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that space technology is 

6 critical to— 

7 (1) enabling a new class of Administration mis8 sions beyond low-Earth orbit; 

9 (2) developing technologies and capabilities that 

10 will make the Administration’s missions more afford11 able and more reliable; and 

12 (3) improving technological capabilities and pro13 moting innovation for the Administration and the 

14 Nation. 

15 SEC. 502. SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

16 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 70507 of title 51, United 

17 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘§ 70507. Space Technology Program authorized 

19 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Administrator 

20 shall establish a Space Technology Program to pursue the 

21 research and development of advanced space technologies 

22 that have the potential of delivering innovative solutions 

23 and to support human exploration of the solar system or 

24 advanced space science. The program established by the 

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1 ommendations of the National Academies’ review of the 

2 Administration’s Space Technology roadmaps and prior3 ities, as well as applicable enabling aspects of the Human 

4 Exploration Roadmap specified in section 70504. In con5 ducting the space technology program established under 

6 this section, the Administrator shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) to the maximum extent practicable, use a 

8 competitive process to select projects to be supported 

9 as part of the program; 

10 ‘‘(2) make use of small satellites and the Ad11 ministration’s suborbital and ground-based plat12 forms, to the extent practicable and appropriate, to 

13 demonstrate space technology concepts and develop14 ments; and 

15 ‘‘(3) undertake partnerships with other Federal 

16 agencies, universities, private industry, and other 

17 spacefaring nations, as appropriate. 

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

20 Small Business Innovation Research program and Small 

21 Business Technology Transfer Program within the Space 

22 Technology Program. 

23 ‘‘(c) NONDUPLICATION CERTIFICATION.—The Ad24 ministrator shall include in the budget for each fiscal year, 

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


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1 31, a certification that no project, program, or mission 

2 undertaken by the Space Technology Program is duplica3 tive of any other project, program, or mission conducted 

4 by another office or directorate of the Administration.’’. 

5 (b) COLLABORATION, COORDINATION, AND ALIGN6 MENT.—The Administrator shall ensure that the Adminis7 tration’s projects, programs, and activities in support of 

8 technology research and development of advanced space 

9 technologies are fully coordinated and aligned and that re10 sults from such work are shared and leveraged within the 

11 Administration. Projects, programs, and activities being 

12 conducted by the Human Exploration and Operations Mis13 sion Directorate in support of research and development 

14 of advanced space technologies and systems focusing on 

15 human space exploration should continue in that Direc16 torate. The Administrator shall ensure that organizational 

17 responsibility for research and development activities in 

18 support of human space exploration not initiated as of the 

19 date of enactment of this Act is established on the basis 

20 of a sound rationale. The Administrator shall provide the 

21 rationale in the report specified in subsection (d). 

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

23 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

24 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

2 comparing the Administration’s space technology invest3 ments with the high-priority technology areas identified by 

4 the National Academies in the National Research Coun5 cil’s report on the Administration’s Space Technology 

6 Roadmaps. The Administrator shall identify how the Ad7 ministration will address any gaps between the agency’s 

8 investments and the recommended technology areas, in9 cluding a projection of funding requirements. 

10 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall in11 clude in the Administration’s annual budget request for 

12 each fiscal year the rationale for assigning organizational 

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

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

15 on research and development of advanced technologies for 

16 human space exploration. 

17 (e) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The item 

18 relating to section 70507 in the table of sections for chap19 ter 705 of title 51, United States Code, is amended to 

20 read as follows: 

‘‘70507. Space Technology Program authorized.’’. 

21 SEC. 503. UTILIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE 

22 STATION FOR TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRA23 TIONS. 

24 The Administrator shall utilize the International 

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1 nology demonstration missions in low-Earth orbit when2 ever it is practical and cost effective to do so. 

3 TITLE VI—EDUCATION 

4 SEC. 601. EDUCATION. 

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

7 (1) the Administration’s missions are an inspi8 ration for Americans and in particular for the next 

9 generation, and that this inspiration has a powerful 

10 effect in stimulating interest in science, technology, 

11 engineering, and mathematics (in this section re12 ferred to as ‘‘STEM’’) education and careers; 

13 (2) the Administration’s Office of Education 

14 and mission directorates have been effective in deliv15 ering Administration educational content because of 

16 the strong engagement of Administration scientists 

17 and engineers in the Administration’s education and 

18 outreach activities; and 

19 (3) the Administration should be a central part20 ner in contributing to the goals of the National 

21 Science and Technology Council’s Federal Science, 

22 Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

23 Education 5-Year Strategic Plan. 

24 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall continue 

25 its education and outreach efforts to— 


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1 (1) increase student interest and participation 

2 in STEM education; 

3 (2) improve public literacy in STEM; 

4 (3) employ proven strategies for improving stu5 dent learning and teaching; 

6 (4) provide curriculum support materials; and 

7 (5) create and support opportunities for profes8 sional development for STEM teachers. 

9 (c) ORGANIZATION.—In order to ensure the inspira10 tion and engagement of children and the general public, 

11 the Administration shall continue its STEM education and 

12 outreach activities within the Science, Aeronautics Re13 search, Space Operations, and Exploration Mission Direc14 torates. 

15 (d) CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

16 ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall 

17 continue to carry out education and outreach programs 

18 and activities through the Office of Education and the Ad19 ministration mission directorates and shall continue to en20 gage, to the maximum extent practicable, Administration 

21 and Administration-supported researchers and engineers 

22 in carrying out those programs and activities. 

23 (e) CONTINUATION OF SPACE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

24 The Administrator shall continue to operate the National 

25 Space Grant College and Fellowship program through a 


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1 national network consisting of a State-based consortium 

2 in each State that provides flexibility to the States, with 

3 the objective of providing hands-on research, training, and 

4 education programs, with measurable outcomes, to en5 hance America’s STEM education and workforce. 

6 (f) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaffirms 

7 its commitment to informal science education at science 

8 centers and planetariums as set forth in section 616 of 

9 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au10 thorization Act of 2005 (51 U.S.C. 40907). 

