IB 

Union Calendar No. 349 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4412 

[Report No. 113–470] 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 7, 2014 

Mr. PALAZZO (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

JUNE 5, 2014 

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

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

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 7, 2014] 

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A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza6 tion Act of 2014’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. 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. 

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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. 

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. 

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TITLE VII—POLICY PROVISIONS 

Sec. 701. Asteroid Retrieval Mission. 

Sec. 702. Termination liability. 

Sec. 703. Baseline and cost controls. 

Sec. 704. Project and program reserves. 

Sec. 705. Independent reviews. 

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. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra4 tion’’ means the National Aeronautics and Space Ad5 ministration. 

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 

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1 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 

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

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

4 Act Agreement’’ means an agreement created under 

5 the authority to enter into ‘‘other transactions’’ under 

6 section 20113(e) of title 51, United States Code. 

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

8 Launch System’’ means the follow-on Government9 owned civil launch system developed, managed, and 

10 operated by the Administration to serve as a key com11 ponent to expand human presence beyond low-Earth 

12 orbit, as described in section 302 of the National Aer13 onautics and Space Administration Authorization 

14 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322). 

15 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

16 APPROPRIATIONS 

17 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2014. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin19 istration for fiscal year 2014 $17,646,500,000 as follows: 

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, of which $30,000,000 shall be for the 

15 Astrobiology Institute; 

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

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

18 Webb Space Telescope; and 

19 (E) $654,000,000 shall be for Heliophysics. 

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

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

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

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

24 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com25 pliance and Restoration, $515,000,000. 

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

2 TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 

3 Subtitle A—Exploration 

4 SEC. 201. SPACE EXPLORATION POLICY. 

5 (a) POLICY.—Human exploration deeper into the solar 

6 system shall be a core mission of the Administration. It is 

7 the policy of the United States that the goal of the Adminis8 tration’s exploration program shall be to successfully con9 duct a crewed mission to the surface of Mars to begin 

10 human exploration of that planet. The use of the surface 

11 of the Moon, cis-lunar space, near-Earth asteroids, 

12 Lagrangian points, and Martian moons may be pursued 

13 provided they are properly incorporated into the Human 

14 Exploration Roadmap described in section 70504 of title 

15 51, United States Code. 

16 (b) VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION.—Section 20302 

17 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: 

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

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

21 crew capsule’ means the multipurpose crew vehicle de22 scribed in section 303 of the National Aeronautics 

23 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 

24 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

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1 ‘‘(2) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term ‘Space 

2 Launch System’ means the follow-on Government3 owned civil launch system developed, managed, and 

4 operated by the Administration to serve as a key com5 ponent to expand human presence beyond low-Earth 

6 orbit, as described in section 302 of the National Aer7 onautics and Space Administration Authorization 

8 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322).’’. 

9 (c) KEY OBJECTIVES.—Section 202(b) of the National 

10 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

11 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(b)) is amended— 

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

13 semicolon; 

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

15 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(5) to accelerate the development of capabilities 

18 to enable a human exploration mission to the surface 

19 of Mars and beyond through the prioritization of 

20 those technologies and capabilities best suited for such 

21 a mission in accordance with the Human Explo22 ration Roadmap under section 70504 of title 51, 

23 United States Code.’’. 

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

25 FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES.—Section 201(a) 

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1 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au2 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)) is amended 

3 to read as follows: 

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

5 FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—NASA may not obtain non7 United States human space flight capabilities unless 

8 no domestic commercial or public-private partnership 

9 provider that the Administrator has determined to 

10 meet safety and affordability requirements established 

11 by NASA for the transport of its astronauts is avail12 able to provide such capabilities. 

13 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub14 section, the term ‘domestic commercial provider’ 

15 means a person providing space transportation serv16 ices or other space-related activities, the majority con17 trol of which is held by persons other than a Federal, 

18 State, local, or foreign government, foreign company, 

19 or foreign national.’’. 

20 (e) REPEAL OF SPACE SHUTTLE CAPABILITY ASSUR21 ANCE.—Section 203 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

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

23 18313) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking subsection (b); 

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1 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 

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

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

5 SEC. 202. STEPPING STONE APPROACH TO EXPLORATION. 

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

7 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘§ 70504. Stepping stone approach to exploration 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to maximize the cost ef10 fectiveness of the long-term space exploration and utiliza11 tion activities of the United States, the Administrator shall 

12 direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Di13 rectorate, or its successor division, to develop a Human Ex14 ploration Roadmap to define the specific capabilities and 

15 technologies necessary to extend human presence to the sur16 face of Mars and the sets and sequences of missions required 

17 to demonstrate such capabilities and technologies. 

18 ‘‘(b) INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION.—The President 

19 should invite the United States partners in the Inter20 national Space Station program and other nations, as ap21 propriate, to participate in an international initiative 

22 under the leadership of the United States to achieve the goal 

23 of successfully conducting a crewed mission to the surface 

24 of Mars. 

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

2 Human Exploration Roadmap, the Administrator shall— 

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

4 technologies that contribute to extending human pres5 ence to the surface of Mars and the sets and sequences 

6 of missions necessary to demonstrate the proficiency 

7 of these capabilities and technologies with an empha8 sis on using or not using the International Space 

9 Station, lunar landings, cis-lunar space, trans-lunar 

10 space, Lagrangian points, and the natural satellites 

11 of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, as testbeds, as necessary, 

12 and shall include the most appropriate process for de13 veloping such capabilities and technologies; 

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

15 planned intermediate destinations, Mars mission risk 

16 areas and potential risk mitigation approaches, tech17 nology requirements and phasing of required tech18 nology development activities, the management strat19 egy to be followed, related International Space Sta20 tion activities, and planned international collabo21 rative activities, potential commercial contributions, 

22 and other activities relevant to the achievement of the 

23 goal established in section 201(a) of the National Aer24 onautics and Space Administration Authorization 

25 Act of 2014; 

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1 ‘‘(3) describe those technologies already under de2 velopment across the Federal Government or by non3 government entities which meet or exceed the needs 

4 described in paragraph (1); 

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

6 of the capabilities of the fully integrated Orion crew 

7 capsule with the Space Launch System and how these 

8 systems demonstrate the capabilities and technologies 

9 described in paragraph (1); 

10 ‘‘(5) provide a description of the capabilities and 

11 technologies that need to be demonstrated or research 

12 data that could be gained through the utilization of 

13 the International Space Station and the status of the 

14 development of such capabilities and technologies; 

15 ‘‘(6) describe a framework for international co16 operation in the development of all technologies and 

17 capabilities required in this section, as well as an as18 sessment of the risks posed by relying on inter19 national partners for capabilities and technologies on 

20 the critical path of development; 

21 ‘‘(7) describe a process for utilizing nongovern22 mental entities for future human exploration beyond 

23 trans-lunar space and specify what, if any, synergy 

24 could be gained from— 

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1 ‘‘(A) partnerships using Space Act Agree2 ments (as defined in section 2 of the National 

3 Aeronautics and Space Administration Author4 ization Act of 2014); or 

5 ‘‘(B) other acquisition instruments; 

6 ‘‘(8) include in the Human Exploration Road7 map an addendum from the National Aeronautics 

8 and Space Administration Advisory Council, and an 

9 addendum from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, 

10 each with a statement of review of the Human Explo11 ration Roadmap that shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) subjects of agreement; 

13 ‘‘(B) areas of concern; and 

14 ‘‘(C) recommendations; and 

15 ‘‘(9) include in the Human Exploration Road16 map an examination of the benefits of utilizing cur17 rent Administration launch facilities for trans-lunar 

18 missions. 

19 ‘‘(d) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall update such 

20 Human Exploration Roadmap as needed but no less fre21 quently than every 2 years and include it in the budget 

22 for that fiscal year transmitted to Congress under section 

23 1105(a) of title 31, and describe— 

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

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1 nologies during the 2-year period prior to the submis2 sion of the update to Congress; and 

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

4 following 2-year period. 

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

6 crew capsule’ and ‘Space Launch System’ have the mean7 ings given such terms in section 20302.’’. 

8 (b) REPORT.— 

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

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

11 shall transmit a copy of the Human Exploration 

12 Roadmap developed under section 70504 of title 51, 

13 United States Code, to the Committee on Science, 

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

16 Transportation of the Senate. 

17 (2) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall trans18 mit a copy of each updated Human Exploration 

19 Roadmap to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate not later than 7 days after such 

23 Human Exploration Roadmap is updated. 

24 SEC. 203. SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

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1 (1) the Space Launch System is the most prac2 tical approach to reaching the Moon, Mars, and be3 yond, and Congress reaffirms the policy and min4 imum capability requirements for the Space Launch 

5 System contained in section 302 of the National Aero6 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

7 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322); 

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

9 integrated Space Launch System, including an upper 

10 stage needed to go beyond low-Earth orbit, is to safely 

11 carry a total payload to enable human space explo12 ration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond over the course 

13 of the next century as required in section 302(c) of the 

14 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au15 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)); and 

16 (3) In order to promote safety and reduce pro17 grammatic risk, the Administrator shall budget for 

18 and undertake a robust ground test and uncrewed 

19 and crewed flight test and demonstration program for 

20 the Space Launch System and the Orion crew capsule 

21 and shall budget for an operational flight rate suffi22 cient to maintain safety and operational readiness. 

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

24 that the President’s annual budget requests for the Space 

25 Launch System and Orion crew capsule development, test, 

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1 and operational phases should strive to accurately reflect 

2 the resource requirements of each of those phases, consistent 

3 with the policy established in section 201(a) of this Act. 

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

5 heavy-lift launch vehicle and crewed spacecraft to enable the 

6 achievement of the goal established in section 201(a) of this 

7 Act, as well as the accomplishment of intermediate explo8 ration milestones and the provision of a backup capability 

9 to transfer crew and cargo to the International Space Sta10 tion, the Administrator shall make the expeditious develop11 ment, test, and achievement of operational readiness of the 

12 Space Launch System and the Orion crew capsule the high13 est priority of the exploration program. 

14 (d) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE15 VIEW.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the 

17 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

18 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

20 Administration’s acquisition of ground systems in support 

21 of the Space Launch System. The report shall assess the 

22 extent to which ground systems acquired in support of the 

23 Space Launch System are focused on the direct support of 

24 the Space Launch System and shall identify any ground 

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1 dertaking that do not solely or primarily support the Space 

2 Launch System. 

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

4 consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Director 

5 of National Intelligence, shall prepare a report that address6 es the effort and budget required to enable and utilize a 

7 cargo variant of the 130-ton Space Launch System configu8 ration described in section 302(c) of the National Aero9 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

10 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)). This report shall also include 

11 consideration of the technical requirements of the scientific 

12 and national security communities related to such Space 

13 Launch System and shall directly assess the utility and es14 timated cost savings obtained by using such Space Launch 

15 System for national security and space science missions. 

16 The Administrator shall transmit such report to the Com17 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

18 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (f) NAMING COMPETITION.—Beginning not later than 

22 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act and con23 cluding not later than 1 year after such date of enactment, 

24 the Administrator shall conduct a well-publicized competi25 tion among students in elementary and secondary schools 

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1 to name the elements of the Administration’s exploration 

2 program, including— 

3 (1) a name for the deep space human exploration 

4 program as a whole, which includes the Space 

5 Launch System, the Orion crew capsule, and future 

6 missions; and 

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

8 (g) ADVANCED BOOSTER COMPETITION.— 

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

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Adminis11 trator of the Administration shall transmit to the 

12 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

15 report that— 

16 (A) describes the estimated total develop17 ment cost of an advanced booster for the Space 

18 Launch System; 

19 (B) details any reductions or increases to 

20 the development cost of the Space Launch System 

21 which may result from conducting a competition 

22 for an advanced booster; and 

23 (C) outlines any potential schedule delay to 

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1 ciated with conducting a competition for an ad2 vanced booster. 

3 (2) COMPETITION.—If the Associate Adminis4 trator reports reductions pursuant to paragraph 

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

6 paragraph (1)(C), then the Administration shall con7 duct a full and open competition for an advanced 

8 booster for the Space Launch System to meet the re9 quirements described in section 302(c) of the National 

10 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization 

11 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)), to begin as soon as 

12 practicable after the development of the upper stage 

13 has been initiated. 

14 SEC. 204. ORION CREW CAPSULE. 

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

16 the practical needs and the minimum capability require17 ments described in section 303 of the National Aeronautics 

18 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

19 U.S.C. 18323). 

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

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

22 a report 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— 

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1 (1) detailing those components and systems of 

2 the Orion crew capsule that ensure it is in compli3 ance with section 303(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 18323(b)); 

5 (2) detailing the expected date that the Orion 

6 crew capsule will be available to transport crew and 

7 cargo to the International Space Station; and 

8 (3) certifying that the requirements of section 

9 303(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 18323(b)(3)) will be 

10 met by the Administration. 

11 SEC. 205. SPACE RADIATION. 

12 (a) STRATEGY AND PLAN.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de14 velop a space radiation mitigation and management 

15 strategy and implementation plan to enable the 

16 achievement of the goal established in section 201 that 

17 includes key research and monitoring requirements, 

18 milestones, a timetable, and an estimate of facility 

19 and budgetary requirements. 

20 (2) COORDINATION.—The strategy shall include 

21 a mechanism for coordinating Administration re22 search, technology, facilities, engineering, operations, 

23 and other functions required to support the strategy 

24 and plan. 

