I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5431 

To promote space safety and provide for policy, planning, and agency roles 

and responsibilities for the transition to a civil space situational awareness capability of certain space situational awareness activities, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 

Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mr. NORCROSS, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the 

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

and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To promote space safety and provide for policy, planning, 

and agency roles and responsibilities for the transition 

to a civil space situational awareness capability of certain 

space situational awareness activities, and for other purposes. 

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


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5431 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Space Safety and Situational Awareness Transition Act 

4 of 2023’’ or the ‘‘Space SSA Transition Act of 2023’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations for fiscal years 2024 through 2025. 

TITLE II—POLICY 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Sense of Congress on United States Government responsibility. 

Sec. 203. United States policy. 

TITLE III—TRANSITION TO CIVIL SPACE SITUATIONAL 

AWARENESS CAPABILITY 

Sec. 301. Sense of Congress on need for transition. 

Sec. 302. Interagency Transition Plan. 

TITLE IV—AGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF CIVIL SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TRANSITION 

Sec. 401. Space situational awareness services and information. 

Sec. 402. Organizational management structure for space situational awareness 

services and information. 

TITLE V—RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 501. Informing and improving space situational awareness. 

Sec. 502. Research strategy. 

TITLE VI—OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 

Sec. 601. Cybersecurity plan. 

Sec. 602. Study on international cooperation in space situational awareness. 

Sec. 603. Report on international data sharing agreements. 

Sec. 604. Study on space traffic coordination. 

TITLE VII—GAO REVIEW 

Sec. 701. GAO review. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5431 IH

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra4 tion’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

5 10101 of title 51, United States Code. 

6 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

8 10101 of title 51, United States Code. 

9 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con11 gress’’ means the Committee on Science, Space, and 

12 Technology and the Committee on Armed Services of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

15 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

16 (4) DOD.—The term ‘‘DoD’’ means the De17 partment of Defense. 

18 (5) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na19 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

20 (6) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na21 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of 

22 the Department of Commerce. 

23 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Commerce. 

25 (8) SPACE OBJECT.—The term ‘‘space object’’ 

26 means any artificial object or system, including comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5431 IH

1 ponents or pieces thereof, orbiting the Earth or 

2 passing into or through outer space. 

3 (9) SPACE OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘space oper4 ator’’ means the person or entity that has responsi5 bility for commanding operations of a space object 

6 in outer space. 

7 (10) SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.—The 

8 term ‘‘space situational awareness’’ means the 

9 knowledge and characterization of space objects and 

10 their operational environment to facilitate decisions 

11 that support safe, stable, and sustainable space ac12 tivities. 

13 (11) SPACE TRAFFIC COORDINATION.—The 

14 term ‘‘space traffic coordination’’ means the plan15 ning, assessment, and on-orbit coordination of activi16 ties to enhance the safety, stability, and sustain17 ability of operations in the space environment. 

18 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

19 APPROPRIATIONS 

20 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FIS21 CAL YEARS 2024 THROUGH 2025. 

22 To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appro23 priated— 

24 (1) to the Department of Commerce— 

25 (A) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (B) $95,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

2 (2) to NASA— 

3 (A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

4 (B) $53,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

5 TITLE II—POLICY 

6 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Commercial activity in space is accelerating 

9 to meet the global demand for a growing commercial 

10 space market. 

11 (2) Space is becoming more congested, particu12 larly in some orbital regimes, with the number of ac13 tive satellites increasing significantly over the past 

14 10 years and continuing to grow. 

15 (3) Orbital debris ranging from sub-millimeter16 sized debris to large defunct rocket bodies and inop17 erable spacecraft threatens the safety of orbital op18 erations. 

19 (4) Space situational awareness provides the 

20 foundation for understanding— 

21 (A) where objects, both active and inactive, 

22 are located and for predicting where satellites 

23 or debris will be in the future; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (B) the distribution of orbital debris and 

2 the risk they pose to operational satellites and 

3 crewed spacecraft. 

4 (5) United States leadership in coordinating 

5 international efforts on space situational awareness 

6 is essential for the safety and sustainability of the 

7 space environment, and for the safety of human ac8 tivities in outer space. 