11 SEC. 602. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SPACE 

12 GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOWSHIP PRO13 GRAM. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that the National Space Grant College and Fellow16 ship Program, which was established in the National Aero17 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

18 1988 (42 U.S.C. 2486 et seq.), has been an important 

19 program by which the Federal Government has partnered 

20 with State and local governments, universities, private in21 dustry, and other organizations to enhance the under22 standing and use of space and aeronautics activities and 

23 their benefits through education, fostering of interdiscipli24 nary and multidisciplinary space research and training, 


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1 and supporting Federal funding for graduate fellowships 

2 in space-related fields, among other purposes. 

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

4 arrangement with the National Academies for— 

5 (1) a review of the National Space Grant Col6 lege and Fellowship Program, including its structure 

7 and capabilities for supporting science, technology, 

8 engineering, and mathematics education and train9 ing consistent with the National Science and Tech10 nology Council’s Federal Science, Technology, Engi11 neering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5- 

12 Year Strategic Plan; and 

13 (2) recommendations on measures, if needed, to 

14 enhance the Program’s effectiveness and mecha15 nisms by which any increases in funding appro16 priated by Congress can be applied. 

17 (c) NATIONAL SPACE GRANT COLLEGE AND FEL18 LOWSHIP PROGRAM AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) PURPOSES.—Section 40301 of title 51, 

20 United States Code, is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (5); 

23 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

24 paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(7) support outreach to primary and sec4 ondary schools to help support STEM engagement 

5 and learning at the K-12 level and to encourage K6 12 students to pursue postsecondary degrees in 

7 fields related to space.’’. 

8 (2) REGIONAL CONSORTIUM.—Section 40306 of 

9 title 51, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)— 

11 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

12 and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respec13 tively; and 

14 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

15 the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF 2-YEAR INSTITUTIONS.—A 

17 space grant regional consortium designated in para18 graph (1)(B) may include one or more 2-year insti19 tutions of higher education.’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘para21 graphs (2)(C) and (3)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘para22 graphs (3)(C) and (4)(D)’’. 

23 SEC. 603. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

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1 nority University Research and Education Program a pri2 ority in order to further STEM education for underrep3 resented students. 

4 TITLE VII—POLICY PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 701. ASTEROID RETRIEVAL MISSION. 

6 (a) ASTEROID RETRIEVAL REPORT.—Not later than 

7 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad8 ministrator shall provide to the Committee on Science, 

9 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

10 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor11 tation of the Senate a report on the proposed Asteroid 

12 Retrieval Mission. Such report shall include— 

13 (1) a detailed budget profile, including cost esti14 mates for the development of all necessary tech15 nologies and spacecraft required for the mission; 

16 (2) a detailed technical plan that includes mile17 stones and a specific schedule; 

18 (3) a description of the technologies and capa19 bilities anticipated to be gained from the proposed 

20 mission that will enable future human missions to 

21 Mars which could not be gained by lunar missions; 

22 (4) a description of the technologies and capa23 bilities anticipated to be gained from the proposed 

24 mission that will enable future planetary defense 

25 missions, against impact threats from near-Earth 


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1 objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in di2 ameter, which could not be gained by robotic mis3 sions; and 

4 (5) a complete assessment by the Small Bodies 

5 Assessment Group and the National Aeronautics and 

6 Space Administration Advisory Council of how the 

7 proposed mission is in the strategic interests of the 

8 United States in space exploration. 

9 (b) MARS FLYBY REPORT.—Not later than 60 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, an independent, 

11 private systems engineering and technical assistance orga12 nization contracted by the Human Exploration Operations 

13 Mission Directorate shall transmit to the Administrator, 

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

15 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

17 analyzing the proposal for a Mars Flyby human 

18 spaceflight mission to be launched in 2021. Such report 

19 shall include— 

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

21 operations plan using the Space Launch System and 

22 other systems to successfully mount a Mars Flyby 

23 mission by 2021; 

24 (2) a description of the benefits in scientific 

25 knowledge and technologies demonstrated by a Mars 


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1 Flyby mission to be launched in 2021 suitable for 

2 future Mars missions; and 

3 (3) an annual budget profile, including cost es4 timates, for the development test, fielding, and oper5 ations plan to carry out a Mars Flyby mission 

6 through 2021 and comparison of that budget profile 

7 to the 5-year budget profile contained in the Presi8 dent’s Budget request for fiscal year 2015. 

9 (c) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

10 transmittal of the report specified in subsection (b), the 

11 Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science, 

12 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

13 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor14 tation of the Senate an assessment by the National Aero15 nautics and Space Administration Advisory Council of 

16 whether the proposal for a Mars Flyby Mission to be 

17 launched in 2021 is in the strategic interests of the United 

18 States in space exploration. 

19 (d) CREWED MISSION.—The report transmitted 

20 under subsection (b) may consider a crewed mission with 

21 the Space Launch System in cis-lunar space prior to the 

22 Mars Flyby mission in 2021. 

23 SEC. 702. TERMINATION LIABILITY SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that: 


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1 (1) The International Space Station, the Space 

2 Launch System, and the Orion crew capsule will en3 able the Nation to continue operations in low-Earth 

4 orbit and to send its astronauts to deep space. The 

5 James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionize our 

6 understanding of star and planet formation and how 

7 galaxies evolved and advance the search for the ori8 gins of our universe. As a result of their unique ca9 pabilities and their critical contribution to the future 

10 of space exploration, these systems have been des11 ignated by Congress and the Administration as pri12 ority investments. 

13 (2) In addition, contractors are currently hold14 ing program funding, estimated to be in the hun15 dreds of millions of dollars, to cover the potential 

16 termination liability should the Government choose 

17 to terminate a program for convenience. As a result, 

18 hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are unavail19 able for meaningful work on these programs. 

20 (3) According to the Government Accountability 

21 Office, the Administration procures most of its 

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1 tracts and orders—a termination rate of about 0.17 

2 percent. 

3 (4) The Administration should vigorously pur4 sue a policy on termination liability that maximizes 

5 the utilization of its appropriated funds to make 

6 maximum progress in meeting established technical 

7 goals and schedule milestones on these high-priority 

8 programs. 