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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

3 shall transmit the strategy and plan to the Committee 

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

5 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

7 (b) SPACE RADIATION RESEARCH FACILITIES.—The 

8 Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other ap9 propriate Federal agencies, shall assess the national capa10 bilities for carrying out critical ground-based research on 

11 space radiation biology and shall identify any issues that 

12 could affect the ability to carry out that research. 

13 SEC. 206. PLANETARY PROTECTION FOR HUMAN EXPLO14 RATION MISSIONS. 

15 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an ar16 rangement with the National Academies for a study to ex17 plore the planetary protection ramifications of potential fu18 ture missions by astronauts such as to the lunar polar re19 gions, near-Earth asteroids, the moons of Mars, and the sur20 face of Mars. 

21 (b) SCOPE.—The study shall— 

22 (1) collate and summarize what has been done to 

23 date with respect to planetary protection measures to 

24 be applied to potential human missions such as to the 

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1 lunar polar regions, near-Earth asteroids, the moons 

2 of Mars, and the surface of Mars; 

3 (2) identify and document planetary protection 

4 concerns associated with potential human missions 

5 such as to the lunar polar regions, near-Earth aster6 oids, the moons of Mars, and the surface of Mars; 

7 (3) develop a methodology, if possible, for defin8 ing and classifying the degree of concern associated 

9 with each likely destination; 

10 (4) assess likely methodologies for addressing 

11 planetary protection concerns; and 

12 (5) identify areas for future research to reduce 

13 current uncertainties. 

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

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

16 provide the results of the study to the Committee on Science, 

17 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

19 of the Senate. 

20 Subtitle B—Space Operations 

21 SEC. 211. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. 

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

23 (1) The International Space Station is an ideal 

24 testbed for future exploration systems development, in25 cluding long-duration space travel. 

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

2 cargo and crew transportation services is currently 

3 the most expeditious process to restore domestic access 

4 to the International Space Station and low-Earth 

5 orbit. 

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

7 paramount to the continued success of the Inter8 national Space Station and National Laboratory. 

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

10 United States: 

11 (1) The United States International Space Sta12 tion program shall have two primary objectives: sup13 porting achievement of the goal established in section 

14 201 of this Act and pursuing a research program that 

15 advances knowledge and provides benefits to the Na16 tion. It shall continue to be the policy of the United 

17 States to, in consultation with its international part18 ners in the International Space Station program, 

19 support full and complete utilization of the Inter20 national Space Station. 

21 (2) The International Space Station shall be uti22 lized to the maximum extent practicable for the devel23 opment of capabilities and technologies needed for the 

24 future of human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit 

25 and shall be considered in the development of the 

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1 Human Exploration Roadmap developed under sec2 tion 70504 of title 51, United States Code. 

3 (3) The Administrator shall, in consultation 

4 with the International Space Station partners— 

5 (A) take all necessary measures to support 

6 the operation and full utilization of the Inter7 national Space Station; and 

8 (B) seek to minimize, to the extent prac9 ticable, the operating costs of the International 

10 Space Station. 

11 (4) Reliance on foreign carriers for crew transfer 

12 is unacceptable, and the Nation’s human space flight 

13 program must acquire the capability to launch 

14 United States astronauts on United States rockets 

15 from United States soil as soon as is safe and prac16 tically possible, whether on Government-owned and 

17 operated space transportation systems or privately 

18 owned systems that have been certified for flight by 

19 the appropriate Federal agencies. 

20 (c) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaf21 firms— 

22 (1) its commitment to the development of a com23 mercially developed launch and delivery system to the 

24 International Space Station for crew missions as ex25 pressed in the National Aeronautics and Space Admstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ministration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 

2 109–155), the National Aeronautics and Space Ad3 ministration Authorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 

4 110–422), and the National Aeronautics and Space 

5 Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (Public 

6 Law 111–267); 

7 (2) that the Administration shall make use of 

8 United States commercially provided International 

9 Space Station crew transfer and crew rescue services 

10 to the maximum extent practicable; 

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

12 alternative means of delivery of crew and cargo to the 

13 International Space Station, in the event other vehi14 cles, whether commercial vehicles or partner-supplied 

15 vehicles, are unable to perform that function; and 

16 (4) the policy stated in section 501(b) of the Na17 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author18 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351(b)) that the Ad19 ministration shall pursue international, commercial, 

20 and intragovernmental means to maximize Inter21 national Space Station logistics supply, maintenance, 

22 and operational capabilities, reduce risks to Inter23 national Space Station systems sustainability, and 

24 offset and minimize United States operations costs re25 lating to the International Space Station. 

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1 (d) ASSURED ACCESS TO LOW-EARTH ORBIT.—Sec2 tion 70501(a) of title 51, United States Code, is amended 

3 to read as follows: 

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

5 United States to maintain an uninterrupted capability for 

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

7 beyond, as an essential instrument of national security and 

8 the capability to ensure continued United States participa9 tion and leadership in the exploration and utilization of 

10 space.’’. 

11 (e) REPEALS.— 

12 (1) USE OF SPACE SHUTTLE OR ALTER13 NATIVES.—Chapter 701 of title 51, United States 

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

15 table of chapters for such title, are repealed. 

16 (2) SHUTTLE PRICING POLICY FOR COMMERCIAL

17 AND FOREIGN USERS.—Chapter 703 of title 51, 

18 United States Code, and the item relating to such 

19 chapter in the table of chapters for such title, are re20 pealed. 

21 (3) SHUTTLE PRIVATIZATION.—Section 50133 of 

22 title 51, United States Code, and the item relating to 

23 such section in the table of sections for chapter 501 

24 of such title, are repealed. 

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1 (f) EXTENSION CRITERIA REPORT.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator shall submit 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 a report on the feasibility of extending the operation 

7 of the International Space Station that includes— 

8 (1) criteria for defining the International Space 

9 Station as a research success; 

10 (2) any necessary contributions to enabling exe11 cution of the Human Exploration Roadmap developed 

12 under section 70504 of title 51, United States Code; 

13 (3) cost estimates for operating the International 

14 Space Station to achieve the criteria required under 

15 paragraph (1); 

16 (4) cost estimates for extending operations to 

17 2024 and 2030; 

18 (5) an assessment of how the defined criteria 

19 under paragraph (1) respond to the National Acad20 emies Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical 

21 Sciences in Space; and 

22 (6) an identification of the actions and cost esti23 mate needed to deorbit the International Space Sta24 tion once a decision is made to deorbit the laboratory. 

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1 (g) STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INTERNATIONAL SPACE STA2 TION RESEARCH.— 

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

4 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with 

5 the Administrator, academia, other Federal agencies, 

6 the International Space Station National Laboratory 

7 Advisory Committee, and other potential stakeholders, 

8 shall develop and transmit to the Committee on 

9 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a strategic 

12 plan for conducting competitive, peer-reviewed re13 search in physical and life sciences and related tech14 nologies on the International Space Station through 

15 at least 2020. 

16 (2) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The strategic plan 

17 shall— 

18 (A) be consistent with the priorities and 

19 recommendations established by the National 

20 Academies in its Decadal Survey on Biological 

21 and Physical Sciences in Space; 

22 (B) provide a research timeline and identify 

23 resource requirements for its implementation, in24 cluding the facilities and instrumentation nec25 essary for the conduct of such research; and 

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1 (C) identify— 

2 (i) criteria for the proposed research, 

3 including— 

4 (I) a justification for the research 

5 to be carried out in the space micro6 gravity environment; 

7 (II) the use of model systems; 

8 (III) the testing of flight hardware 

9 to understand and ensure its func10 tioning in the microgravity environ11 ment; 

12 (IV) the use of controls to help 

13 distinguish among the direct and indi14 rect effects of microgravity, among 

15 other effects of the flight or space envi16 ronment; 

17 (V) approaches for facilitating 

18 data collection, analysis, and interpre19 tation; 

20 (VI) procedures to ensure repeti21 tion of experiments, as needed; 

22 (VII) support for timely presen23 tation of the peer-reviewed results of 

24 the research; 

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1 (VIII) defined metrics for the suc2 cess of each study; and 

3 (IX) how these activities enable 

4 the Human Exploration Roadmap de5 scribed in section 70504 of title 51, 

6 United States Code; 

7 (ii) instrumentation required to sup8 port the measurements and analysis of the 

9 research to be carried out under the stra10 tegic plan; 

11 (iii) the capabilities needed to support 

12 direct, real-time communications between 

13 astronauts working on research experiments 

14 onboard the International Space Station 

15 and the principal investigator on the 

16 ground; 

17 (iv) a process for involving the external 

18 user community in research planning, in19 cluding planning for relevant flight hard20 ware and instrumentation, and for utiliza21 tion of the International Space Station, free 

22 flyers, or other research platforms; 

23 (v) the acquisition strategies the Ad24 ministration plans to use to acquire any 

25 new capabilities which are not operational 

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1 on the International Space Station as of the 

2 date of enactment of this Act and which 

3 have an estimated total life cycle cost of 

4 $10,000,000 or more, along with a justifica5 tion of any anticipated use of less than full 

6 and open competition and written approval 

7 therefor from the Administration’s Assistant 

8 Administrator for Procurement; and 

9 (vi) defined metrics for success of the 

10 research plan. 

11 (3) REPORT.— 

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

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

14 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

15 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

16 and Technology of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

18 Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

19 progress of the organization chosen for the man20 agement of the International Space Station Na21 tional Laboratory as directed in section 504 of 

22 the National Aeronautics and Space Administra23 tion Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

24 18354). 

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1 (B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The report 

2 shall assess the management, organization, and 

3 performance of such organization and shall in4 clude a review of the status of each of the 7 re5 quired activities listed in section 504(c) of such 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 18354(c)). 

7 SEC. 212. BARRIERS IMPEDING ENHANCED UTILIZATION OF 

8 THE ISS’S NATIONAL LABORATORY BY COM9 MERCIAL COMPANIES. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

11 that— 

12 (1) enhanced utilization of the International 

13 Space Station’s National Laboratory requires a full 

14 understanding of the barriers impeding such utiliza15 tion and actions needed to be taken to remove or miti16 gate them to the maximum extent practicable; and 

17 (2) doing so will allow the Administration to en18 courage commercial companies to invest in micro19 gravity research using National Laboratory research 

20 facilities. 

21 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall enter into 

22 an arrangement with the National Academies for an assess23 ment to— 

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1 (1) identify barriers impeding enhanced utiliza2 tion of the International Space Station’s National 

3 Laboratory; 

4 (2) recommend ways to encourage commercial 

5 companies to make greater use of the International 

6 Space Station’s National Laboratory, including cor7 porate investment in microgravity research; and 

8 (3) identify any legislative changes that may be 

9 required. 

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

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans12 mit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the results 

15 of the assessment described in subsection (b). 

16 SEC. 213. UTILIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 

17 FOR SCIENCE MISSIONS. 

18 The Administrator shall utilize the International 

19 Space Station for Science Mission Directorate missions in 

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

21 to do so. 

22 SEC. 214. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CARGO RESUP23 PLY SERVICES LESSONS LEARNED. 

24 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

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

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

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

3 Science, and Transportation of the Senate that— 

4 (1) identifies the lessons learned to date from the 

5 Commercial Resupply Services contract; 

6 (2) indicates whether changes are needed to the 

7 manner in which the Administration procures and 

8 manages similar services upon the expiration of the 

9 existing Commercial Resupply Services contract; and 

10 (3) identifies any lessons learned from the Com11 mercial Resupply Services contract that should be ap12 plied to the procurement and management of commer13 cially provided crew transfer services to and from the 

14 International Space Station. 

15 SEC. 215. COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

17 that once developed and certified to meet the Administra18 tion’s safety and reliability requirements, United States 

19 commercially provided crew transportation systems offer 

20 the potential of serving as the primary means of trans21 porting American astronauts and international partner as22 tronauts to and from the International Space Station and 

23 serving as International Space Station emergency crew res24 cue vehicles. At the same time, the budgetary assumptions 

25 used by the Administration in its planning for the Commermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 cial Crew Program have consistently assumed significantly 

2 higher funding levels than have been authorized and appro3 priated by Congress. It is the sense of Congress that credi4 bility in the Administration’s budgetary estimates for the 

5 Commercial Crew Program can be enhanced by an inde6 pendently developed cost estimate. Such credibility in budg7 etary estimates is an important factor in understanding 

8 program risk. 

9 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Administration’s 

10 Commercial Crew Program shall be to assist the develop11 ment of at least one crew transportation system to carry 

12 Administration astronauts safely, reliably, and affordably 

13 to and from the International Space Station and to serve 

14 as an emergency crew rescue vehicle as soon as practicable 

15 within the funding levels authorized. The Administration 

16 shall not use any considerations beyond this objective in 

17 the overall acquisition strategy. 

18 (c) SAFETY.—Consistent with the findings and rec19 ommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation 

20 Board, the Administration shall— 

21 (1) ensure that, in its evaluation and selection of 

22 contracts for the development of commercial crew 

23 transportation capabilities, safety is the highest pri24 ority; and 

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1 (2) seek to ensure that minimization of the prob2 ability of loss of crew shall be an important selection 

3 criterion of the Commercial Crew Transportation Ca4 pability Contract. 

5 (d) COST MINIMIZATION.—The Administrator shall 

6 strive through the competitive selection process to minimize 

7 the life cycle cost to the Administration through the planned 

8 period of commercially provided crew transportation serv9 ices. 