9 (6) Conducting safe and responsible space oper10 ations will have a major impact on the sustainability 

11 of space activities, and in turn on the prosperity and 

12 national security of the United States. 

13 (7) To date, the Secretary of Defense, acting 

14 through the Commander, United States Space Com15 mand, has been providing certain space situational 

16 awareness services and information to Federal Gov17 ernment, commercial and international space opera18 tors, and the international community, including 

19 warnings of potential conjunctions. 

20 (8) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 

21 of Commerce have begun collaborating to begin 

22 transitioning some capabilities from the Department 

23 of Defense to the Department of Commerce. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 5431 IH

1 SEC. 202. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON UNITED STATES GOV2 ERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

4 Government, in coordination with other countries and the 

5 private sector, has a responsibility to be a good steward 

6 of the space environment. It is the further sense of Con7 gress that the United States Government should— 

8 (1) lead in practices and policies to maintain a 

9 safe, sustainable space environment for civil, na10 tional security, and commercial use; 

11 (2) provide validated space situational aware12 ness services and information as public goods for the 

13 purposes of promoting on-orbit operational safety; 

14 (3) develop a coordinated and integrated ap15 proach to improving and delivering space situational 

16 awareness services and information; 

17 (4) leverage, to the maximum extent prac18 ticable, commercial innovation and capabilities rel19 evant to space situational awareness; 

20 (5) lead collaborations with international and 

21 nongovernmental entities, including satellite opera22 tors and space situational awareness services and in23 formation providers, as appropriate, on space situa24 tional awareness and on best practices regarding 

25 space traffic coordination that— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (A) support the growth of commerce in 

2 space and foster a competitive United States 

3 commercial space industry; and 

4 (B) promote innovation in technology and 

5 operations while improving safety; 

6 (6) lead the international community in collabo7 rations on practices and approaches that advance a 

8 sustainable and accessible space environment; and 

9 (7) transition to the Department of Commerce 

10 certain space situational awareness services and in11 formation, including public conjunction notifications, 

12 from the Department of Defense. 

13 SEC. 203. UNITED STATES POLICY. 

14 It is the policy of the United States to— 

15 (1) make publicly and continually available, free 

16 of direct user fees, validated space situational aware17 ness services and information, including conjunction 

18 notifications and conjunction data messages; 

19 (2) continue to enhance and improve the accu20 racy and precision of the services and information 

21 referred to in paragraph (1); 

22 (3) make available to governmental and non23 governmental space operators space safety and sus24 tainability tools, voluntary consensus standards, and 

25 risk mitigation information and practices; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (4) support interdisciplinary research and devel2 opment to promote space safety and improve space 

3 situational awareness; 

4 (5) support mechanisms for transitioning into 

5 operational activities the research and development 

6 described in paragraph (4); 

7 (6) support the use, where validated and prac8 ticable, of commercial technologies, data, systems, 

9 and services that can supplement and enhance 

10 United States Government-provided space situa11 tional awareness services and information; 

12 (7) ensure the Federal Government remains the 

13 United States authoritative source for information 

14 and services relating to space situational awareness 

15 for public and private space endeavors; 

16 (8) promote and facilitate the development and 

17 encourage the adoption of voluntary consensus 

18 standards and best practices for space situational 

19 awareness; and 

20 (9) lead international collaborations to the 

21 widest extent possible on a framework for inter22 nationally aligned space situational awareness and 

23 best practices for space traffic coordination. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 5431 IH

1 TITLE III—TRANSITION TO CIVIL 

2 SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARE3 NESS CAPABILITY 

4 SEC. 301. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NEED FOR TRANSITION. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the DoD continues 

6 to make essential contributions to the safety of the space 

7 environment by providing space operators with services 

8 and information for managing the safe operations of 

9 United States Government, commercial, and non-United 

10 States space operations, in accordance with section 2274 

11 of title 10, United States Code. It is the further sense 

12 of Congress that the growing number of space objects has 

13 created an increasing demand for improved accuracy and 

14 precision of space situational awareness services and infor15 mation for space operators, which requires personnel and 

16 resources that are not related to the DoD’s primary mis17 sion. Therefore, it is the sense of Congress that the Presi18 dent should provide all necessary support to plan for an 

19 effective transition to the Department of Commerce from 

20 the Department of Defense of certain space situational 

21 awareness services and information. 