9 SEC. 703. BASELINE AND COST CONTROLS. 

10 Section 30104 of title 51, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Proce13 dural Requirements 7120.5c, dated March 22, 

14 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘Procedural Requirements 

15 7120.5E, dated August 14, 2012’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘beginning 18 

17 months after the date the Administrator transmits a 

18 report under subsection (e)(1)(A)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘beginning 18 months after the Administrator 

20 makes such determination’’. 

21 SEC. 704. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that the judicious use of program and project re24 serves provides the Administration’s project and program 

25 managers with the flexibility needed to manage projects 


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1 and programs to ensure that the impacts of contingencies 

2 can be mitigated. 

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

4 of enactment of this Act the Administrator shall transmit 

5 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

6 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com7 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

8 describing— 

9 (1) the Administration’s criteria for establishing 

10 the amount of reserves held at the project and pro11 gram levels; 

12 (2) how such criteria relate to the agency’s pol13 icy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level; 

14 and 

15 (3) the Administration’s criteria for waiving the 

16 policy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level 

17 and alternative strategies and mechanisms aimed at 

18 controlling program and project costs when a waiver 

19 is granted. 

20 SEC. 705. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 

21 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com23 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 


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1 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report de2 scribing— 

3 (1) the Administration’s procedures for con4 ducting independent reviews of projects and pro5 grams at lifecycle milestones and how the Adminis6 tration ensures the independence of the individuals 

7 who conduct those reviews prior to their assignment; 

8 (2) the internal and external entities inde9 pendent of project and program management that 

10 conduct reviews of projects and programs at life 

11 cycle milestones; and 

12 (3) how the Administration ensures the inde13 pendence of such entities and their members. 

14 SEC. 706. COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PRO15 GRAM. 

16 Section 50116(a) of title 51, United States Code, is 

17 amended by inserting ‘‘, while protecting national secu18 rity’’ after ‘‘research community’’. 

19 SEC. 707. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS20 TRATION ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

21 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

22 arrangement with the National Academy of Public Admin23 istration to assess the effectiveness of the NASA Advisory 

24 Council and to make recommendations to Congress for 

25 any change to— 


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1 (1) the functions of the Council; 

2 (2) the appointment of members to the Council; 

3 (3) qualifications for members of the Council; 

4 (4) duration of terms of office for members of 

5 the Council; 

6 (5) frequency of meetings of the Council; 

7 (6) the structure of leadership and Committees 

8 of the Council; and 

9 (7) levels of professional staffing for the Coun10 cil. 

11 In carrying out the assessment, the Academy shall also 

12 assess the impacts of broadening the Council’s role to ad13 vising Congress, and any other issues that the Academy 

14 determines could potentially impact the effectiveness of 

15 the Council. The Academy shall consider the past activities 

16 of the NASA Advisory Council, as well as the activities 

17 of other analogous federal advisory bodies in conducting 

18 its assessment. The results of the assessment, including 

19 any recommendations, shall be transmitted to the Com20 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

21 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

23 (b) CONSULTATION AND ADVICE.—Section 20113(g) 

24 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

25 ‘‘and Congress’’ after ‘‘advice to the Administration’’. 


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1 (c) SUNSET.—Subsection (b) shall expire on Sep2 tember 30, 2014. 

3 SEC. 708. COST ESTIMATION. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that realistic cost estimating is critically important 

6 to the ultimate success of major space development 

7 projects. The Administration has devoted significant ef8 forts over the past five years to improving its cost esti9 mating capabilities, but it is important that the Adminis10 tration continue its efforts to develop and implement guid11 ance in establishing realistic cost estimates. 

12 (b) GUIDANCE AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 

13 shall provide to programs and projects and in a manner 

14 consistent with the Administration’s Space Flight Pro15 gram and Project Management Requirements— 

16 (1) guidance on when an Independent Cost Es17 timate and Independent Cost Assessment should be 

18 used; and 

19 (2) the criteria to be used to make such a de20 termination. 

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

22 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

23 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re2 port— 

3 (1) describing efforts to enhance internal cost 

4 estimation and assessment expertise; 

5 (2) describing the mechanisms the Administra6 tion is using and will continue to use to ensure that 

7 adequate resources are dedicated to cost estimation; 

8 (3) listing the steps the Administration is un9 dertaking to advance consistent implementation of 

10 the joint cost and schedule process; 

11 (4) identifying criteria used by programs and 

12 projects in determining when to conduct an Inde13 pendent Cost Estimate and Independent Cost As14 sessment; and 

15 (5) listing— 

16 (A) the costs of each individual Inde17 pendent Cost Estimate or Independent Cost As18 sessment activity conducted in fiscal year 2011, 

19 fiscal year 2012, and fiscal year 2013; 

20 (B) the purpose of the activity; 

21 (C) identification of the primary Adminis22 tration unit or outside body that conducted the 

23 activity; and 

24 (D) key findings and recommendations. 


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1 (d) UPDATED REPORT.—Subsequent to submission 

2 of the report under subsection (c), for each subsequent 

3 year, the Administrator shall provide an update of listed 

4 elements in conjunction with subsequent congressional 

5 budget justifications. 

6 SEC. 709. AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN7 TEREST IN MAJOR ADMINISTRATION ACQUI8 SITION PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) REVISED REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

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

11 the Administrator shall revise the Administration Supple12 ment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uni13 form guidance and recommend revised requirements for 

14 organizational conflicts of interest by contractors in major 

15 acquisition programs in order to address elements identi16 fied in subsection (b). 