10 (e) TRANSPARENCY.—Transparency is the cornerstone 

11 of ensuring a safe and reliable commercial crew transpor12 tation service to the International Space Station. The Ad13 ministrator shall, to the greatest extent practicable, ensure 

14 that every commercial crew transportation services provider 

15 has provided evidence-based support for their costs and 

16 schedule. 

17 (f) INDEPENDENT COST AND SCHEDULE ESTIMATE.— 

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

19 after the Federal Acquisition Regulation-based con20 tract for the Commercial Crew Transportation Capa21 bility Contract is awarded, the Administrator shall 

22 arrange for the initiation of an Independent Cost and 

23 Schedule Estimate for— 

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1 (A) all activities associated with the devel2 opment, test, demonstration, and certification of 

3 commercial crew transportation systems; 

4 (B) transportation and rescue services re5 quired by the Administration for International 

6 Space Station operations through calendar year 

7 2020 or later if Administration requirements so 

8 dictate; and 

9 (C) the estimated date of operational readi10 ness for the program each assumption listed in 

11 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

12 (2) ASSUMPTIONS.—The Independent Cost and 

13 Schedule Estimate shall provide an estimate for each 

14 of the following scenarios: 

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

16 the next 3 fiscal years. 

17 (B) An appropriation of $700,000,000 over 

18 the next 3 fiscal years. 

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

20 the next 3 fiscal years. 

21 (D) The funding level assumptions over the 

22 next 3 fiscal years that are included as part of 

23 commercial crew transportation capability con24 tract awards. 

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

2 after initiation of the Independent Cost and Schedule 

3 Estimate under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

4 shall transmit the results of the Independent Cost and 

5 Schedule Estimate to the Committee on Science, 

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

8 Transportation of the Senate. 

9 (g) IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES.— 

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

11 completion of the Independent Cost and Schedule Es12 timate under subsection (f), the Administrator shall 

13 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

14 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

15 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation of the Senate a report containing 4 distinct 

17 implementation strategies based on such Independent 

18 Cost and Schedule Estimate for the final stages of the 

19 commercial crew program. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—These options shall in21 clude— 

22 (A) a strategy that assumes an appropria23 tion of $600,000,000 over the next 3 fiscal years; 

24 (B) a strategy that assumes an appropria25 tion of $700,000,000 over the next 3 fiscal years; 

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1 (C) a strategy that assumes an appropria2 tion of $800,000,000 over the next 3 fiscal years; 

3 and 

4 (D) a strategy that has yet to be considered 

5 previously in any budget submission but that the 

6 Administration believes could ensure the flight 

7 readiness date of 2017 for at least one provider. 

8 (3) INCLUSIONS.—Each strategy shall include 

9 the contracting instruments the Administration will 

10 employ to acquire the services in each phase of devel11 opment or acquisition and the number of commercial 

12 providers the Administration will include in the pro13 gram. 

14 SEC. 216. SPACE COMMUNICATIONS. 

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

16 in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, for updating 

17 the Administration’s space communications and navigation 

18 architecture for low-Earth orbital and deep space oper19 ations so that it is capable of meeting the Administration’s 

20 communications needs over the next 20 years. The plan 

21 shall include lifecycle cost estimates, milestones, estimated 

22 performance capabilities, and 5-year funding profiles. The 

23 plan shall also include an estimate of the amounts of any 

24 reimbursements the Administration is likely to receive from 

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1 grades described in the plan. At a minimum, the plan shall 

2 include a description of the following: 

3 (1) Steps to sustain the existing space commu4 nications and navigation network and infrastructure 

5 and priorities for how resources will be applied and 

6 cost estimates for the maintenance of existing space 

7 communications network capabilities. 

8 (2) Upgrades needed to support space commu9 nications and navigation network and infrastructure 

10 requirements, including cost estimates and schedules 

11 and an assessment of the impact on missions if re12 sources are not secured at the level needed. 

13 (3) Projected space communications and naviga14 tion network requirements for the next 20 years, in15 cluding those in support of human space exploration 

16 missions. 

17 (4) Projected Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 

18 System requirements for the next 20 years, including 

19 those in support of other relevant Federal agencies, 

20 and cost and schedule estimates to maintain and up21 grade the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System 

22 to meet projected requirements. 

23 (5) Steps the Administration is taking to meet 

24 future space communications requirements after all 

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1 Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System third-gen2 eration communications satellites are operational. 

3 (6) Steps the Administration is taking to miti4 gate threats to electromagnetic spectrum use. 

5 (b) SCHEDULE.—The Administrator shall transmit the 

6 plan developed under this section to the Committee on 

7 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa8 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans9 portation of the Senate not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act. 

11 TITLE III—SCIENCE 

12 Subtitle A—General 

13 SEC. 301. SCIENCE PORTFOLIO. 

14 (a) BALANCED AND ADEQUATELY FUNDED ACTIVI15 TIES.—Section 803 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

16 Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 2832) 

17 is amended to read as follows: 

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

19 CONGRESS. 

20 ‘‘Congress reaffirms its sense, expressed in the National 

21 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

22 of 2010, that a balanced and adequately funded set of ac23 tivities, consisting of research and analysis grants pro24 grams, technology development, small, medium, and large 

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1 utes to a robust and productive science program and serves 

2 as a catalyst for innovation and discovery.’’. 

3 (b) DECADAL SURVEYS.—In proposing the funding of 

4 programs and activities for the Administration for each fis5 cal year, the Administrator shall to the greatest extent prac6 ticable follow guidance provided in the current decadal sur7 veys from the National Academies’ Space Studies Board. 

8 SEC. 302. RADIOISOTOPE POWER SYSTEMS. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

10 that conducting deep space exploration requires radioiso11 tope power systems, and establishing continuity in the pro12 duction of the material needed to power these systems is 

13 paramount to the success of these future deep space mis14 sions. It is further the sense of Congress that Federal agen15 cies supporting the Administration through the production 

16 of such material should do so in a cost effective manner 

17 so as not to impose excessive reimbursement requirements 

18 on the Administration. 

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

20 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and 

21 the Administrator, in consultation with other Federal agen22 cies, shall conduct an analysis of— 

23 (1) the requirements of the Administration for 

24 radioisotope power system material that is needed to 

25 carry out planned, high priority robotic missions in 

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1 the solar system and other surface exploration activi2 ties beyond low-Earth orbit; and 

3 (2) the risks to missions of the Administration in 

4 meeting those requirements, or any additional re5 quirements, due to a lack of adequate radioisotope 

6 power system material. 

7 (c) CONTENTS OF ANALYSIS.—The analysis conducted 

8 under subsection (b) shall— 

9 (1) detail the Administration’s current projected 

10 mission requirements and associated timeframes for 

11 radioisotope power system material; 

12 (2) explain the assumptions used to determine 

13 the Administration’s requirements for the material, 

14 including— 

15 (A) the planned use of advanced thermal 

16 conversion technology such as advanced 

17 thermocouples and Stirling generators and con18 verters; and 

19 (B) the risks and implications of, and con20 tingencies for, any delays or unanticipated tech21 nical challenges affecting or related to the Ad22 ministration’s mission plans for the anticipated 

23 use of advanced thermal conversion technology; 

24 (3) assess the risk to the Administration’s pro25 grams of any potential delays in achieving the schedmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ule and milestones for planned domestic production of 

2 radioisotope power system material; 

3 (4) outline a process for meeting any additional 

4 Administration requirements for the material; 

5 (5) estimate the incremental costs required to in6 crease the amount of material produced each year, if 

7 such an increase is needed to support additional Ad8 ministration requirements for the material; 

9 (6) detail how the Administration and other 

10 Federal agencies will manage, operate, and fund pro11 duction facilities and the design and development of 

12 all radioisotope power systems used by the Adminis13 tration and other Federal agencies as necessary; 

14 (7) specify the steps the Administration will 

15 take, in consultation with the Department of Energy, 

16 to preserve the infrastructure and workforce necessary 

17 for production of radioisotope power systems and en18 sure that its reimbursements to the Department of 

19 Energy associated with such preservation are equi20 table and justified; and 

21 (8) detail how the Administration has imple22 mented or rejected the recommendations from the Na23 tional Research Council’s 2009 report titled ‘‘Radio24 isotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Maintain25 ing U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration’’. 

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

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans3 mit the results of the analysis to the Committee on Science, 

4 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

5 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

6 of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 303. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY AND 

8 PURPOSE. 

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

10 amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

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

12 the Administration to the search for life’s origin, evo13 lution, distribution, and future in the Universe. In 

14 carrying out this objective, the Administration may 

15 use any practicable ground-based, airborne, or space16 based technical means and spectra of electromagnetic 

17 radiation.’’. 

18 SEC. 304. UNIVERSITY CLASS SCIENCE MISSIONS. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

20 that principal investigator-led small orbital science mis21 sions, including CubeSat class, University Explorer 

22 (UNEX) class, Small Explorer (SMEX) class, and Venture 

23 class, offer valuable opportunities to advance science at low 

24 cost, train the next generation of scientists and engineers, 

25 and enable participants in the program to acquire skills 

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1 in systems engineering and systems integration that are 

2 critical to maintaining the Nation’s leadership in space 

3 and to enhancing the United States innovation and com4 petitiveness abroad. 

5 (b) REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR-LED SMALL

6 ORBITAL SCIENCE MISSIONS.—The Administrator shall 

7 conduct a review of the science missions described in sub8 section (a). The review shall include— 

9 (1) the status, capability, and availability of ex10 isting small orbital science mission programs and the 

11 extent to which each program enables the participa12 tion of university scientists and students; 

13 (2) the opportunities such mission programs pro14 vide for scientific research; 

15 (3) the opportunities such mission programs pro16 vide for training and education, including scientific 

17 and engineering workforce development, including for 

18 the Administration’s scientific and engineering work19 force; and 

20 (4) the extent to which commercial applications 

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

22 could provide measurable benefits for such mission 

23 programs, while preserving the principle of inde24 pendent peer review as the basis for mission selection. 

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

2 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

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

4 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

6 review required under subsection (b) and on recommenda7 tions to enhance principal investigator-led small orbital 

8 science missions conducted by the Administration in ac9 cordance with the results of the review required by sub10 section (b). 

11 SEC. 305. ASSESSMENT OF SCIENCE MISSION EXTENSIONS. 

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

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘§ 30504. Assessment of science mission extensions 

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

16 out biennial reviews within each of the Science divisions 

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

18 termination of data collection for those missions that exceed 

19 their planned missions’ lifetime. The assessment shall take 

20 into consideration how extending missions impacts the start 

21 of future missions. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND CONSIDERATION OF POTEN23 TIAL BENEFITS OF INSTRUMENTS ON MISSIONS.—When de24 ciding whether to extend a mission that has an operational 

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1 fected Federal agency and shall take into account the poten2 tial benefits of instruments on missions that are beyond 

3 their planned mission lifetime. 

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

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

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, at the same time 

8 as the submission to Congress of the Administration’s an9 nual budget request for each fiscal year, a report detailing 

10 any assessment required by subsection (a) that was carried 

11 out during the previous year.’’. 

12 Subtitle B—Astrophysics 

13 SEC. 311. DECADAL CADENCE. 

14 In carrying out section 301(b), the Administrator shall 

15 seek to ensure to the extent practicable a steady cadence of 

16 large, medium, and small astrophysics missions. 

17 SEC. 312. EXTRASOLAR PLANET EXPLORATION STRATEGY. 

18 (a) STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

19 arrangement with the National Academies to develop a 

20 science strategy for the study and exploration of extrasolar 

21 planets, including the use of the Transiting Exoplanet Sur22 vey Satellite, the James Webb Space Telescope, a potential 

23 Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission, or any other 

24 telescope, spacecraft, or instrument as appropriate. Such 

25 strategy shall— 

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1 (1) outline key scientific questions; 

2 (2) identify the most promising research in the 

3 field; 

4 (3) indicate the extent to which the mission pri5 orities in existing decadal surveys address the key 

6 extrasolar planet research goals; 

7 (4) identify opportunities for coordination with 

8 international partners, commercial partners, and 

9 other not-for-profit partners; and 

10 (5) make recommendations on the above as ap11 propriate. 

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

13 the strategy to— 

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

15 activities of the Administration as they relate to 

16 extrasolar planet research and exploration; and 

17 (2) provide a foundation for future activities and 

18 initiatives. 

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

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the National Acad21 emies shall transmit a report to the Administrator, and to 

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

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, containing the 

25 strategy developed under subsection (a). 

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1 SEC. 313. JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the James Webb Space Telescope will revolu4 tionize our understanding of star and planet forma5 tion and how galaxies evolved, and advance the search 

6 for the origins of the universe; 

7 (2) the James Webb Space Telescope will enable 

8 American scientists to maintain their leadership in 

9 astrophysics and other disciplines; 

10 (3) the James Webb Space Telescope program is 

11 making steady progress towards a launch in 2018; 

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

13 James Webb Space Telescope is a high congressional 

14 priority; and 

15 (5) maintaining this progress will require the 

16 Administrator to ensure that integrated testing is ap17 propriately timed and sufficiently comprehensive to 

18 enable potential issues to be identified and addressed 

19 early enough to be handled within the James Webb 

20 Space Telescope’s development schedule prior to 

21 launch. 