22 SEC. 302. INTERAGENCY TRANSITION PLAN. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

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

25 Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 5431 IH

1 trator and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

2 shall establish an Interagency Transition Working Group 

3 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’) and 

4 begin developing an Interagency Transition Plan for Space 

5 Situational Awareness (in this Act referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Interagency Transition Plan’’). The Working Group shall 

7 carry out the Interagency Transition Plan. The Inter8 agency Transition Plan shall direct the planning, assess9 ment, and transition of certain activities carried out under 

10 section 2274 of title 10, United States Code, as appro11 priate, from the existing DoD-based space situational 

12 awareness operations to a civil space situational awareness 

13 capability under the Secretary. 

14 (b) WORKING GROUP.—The Working Group shall— 

15 (1) be led by— 

16 (A) a Senior Executive Service-level official 

17 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Working Group 

18 Chair’’) appointed by the Secretary; and 

19 (B) a Senior Executive Service or Flag Of20 ficer level official (in this Act referred to as the 

21 ‘‘Working Group Vice Chair’’) appointed by the 

22 Secretary of Defense; and 

23 (2) include— 

24 (A) a team of Federal Government employ25 ees from relevant Federal agencies, including 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 5431 IH

1 the DoD and NASA, with experience and exper2 tise in space situational awareness activities, in3 cluding tracking, data processing, conjunction 

4 assessment, and space operations; 

5 (B) the Director of the Office of Space 

6 Commerce; 

7 (C) the Deputy Commander of United 

8 States Space Command; and 

9 (D) the Commander of United States 

10 Space Force Space Operations Command. 

11 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group shall— 

13 (A) carry out the Interagency Transition 

14 Plan for the planning, assessment, and phased 

15 transition of space situational awareness serv16 ices and information to a civil space situational 

17 awareness capability under the Secretary; 

18 (B) in consultation with the National Insti19 tute of Standards and Technology, standards 

20 organizations, and private industry, promote 

21 and facilitate the development and encourage 

22 the adoption of voluntary consensus standards 

23 and best practices for space situational aware24 ness; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (C) establish timelines for the phased tran2 sition of a civil space situational awareness ca3 pability; and 

4 (D) carry out an assessment of— 

5 (i) Federal Government and non-gov6 ernment space situational awareness capa7 bilities; and 

8 (ii) Federal Government and non-gov9 ernment best practices regarding risk miti10 gation and collision avoidance. 

11 (2) AGENCY AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary and 

12 the Secretary of Defense may form partnerships or 

13 agreements with the heads of other relevant agencies 

14 in furtherance of this Act. 

15 (3) MILESTONE.—The Interagency Transition 

16 Plan shall include a deadline for public deployment 

17 of space situational awareness services and informa18 tion by not later than December 31, 2026. 

19 (d) INTERAGENCY TRANSITION PLAN.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary and the Secretary of Defense shall transmit 

23 to the appropriate committees of Congress the Inter24 agency Transition Plan, and shall make the Inter25 agency Transition Plan publicly available, with data 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 5431 IH

1 protections, as necessary, not later than 30 days 

2 after such transmittal. 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The Interagency Transition 

4 Plan shall include the following elements: 

5 (A) A listing and detailed descriptions of 

6 phases or milestones, including associated esti7 mated timelines, regarding the transition to the 

8 Department of Commerce of capabilities relat9 ing to space situational awareness, including a 

10 description of the space situational awareness 

11 services and information that will be provided 

12 in accordance with subsection (c)(3). 

13 (B) A system architecture, including the 

14 following: 

15 (i) Identification of the Federal Gov16 ernment and nongovernment data, observa17 tions, and analytical tools needed for each 

18 phase of transition, and a description of 

19 how such data, observations, and analytical 

20 tools are to be obtained. 

21 (ii) Identification of the space situa22 tional awareness services and information 

23 to be transitioned from the Department of 

24 Defense to the Department of Commerce. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (iii) Identification of the space situa2 tional awareness services and information 

3 to be provided, including those identified 

4 pursuant to clause (ii), and any additional 

5 services and information that may be pro6 vided in accordance with the policy speci7 fied in section 203(1), under each phase of 

8 transition. 