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

18 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 

19 (1) address organizational conflicts of interest 

20 that could potentially arise as a result of— 

21 (A) lead system integrator contracts on 

22 major acquisition programs and contracts that 

23 follow lead system integrator contracts on such 

24 programs, particularly contracts for production; 


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1 (B) the ownership of business units per2 forming systems engineering and technical as3 sistance functions, professional services, or 

4 management support services in relation to 

5 major acquisition programs by contractors who 

6 simultaneously own business units competing to 

7 perform as either the prime contractor or the 

8 supplier of a major subsystem or component for 

9 such programs; 

10 (C) the award of major subsystem con11 tracts by a prime contractor for a major acqui12 sition program to business units or other affili13 ates of the same parent corporate entity, and 

14 particularly the award of subcontracts for soft15 ware integration or the development of a pro16 prietary software system architecture; or 

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

18 contractors in technical evaluations on major 

19 acquisition programs; 

20 (2) ensure that the Administration receives ad21 vice on systems architecture and systems engineer22 ing matters with respect to major acquisition pro23 grams from objective sources independent of the 

24 prime contractor; 


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1 (3) require that a contract for the performance 

2 of systems engineering and technical assistance 

3 functions for a major acquisition program contains 

4 a provision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate 

5 of the contractor from participating as a prime con6 tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 

7 of a system under the program; and 

8 (4) establish such limited exceptions to the re9 quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as may be nec10 essary to ensure that the Administration has contin11 ued access to advice on systems architecture and 

12 systems engineering matters from highly-qualified 

13 contractors with domain experience and expertise, 

14 while ensuring that such advice comes from sources 

15 that are objective and unbiased. 

16 SEC. 710. FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

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

19 (1) the Administration must reverse the deterio20 rating condition of its facilities and infrastructure, 

21 as this condition is hampering the effectiveness and 

22 efficiency of research performed by both the Admin23 istration and industry participants making use of 

24 Administration facilities, thus reducing the competi25 tiveness of the United States aerospace industry; 


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1 (2) the Administration has a role in providing 

2 laboratory capabilities to industry participants that 

3 are economically viable as commercial entities and 

4 thus are not available elsewhere; 

5 (3) to ensure continued access to reliable and 

6 efficient world-class facilities by researchers, the Ad7 ministration should seek to establish strategic part8 nerships with other Federal agencies, academic insti9 tutions, and industry, as appropriate; and 

10 (4) decisions on whether to dispose of, main11 tain, or modernize existing facilities must be made 

12 in the context of meeting future Administration and 

13 other Federal agencies’ laboratory needs, including 

14 those required to meet the activities supporting the 

15 Human Exploration Roadmap required by section 

16 70504 of title 51, United States Code. 

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

18 that the Administration maintain reliable and efficient fa19 cilities and that decisions on whether to dispose of, main20 tain, or modernize existing facilities be made in the con21 text of meeting future Administration needs. 

22 (c) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a plan 

23 that has the goal of positioning the Administration to have 

24 the facilities, laboratories, tools, and approaches necessary 


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1 to address future Administration requirements. Such plan 

2 shall identify— 

3 (1) future Administration research and develop4 ment and testing needs; 

5 (2) a strategy for identifying facilities that are 

6 candidates for disposal, that is consistent with the 

7 national strategic direction set forth in— 

8 (A) the National Space Policy; 

9 (B) the National Aeronautics Research, 

10 Development, Test, and Evaluation Infrastruc11 ture Plan; 

12 (C) National Aeronautics and Space Ad13 ministration Authorization Acts; and 

14 (D) the Human Exploration Roadmap 

15 specified in section 70504 of title 51, United 

16 States Code; 

17 (3) a strategy for the maintenance, repair, up18 grading, and modernization of the Administration’s 

19 laboratories, facilities, and equipment; 

20 (4) criteria for prioritizing deferred mainte21 nance tasks and also for upgrading or modernizing 

22 laboratories, facilities, and equipment and imple23 menting processes, plans, and policies for guiding 

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1 tain, repair, upgrade, or modernize a facility and for 

2 determining the type of instrument to be used; 

3 (5) an assessment of modifications needed to 

4 maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and 

5 highly specialized benefits to the aerospace industry 

6 and the American public; and 

7 (6) implementation steps, including a timeline, 

8 milestones, and an estimate of resources required for 

9 carrying out the plan. 

10 (d) POLICY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish 

12 and make publically available a policy that guides the Ad13 ministration’s use of existing authorities to out-grant, 

14 lease, excess to the General Services Administration, sell, 

15 decommission, demolish, or otherwise transfer property, 

16 facilities, or infrastructure. This policy shall establish cri17 teria for the use of authorities, best practices, standard18 ized procedures, and guidelines for how to appropriately 

19 manage property, infrastructure, and facilities. 

20 (e) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than one year after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

22 transmit the plan developed under subsection (c) to the 

23 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com25 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 (f) ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPITAL FUND.—The Ad2 ministrator shall establish a capital fund for the mod3 ernization of facilities and laboratories. The Administrator 

4 shall ensure to the maximum extent practicable that all 

5 financial savings achieved by closing outdated or surplus 

6 facilities at an Administration Center shall be made avail7 able to that Center for the purpose of modernizing the 

8 Center’s facilities and laboratories and for upgrading the 

9 infrastructure at the Center. 

10 (g) REPORT ON CAPITAL FUND.—Expenditures and 

11 other activities of the fund established under subsection 

12 (f) shall require review and approval by the Administrator 

13 and the status, including the amounts held in the capital 

14 fund, shall be reported to the Committee on Science, 

15 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

16 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor17 tation of the Senate in conjunction with the Administra18 tion’s annual budget request justification for each fiscal 

19 year. 

20 SEC. 711. DETECTION AND AVOIDANCE OF COUNTERFEIT 

21 ELECTRONIC PARTS. 

22 (a) REGULATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis25 trator shall revise the National Aeronautics and 


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1 Space Administration Supplement to the Federal 

2 Acquisition Regulation to address the detection and 

3 avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts. 