22 SEC. 314. NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE TELESCOPE 

23 DONATION. 

24 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

25 this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report to the 

26 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

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1 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate outlining the cost 

3 of the Administration’s potential plan for developing the 

4 Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope as described in the 

5 2010 National Academies’ astronomy and astrophysics 

6 decadal survey, including an alternative plan for the Wide7 Field Infrared Survey Telescope 2.4, which includes the do8 nated 2.4-meter aperture National Reconnaissance Office 

9 telescope. Due to the budget constraints on the Administra10 tion’s science programs, this report shall include— 

11 (1) an assessment of cost efficient approaches to 

12 develop the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope; 

13 (2) a comparison to the development of mission 

14 concepts that exclude the utilization of the donated 

15 asset; 

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

17 existing science missions will be affected by the utili18 zation of the donated asset described in this section; 

19 and 

20 (4) a description of the cost associated with stor21 ing and maintaining the donated asset. 

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

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

24 that the Administrator, to the extent practicable, should 

25 make progress on the technologies and capabilities needed 

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1 to position the Administration to meet the objectives of the 

2 Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission, as outlined 

3 in the 2010 National Academies’ astronomy and astro4 physics decadal survey, in a way that maximizes the sci5 entific productivity of meeting those objectives for the re6 sources invested. It is further the sense of Congress that the 

7 Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission has the po8 tential to enable scientific discoveries that will transform 

9 our understanding of the universe. 

10 (b) CONTINUITY OF DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis11 trator shall ensure that the concept definition and pre-for12 mulation activities of a Wide-Field Infrared Survey Tele13 scope mission continue while the James Webb Space Tele14 scope is being completed. 

15 SEC. 316. STRATOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY FOR INFRARED 

16 ASTRONOMY. 

17 The Administrator shall not use any funding appro18 priated to the Administration for fiscal year 2014 for the 

19 shutdown of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared As20 tronomy or for the preparation therefor. 

21 Subtitle C—Planetary Science 

22 SEC. 321. DECADAL CADENCE. 

23 In carrying out section 301(b), the Administrator shall 

24 seek to ensure to the greatest extent practicable that the Ad25 ministration carries out a balanced set of planetary science 

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1 programs in accordance with the priorities established in 

2 the most recent decadal survey for planetary science. Such 

3 programs shall include, at a minimum— 

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

5 24 months; 

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

7 every 60 months; and 

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

9 decadal survey period, including a Europa mission 

10 with a goal of launching by 2021. 

11 SEC. 322. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

13 (1) Near-Earth objects pose a serious and cred14 ible threat to humankind, as many scientists believe 

15 that a major asteroid or comet was responsible for the 

16 mass extinction of the majority of the Earth’s species, 

17 including the dinosaurs, approximately 65,000,000 

18 years ago. 

19 (2) Similar objects have struck the Earth or 

20 passed through the Earth’s atmosphere several times 

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

22 the future. 

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

24 been discovered within days of the objects’ closest ap25 proach to Earth, and recent discoveries of such large 

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1 objects indicate that many large near-Earth objects 

2 remain to be discovered. 

3 (4) The efforts undertaken by the Administration 

4 for detecting and characterizing the hazards of near5 Earth objects should continue to seek to fully deter6 mine the threat posed by such objects to cause wide7 spread destruction and loss of life. 

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

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

10 a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units 

11 from the Sun. 

12 (c) NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY.—The Adminis13 trator shall continue to detect, track, catalogue, and charac14 terize the physical characteristics of near-Earth objects 

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

16 to assess the threat of such near-Earth objects to the Earth, 

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

18 Survey Act (42 U.S.C. 16691). It shall be the goal of the 

19 Survey program to achieve 90 percent completion of its 

20 near-Earth object catalogue (based on statistically predicted 

21 populations of near-Earth objects) by 2020. 

22 (d) WARNING AND MITIGATION OF POTENTIAL HAZ23 ARDS OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS.—Congress reaffirms the 

24 policy set forth in section 20102(g) of title 51, United States 

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1 Code (relating to detecting, tracking, cataloguing, and char2 acterizing asteroids and comets). 

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

4 Science and Technology Policy and the Administrator shall 

5 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech6 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

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

8 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, an initial report that provides— 

10 (1) recommendations for carrying out the Survey 

11 program and an associated proposed budget; 

12 (2) analysis of possible options that the Adminis13 tration could employ to divert an object on a likely 

14 collision course with Earth; and 

15 (3) a description of the status of efforts to coordi16 nate and cooperate with other countries to discover 

17 hazardous asteroids and comets, plan a mitigation 

18 strategy, and implement that strategy in the event of 

19 the discovery of an object on a likely collision course 

20 with Earth. 

21 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Subsequent to the initial re22 port the Administrator shall annually transmit to the Com23 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

24 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate a report 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 of 

3 this Act, including the progress toward achieving 90 

4 percent completion of the survey described in sub5 section (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 with 

10 other relevant Federal agencies, shall carry out a technical 

11 and scientific assessment of the capabilities and resources 

12 to— 

13 (1) accelerate the survey described in subsection 

14 (c); and 

15 (2) expand the Administration’s Near-Earth Ob16 ject Program to include the detection, tracking, cata17 loguing, and characterization of potentially hazardous 

18 near-Earth objects less than 140 meters in diameter. 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans21 mit the results of the assessment carried out under sub22 section (g) 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. 

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1 SEC. 323. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PART2 NERSHIPS. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

4 that the Administration should seek to leverage the capabili5 ties of the private sector and philanthropic organizations 

6 to the maximum extent practicable in carrying out the 

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

8 goal of the Survey program. 

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

10 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

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

12 House 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 detect, track, catalogue, and categorize near-Earth 

16 objects. 

17 SEC. 324. RESEARCH ON NEAR-EARTH OBJECT TSUNAMI EF18 FECTS. 

19 (a) REPORT ON POTENTIAL TSUNAMI EFFECTS FROM

20 NEAR-EARTH OBJECT IMPACT.—The Administrator, in col21 laboration with the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

22 and Atmospheric Administration and other relevant agen23 cies, shall prepare a report identifying and describing exist24 ing research activities and further research objectives that 

25 would increase our understanding of the nature of the effects 

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1 of potential tsunamis that could occur if a near-Earth ob2 ject were to impact an ocean of Earth. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans5 mit the report required and prepared under subsection (a) 

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

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

9 SEC. 325. ASTROBIOLOGY STRATEGY. 

10 (a) STRATEGY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

11 arrangement with the National Academies to develop a 

12 science strategy for astrobiology that would outline key sci13 entific questions, identify the most promising research in 

14 the field, and indicate the extent to which the mission prior15 ities in existing decadal surveys address the search for life’s 

16 origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the Universe. 

17 The strategy shall include recommendations for coordina18 tion with international partners. 

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

20 the strategy developed under subsection (a) in planning and 

21 funding research and other activities and initiatives in the 

22 field of astrobiology. 

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

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the National Acad25 emies shall transmit a report to the Administrator, and to 

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

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

3 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, containing the 

4 strategy developed under subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 326. ASTROBIOLOGY PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. 

6 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com8 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

9 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 Transportation of the Senate a report describing how the 

11 Administration can expand collaborative partnerships to 

12 study life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the 

13 Universe. 

14 SEC. 327. ASSESSMENT OF MARS ARCHITECTURE. 

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

16 an arrangement with the National Academies to assess— 

17 (1) the Administration’s revised post-2016 Mars 

18 exploration architecture and its responsiveness to the 

19 strategies, priorities, and guidelines put forward by 

20 the National Academies’ planetary science decadal 

21 surveys and other relevant National Academies Mars22 related reports; 

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

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1 ity to optimize the science return, given the current 

2 fiscal posture of the program; 

3 (3) the Mars architecture’s relationship to Mars4 related activities to be undertaken by agencies and or5 ganizations outside of the United States; and 

6 (4) the extent to which the Mars architecture rep7 resents a reasonably balanced mission portfolio. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans10 mit the results of the assessment to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa12 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans13 portation of the Senate. 

14 Subtitle D—Heliophysics 

15 SEC. 331. DECADAL CADENCE. 

16 In carrying out section 301(b), the Administrator shall 

17 seek to ensure to the extent practicable a steady cadence of 

18 large, medium, and small heliophysics missions. 

19 SEC. 332. REVIEW OF SPACE WEATHER. 

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

21 Technology Policy, in consultation with the Administrator, 

22 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

23 Administration, the Director of the National Science Foun24 dation, and heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 

25 enter into an arrangement with the National Academies to 

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1 provide a comprehensive study that reviews current and 

2 planned ground-based and space-based space weather moni3 toring requirements and capabilities, identifies gaps, and 

4 identifies options for a robust and resilient capability. The 

5 study shall inform the process of identifying national needs 

6 for future space weather monitoring, forecasts, and mitiga7 tion. The National Academies shall give consideration to 

8 international and private sector efforts and collaboration 

9 that could potentially contribute to national space weather 

10 needs. The study shall also review the current state of re11 search capabilities in observing, modeling, and prediction 

12 and provide recommendations to ensure future advance13 ment of predictive capability. 

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

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the National Acad16 emies shall transmit a report containing the results of the 

17 study provided under subsection (a) to the Director of the 

18 Office of Science and Technology Policy, and to the Com19 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

20 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

21 and Transportation of the Senate. 

22 Subtitle E—Earth Science 

23 SEC. 341. GOAL. 

24 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

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1 tant Earth science activities in an environment of increas2 ingly constrained fiscal resources, and that any transfer of 

3 additional responsibilities to the Administration, such as 

4 climate instrument development and measurements that are 

5 currently part of the portfolio of the National Oceanic and 

6 Atmospheric Administration, should be accompanied by the 

7 provision of additional resources to allow the Administra8 tion to carry out the increased responsibilities without ad9 versely impacting its implementation of its existing Earth 

10 science programs and priorities. 

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

12 carry out a balanced Earth science program that includes 

13 Earth science research, Earth systematic missions, competi14 tive Venture class missions, other missions and data anal15 ysis, mission operations, technology development, and ap16 plied sciences, consistent with the recommendations and 

17 priorities established in the National Academies’ Earth 

18 Science Decadal Survey. 

19 (c) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall col20 laborate with other Federal agencies, including the National 

21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, non-government 

22 entities, and international partners, as appropriate, in car23 rying out the Administration’s Earth science program. The 

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1 struments that, once proved, can be transitioned to other 

2 agencies for operations. 

3 (d) REIMBURSEMENT.—Whenever responsibilities for 

4 the development of sensors or for measurements are trans5 ferred to the Administration from another agency, the Ad6 ministration shall seek, to the extent possible, to be reim7 bursed for the assumption of such responsibilities. 

8 SEC. 342. DECADAL CADENCE. 

9 In carrying out section 341(b), the Administrator shall 

10 seek to ensure to the extent practicable a steady cadence of 

11 large, medium, and small Earth science missions. 

12 SEC. 343. VENTURE CLASS MISSIONS. 

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

14 Venture class missions provide opportunities for innovation 

15 in the Earth science program, offer low-cost approaches for 

16 high-quality competitive science investigations, enable fre17 quent flight opportunities to engage the Earth science and 

18 applications community, and serve as a training ground 

19 for students and young scientists. It is further the sense of 

20 Congress that the Administration should seek to increase the 

21 number of Venture class projects to the extent practicable 

22 as part of a balanced Earth science program. 

23 SEC. 344. ASSESSMENT. 

24 The Administrator shall carry out a scientific assess25 ment of the Administration’s Earth science global datasets 

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1 for the purpose of identifying those datasets that are useful 

2 for understanding regional changes and variability, and for 

3 informing applied science research. The Administrator shall 

4 complete and transmit the assessment to the Committee on 

5 Science, Space, and Technology in the House of Representa6 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans7 portation of the Senate not later than 180 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act. 

9 TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 

10 SEC. 401. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that— 

12 (1) a robust aeronautics research portfolio will 

13 help maintain the United States status as a leader in 

14 aviation, enhance the competitiveness of the United 

15 States in the world economy and improve the quality 

16 of life of all citizens; 

17 (2) aeronautics research is essential to the Ad18 ministration’s mission, continues to be an important 

19 core element of the Administration’s mission and 

20 should be supported; 

21 (3) the Administrator should coordinate and con22 sult with relevant Federal agencies and the private 

23 sector to minimize duplication and leverage resources; 

24 and 

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1 (4) carrying aeronautics research to a level of 

2 maturity that allows the Administration’s research 

3 results to be transitioned to the users, whether private 

4 or public sector, is critical to their eventual adoption. 

5 SEC. 402. AERONAUTICS RESEARCH GOALS. 

6 The Administrator shall ensure that the Administra7 tion maintains a strong aeronautics research portfolio 

8 ranging from fundamental research through integrated sys9 tems research with specific research goals, including the fol10 lowing: 

11 (1) ENHANCE AIRSPACE OPERATIONS AND SAFE12 TY.—The Administration’s Aeronautics Research Mis13 sion Directorate shall address research needs of the 

14 Next Generation Air Transportation System and 

15 identify critical gaps in technology which must be 

16 bridged to enable the implementation of the Next Gen17 eration Air Transportation System so that safety and 

18 productivity improvements can be achieved as soon as 

19 possible. 

20 (2) IMPROVE AIR VEHICLE PERFORMANCE.—The 

21 Administration’s Aeronautics Research Mission Di22 rectorate shall conduct research to improve aircraft 

23 performance and minimize environmental impacts. 

24 The Associate Administrator for the Aeronautics Re25 search Mission Directorate shall consider and pursue 

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1 concepts to reduce noise, emissions, and fuel consump2 tion while maintaining high safety standards, and 

3 shall conduct research related to the impact of alter4 native fuels on the safety, reliability and maintain5 ability of current and new air vehicles. 