9 (iv) Identification of any requirements 

10 and standards for space situational aware11 ness services and information, including 

12 associated data provided by space opera13 tors. 

14 (v) Identification of criteria and meth15 ods for verifying and validating non-Fed16 eral Government space situational aware17 ness services and information, including 

18 associated data, provided by space opera19 tors. 

20 (vi) Identification of risk assessment 

21 and mitigation support services and infor22 mation that may be provided. 

23 (vii) Identification of options for an 

24 information platform or mechanism to en25 able innovative research, development, testVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 5431 IH

1 ing, and experimentation opportunities for 

2 commercial, academic, or other entities to 

3 support and improve space situational 

4 awareness services and information, as 

5 practicable. 

6 (C) Performance measures for the level of 

7 accuracy needed for the space situational 

8 awareness services and information to be identi9 fied and provided in accordance with subpara10 graph (B)(ii). 

11 (D) A description of the elements in the 

12 Interagency Transition Plan anticipated to be 

13 provided by commercial or other non-Federal 

14 Government entities. 

15 (E) An estimate of the workforce, training, 

16 infrastructure, including ground-based, space17 based, and in-situ infrastructure, and annual 

18 budgetary resources necessary to carry out a 

19 civil space situational awareness capability for 

20 the next five years. 

21 (e) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out the Inter22 agency Transition Plan, the Interagency Transition Work23 ing Group shall— 

24 (1) take into consideration any agency agree25 ments under subsection (c)(2) and any existing conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•HR 5431 IH

1 tracts or agreements related to space situational 

2 awareness services and information; and 

3 (2) accept input, as appropriate, from industry, 

4 academia, and nonprofit organizations. 

5 (f) BIANNUAL REPORTING.—The Working Group 

6 Chair and Working Group Vice Chair shall report bian7 nually to the appropriate committees of Congress on the 

8 progress of the transition under this section. 

9 (g) BRIEFINGS.—The Working Group Chair and 

10 Working Group Vice Chair shall brief the appropriate 

11 committees of Congress on the Interagency Transition 

12 Plan not later than 14 days after transmitting the Inter13 agency Transition Plan pursuant to subsection (d)(1). 

14 (h) BIENNIAL UPDATES.—The Secretary of Defense 

15 and the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, 

16 shall update the Interagency Transition Plan, as nec17 essary, but not less frequently than biennially, and trans18 mit such updated Interagency Transition Plan to the ap19 propriate committees of Congress. 

20 (i) VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS AND BEST

21 PRACTICES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 

23 after the submission of the plan described in sub24 section (d), the Working Group shall— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (A) review existing voluntary consensus 

2 standards and best practices; 

3 (B) in consultation with private industry 

4 and standards organizations, promote and fa5 cilitate the development of voluntary consensus 

6 standards and best practices, as needed; and 

7 (C) make publicly available such voluntary 

8 consensus standards and best practices for 

9 space situational awareness. 

10 (2) UPDATES.—The Working Group shall bien11 nially through 2028 update the voluntary consensus 

12 standards and best practices developed pursuant to 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 (3) ELEMENTS.—The voluntary consensus 

15 standards and best practices developed and updated 

16 in accordance with this subsection should include, at 

17 a minimum, the following elements: 

18 (A) Space situational awareness data inter19 operability standards and data sharing proto20 cols. 

21 (B) Criteria and methods for verification 

22 and validation of the space situational aware23 ness services and information described in sub24 section (d)(2)(B)(iii). 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (C) Content and message format for con2 junction data messages. 

3 (D) Emergency response protocols after a 

4 collision event, including communication be5 tween Federal Government agencies, space op6 erators, and other relevant entities. 

7 (E) Any other matters the Working Group 

8 determines appropriate. 

9 (j) SUNSET.—The Working Group shall terminate six 

10 months after the date of the public deployment pursuant 

11 to section 302(c)(3) of space situational awareness serv12 ices and information. 