4 (2) CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.—The re5 vised regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) 

6 shall provide that— 

7 (A) Administration contractors who supply 

8 electronic parts or products that include elec9 tronic parts are responsible for detecting and 

10 avoiding the use or inclusion of counterfeit elec11 tronic parts or suspect counterfeit electronic 

12 parts in such products and for any rework or 

13 corrective action that may be required to rem14 edy the use or inclusion of such parts; and 

15 (B) the cost of counterfeit electronic parts 

16 and suspect counterfeit electronic parts and the 

17 cost of rework or corrective action that may be 

18 required to remedy the use or inclusion of such 

19 parts are not allowable costs under Administra20 tion contracts, unless— 

21 (i) the covered contractor has an oper22 ational system to detect and avoid counter23 feit parts and suspect counterfeit electronic 

24 parts that has been reviewed and approved 


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1 by the Administration or the Department 

2 of Defense; 

3 (ii) the covered contractor provides 

4 timely notice to the Administration pursu5 ant to paragraph (4); or 

6 (iii) the counterfeit electronic parts or 

7 suspect counterfeit electronic parts were 

8 provided to the contractor as Government 

9 property in accordance with part 45 of the 

10 Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

11 (3) SUPPLIERS OF ELECTRONIC PARTS.—The 

12 revised regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) 

13 shall— 

14 (A) require that the Administration and 

15 Administration contractors and subcontractors 

16 at all tiers— 

17 (i) obtain electronic parts that are in 

18 production or currently available in stock 

19 from the original manufacturers of the 

20 parts or their authorized dealers, or from 

21 suppliers who obtain such parts exclusively 

22 from the original manufacturers of the 

23 parts or their authorized dealers; and 

24 (ii) obtain electronic parts that are 

25 not in production or currently available in 


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1 stock from suppliers that meet qualifica2 tion requirements established pursuant to 

3 subparagraph (C); 

4 (B) establish documented requirements 

5 consistent with published industry standards or 

6 Government contract requirements for— 

7 (i) notification of the Administration; 

8 and 

9 (ii) inspection, testing, and authen10 tication of electronic parts that the Admin11 istration or an Administration contractor 

12 or subcontractor obtains from any source 

13 other than a source described in subpara14 graph (A); 

15 (C) establish qualification requirements, 

16 consistent with the requirements of section 

17 2319 of title 10, United States Code, pursuant 

18 to which the Administration may identify sup19 pliers that have appropriate policies and proce20 dures in place to detect and avoid counterfeit 

21 electronic parts and suspect counterfeit elec22 tronic parts; and 

23 (D) authorize Administration contractors 

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1 tional suppliers beyond those identified pursu2 ant to subparagraph (C) provided that— 

3 (i) the standards and processes for 

4 identifying such suppliers comply with es5 tablished industry standards; 

6 (ii) the contractor or subcontractor 

7 assumes responsibility for the authenticity 

8 of parts provided by such suppliers as pro9 vided in paragraph (2); and 

10 (iii) the selection of such suppliers is 

11 subject to review and audit by appropriate 

12 Administration officials. 

13 (4) TIMELY NOTIFICATION.—The revised regu14 lations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall re15 quire that any Administration contractor or subcon16 tractor who becomes aware, or has reason to sus17 pect, that any end item, component, part, or mate18 rial contained in supplies purchased by the Adminis19 tration, or purchased by a contractor or subcon20 tractor for delivery to, or on behalf of, the Adminis21 tration, contains counterfeit electronic parts or sus22 pect counterfeit electronic parts, shall provide notifi23 cation to the applicable Administration contracting 

24 officer within 30 calendar days. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the re2 vised regulations specified in subsection (a) have been im3 plemented, the Administrator shall submit to the Com4 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

5 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report updat7 ing the Administration’s actions to prevent counterfeit 

8 electronic parts from entering the supply chain as de9 scribed in its October 2011 report pursuant to section 

10 1206(d) of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis11 tration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18444(d)). 

12 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘elec13 tronic part’’ means a discrete electronic component, in14 cluding a microcircuit, transistor, capacitor, resistor, or 

15 diode that is intended for use in a safety or mission critical 

16 application. 

17 SEC. 712. SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS. 

18 (a) COST SHARING.—To the extent that the Adminis19 trator determines practicable, the funds provided by the 

20 Government under a funded Space Act Agreement shall 

21 not exceed the total amount provided by other parties to 

22 the Space Act Agreement. 

23 (b) NEED.—A funded Space Act Agreement may be 

24 used only when the use of a standard contract, grant, or 

25 cooperative agreement is not feasible or appropriate, as 


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1 determined by the Associate Administrator for Procure2 ment. 

3 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Adminis4 trator shall make available for public notice and comment 

5 each proposed Space Act Agreement at least 30 days be6 fore entering into such agreement, with appropriate 

7 redactions for proprietary, sensitive, or classified informa8 tion. 

9 (d) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator shall pub10 licly disclose on the Administration’s website and make 

11 available in a searchable format each Space Act Agree12 ment, with appropriate redactions for proprietary, sen13 sitive, or classified information, not later than 60 days 

14 after such agreement is signed. 

15 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

17 after the end of each fiscal year, the Administrator 

18 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

19 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

20 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans21 portation of the Senate a report on the use of Space 

22 Act Agreement authority by the Administration dur23 ing the previous fiscal year. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include for 

2 each Space Act Agreement in effect at the time of 

3 the report— 

4 (A) an indication of whether the agreement 

5 is a reimbursable, nonreimbursable, or funded 

6 Space Act Agreement; 

7 (B) a description of— 

8 (i) the subject and terms; 

9 (ii) the parties; 

10 (iii) the responsible— 

11 (I) mission directorate; 

12 (II) center; or 

13 (III) headquarters element; 

14 (iv) the value; 

15 (v) the extent of the cost sharing 

16 among Federal Government and non-Fed17 eral sources; 

18 (vi) the time period or schedule; and 

19 (vii) all milestones; and 

20 (C) an indication of whether the agreement 

21 was renewed during the previous fiscal year. 

22 (3) ANTICIPATED AGREEMENTS.—The report 

23 shall also include a list of all anticipated reimburs24 able, nonreimbursable, and funded Space Act Agree25 ments for the upcoming fiscal year. 


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1 (4) CUMULATIVE PROGRAM BENEFITS.—The 

2 report shall also include, with respect to the Space 

3 Act Agreements covered by the report, a summary 

4 of— 

5 (A) the technology areas in which research 

6 projects were conducted under such agreements; 

7 (B) the extent to which the use of the 

8 Space Act Agreements— 

9 (i) has contributed to a broadening of 

10 the technology and industrial base avail11 able for meeting Administration needs; and 

12 (ii) has fostered within the technology 

13 and industrial base new relationships and 

14 practices that support the United States; 

15 and 

16 (C) the total amount of value received by 

17 the Federal Government during the fiscal year 

18 pursuant to such Space Act Agreements. 

19 SEC. 713. HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT ACCIDENT INVESTIGA20 TIONS. 

21 Section 70702(a) of title 51, United States Code, is 

22 amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(3) any other orbital or suborbital space vehi25 cle carrying humans— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that is owned by the Federal Govern2 ment; or 

3 ‘‘(B) that is being used pursuant to a con4 tract or Space Act Agreement, as defined in 

5 section 2 of the National Aeronautics and 

6 Space Administration Authorization Act of 

7 2014, with the Federal Government for car8 rying a researcher or payload funded by the 

9 Federal Government; or’’. 

10 SEC. 714. FULLEST COMMERCIAL USE OF SPACE. 

11 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

13 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com15 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

16 on current and continuing efforts by the Administration 

17 to ‘‘seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, 

18 the fullest commercial use of space,’’ as described in sec19 tion 20102(c) of title 51, United States Code. 

20 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub21 section (a) shall include— 

22 (1) an assessment of the Administration’s ef23 forts to comply with the policy; 

24 (2) an explanation of criteria used to define 

25 compliance; 


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1 (3) a description of programs, policies, and ac2 tivities the Administration is using, and will continue 

3 to use, to ensure compliance; 

4 (4) an explanation of how the Administration 

5 could expand on the efforts to comply; and 

6 (5) a summary of all current and planned ac7 tivities pursuant to this policy. 

8 (c) BARRIERS TO FULLEST COMMERCIAL USE OF

9 SPACE.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact10 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the 

11 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

14 on current and continuing efforts by the Administration 

15 to reduce impediments, bureaucracy, redundancy, and 

16 burdens to ensure the fullest commercial use of space as 

17 required by section 20102(c) of title 51, United States 

18 Code. 

19 SEC. 715. ORBITAL DEBRIS. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that orbital debris 

21 poses serious risks to the operational space capabilities of 

22 the United States and that an international commitment 

23 and integrated strategic plan are needed to mitigate the 

24 growth of orbital debris wherever possible. Congress finds 

25 the delay in the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s 


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1 submission of a report on the status of international co2 ordination and development of mitigation strategies to be 

3 inconsistent with such risks. 

4 (b) REPORTS.— 

5 (1) COORDINATION.—Not later than 90 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis7 trator shall provide the Committee on Science, 

8 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa9 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

10 Transportation of the Senate with a report on the 

11 status of efforts to coordinate with countries within 

12 the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Com13 mittee to mitigate the effects and growth of orbital 

14 debris as required by section 1202(b)(1) of the Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au16 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18441(b)(1)). 

17 (2) MITIGATION STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 

18 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di19 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

20 shall provide the Committee on Science, Space, and 

21 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor23 tation of the Senate with a report on the status of 

24 the orbital debris mitigation strategy required under 

25 section 1202(b)(2) of the National Aeronautics and 


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1 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

2 U.S.C. 18441(b)(2)). 

3 SEC. 716. REVIEW OF ORBITAL DEBRIS REMOVAL CON4 CEPTS. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the amount of orbital debris in low-Earth orbit 

7 poses risks for human activities and robotic spacecraft and 

8 that this debris may increase due to collisions between ex9 isting debris objects. Understanding options to address 

10 and remove orbital debris is important for ensuring safe 

11 and effective spacecraft operations in low-Earth orbit. 

12 (b) REVIEW.—The Administrator, in collaboration 

13 with other relevant Federal agencies, shall solicit and re14 view concepts and technological options for removing or15 bital debris from low-Earth orbit. The solicitation and re16 view shall also address the requirements for and feasibility 

17 of developing and implementing each of the options. 

18 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

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

20 provide a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

21 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com22 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

23 Senate on the solicitation and review required under sub24 section (b). 


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1 SEC. 717. USE OF OPERATIONAL COMMERCIAL SUB2 ORBITAL VEHICLES FOR RESEARCH, DEVEL3 OPMENT, AND EDUCATION. 

4 (a) POLICY.—The Administrator shall develop a pol5 icy on the use of operational commercial reusable sub6 orbital flight vehicles for carrying out scientific and engi7 neering investigations and educational activities. 

8 (b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall prepare a plan 

9 on the Administration’s use of operational commercial re10 usable suborbital flight vehicles for carrying out scientific 

11 and engineering investigations and educational activities. 

12 The plan shall— 

13 (1) describe the purposes for which the Admin14 istration intends to use such vehicles; 

15 (2) describe the processes required to support 

16 such use, including the criteria used to determine 

17 which scientific and engineering investigations and 

18 educational activities are selected for a suborbital 

19 flight; 

20 (3) describe Administration, space flight oper21 ator, and supporting contractor responsibilities for 

22 developing standard payload interfaces and con23 ducting payload safety analyses, payload integration 

24 and processing, payload operations, and safety as25 surance for Administration-sponsored space flight 

26 participants, among other functions required to fly 


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1 Administration-sponsored payloads and space flight 

2 participants on operational commercial suborbital ve3 hicles; 

4 (4) identify Administration-provided hardware, 

5 software, or services that may be provided to com6 mercial reusable suborbital space flight operators on 

7 a cost-reimbursable basis, through agreements or 

8 contracts entered into under section 20113(e) of 

9 title 51, United States Code; and 

10 (5) describe the United States Government and 

11 space flight operator responsibilities for liability and 

12 indemnification with respect to commercial sub13 orbital vehicle flights that involve Administration14 sponsored payloads or activities, Administration-sup15 ported space flight participants, or other Adminis16 tration-related contributions. 

17 (c) ASSESSMENT OF CAPABILITIES AND RISKS.—The 

18 Administrator shall assess and characterize the potential 

19 capabilities and performance of commercial reusable sub20 orbital vehicles for addressing scientific research, includ21 ing research requiring access to low-gravity and micro22 gravity environments, for carrying out technology dem23 onstrations related to science, exploration, or space oper24 ations requirements, and for providing opportunities for 

25 educating and training space scientists and engineers, 


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1 once those vehicles become operational. The assessment 

2 shall also characterize the risks of using potential commer3 cial reusable suborbital flights to Administration-spon4 sored researchers and scientific investigations and flight 

5 hardware. 

6 (d) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

8 transmit the plan and assessment described in subsections 

9 (b) and (c) to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech10 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

11 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

12 (e) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—In conjunction 

13 with the Administration’s annual budget request justifica14 tion for each fiscal year, the Administrator shall transmit 

15 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech16 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

17 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

18 describing progress in carrying out the Commercial Reus19 able Suborbital Research Program, including the number 

20 and type of suborbital missions planned in each fiscal 

21 year. 

22 (f) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The Admin23 istrator shall not proceed with a request for proposals, 

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1 vision of a commercial reusable suborbital vehicle launch 

2 service for an Administration-sponsored spaceflight partic3 ipant until transmittal of the plan and assessment speci4 fied in subsections (b) and (c), the liability issues associ5 ated with the use of such systems by the United States 

6 Government have been addressed, and the liability and in7 demnification provisions that are planned to be included 

8 in such contracts or agreements have been provided to the 

9 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

12 SEC. 718. FUNDAMENTAL SPACE LIFE AND PHYSICAL 

13 SCIENCES RESEARCH. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It the sense of Congress 

15 that fundamental, discovery-based space life and physical 

16 sciences research is critical for enabling space exploration, 

17 protecting humans in space, and providing societal bene18 fits, and that the space environment facilitates the ad19 vancement of understanding of the life sciences and phys20 ical sciences. Space life and physical science research con21 tributes to advancing science, technology, engineering, and 

22 mathematics research, and provides careers and training 

23 opportunities in academia, Federal laboratories, and com24 mercial industry. Congress encourages the Administrator 

25 to augment discovery-based fundamental research and to 


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1 establish requirements reflecting the importance of such 

2 research in keeping with the priorities established in the 

3 National Academies’ decadal survey entitled ‘‘Recapturing 

4 a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical 

5 Sciences Research for a New Era’’. 

6 (b) BUDGET REQUEST.—The Administrator shall in7 clude as part of the Administration’s annual budget re8 quest for each fiscal year a budget line for fundamental 

9 space life and physical sciences research, devoted to com10 petitive, peer-reviewed grants, that is separate from the 

11 International Space Station Operations account. 

12 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

13 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator, in 

14 consultation with academia, other Federal agencies, 

15 and other potential stakeholders, shall develop a 

16 strategic plan for carrying out competitive, peer-re17 viewed fundamental space life science and physical 

18 sciences and related technology research, among 

19 other activities, consistent with the priorities in the 

20 National Academies’ decadal survey described in 

21 subsection (a). 

22 (2) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis24 trator shall transmit the strategic plan developed 

25 under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Science, 


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

3 Transportation of the Senate. 

4 SEC. 719. RESTORING COMMITMENT TO ENGINEERING RE5 SEARCH. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that engineering excellence has long been a hallmark 

8 of the Administration’s ability to make significant ad9 vances in aeronautics and space exploration. However, as 

10 has been noted in recent National Academies reports, in11 creasingly constrained funding and competing priorities 

12 have led to an erosion of the Administration’s commitment 

13 to basic engineering research. This research provides the 

14 basis for the technology development that enables the Ad15 ministration’s many challenging missions to succeed. If 

16 current trends continue, the Administration’s ability to at17 tract and maintain the best and brightest engineering 

18 workforce at its Centers as well as its ability to remain 

19 on the cutting edge of aeronautical and space technology 

20 will continue to erode and will threaten the Administra21 tion’s ability to be a world leader in aeronautics research 

22 and development and space exploration. 

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

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1 priate, collaborations with industry, universities, and other 

2 relevant organizations. The plan shall identify the organi3 zational approach to be followed, an initial set of basic 

4 research priorities, and a proposed budget. 

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

6 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

7 the plan specified in subsection (b) to the Committee on 

8 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate. 

11 SEC. 720. LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE DEVELOPMENT PRO12 GRAM. 

13 The Administrator shall consult with the Secretary 

14 of Defense to ensure that any next generation liquid rock15 et engine made in the United States for national security 

16 space launch objectives can contribute, to the extent prac17 ticable, to the space programs and missions carried out 

18 by the Administration. 

19 SEC. 721 REMOTE SATELLITE SERVICING DEMONSTRA20 TIONS. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that— 

23 (1) the Administration plays a key role in dem24 onstrating the feasibility of using robotic techVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:47 Jun 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4412.RFS2 H4412

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1 nologies for a spacecraft that could autonomously 

2 access, inspect, repair, and refuel satellites; 

3 (2) demonstrating this feasibility would both as4 sist the Administration in its future missions and 

5 provide other Federal agencies and private sector en6 tities with enhanced confidence in the feasibility to 

7 robotically refuel, inspect, repair, and maintain their 

8 satellites in both near and distant orbits; and 

9 (3) the capability to refuel, inspect, repair, and 

10 maintain satellites robotically could add years of 

11 functional life to satellites. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

14 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech15 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

17 describing the Administration’s— 

18 (1) activities, tools, and techniques associated 

19 with the ultimate goal of autonomously servicing sat20 ellites using robotic spacecraft; 

21 (2) efforts to coordinate its technology develop22 ment and demonstrations with other Federal agen23 cies and private sector entities that conduct pro24 grams, projects, or activities on on-orbit satellite in25 spection and servicing capabilities; 


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1 (3) efforts to leverage the work of these Federal 

2 agencies and private sector entities into the Admin3 istration’s plans; 

4 (4) accomplishments to date in demonstrating 

5 various servicing technologies; 

6 (5) major technical and operational challenges 

7 encountered and mitigation measures taken; and 

8 (6) demonstrations needed to increase con9 fidence in the use of the technologies for operational 

10 missions, and the timeframe for these demonstra11 tions. 