6 (3) STRENGTHEN AVIATION SAFETY.—The Ad7 ministration’s Aeronautics Research Mission Direc8 torate shall proactively address safety challenges asso9 ciated with current and new air vehicles and with op10 erations in the Nation’s current and future air trans11 portation system. 

12 (4) DEMONSTRATE CONCEPTS AT THE SYSTEM

13 LEVEL.—The Administration’s Aeronautics Research 

14 Mission Directorate shall mature the most promising 

15 technologies to the point at which they can be dem16 onstrated in a relevant environment and shall inte17 grate individual components and technologies as ap18 propriate to ensure that they perform in an inte19 grated manner as well as they do when operated indi20 vidually. 

21 SEC. 403. UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND DE22 VELOPMENT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consultation 

24 with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administra25 tion and other Federal agencies, shall carry out research 

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1 and technological development to facilitate the safe integra2 tion of unmanned aerial systems into the National Airspace 

3 System, including— 

4 (1) positioning and navigation systems; 

5 (2) sense and avoid capabilities; 

6 (3) secure data and communication links; 

7 (4) flight recovery systems; and 

8 (5) human systems integration. 

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

10 roadmap for unmanned aerial systems research and devel11 opment and transmit this roadmap to the Committee on 

12 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa13 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans14 portation of the Senate not later than 180 days after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (c) COOPERATIVE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AC17 TIVITIES.—Section 31504 of title 51, United States Code, 

18 is amended by inserting ‘‘Operational flight data derived 

19 from these cooperative agreements shall be made available, 

20 in appropriate and usable formats, to the Administration 

21 and the Federal Aviation Administration for the develop22 ment of regulatory standards.’’ after ‘‘in remote areas.’’. 

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1 SEC. 404. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON COMPOSITE MATERIALS 

2 USED IN AERONAUTICS. 

3 (a) PURPOSE OF RESEARCH.—The Administrator 

4 shall continue the Administration’s cooperative research 

5 program with industry to identify and demonstrate more 

6 effective and safe ways of developing, manufacturing, and 

7 maintaining composite materials for use in airframes, sub8 systems, and propulsion components. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator, in overseeing 

10 the Administration’s work on composite materials, shall 

11 consult with relevant Federal agencies and partners in in12 dustry to accelerate safe development and certification proc13 esses for new composite materials and design methods while 

14 maintaining rigorous inspection of new composite mate15 rials. 

16 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

17 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a 

18 report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

19 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate detailing 

21 the Administration’s work on new composite materials and 

22 the coordination efforts among Federal agencies. 

23 SEC. 405. HYPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

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

25 this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with other Fed26 eral agencies, shall develop and transmit to the Committee 

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1 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

3 Transportation of the Senate a research and development 

4 roadmap for hypersonic aircraft research with the objective 

5 of exploring hypersonic science and technology using air6 breathing propulsion concepts, through a mix of theoretical 

7 work, basic and applied research, and development of flight 

8 research demonstration vehicles. The roadmap shall pre9 scribe appropriate agency contributions, coordination ef10 forts, and technology milestones. 

11 SEC. 406. SUPERSONIC RESEARCH. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

13 (1) the ability to fly commercial aircraft over 

14 land at supersonic speeds without adverse impacts on 

15 the environment or on local communities could open 

16 new global markets and enable new transportation ca17 pabilities; and 

18 (2) continuing the Administration’s research 

19 program is necessary to assess the impact in a rel20 evant environment of commercial supersonic flight op21 erations and provide the basis for establishing appro22 priate sonic boom standards for such flight oper23 ations. 

24 (b) ROADMAP FOR SUPERSONIC RESEARCH.—Not 

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

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1 the Administrator shall develop and transmit to the Com2 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

3 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

4 and Transportation of the Senate a roadmap that allows 

5 for flexible funding profiles for supersonic aeronautics re6 search and development with the objective of developing and 

7 demonstrating, in a relevant environment, airframe and 

8 propulsion technologies to minimize the environmental im9 pact, including noise, of supersonic overland flight in an 

10 efficient and economical manner. The roadmap shall in11 clude— 

12 (1) the baseline research as embodied by the Ad13 ministration’s existing research on supersonic flight; 

14 (2) a list of specific technological, environmental, 

15 and other challenges that must be overcome to mini16 mize the environmental impact, including noise, of 

17 supersonic overland flight; 

18 (3) a research plan to address such challenges, as 

19 well as a project timeline for accomplishing relevant 

20 research goals; 

21 (4) a plan for coordination with stakeholders, in22 cluding relevant government agencies and industry; 

23 and 

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1 (5) a plan for how the Administration will en2 sure that sonic boom research is coordinated as ap3 propriate with relevant Federal agencies. 

4 SEC. 407. RESEARCH ON NEXTGEN AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT 

5 CONCEPTS AND TOOLS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con7 sultation with other Federal agencies, review at least annu8 ally the alignment and timing of the Administration’s re9 search and development activities in support of the NextGen 

10 airspace management modernization initiative, and shall 

11 make any necessary adjustments by reprioritizing or retar12 geting the Administration’s research and development ac13 tivities in support of the NextGen initiative. 

14 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Administrator shall re15 port to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

16 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com17 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate annually 

18 regarding the progress of the Administration’s research and 

19 development activities in support of the NextGen airspace 

20 management modernization initiative, including details of 

21 technologies transferred to relevant Federal agencies for 

22 eventual operation implementation, consultation with other 

23 Federal agencies, and any adjustments made to research ac24 tivities. 

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1 SEC. 408. ROTORCRAFT RESEARCH. 

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

3 this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with other Fed4 eral agencies, shall prepare and transmit to the Committee 

5 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate a roadmap for research relat8 ing to rotorcraft and other runway-independent air vehi9 cles, with the objective of developing and demonstrating im10 proved safety, noise, and environmental impact in a rel11 evant environment. The roadmap shall include specific 

12 goals for the research, a timeline for implementation, 

13 metrics for success, and guidelines for collaboration and co14 ordination with industry and other Federal agencies. 

15 SEC. 409. TRANSFORMATIVE AERONAUTICS RESEARCH. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator, in 

17 looking strategically into the future and ensuring that the 

18 Administration’s Center personnel are at the leading edge 

19 of aeronautics research, should encourage investigations 

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

21 concepts, and innovative technologies that have the poten22 tial to meet national aeronautics needs. The Administrator 

23 shall continue to ensure that awards for the investigation 

24 of these concepts and technologies are open for competition 

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1 rate from other awards open only to non-Administration 

2 sources. 

3 SEC. 410. STUDY OF UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN AERO4 NAUTICS RESEARCH. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an ar6 rangement with the National Academies for a study to 

7 benchmark the position of the United States in civil aero8 nautics research compared to the rest of the world. The 

9 study shall— 

10 (1) seek to define metrics by which relative lead11 ership in civil aeronautics research can be deter12 mined; 

13 (2) ascertain how the United States compares to 

14 other countries in the field of civil aeronautics re15 search and any relevant trends; and 

16 (3) provide recommendations on what can be 

17 done to regain or retain global leadership, includ18 ing— 

19 (A) identifying research areas where United 

20 States expertise has been or is at risk of being 

21 overtaken; 

22 (B) defining appropriate roles for the Ad23 ministration; 

24 (C) identifying public-private partnerships 

25 that could be formed; and 

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1 (D) estimating the impact on the Adminis2 tration’s budget should such recommendations be 

3 implemented. 

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

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

6 the results of the study to the Committee on Science, Space, 

7 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

9 the Senate. 

10 TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 

11 SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that space technology is crit13 ical to— 

14 (1) enabling a new class of Administration mis15 sions beyond low-Earth orbit; 

16 (2) developing technologies and capabilities that 

17 will make the Administration’s missions more afford18 able and more reliable; and 

19 (3) improving technological capabilities and pro20 moting innovation for the Administration and the 

21 Nation. 

22 SEC. 502. SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

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

24 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘§ 70507. Space Technology Program authorized 

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

3 shall establish a Space Technology Program to pursue the 

4 research and development of advanced space technologies 

5 that have the potential of delivering innovative solutions 

6 and to support human exploration of the solar system or 

7 advanced space science. The program established by the Ad8 ministrator shall take into consideration the recommenda9 tions of the National Academies’ review of the Administra10 tion’s Space Technology roadmaps and priorities, as well 

11 as applicable enabling aspects of the Human Exploration 

12 Roadmap specified in section 70504. In conducting the 

13 space technology program established under this section, the 

14 Administrator shall— 

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

16 competitive process to select projects to be supported 

17 as part of the program; 

18 ‘‘(2) make use of small satellites and the Admin19 istration’s suborbital and ground-based platforms, to 

20 the extent practicable and appropriate, to dem21 onstrate space technology concepts and developments; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(3) undertake partnerships with other Federal 

24 agencies, universities, private industry, and other 

25 spacefaring nations, as appropriate. 

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1 ‘‘(b) SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS.—The Adminis2 trator shall organize and manage the Administration’s 

3 Small Business Innovation Research program and Small 

4 Business Technology Transfer Program within the Space 

5 Technology Program. 

6 ‘‘(c) NONDUPLICATION CERTIFICATION.—The Admin7 istrator shall include in the budget for each fiscal year, as 

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

9 a certification that no project, program, or mission under10 taken by the Space Technology Program is duplicative of 

11 any other project, program, or mission conducted by an12 other office or directorate of the Administration.’’. 

13 (b) COLLABORATION, COORDINATION, AND ALIGN14 MENT.—The Administrator shall ensure that the Adminis15 tration’s projects, programs, and activities in support of 

16 technology research and development of advanced space 

17 technologies are fully coordinated and aligned and that re18 sults from such work are shared and leveraged within the 

19 Administration. Projects, programs, and activities being 

20 conducted by the Human Exploration and Operations Mis21 sion Directorate in support of research and development of 

22 advanced space technologies and systems focusing on human 

23 space exploration should continue in that Directorate. The 

24 Administrator shall ensure that organizational responsi25 bility for research and development activities in support of 

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1 human space exploration not initiated as of the date of en2 actment of this Act is established on the basis of a sound 

3 rationale. The Administrator shall provide the rationale in 

4 the report specified in subsection (d). 

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

6 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

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

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report com10 paring the Administration’s space technology investments 

11 with the high-priority technology areas identified by the 

12 National Academies in the National Research Council’s re13 port on the Administration’s Space Technology Roadmaps. 

14 The Administrator shall identify how the Administration 

15 will address any gaps between the agency’s investments and 

16 the recommended technology areas, including a projection 

17 of funding requirements. 

18 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall in19 clude in the Administration’s annual budget request for 

20 each fiscal year the rationale for assigning organizational 

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

22 each initiated project, program, and mission focused on re23 search and development of advanced technologies for human 

24 space exploration. 

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1 (e) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The item re2 lating to section 70507 in the table of sections for chapter 

3 705 of title 51, United States Code, is amended to read as 

4 follows: 

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

5 SEC. 503. UTILIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE 

6 STATION FOR TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRA7 TIONS. 

8 The Administrator shall utilize the International 

9 Space Station and commercial services for space technology 

10 demonstration missions in low-Earth orbit whenever it is 

11 practical and cost effective to do so. 

12 TITLE VI—EDUCATION 

13 SEC. 601. EDUCATION. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

15 that— 

16 (1) the Administration’s missions are an inspi17 ration for Americans and in particular for the next 

18 generation, and that this inspiration has a powerful 

19 effect in stimulating interest in science, technology, 

20 engineering, and mathematics (in this section referred 

21 to as ‘‘STEM’’) education and careers; 

22 (2) the Administration’s Office of Education and 

23 mission directorates have been effective in delivering 

24 Administration educational content because of the 

25 strong engagement of Administration scientists and 

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1 engineers in the Administration’s education and out2 reach activities; and 

3 (3) the Administration should be a central part4 ner in contributing to the goals of the National 

5 Science and Technology Council’s Federal Science, 

6 Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

7 Education 5-Year Strategic Plan. 

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

9 its education and outreach efforts to— 

10 (1) increase student interest and participation 

11 in STEM education; 

12 (2) improve public literacy in STEM; 

13 (3) employ proven strategies for improving stu14 dent learning and teaching; 

15 (4) provide curriculum support materials; and 

16 (5) create and support opportunities for profes17 sional development for STEM teachers. 

18 (c) ORGANIZATION.—In order to ensure the inspira19 tion and engagement of children and the general public, the 

20 Administration shall continue its STEM education and 

21 outreach activities within the Science, Aeronautics Re22 search, Space Operations, and Exploration Mission Direc23 torates. 

24 (d) CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

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1 tinue to carry out education and outreach programs and 

2 activities through the Office of Education and the Adminis3 tration mission directorates and shall continue to engage, 

4 to the maximum extent practicable, Administration and 

5 Administration-supported researchers and engineers in car6 rying out those programs and activities. 

7 (e) CONTINUATION OF SPACE GRANT PROGRAM.—The 

8 Administrator shall continue to operate the National Space 

9 Grant College and Fellowship program through a national 

10 network consisting of a State-based consortium in each 

11 State that provides flexibility to the States, with the objec12 tive of providing hands-on research, training, and edu13 cation programs, with measurable outcomes, to enhance 

14 America’s STEM education and workforce. 

15 (f) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaffirms 

16 its commitment to informal science education at science 

17 centers and planetariums as set forth in section 616 of the 

18 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author19 ization Act of 2005 (51 U.S.C. 40907). 

20 SEC. 602. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SPACE 

21 GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOWSHIP PRO22 GRAM. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

24 that the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Pro25 gram, which was established in the National Aeronautics 

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1 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1988 (42 

2 U.S.C. 2486 et seq.), has been an important program by 

3 which the Federal Government has partnered with State 

4 and local governments, universities, private industry, and 

5 other organizations to enhance the understanding and use 

6 of space and aeronautics activities and their benefits 

7 through education, fostering of interdisciplinary and multi8 disciplinary space research and training, and supporting 

9 Federal funding for graduate fellowships in space-related 

10 fields, among other purposes. 

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

12 arrangement with the National Academies for— 

13 (1) a review of the National Space Grant College 

14 and Fellowship Program, including its structure and 

15 capabilities for supporting science, technology, engi16 neering, and mathematics education and training 

17 consistent with the National Science and Technology 

18 Council’s Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, 

19 and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5-Year Stra20 tegic Plan; and 

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

22 enhance the Program’s effectiveness and mechanisms 

23 by which any increases in funding appropriated by 

24 Congress can be applied. 

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1 (c) NATIONAL SPACE GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOW2 SHIP PROGRAM AMENDMENTS.— 

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

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para6 graph (5); 

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

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

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(7) support outreach to primary and secondary 

12 schools to help support STEM engagement and learn13 ing at the K-12 level and to encourage K-12 students 

14 to pursue postsecondary degrees in fields related to 

15 space.’’. 

16 (2) REGIONAL CONSORTIUM.—Section 40306 of 

17 title 51, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (A) in subsection (a)— 

19 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

20 and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respec21 tively; and 

22 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

23 the following new paragraph: 

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

25 space grant regional consortium designated in paramstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 graph (1)(B) may include one or more 2-year institu2 tions of higher education.’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘para4 graphs (2)(C) and (3)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘para5 graphs (3)(C) and (4)(D)’’. 

6 TITLE VII—POLICY PROVISIONS 

7 SEC. 701. ASTEROID RETRIEVAL MISSION. 

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

9 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin10 istrator shall provide to the Committee on Science, Space, 

11 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

13 the Senate a report on the proposed Asteroid Retrieval Mis14 sion. Such report shall include— 

15 (1) a detailed budget profile, including cost esti16 mates for the development of all necessary technologies 

17 and spacecraft required for the mission; 

18 (2) a detailed technical plan that includes mile19 stones and a specific schedule; 

20 (3) a description of the technologies and capa21 bilities anticipated to be gained from the proposed 

22 mission that will enable future human missions to 

23 Mars which could not be gained by lunar missions; 

24 (4) a description of the technologies and capa25 bilities anticipated to be gained from the proposed 

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1 mission that will enable future planetary defense mis2 sions, against impact threats from near-Earth objects 

3 equal to or greater than 140 meters in diameter, 

4 which could not be gained by robotic missions; and 

5 (5) a complete assessment by the Small Bodies 

6 Assessment Group and the National Aeronautics and 

7 Space Administration Advisory Council of how the 

8 proposed mission is in the strategic interests of the 

9 United States in space exploration. 

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

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, an independent, pri12 vate systems engineering and technical assistance organiza13 tion contracted by the Human Exploration Operations Mis14 sion Directorate shall transmit to the Administrator, the 

15 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

16 of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report ana18 lyzing the proposal for a Mars Flyby human spaceflight 

19 mission to be launched in 2021. Such report 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 fu2 ture Mars missions; and 

3 (3) an annual budget profile, including cost esti4 mates, 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 trans10 mittal of the report specified in subsection (b), the Adminis11 trator shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

12 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

14 the Senate an assessment by the National Aeronautics and 

15 Space Administration Advisory Council of whether the pro16 posal for a Mars Flyby Mission to be launched in 2021 is 

17 in the strategic interests of the United States in space explo18 ration. 

19 (d) CREWED MISSION.—The report transmitted under 

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

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

22 Flyby mission in 2021. 

23 SEC. 702. TERMINATION LIABILITY. 

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

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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 capa9 bilities and their critical contribution to the future of 

10 space exploration, these systems have been designated 

11 by Congress and the Administration as priority in12 vestments. 

13 (2) In addition, contractors are currently hold14 ing program funding, estimated to be in the hundreds 

15 of millions of dollars, to cover the potential termi16 nation liability should the Government choose to ter17 minate a program for convenience. As a result, hun18 dreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are unavailable 

19 for meaningful work on these programs. 

20 (3) According to the Government Accountability 

21 Office, the Administration procures most of its goods 

22 and services through contracts, and it terminates very 

23 few of them. In fiscal year 2010, the Administration 

24 terminated 28 of 16,343 active contracts and orders— 

25 a termination rate of about 0.17 percent. 

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1 (4) Providing processes requiring congressional 

2 notification on termination of these high-priority pro3 grams would enable contractors to apply taxpayer 

4 dollars to making maximum progress in meeting the 

5 established technical goals and schedule milestones of 

6 these programs. 

7 (b) ADMINISTRATION TERMINATION LIABILITY.— 

8 (1) GENERAL RULE.—Termination liability costs 

9 for a covered program shall be provided only pursu10 ant to this subsection. 

11 (2) PROHIBITION ON RESERVING FUNDS.—The 

12 Administrator may not reserve funds from amounts 

13 appropriated for a covered program, or require the 

14 reservation of funds by the prime contractor, for po15 tential termination liability costs with respect to a 

16 covered program. 

17 (3) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of 

18 Congress that funds authorized to be appropriated for 

19 covered programs be applied in meeting established 

20 technical goals and schedule milestones. 

21 (4) APPLICATION OF PRIOR RESERVED FUNDS.— 

22 Funds that have been reserved before the date of en23 actment of this Act for potential termination liability 

24 shall be promptly used to make maximum progress in 

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1 meeting the established goals and milestones of the 

2 covered program. 

3 (5) NOTIFICATION.—The Administrator shall no4 tify the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

7 at least 120 days in advance of initiating termi8 nation for convenience or termination for cause of a 

9 prime contract on a covered program. 

10 (6) SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION REQUEST.— 

11 (A) REQUEST.—If the Administrator initi12 ates termination of a prime contract on a cov13 ered program pursuant to paragraph (5), and 

14 sufficient unobligated appropriations are not 

15 available to cover termination liability costs in 

16 the appropriations account that is funding the 

17 prime contract being terminated, the Adminis18 trator shall provide to Congress a notification 

19 that an authorization of appropriations is nec20 essary not later than 120 days in advance of the 

21 proposed contract termination settlement for the 

22 covered program. 

23 (B) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent 

24 of Congress to provide additional authorization 

25 for appropriations as may be necessary to pay 

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1 termination liability costs on prime contracts for 

2 covered programs if Congress deems it appro3 priate that the Administration terminate such 

4 prime contracts. The Administration shall be re5 sponsible for applying these additional funds for 

6 payment of all allowable and reasonable nego7 tiated termination liability costs if the Adminis8 tration terminates a prime contract for a covered 

9 program. If the Administration terminates a 

10 prime contract for a covered program for the 

11 convenience of the Federal Government, then the 

12 Federal Government is responsible for payment 

13 of all allowable and reasonable negotiated termi14 nation liability costs on the prime contract. 

15 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 6 months after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter 

17 for the duration of the prime contracts on covered programs, 

18 the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on 

19 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa20 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans21 portation of the Senate a report that provides— 

22 (1) the estimated termination liability costs for 

23 each of the prime contracts; and 

24 (2) the basis for how such estimate was deter25 mined. 

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1 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

2 (1) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

3 program’’ means the International Space Station, the 

4 Space Launch System, the Orion crew capsule, and 

5 the James Webb Space Telescope. 

6 (2) PRIME CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘prime con7 tract’’ means a contract entered directly between a 

8 person or entity and the Federal Government for the 

9 performance of all or the majority of the responsibil10 ities for developing, integrating, fielding, operating, 

11 or sustaining a covered program. 

12 (3) PRIME CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘prime con13 tractor’’ means a person or entity contracting directly 

14 with the Federal Government on a covered program. 

15 (4) TERMINATION LIABILITY COSTS.—The term 

16 ‘‘termination liability costs’’ means any costs in17 curred by a prime contractor, or by any subcon18 tractor of a prime contractor, for which the Federal 

19 Government is liable as a result of termination of a 

20 prime contract by the Administrator. 

21 SEC. 703. BASELINE AND COST CONTROLS. 

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

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Procedural 

25 Requirements 7120.5c, dated March 22, 2005’’ and 

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1 inserting ‘‘Procedural Requirements 7120.5E, dated 

2 August 14, 2012’’; and 

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

4 months after the date the Administrator transmits a 

5 report under subsection (e)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘be6 ginning 18 months after the Administrator makes 

7 such determination’’. 

8 SEC. 704. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

10 that the judicious use of program and project reserves pro11 vides the Administration’s project and program managers 

12 with the flexibility needed to manage projects and programs 

13 to ensure that the impacts of contingencies can be mitigated. 

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

15 of enactment of this Act the Administrator shall transmit 

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

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describ19 ing— 

20 (1) the Administration’s criteria for establishing 

21 the amount of reserves held at the project and pro22 gram levels; 

23 (2) how such criteria relate to the agency’s policy 

24 of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level; and 

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

2 policy of budgeting at a 70-percent confidence level 

3 and alternative strategies and mechanisms aimed at 

4 controlling program and project costs when a waiver 

5 is granted. 

6 SEC. 705. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 

7 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com9 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

10 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation of the Senate a report describing— 

12 (1) the Administration’s procedures for con13 ducting independent reviews of projects and programs 

14 at lifecycle milestones and how the Administration 

15 ensures the independence of the individuals who con16 duct those reviews prior to their assignment; 

17 (2) the internal and external entities inde18 pendent of project and program management that 

19 conduct reviews of projects and programs at life cycle 

20 milestones; and 

21 (3) how the Administration ensures the inde22 pendence of such entities and their members. 

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1 SEC. 706. COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PRO2 GRAM. 

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

4 amended by inserting ‘‘, while protecting national security’’ 

5 after ‘‘research community’’. 

6 SEC. 707. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS7 TRATION ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

8 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an ar9 rangement with the National Academy of Public Adminis10 tration to assess the effectiveness of the NASA Advisory 

11 Council and to make recommendations to Congress for any 

12 change to— 

13 (1) the functions of the Council; 

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

15 (3) qualifications for members of the Council; 

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

17 Council; 

18 (5) frequency of meetings of the Council; 

19 (6) the structure of leadership and Committees of 

20 the Council; and 

21 (7) levels of professional staffing for the Council. 

22 In carrying out the assessment, the Academy shall also as23 sess the impacts of broadening the Council’s role to advising 

24 Congress, and any other issues that the Academy determines 

25 could potentially impact the effectiveness of the Council. The 

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1 visory Council, as well as the activities of other analogous 

2 federal advisory bodies in conducting its assessment. The 

3 results of the assessment, including any recommendations, 

4 shall be transmitted to the Committee on Science, Space, 

5 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

7 the Senate. 

8 (b) CONSULTATION AND ADVICE.—Section 20113(g) of 

9 title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

10 Congress’’ after ‘‘advice to the Administration’’. 

11 (c) SUNSET.—Subsection (b) shall expire on September 

12 30, 2014. 

13 SEC. 708. COST ESTIMATION. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

15 that realistic cost estimating is critically important to the 

16 ultimate success of major space development projects. The 

17 Administration has devoted significant efforts over the past 

18 five years to improving its cost estimating capabilities, but 

19 it is important that the Administration continue its efforts 

20 to develop and implement guidance in establishing realistic 

21 cost estimates. 

22 (b) GUIDANCE AND CRITERIA.—The Administrator 

23 shall provide to programs and projects and in a manner 

24 consistent with the Administration’s Space Flight Program 

25 and Project Management Requirements— 

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1 (1) guidance on when an Independent Cost Esti2 mate and Independent Cost Assessment should be 

3 used; and 

4 (2) the criteria to be used to make such a deter5 mination. 

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

7 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

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

9 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report— 

11 (1) describing efforts to enhance internal cost es12 timation and assessment expertise; 

13 (2) describing the mechanisms the Administra14 tion is using and will continue to use to ensure that 

15 adequate resources are dedicated to cost estimation; 

16 (3) listing the steps the Administration is under17 taking to advance consistent implementation of the 

18 joint cost and schedule process; 

19 (4) identifying criteria used by programs and 

20 projects in determining when to conduct an Inde21 pendent Cost Estimate and Independent Cost Assess22 ment; and 

23 (5) listing— 

24 (A) the costs of each individual Independent 

25 Cost Estimate or Independent Cost Assessment 

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1 activity conducted in fiscal year 2011, fiscal 

2 year 2012, and fiscal year 2013; 

3 (B) the purpose of the activity; 

4 (C) identification of the primary Adminis5 tration unit or outside body that conducted the 

6 activity; and 

7 (D) key findings and recommendations. 

8 (d) UPDATED REPORT.—Subsequent to submission of 

9 the report under subsection (c), for each subsequent year, 

10 the Administrator shall provide an update of listed elements 

11 in conjunction with subsequent congressional budget jus12 tifications. 

13 SEC. 709. AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN14 TEREST IN MAJOR ADMINISTRATION ACQUI15 SITION PROGRAMS. 

16 (a) REVISED REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

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

18 Administrator shall revise the Administration Supplement 

19 to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uniform 

20 guidance and recommend revised requirements for organi21 zational conflicts of interest by contractors in major acqui22 sition programs in order to address elements identified in 

23 subsection (b). 

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

25 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 

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1 (1) address organizational conflicts of interest 

2 that could potentially arise as a result of— 

3 (A) lead system integrator contracts on 

4 major acquisition programs and contracts that 

5 follow lead system integrator contracts on such 

6 programs, particularly contracts for production; 

7 (B) the ownership of business units per8 forming systems engineering and technical as9 sistance functions, professional services, or man10 agement support services in relation to major ac11 quisition programs by contractors who simulta12 neously own business units competing to perform 

13 as either the prime contractor or the supplier of 

14 a major subsystem or component for such pro15 grams; 

16 (C) the award of major subsystem contracts 

17 by a prime contractor for a major acquisition 

18 program to business units or other affiliates of 

19 the same parent corporate entity, and particu20 larly the award of subcontracts for software inte21 gration or the development of a proprietary soft22 ware system architecture; or 

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

24 contractors in technical evaluations on major ac25 quisition programs; 

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1 (2) ensure that the Administration receives ad2 vice on systems architecture and systems engineering 

3 matters with respect to major acquisition programs 

4 from objective sources independent of the prime con5 tractor; 

6 (3) require that a contract for the performance 

7 of systems engineering and technical assistance func8 tions for a major acquisition program contains a pro9 vision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate of 

10 the contractor from participating as a prime con11 tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 

12 of a system under the program; and 

13 (4) establish such limited exceptions to the re14 quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as may be nec15 essary to ensure that the Administration has contin16 ued access to advice on systems architecture and sys17 tems engineering matters from highly-qualified con18 tractors with domain experience and expertise, while 

19 ensuring that such advice comes from sources that are 

20 objective and unbiased. 

21 SEC. 710. FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

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

23 that— 

24 (1) the Administration must reverse the deterio25 rating condition of its facilities and infrastructure, as 

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1 this condition is hampering the effectiveness and effi2 ciency of research performed by both the Administra3 tion and industry participants making use of Admin4 istration facilities, thus reducing the competitiveness 

5 of the United States aerospace industry; 

6 (2) the Administration has a role in providing 

7 laboratory capabilities to industry participants that 

8 are economically viable as commercial entities and 

9 thus are not available elsewhere; 

10 (3) to ensure continued access to reliable and ef11 ficient world-class facilities by researchers, the Ad12 ministration should seek to establish strategic part13 nerships with other Federal agencies, academic insti14 tutions, and industry, as appropriate; and 

15 (4) decisions on whether to dispose of, maintain, 

16 or modernize existing facilities must be made in the 

17 context of meeting future Administration and other 

18 Federal agencies’ laboratory needs, including those re19 quired to meet the activities supporting the Human 

20 Exploration Roadmap required by section 70504 of 

21 title 51, United States Code. 

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

23 the Administration maintain reliable and efficient facilities 

24 and that decisions on whether to dispose of, maintain, or 

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1 modernize existing facilities be made in the context of meet2 ing future Administration needs. 

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

4 that has the goal of positioning the Administration to have 

5 the facilities, laboratories, tools, and approaches necessary 

6 to address future Administration requirements. Such plan 

7 shall identify— 

8 (1) future Administration research and develop9 ment and testing needs; 

10 (2) a strategy for identifying facilities that are 

11 candidates for disposal, that is consistent with the na12 tional strategic direction set forth in— 

13 (A) the National Space Policy; 

14 (B) the National Aeronautics Research, De15 velopment, Test, and Evaluation Infrastructure 

16 Plan; 

17 (C) National Aeronautics and Space Ad18 ministration Authorization Acts; and 

19 (D) the Human Exploration Roadmap 

20 specified in section 70504 of title 51, United 

21 States Code; 

22 (3) a strategy for the maintenance, repair, up23 grading, and modernization of the Administration’s 

24 laboratories, facilities, and equipment; 

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1 (4) criteria for prioritizing deferred maintenance 

2 tasks and also for upgrading or modernizing labora3 tories, facilities, and equipment and implementing 

4 processes, plans, and policies for guiding the Admin5 istration’s Centers on whether to maintain, repair, 

6 upgrade, or modernize a facility and for determining 

7 the type of instrument to be used; 

8 (5) an assessment of modifications needed to 

9 maximize usage of facilities that offer unique and 

10 highly specialized benefits to the aerospace industry 

11 and the American public; and 

12 (6) implementation steps, including a timeline, 

13 milestones, and an estimate of resources required for 

14 carrying out the plan. 

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

16 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish 

17 and make publically available a policy that guides the Ad18 ministration’s use of existing authorities to out-grant, lease, 

19 excess to the General Services Administration, sell, decom20 mission, demolish, or otherwise transfer property, facilities, 

21 or infrastructure. This policy shall establish criteria for the 

22 use of authorities, best practices, standardized procedures, 

23 and guidelines for how to appropriately manage property, 

24 infrastructure, and facilities. 

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

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans3 mit the plan developed under subsection (c) to the Com4 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

5 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate. 

7 (f) ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPITAL FUND.—The Admin8 istrator shall establish a capital fund for the modernization 

9 of facilities and laboratories. The Administrator shall en10 sure to the maximum extent practicable that all financial 

11 savings achieved by closing outdated or surplus facilities 

12 at an Administration Center shall be made available to that 

13 Center for the purpose of modernizing the Center’s facilities 

14 and laboratories and for upgrading the infrastructure at 

15 the Center. 

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

17 other activities of the fund established under subsection (f) 

18 shall require review and approval by the Administrator and 

19 the status, including the amounts held in the capital fund, 

20 shall be reported 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 in conjunction with the Administration’s annual 

24 budget request justification for each fiscal year. 

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1 SEC. 711. DETECTION AND AVOIDANCE OF COUNTERFEIT 

2 ELECTRONIC PARTS. 

3 (a) REGULATIONS.— 

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

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

6 shall revise the National Aeronautics and Space Ad7 ministration Supplement to the Federal Acquisition 

8 Regulation to address the detection and avoidance of 

9 counterfeit electronic parts. 

10 (2) CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.—The re11 vised regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) 

12 shall provide that— 

13 (A) Administration contractors who supply 

14 electronic parts or products that include elec15 tronic parts are responsible for detecting and 

16 avoiding the use or inclusion of counterfeit elec17 tronic parts or suspect counterfeit electronic 

18 parts in such products and for any rework or 

19 corrective action that may be required to remedy 

20 the use or inclusion of such parts; and 

21 (B) the cost of counterfeit electronic parts 

22 and suspect counterfeit electronic parts and the 

23 cost of rework or corrective action that may be 

24 required to remedy the use or inclusion of such 

25 parts are not allowable costs under Administra26 tion contracts, unless— 

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1 (i) the covered contractor has an oper2 ational system to detect and avoid counter3 feit parts and suspect counterfeit electronic 

4 parts that has been reviewed and approved 

5 by the Administration or the Department of 

6 Defense; 

7 (ii) the covered contractor provides 

8 timely notice to the Administration pursu9 ant to paragraph (4); or 

10 (iii) the counterfeit electronic parts or 

11 suspect counterfeit electronic parts were 

12 provided to the contractor as Government 

13 property in accordance with part 45 of the 

14 Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

15 (3) SUPPLIERS OF ELECTRONIC PARTS.—The re16 vised regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) 

17 shall— 

18 (A) require that the Administration and 

19 Administration contractors and subcontractors 

20 at all tiers— 

21 (i) obtain electronic parts that are in 

22 production or currently available in stock 

23 from the original manufacturers of the 

24 parts or their authorized dealers, or from 

25 suppliers who obtain such parts exclusively 

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1 from the original manufacturers of the 

2 parts or their authorized dealers; and 

3 (ii) obtain electronic parts that are not 

4 in production or currently available in 

5 stock from suppliers that meet qualification 

6 requirements established pursuant to sub7 paragraph (C); 

8 (B) establish documented requirements con9 sistent with published industry standards or 

10 Government contract requirements for— 

11 (i) notification of the Administration; 

12 and 

13 (ii) inspection, testing, and authentica14 tion of electronic parts that the Administra15 tion or an Administration contractor or 

16 subcontractor obtains from any source other 

17 than a source described in subparagraph 

18 (A); 

19 (C) establish qualification requirements, 

20 consistent with the requirements of section 2319 

21 of title 10, United States Code, pursuant to 

22 which the Administration may identify suppliers 

23 that have appropriate policies and procedures in 

24 place to detect and avoid counterfeit electronic 

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1 parts and suspect counterfeit electronic parts; 

2 and 

3 (D) authorize Administration contractors 

4 and subcontractors to identify and use addi5 tional suppliers beyond those identified pursuant 

6 to subparagraph (C) provided that— 

7 (i) the standards and processes for 

8 identifying such suppliers comply with es9 tablished industry standards; 

10 (ii) the contractor or subcontractor as11 sumes responsibility for the authenticity of 

12 parts provided by such suppliers as pro13 vided in paragraph (2); and 

14 (iii) the selection of such suppliers is 

15 subject to review and audit by appropriate 

16 Administration officials. 

17 (4) TIMELY NOTIFICATION.—The revised regula18 tions issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall require 

19 that any Administration contractor or subcontractor 

20 who becomes aware, or has reason to suspect, that any 

21 end item, component, part, or material contained in 

22 supplies purchased by the Administration, or pur23 chased by a contractor or subcontractor for delivery 

24 to, or on behalf of, the Administration, contains coun25 terfeit electronic parts or suspect counterfeit electronic 

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1 parts, shall provide notification to the applicable Ad2 ministration contracting officer within 30 calendar 

3 days. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the re5 vised regulations specified in subsection (a) have been im6 plemented, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 

7 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate a report updating the Admin10 istration’s actions to prevent counterfeit electronic parts 

11 from entering the supply chain as described in its October 

12 2011 report pursuant to section 1206(d) of the National 

13 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

14 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18444(d)). 

15 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘electronic 

16 part’’ means a discrete electronic component, including a 

17 microcircuit, transistor, capacitor, resistor, or diode that 

18 is intended for use in a safety or mission critical applica19 tion. 

20 SEC. 712. SPACE ACT AGREEMENTS. 

21 (a) COST SHARING.—To the extent that the Adminis22 trator determines practicable, the funds provided by the 

23 Government under a funded Space Act Agreement shall not 

24 exceed the total amount provided by other parties to the 

25 Space Act Agreement. 

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

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

3 cooperative agreement is not feasible or appropriate, as de4 termined by the Associate Administrator for Procurement. 

5 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Adminis6 trator shall make available for public notice and comment 

7 each proposed Space Act Agreement at least 30 days before 

8 entering into such agreement, with appropriate redactions 

9 for proprietary, sensitive, or classified information. 

10 (d) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator shall pub11 licly disclose on the Administration’s website and make 

12 available in a searchable format each Space Act Agreement, 

13 with appropriate redactions for proprietary, sensitive, or 

14 classified information, not later than 60 days after such 

15 agreement is signed. 

16 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

18 after the end of each fiscal year, the Administrator 

19 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate a report on the use of Space Act 

23 Agreement authority by the Administration during 

24 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 the 

3 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 re2 port shall also include, with respect to the Space Act 

3 Agreements covered by the report, a summary of— 

4 (A) the technology areas in which research 

5 projects were conducted under such agreements; 

6 (B) the extent to which the use of the Space 

7 Act Agreements— 

8 (i) has contributed to a broadening of 

9 the technology and industrial base available 

10 for meeting Administration needs; and 

11 (ii) has fostered within the technology 

12 and industrial base new relationships and 

13 practices that support the United States; 

14 and 

15 (C) the total amount of value received by 

16 the Federal Government during the fiscal year 

17 pursuant to such Space Act Agreements. 

18 SEC. 713. HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT ACCIDENT INVESTIGA19 TIONS. 

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

21 amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(3) any other orbital or suborbital space vehicle 

24 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 sec5 tion 2 of the National Aeronautics and Space 

6 Administration Authorization Act of 2014, with 

7 the Federal Government for carrying a re8 searcher or payload funded by the Federal Gov9 ernment; 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 the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on cur16 rent and continuing efforts by the Administration to ‘‘seek 

17 and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest 

18 commercial use of space,’’ as described in section 20102(c) 

19 of title 51, United States Code. 

20 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under subsection 

21 (a) shall include— 

22 (1) an assessment of the Administration’s efforts 

23 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 con3 tinue 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 enactment 

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

12 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate a report on current and 

14 continuing efforts by the Administration to reduce impedi15 ments, bureaucracy, redundancy, and burdens to ensure the 

16 fullest commercial use of space as required by section 

17 20102(c) of title 51, United States Code. 

18 SEC. 715. ORBITAL DEBRIS. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that orbital debris 

20 poses serious risks to the operational space capabilities of 

21 the United States and that an international commitment 

22 and integrated strategic plan are needed to mitigate the 

23 growth of orbital debris wherever possible. Congress finds 

24 the delay in the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s 

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1 nation and development of mitigation strategies to be in2 consistent with such risks. 

3 (b) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) COORDINATION.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis6 trator shall provide the Committee on Science, Space, 

7 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

8 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation of the Senate with a report on the status of ef10 forts to coordinate with countries within the Inter11 Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee to 

12 mitigate the effects and growth of orbital debris as re13 quired by section 1202(b)(1) of the National Aero14 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

15 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18441(b)(1)). 

16 (2) MITIGATION STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 

17 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di18 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

19 shall provide the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate with a report on the status of the 

23 orbital debris mitigation strategy required under sec24 tion 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 Congress 

6 that the amount of orbital debris in low-Earth orbit poses 

7 risks for human activities and robotic spacecraft and that 

8 this debris may increase due to collisions between existing 

9 debris objects. Understanding options to address and remove 

10 orbital debris is important for ensuring safe and effective 

11 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 the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pro20 vide a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech21 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

22 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

23 on the solicitation and review required under subsection (b). 

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1 SEC. 717. USE OF OPERATIONAL COMMERCIAL SUBORBITAL 

2 VEHICLES FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 

3 AND EDUCATION. 

4 (a) POLICY.—The Administrator shall develop a policy 

5 on the use of operational commercial reusable suborbital 

6 flight vehicles for carrying out scientific and engineering 

7 investigations and educational activities. 

8 (b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall prepare a plan 

9 on the Administration’s use of operational commercial reus10 able suborbital flight vehicles for carrying out scientific and 

11 engineering investigations and educational activities. The 

12 plan shall— 

13 (1) describe the purposes for which the Adminis14 tration 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 assur25 ance for Administration-sponsored space flight par26 ticipants, among other functions required to fly Admstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ministration-sponsored payloads and space flight par2 ticipants on operational commercial suborbital vehi3 cles; 

4 (4) identify Administration-provided hardware, 

5 software, or services that may be provided to commer6 cial reusable suborbital space flight operators on a 

7 cost-reimbursable basis, through agreements or con8 tracts entered into under section 20113(e) of title 51, 

9 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 suborbital 

13 vehicle flights that involve Administration-sponsored 

14 payloads or activities, Administration-supported 

15 space flight participants, or other Administration-re16 lated 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, including 

21 research requiring access to low-gravity and microgravity 

22 environments, for carrying out technology demonstrations 

23 related to science, exploration, or space operations require24 ments, and for providing opportunities for educating and 

25 training space scientists and engineers, once those vehicles 

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1 become operational. The assessment shall also characterize 

2 the risks of using potential commercial reusable suborbital 

3 flights to Administration-sponsored researchers and sci4 entific investigations and flight hardware. 

5 (d) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans7 mit the plan and assessment described in subsections (b) 

8 and (c) to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com10 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

11 (e) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—In conjunction 

12 with the Administration’s annual budget request justifica13 tion for each fiscal year, 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 progress in carrying out the Commercial Reus18 able Suborbital Research Program, including the number 

19 and type of suborbital missions planned in each fiscal year. 

20 (f) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The Adminis21 trator shall not proceed with a request for proposals, award 

22 any contract, commit any United States Government funds, 

23 or enter into any other agreement for the provision of a 

24 commercial reusable suborbital vehicle launch service for an 

25 Administration-sponsored spaceflight participant until 

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1 transmittal of the plan and assessment specified in sub2 sections (b) and (c), the liability issues associated with the 

3 use of such systems by the United States Government have 

4 been addressed, and the liability and indemnification pro5 visions that are planned to be included in such contracts 

6 or agreements have been provided to the Committee on 

7 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa8 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans9 portation of the Senate. 

10 SEC. 718. FUNDAMENTAL SPACE LIFE AND PHYSICAL 

11 SCIENCES RESEARCH. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It the sense of Congress 

13 that fundamental, discovery-based space life and physical 

14 sciences research is critical for enabling space exploration, 

15 protecting humans in space, and providing societal benefits, 

16 and that the space environment facilitates the advancement 

17 of understanding of the life sciences and physical sciences. 

18 Space life and physical science research contributes to ad19 vancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

20 research, and provides careers and training opportunities 

21 in academia, Federal laboratories, and commercial indus22 try. Congress encourages the Administrator to augment dis23 covery-based fundamental research and to establish require24 ments reflecting the importance of such research in keeping 

25 with the priorities established in the National Academies’ 

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1 decadal survey entitled ‘‘Recapturing a Future for Space 

2 Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New 

3 Era’’. 

4 (b) BUDGET REQUEST.—The Administrator shall in5 clude as part of the Administration’s annual budget request 

6 for each fiscal year a budget line for fundamental space 

7 life and physical sciences research, devoted to competitive, 

8 peer-reviewed grants, that is separate from the Inter9 national Space Station Operations account. 

10 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

11 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator, in con12 sultation with academia, other Federal agencies, and 

13 other potential stakeholders, shall develop a strategic 

14 plan for carrying out competitive, peer-reviewed fun15 damental space life science and physical sciences and 

16 related technology research, among other activities, 

17 consistent with the priorities in the National Acad18 emies’ decadal survey described in subsection (a). 

19 (2) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis21 trator shall transmit the strategic plan developed 

22 under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Science, 

23 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa24 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

25 Transportation of the Senate. 

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1 SEC. 719. RESTORING COMMITMENT TO ENGINEERING RE2 SEARCH. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

4 that engineering excellence has long been a hallmark of the 

5 Administration’s ability to make significant advances in 

6 aeronautics and space exploration. However, as has been 

7 noted in recent National Academies reports, increasingly 

8 constrained funding and competing priorities have led to 

9 an erosion of the Administration’s commitment to basic en10 gineering research. This research provides the basis for the 

11 technology development that enables the Administration’s 

12 many challenging missions to succeed. If current trends 

13 continue, the Administration’s ability to attract and main14 tain the best and brightest engineering workforce at its Cen15 ters as well as its ability to remain on the cutting edge 

16 of aeronautical and space technology will continue to erode 

17 and will threaten the Administration’s ability to be a world 

18 leader in aeronautics research and development and space 

19 exploration. 

20 (b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop a plan for 

21 restoring a meaningful basic engineering research program 

22 at the Administration’s Centers, including, as appropriate, 

23 collaborations with industry, universities, and other rel24 evant organizations. The plan shall identify the organiza25 tional approach to be followed, an initial set of basic re26 search priorities, and a proposed budget. 

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

2 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

3 the plan specified in subsection (b) to the Committee on 

4 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa5 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans6 portation of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 720. LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE DEVELOPMENT PRO8 GRAM. 

9 The Administrator shall consult with the Secretary of 

10 Defense to ensure that any next generation liquid rocket en11 gine made in the United States for national security space 

12 launch objectives can contribute, to the extent practicable, 

13 to the space programs and missions carried out by the Ad14 ministration. 

15 SEC. 721 REMOTE SATELLITE SERVICING DEMONSTRA16 TIONS. 

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

18 that— 

19 (1) the Administration plays a key role in dem20 onstrating the feasibility of using robotic technologies 

21 for a spacecraft that could autonomously access, in22 spect, repair, and refuel satellites; 

23 (2) demonstrating this feasibility would both as24 sist the Administration in its future missions and 

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1 tities with enhanced confidence in the feasibility to 

2 robotically refuel, inspect, repair, and maintain their 

3 satellites in both near and distant orbits; and 

4 (3) the capability to refuel, inspect, repair, and 

5 maintain satellites robotically could add years of 

6 functional life to satellites. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 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 Senate 

12 describing the Administration’s— 

13 (1) activities, tools, and techniques associated 

14 with the ultimate goal of autonomously servicing sat15 ellites using robotic spacecraft; 

16 (2) efforts to coordinate its technology develop17 ment and demonstrations with other Federal agencies 

18 and private sector entities that conduct programs, 

19 projects, or activities on on-orbit satellite inspection 

20 and servicing capabilities; 

21 (3) efforts to leverage the work of these Federal 

22 agencies and private sector entities into the Adminis23 tration’s plans; 

24 (4) accomplishments to date in demonstrating 

25 various servicing technologies; 

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1 (5) major technical and operational challenges 

2 encountered and mitigation measures taken; and 

3 (6) demonstrations needed to increase confidence 

4 in the use of the technologies for operational missions, 

5 and the timeframe for these demonstrations. 

6 SEC. 722. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

8 that information security is central to the Administration’s 

9 ability to protect information and information systems 

10 vital to its mission. 

11 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

12 States shall conduct a study to assess the effectiveness of 

13 the Administration’s Information Technology Governance. 

14 The study shall include an assessment of— 

15 (1) the resources available for overseeing Admin16 istration-wide information technology operations, in17 vestments, and security measures and the Chief Infor18 mation Officer’s visibility into and access to those re19 sources; 

20 (2) the effectiveness of the Administration’s de21 centralized information technology structure, decision22 making processes and authorities and its ability to 

23 enforce information security; and 

24 (3) the impact of providing the Chief Informa25 tion Officer approval authority over information techmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 nology investments that exceed a defined monetary 

2 threshold and any potential impacts of the Chief In3 formation Officer having such authority on the Ad4 ministration’s missions, flights programs and 

5 projects, research activities, and Center operations. 

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

7 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall trans8 mit a report detailing the results of the study conducted 

9 under subsection (b) to the Committee on Science, Space, 

10 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

12 the Senate. 

13 SEC. 723. STRENGTHENING ADMINISTRATION SECURITY. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

15 (1) Following the public disclosure of security 

16 and export control violations at its research centers, 

17 the Administration contracted with the National 

18 Academy of Public Administration to conduct an 

19 independent assessment of how the Administration 

20 carried out Foreign National Access Management 

21 practices and other security matters. 

22 (2) The assessment by the National Academy of 

23 Public Administration concluded that ‘‘NASA net24 works are compromised’’, that the Administration 

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1 port compliance, and that individuals within the Ad2 ministration were not held accountable when making 

3 serious, preventable errors in carrying out Foreign 

4 National Access Management practices and other se5 curity matters. 

6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Administration shall report 

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

9 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate on how it plans 

11 to address each of the recommendations made in the secu12 rity assessment by the National Academy of Public Admin13 istration. 

14 (c) REVIEW.—Within one year of enactment of this 

15 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall re16 port to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com18 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate its assess19 ment of how the Administration has complied with the rec20 ommendations of the National Academy of Public Adminis21 tration. 

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1 SEC. 724. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CONTRAC2 TORS THAT HAVE COMMITTED FRAUD OR 

3 OTHER CRIMES. 

4 None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or oth5 erwise made available for fiscal year 2014 or any fiscal 

6 year thereafter for the Administration may be used to enter 

7 into a contract with any offeror or any of its principals 

8 if the offeror certifies, pursuant to the Federal Acquisition 

9 Regulation, that the offeror or any of its principals— 

10 (1) within a three-year period preceding this 

11 offer has been convicted of or had a civil judgment 

12 rendered against it for— 

13 (A) commission of fraud or a criminal of14 fense in connection with obtaining, attempting to 

15 obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, 

16 or local) contract or subcontract; 

17 (B) violation of Federal or State antitrust 

18 statutes relating to the submission of offers; or 

19 (C) commission of embezzlement, theft, for20 gery, bribery, falsification or destruction of 

21 records, making false statements, tax evasion, 

22 violating Federal criminal tax laws, or receiving 

23 stolen property; 

24 (2) are presently indicted for, or otherwise crimi25 nally or civilly charged by a governmental entity 

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1 with, commission of any of the offenses enumerated in 

2 paragraph (1); or 

3 (3) within a three-year period preceding this 

4 offer, has been notified of any delinquent Federal 

5 taxes in an amount that exceeds $3,000 for which the 

6 liability remains unsatisfied. 

7 SEC. 725. PROTECTION OF APOLLO LANDING SITES. 

8 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

9 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with all rel10 evant agencies of the Federal Government and other appro11 priate entities and individuals, shall carry out a review 

12 and assessment of the issues involved in protecting and pre13 serving historically important Apollo Program lunar land14 ing sites and Apollo program artifacts residing on the lunar 

15 surface, including those pertaining to Apollo 11 and Apollo 

16 17. The review and assessment shall, at a minimum, in17 clude determination of what risks to the protection and 

18 preservation of those sites and artifacts exist or may exist 

19 in the future, what measures are required to ensure such 

20 protection and preservation, the extent to which additional 

21 domestic legislation or international treaties or agreements 

22 will be required, and specific recommendations for pro23 tecting and preserving those lunar landing sites and arti24 facts. 

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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit to the 

3 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

4 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate the results of the 

6 assessment required under subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 726. ASTRONAUT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHCARE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Academies’ Institute 

9 of Medicine report ‘‘Health Standards for Long Duration 

10 and Exploration Spaceflight: Ethics Principles, Respon11 sibilities, and Decision Framework’’ found that the Admin12 istration has ethical responsibilities for and should adopt 

13 policies and processes related to health standards for long 

14 duration and exploration spaceflights that recognize those 

15 ethical responsibilities. In particular, the report rec16 ommended that the Administration ‘‘provide preventative 

17 long-term health screening and surveillance of astronauts 

18 and lifetime health care to protect their health, support on19 going evaluation of health standards, improve mission safe20 ty, and reduce risks for current and future astronauts’’. 

21 (b) RESPONSE.—The Administration shall prepare a 

22 response to the National Academies report recommendation 

23 described in subsection (a). The response shall include the 

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1 tion of those recommendations, and any options that might 

2 be considered as part of the response. 

3 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—The response required under sub4 section (b) shall be transmitted to the Committee on Science, 

5 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

7 of the Senate not later than 6 months after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. 

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Union Calendar No. 349 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4412 

[Report No. 113–470] 

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeropurposes. nautics and Space Administration, and for other 

JUNE 5, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

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