13 TITLE IV—AGENCY ROLES AND 

14 RESPONSIBILITIES FOR IM15 PLEMENTATION OF CIVIL 

16 SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARE17 NESS TRANSITION 

18 SEC. 401. SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS SERVICES AND 

19 INFORMATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out section 302(c)(3) 

21 (relating to the deadline for deployment of space situa22 tional awareness services and information), the Working 

23 Group shall collaborate with the Secretary. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (b) DEMONSTRATION.—The space situational aware2 ness services and information referred to in subsection (a) 

3 shall— 

4 (1) follow the Interagency Transition Plan 

5 under section 302, as appropriate; 

6 (2) make publicly available and free of direct 

7 user fees space situational awareness safety services 

8 and information, including services and information 

9 needed for maintaining spaceflight safety and space 

10 sustainability; 

11 (3) include a digital space object identification 

12 and characterization system to organize known char13 acteristics concerning space objects; 

14 (4) communicate and make publicly available 

15 the voluntary consensus standards and best practices 

16 under section 302(i); 

17 (5) support openness and transparency, to the 

18 greatest extent practicable, in space situational 

19 awareness services, information, and coordination; 

20 (6) carry out testing to— 

21 (A) demonstrate the interoperability of 

22 data and observations under section 

23 302(d)(2)(B); 

24 (B) verify and validate such data and ob25 servations, as appropriate and practicable; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (C) demonstrate the issuance of— 

2 (i) conjunction data messages; and 

3 (ii) conjunction assessments; and 

4 (7) issue conjunction data messages. 

5 (c) INDEMNIFICATION.—The United States, any 

6 agency or instrumentality thereof, and any individual, 

7 firm, corporation, or other person acting for the United 

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

9 any cause of action arising from the provision or receipt 

10 of space situational-awareness data, information, or serv11 ices, whether or not provided in accordance with this sec12 tion, or any related action or omission. When data, infor13 mation, or services provided in good faith by entities other 

14 than the United States Government are acquired by the 

15 United States Government and provided by the United 

16 States Government as part of space situational awareness 

17 services or information, such entities shall be immune 

18 from suit in any court for any cause of action arising from 

19 reliance on such data, information, or services. 

20 SEC. 402. ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 

21 FOR SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS SERV22 ICES AND INFORMATION. 

23 (a) PLAN.—Not later than six months after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

25 with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator, shall 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•HR 5431 IH

1 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a plan 

2 for— 

3 (1) an organizational management structure 

4 within the Department of Commerce for managing 

5 the activities under this title; 

6 (2) transitioning to such organizational man7 agement structure the functions and responsibilities 

8 of the Working Group after the termination of such 

9 Working Group; and 

10 (3) establishing milestones and performance 

11 measures for such organizational management struc12 ture. 

13 (b) ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT.—Not later 

14 than six months after the submission of the plan described 

15 in subsection (a), the Secretary, in accordance with such 

16 proposal, shall implement the organizational management 

17 structure referred to in paragraph (1) of such subsection, 

18 and shall appoint a Director of such organizational man19 agement structure, who shall be a member of the Senior 

20 Executive Service. The Director shall establish a schedule 

21 and budgetary requirements for such organizational man22 agement structure. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•HR 5431 IH

1 TITLE V—RESEARCH AND 

2 DEVELOPMENT 

3 SEC. 501. INFORMING AND IMPROVING SPACE SITUA4 TIONAL AWARENESS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina6 tion with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

7 shall— 

8 (1) carry out United States Government civil 

9 research and development to inform and improve 

10 space situational awareness; and 

11 (2) support the transition into the civil space 

12 situational awareness capability of such research and 

13 development, as practicable. 

14 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To implement subsection 

15 (a), the Administrator, as necessary, shall carry out re16 search and development that will support, enable, and fa17 cilitate the transition under section 302. Areas of research 

18 and development may include the following: 

19 (1) Analytics. 

20 (2) Space object identification. 

21 (3) Modeling, analysis, and predictions. 

22 (4) Space environmental conditions and im23 pacts. 

24 (5) Risk assessment. 

25 (6) Post-mission disposal. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (7) Orbital debris mitigation, including research 

2 and development on active debris removal. 

3 (8) Any other areas the Administrator deter4 mines appropriate, including areas to be prioritized 

5 in accordance with the research strategy under sec6 tion 502. 

7 (c) CONSIDERATION.—The Administrator shall use 

8 competitively selected grants, contracts, and agreements, 

9 as appropriate and practicable, in addition to other com10 petitive research and development arrangements, in car11 rying out this section. 