12 SEC. 722. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE. 

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that information security is central to the Adminis15 tration’s ability to protect information and information 

16 systems vital to its mission. 

17 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

18 States shall conduct a study to assess the effectiveness of 

19 the Administration’s Information Technology Governance. 

20 The study shall include an assessment of— 

21 (1) the resources available for overseeing Ad22 ministration-wide information technology operations, 

23 investments, and security measures and the Chief 

24 Information Officer’s visibility into and access to 

25 those resources; 


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1 (2) the effectiveness of the Administration’s de2 centralized information technology structure, deci3 sionmaking processes and authorities and its ability 

4 to enforce information security; and 

5 (3) the impact of providing the Chief Informa6 tion Officer approval authority over information 

7 technology investments that exceed a defined mone8 tary threshold and any potential impacts of the 

9 Chief Information Officer having such authority on 

10 the Administration’s missions, flights programs and 

11 projects, research activities, and Center operations. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

14 transmit a report detailing the results of the study con15 ducted under subsection (b) to the Committee on Science, 

16 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation of the Senate. 

19 SEC. 723. STRENGTHENING ADMINISTRATION SECURITY. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find21 ings: 

22 (1) Following the public disclosure of security 

23 and export control violations at its research centers, 

24 the Administration contracted with the National 

25 Academy of Public Administration to conduct an 


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1 independent assessment of how the Administration 

2 carried out Foreign National Access Management 

3 practices and other security matters. 

4 (2) The assessment by the National Academy of 

5 Public Administration concluded that ‘‘NASA net6 works are compromised’’, that the Administration 

7 lacked a standardized and systematic approach to 

8 export compliance, and that individuals within the 

9 Administration were not held accountable when 

10 making serious, preventable errors in carrying out 

11 Foreign National Access Management practices and 

12 other security matters. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Administration shall report 

15 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

16 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com17 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on how 

18 it plans to address each of the recommendations made in 

19 the security assessment by the National Academy of Pub20 lic Administration and the recommendations made by the 

21 Government Accountability Office and the Administra22 tion’s Office of the Inspector General regarding security 

23 and safeguarding export control information. 

24 (c) REVIEW.—Within one year of enactment of this 

25 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 


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1 report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech2 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

3 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

4 its assessment of how the Administration has complied 

5 with the recommendations described in subsection (b). 

6 SEC. 724. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CONTRAC7 TORS THAT HAVE COMMITTED FRAUD OR 

8 OTHER CRIMES. 

9 None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or 

10 otherwise made available for fiscal year 2014 or any fiscal 

11 year thereafter for the Administration may be used to 

12 enter into a contract with any offeror or any of its prin13 cipals if the offeror certifies, pursuant to the Federal Ac14 quisition Regulation, that the offeror or any of its prin15 cipals— 

16 (1) within a three-year period preceding this 

17 offer has been convicted of or had a civil judgment 

18 rendered against it for— 

19 (A) commission of fraud or a criminal of20 fense in connection with obtaining, attempting 

21 to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, 

22 State, or local) contract or subcontract; 

23 (B) violation of Federal or State antitrust 

24 statutes relating to the submission of offers; or 


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1 (C) commission of embezzlement, theft, 

2 forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of 

3 records, making false statements, tax evasion, 

4 violating Federal criminal tax laws, or receiving 

5 stolen property; 

6 (2) are presently indicted for, or otherwise 

7 criminally or civilly charged by a governmental enti8 ty with, commission of any of the offenses enumer9 ated in paragraph (1); or 

10 (3) within a three-year period preceding this 

11 offer, has been notified of any delinquent Federal 

12 taxes in an amount that exceeds $3,000 for which 

13 the liability remains unsatisfied. 

14 SEC. 725. PROTECTION OF APOLLO LANDING SITES. 

15 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

16 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with all rel17 evant agencies of the Federal Government and other ap18 propriate entities and individuals, shall carry out a review 

19 and assessment of the issues involved in protecting and 

20 preserving historically important Apollo Program lunar 

21 landing sites and Apollo program artifacts residing on the 

22 lunar surface, including those pertaining to Apollo 11 and 

23 Apollo 17. The review and assessment shall, at a min24 imum, include determination of what risks to the protec25 tion and preservation of those sites and artifacts exist or 


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1 may exist in the future, what measures are required to 

2 ensure such protection and preservation, the extent to 

3 which additional domestic legislation or international trea4 ties or agreements will be required, and specific rec5 ommendations for protecting and preserving those lunar 

6 landing sites and artifacts. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit to 

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

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the re12 sults of the assessment required under subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 726. ASTRONAUT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHCARE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Academies’ Insti15 tute of Medicine report ‘‘Health Standards for Long Du16 ration and Exploration Spaceflight: Ethics Principles, Re17 sponsibilities, and Decision Framework’’ found that the 

18 Administration has ethical responsibilities for and should 

19 adopt policies and processes related to health standards 

20 for long duration and exploration spaceflights that recog21 nize those ethical responsibilities. In particular, the report 

22 recommended that the Administration ‘‘provide preventa23 tive long-term health screening and surveillance of astro24 nauts and lifetime health care to protect their health, sup25 port ongoing evaluation of health standards, improve misVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:47 Jun 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00127 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4412.RFS2 H4412

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1 sion safety, and reduce risks for current and future astro2 nauts’’. 

3 (b) RESPONSE.—The Administration shall prepare a 

4 response to the National Academies report recommenda5 tion described in subsection (a). The response shall include 

6 the estimated budgetary resources required for the imple7 mentation of those recommendations, and any options that 

8 might be considered as part of the response. 

9 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—The response required under 

10 subsection (b) shall be transmitted to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate not later than 6 months 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 727. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACCESS TO OBSERVA16 TIONAL DATA SETS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that the Administration 

18 should prioritize the development of tools and interfaces 

19 that make publicly available observational data sets more 

20 easy to access, analyze, manipulate, and understand for 

21 students, teachers, and the American public at large, with 


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1 a particular focus on K-12 and undergraduate STEM edu2 cation settings. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 9, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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