12 SEC. 502. RESEARCH STRATEGY. 

13 (a) STRATEGY.—Not later than three months after 

14 the transmittal of the Interagency Transition Plan pursu15 ant to section 302(d), the Administrator shall enter into 

16 an arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, 

17 Engineering, and Medicine to develop a research strategy 

18 to inform and improve space situational awareness. Such 

19 strategy shall provide prioritized recommendations on re20 search and the transition of research into operations and 

21 practice, and shall include measures to monitor progress 

22 on such recommendations, as well as any other appro23 priate recommendations. 

24 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 27 months after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•HR 5431 IH

1 shall transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

2 a copy of the research strategy under subsection (a) and 

3 a plan for implementing any recommendations included in 

4 such strategy. 

5 TITLE VI—OTHER 

6 CONSIDERATIONS 

7 SEC. 601. CYBERSECURITY PLAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collaboration 

9 with the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

10 and Technology, and in consultation with the Secretary 

11 of Defense, the Administrator, and the heads of other rel12 evant Federal agencies, shall develop a cybersecurity plan 

13 for reducing cybersecurity-related threats to the Depart14 ment of Commerce’s provision of space situational aware15 ness services and information. 

16 (b) INCLUSION.—In developing the cybersecurity plan 

17 under subsection (a), the Secretary should— 

18 (1) identify cybersecurity risks to the provision 

19 of space situational awareness services and informa20 tion, and proposed actions to prevent and mitigate 

21 such risks; 

22 (2) identify supply chain risks and proposed ac23 tions to prevent and mitigate such risks; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•HR 5431 IH

1 (3) consider any other issues the Secretary de2 termines appropriate to ensure the cybersecurity of 

3 a civil space situational awareness capability; 

4 (4) seek input from stakeholders, including 

5 other relevant Federal Government agencies. private 

6 industry, academia, and other relevant entities; and 

7 (5) include a classified appendix, if necessary. 

8 (c) TRANSMITTAL AND BRIEFING.—Not later than 

9 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

10 Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate committees of 

11 Congress a copy of the cybersecurity plan under sub12 section (a) and, not later than 21 days after such trans13 mittal, provide to such committees an unclassified briefing 

14 on such plan. 

15 SEC. 602. STUDY ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN 

16 SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. 

17 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 

18 Administrator and the heads of other relevant Federal 

19 agencies, shall carry out a study on international coopera20 tion in space situational awareness. Such study shall— 

21 (1) examine the extent to which the United 

22 States is involved in and leading international co23 operation in space situational awareness; 

24 (2) consider how other countries are approach25 ing space situational awareness, including the proviVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•HR 5431 IH

1 sion of space situational awareness services and in2 formation; 

3 (3) identify the formal and informal agreements 

4 that are in place to support international coopera5 tion in space situational awareness; 

6 (4) identify how United States international re7 lations in space situational awareness can be 

8 strengthened and cooperation improved; and 

9 (5) identify the barriers, including technical and 

10 policy issues, to improving such cooperation and 

11 what steps can be taken to overcome such barriers. 

12 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

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

14 transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress a copy 

15 of the study described in subsection (a), together with a 

16 Plan for implementing any recommended actions con17 tained in such study and for coordinating with inter18 national partners and entities on standards and sharing 

19 of space situational awareness services and information, 

20 including associated data. 

21 SEC. 603. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL DATA SHARING 

22 AGREEMENTS. 

23 Not later than 270 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 

25 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•HR 5431 IH

1 status and plans for international data sharing agree2 ments relating to the transition of certain space situa3 tional services and information in accordance with this 

4 Act. 

5 SEC. 604. STUDY ON SPACE TRAFFIC COORDINATION. 

6 Not later than one year after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

8 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to 

9 the appropriate committees of Congress a study on how 

10 the United States Government can most effectively facili11 tate space traffic coordination, and any organizational or 

12 structural changes which Federal agencies would need to 

13 undertake to establish capabilities for space traffic coordi14 nation. 

15 TITLE VII—GAO REVIEW 

16 SEC. 701. GAO REVIEW. 

17 Not later than three years after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

19 States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con20 gress a review of the status, performance, and progress 

21 of activities carried out under titles III and IV. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB