H. Res. 572

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

October 5, 1998.

Resolved, That, upon the adoption of this resolution, the

House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker’s

table the bill H.R. 1702 together with the Senate amendment

thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with

an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to

be inserted by the Senate amendment, insert the following:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Commercial Space Act of 1998’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I—PROMOTION OF COMMERCIAL SPACE OPPORTUNITIES

Sec. 101. Commercialization of Space Station.

Sec. 102. Commercial space launch amendments.

Sec. 103. Launch voucher demonstration program.

Sec. 104. Promotion of United States Global Positioning System standards.

Sec. 105. Acquisition of space science data.

Sec. 106. Administration of Commercial Space Centers.

Sec. 107. Sources of Earth science data.

TITLE II—FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF SPACE TRANSPORTATION

SERVICES

Sec. 201. Requirement to procure commercial space transportation services.

Sec. 202. Acquisition of commercial space transportation services.
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Sec. 203. Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 amendments.

Sec. 204. Shuttle privatization.

Sec. 205. Use of excess intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Sec. 206. National launch capability study.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this Act—

3 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space

5 Administration;

6 (2) the term ‘‘commercial provider’’ means any

7 person providing space transportation services or

8 other space-related activities, primary control of

9 which is held by persons other than Federal, State,

10 local, and foreign governments;

11 (3) the term ‘‘payload’’ means anything that a

12 person undertakes to transport to, from, or within

13 outer space, or in suborbital trajectory, by means of

14 a space transportation vehicle, but does not include

15 the space transportation vehicle itself except for its

16 components which are specifically designed or adapt17 ed for that payload;

18 (4) the term ‘‘space-related activities’’ includes

19 research and development, manufacturing, process20 ing, service, and other associated and support activi21 ties;

22 (5) the term ‘‘space transportation services’’

23 means the preparation of a space transportation ve-
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1 hicle and its payloads for transportation to, from, or

2 within outer space, or in suborbital trajectory, and

3 the conduct of transporting a payload to, from, or

4 within outer space, or in suborbital trajectory;

5 (6) the term ‘‘space transportation vehicle’’

6 means any vehicle constructed for the purpose of op7 erating in, or transporting a payload to, from, or

8 within, outer space, or in suborbital trajectory, and

9 includes any component of such vehicle not specifi10 cally designed or adapted for a payload;

11 (7) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several

12 States of the Union, the District of Columbia, the

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,

14 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the

15 Northern Mariana Islands, and any other common16 wealth, territory, or possession of the United States;

17 and

18 (8) the term ‘‘United States commercial pro19 vider’’ means a commercial provider, organized

20 under the laws of the United States or of a State,

21 which is—

22 (A) more than 50 percent owned by United

23 States nationals; or

24 (B) a subsidiary of a foreign company and

25 the Secretary of Transportation finds that—
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1 (i) such subsidiary has in the past evi2 denced a substantial commitment to the

3 United States market through—

4 (I) investments in the United

5 States in long-term research, develop6 ment, and manufacturing (including

7 the manufacture of major components

8 and subassemblies); and

9 (II) significant contributions to

10 employment in the United States; and

11 (ii) the country or countries in which

12 such foreign company is incorporated or

13 organized, and, if appropriate, in which it

14 principally conducts its business, affords

15 reciprocal treatment to companies de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) comparable to

17 that afforded to such foreign company’s

18 subsidiary in the United States, as evi19 denced by—

20 (I) providing comparable oppor21 tunities for companies described in

22 subparagraph (A) to participate in

23 Government sponsored research and

24 development similar to that authorized

25 under this Act;
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1 (II) providing no barriers, to

2 companies described in subparagraph

3 (A) with respect to local investment

4 opportunities, that are not provided to

5 foreign companies in the United

6 States; and

7 (III) providing adequate and ef8 fective protection for the intellectual

9 property rights of companies de10 scribed in subparagraph (A).

11 TITLE I—PROMOTION OF COM12 MERCIAL SPACE OPPORTUNI13 TIES

14 SEC. 101. COMMERCIALIZATION OF SPACE STATION.

15 (a) POLICY.—The Congress declares that a priority

16 goal of constructing the International Space Station is the

17 economic development of Earth orbital space. The Con18 gress further declares that free and competitive markets

19 create the most efficient conditions for promoting eco20 nomic development, and should therefore govern the eco21 nomic development of Earth orbital space. The Congress

22 further declares that the use of free market principles in

23 operating, servicing, allocating the use of, and adding ca24 pabilities to the Space Station, and the resulting fullest

25 possible engagement of commercial providers and partici-
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1 pation of commercial users, will reduce Space Station

2 operational costs for all partners and the Federal Govern3 ment’s share of the United States burden to fund oper4 ations.

5 (b) REPORTS.—(1) The Administrator shall deliver to

6 the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives

7 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation of the Senate, within 90 days after the date of the

9 enactment of this Act, a study that identifies and exam10 ines—

11 (A) the opportunities for commercial providers

12 to play a role in International Space Station activi13 ties, including operation, use, servicing, and aug14 mentation;

15 (B) the potential cost savings to be derived

16 from commercial providers playing a role in each of

17 these activities;

18 (C) which of the opportunities described in sub19 paragraph (A) the Administrator plans to make

20 available to commercial providers in fiscal years

21 1999 and 2000;

22 (D) the specific policies and initiatives the Ad23 ministrator is advancing to encourage and facilitate

24 these commercial opportunities; and
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1 (E) the revenues and cost reimbursements to

2 the Federal Government from commercial users of

3 the Space Station.

4 (2) The Administrator shall deliver to the Committee

5 on Science of the House of Representatives and the Com6 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

7 Senate, within 180 days after the date of the enactment

8 of this Act, an independently-conducted market study that

9 examines and evaluates potential industry interest in pro10 viding commercial goods and services for the operation,

11 servicing, and augmentation of the International Space

12 Station, and in the commercial use of the International

13 Space Station. This study shall also include updates to

14 the cost savings and revenue estimates made in the study

15 described in paragraph (1) based on the external market

16 assessment.

17 (3) The Administrator shall deliver to the Congress,

18 no later than the submission of the President’s annual

19 budget request for fiscal year 2000, a report detailing how

20 many proposals (whether solicited or not) the National

21 Aeronautics and Space Administration received during

22 calendar years 1997 and 1998 regarding commercial oper23 ation, servicing, utilization, or augmentation of the Inter24 national Space Station, broken down by each of these four

25 categories, and specifying how many agreements the Na-
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1 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration has entered

2 into in response to these proposals, also broken down by

3 these four categories.

4 (4) Each of the studies and reports required by para5 graphs (1), (2), and (3) shall include consideration of the

6 potential role of State governments as brokers in promot7 ing commercial participation in the International Space

8 Station program.

9 SEC. 102. COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH AMENDMENTS.

10 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 701 of title 49, United

11 States Code, is amended—

12 (1) in the table of sections—

13 (A) by amending the item relating to sec14 tion 70104 to read as follows:

‘‘70104. Restrictions on launches, operations, and reentries.’’;

15 (B) by amending the item relating to sec16 tion 70108 to read as follows:

‘‘70108. Prohibition, suspension, and end of launches, operation of launch sites

and reentry sites, and reentries.’’;

17 (C) by amending the item relating to sec18 tion 70109 to read as follows:

‘‘70109. Preemption of scheduled launches or reentries.’’;

19 and

20 (D) by adding at the end the following new

21 items:

‘‘70120. Regulations.

‘‘70121. Report to Congress.’’.
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1 (2) in section 70101—

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘microgravity research,’’

3 after ‘‘information services,’’ in subsection

4 (a)(3);

5 (B) by inserting ‘‘, reentry,’’ after ‘‘launch6 ing’’ both places it appears in subsection (a)(4);

7 (C) by inserting ‘‘, reentry vehicles,’’ after

8 ‘‘launch vehicles’’ in subsection (a)(5);

9 (D) by inserting ‘‘and reentry services’’

10 after ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (a)(6);

11 (E) by inserting ‘‘, reentries,’’ after

12 ‘‘launches’’ both places it appears in subsection

13 (a)(7);

14 (F) by inserting ‘‘, reentry sites,’’ after

15 ‘‘launch sites’’ in subsection (a)(8);

16 (G) by inserting ‘‘and reentry services’’

17 after ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (a)(8);

18 (H) by inserting ‘‘reentry sites,’’ after

19 ‘‘launch sites,’’ in subsection (a)(9);

20 (I) by inserting ‘‘and reentry site’’ after

21 ‘‘launch site’’ in subsection (a)(9);

22 (J) by inserting ‘‘, reentry vehicles,’’ after

23 ‘‘launch vehicles’’ in subsection (b)(2);

24 (K) by striking ‘‘launch’’ in subsection

25 (b)(2)(A);
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1 (L) by inserting ‘‘and reentry’’ after ‘‘con2 duct of commercial launch’’ in subsection

3 (b)(3);

4 (M) by striking ‘‘launch’’ after ‘‘and trans5 fer commercial’’ in subsection (b)(3); and

6 (N) by inserting ‘‘and development of re7 entry sites,’’ after ‘‘launch-site support facili8 ties,’’ in subsection (b)(4);

9 (3) in section 70102—

10 (A) in paragraph (3)—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘and any payload’’ and

12 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or reentry vehicle

13 and any payload from Earth’’;

14 (ii) by striking the period at the end

15 of subparagraph (C) and inserting in lieu

16 thereof a comma; and

17 (iii) by adding after subparagraph (C)

18 the following:

19 ‘‘including activities involved in the preparation of a

20 launch vehicle or payload for launch, when those ac21 tivities take place at a launch site in the United

22 States.’’;

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry vehicle’’ after

24 ‘‘means of a launch vehicle’’ in paragraph (8);
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1 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (10),

2 (11), and (12) as paragraphs (14), (15), and

3 (16), respectively;

4 (D) by inserting after paragraph (9) the

5 following new paragraphs:

6 ‘‘(10) ‘reenter’ and ‘reentry’ mean to return or

7 attempt to return, purposefully, a reentry vehicle

8 and its payload, if any, from Earth orbit or from

9 outer space to Earth.

10 ‘‘(11) ‘reentry services’ means—

11 ‘‘(A) activities involved in the preparation

12 of a reentry vehicle and its payload, if any, for

13 reentry; and

14 ‘‘(B) the conduct of a reentry.

15 ‘‘(12) ‘reentry site’ means the location on Earth

16 to which a reentry vehicle is intended to return (as

17 defined in a license the Secretary issues or transfers

18 under this chapter).

19 ‘‘(13) ‘reentry vehicle’ means a vehicle designed

20 to return from Earth orbit or outer space to Earth,

21 or a reusable launch vehicle designed to return from

22 Earth orbit or outer space to Earth, substantially in23 tact.’’; and

24 (E) by inserting ‘‘or reentry services’’ after

25 ‘‘launch services’’ each place it appears in para-
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1 graph (15), as so redesignated by subparagraph

2 (C) of this paragraph;

3 (4) in section 70103(b)—

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘AND REENTRIES’’ after

5 ‘‘LAUNCHES’’ in the subsection heading;

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘and reentries’’ after

7 ‘‘commercial space launches’’ in paragraph (1);

8 and

9 (C) by inserting ‘‘and reentry’’ after

10 ‘‘space launch’’ in paragraph (2);

11 (5) in section 70104—

12 (A) by amending the section designation

13 and heading to read as follows:

14 ‘‘§ 70104. Restrictions on launches, operations, and

15 reentries’’;

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry site, or to re17 enter a reentry vehicle,’’ after ‘‘operate a

18 launch site’’ each place it appears in subsection

19 (a);

20 (C) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after ‘‘launch

21 or operation’’ in subsection (a)(3) and (4);

22 (D) in subsection (b)—

23 (i) by striking ‘‘launch license’’ and

24 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘license’’;
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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or reenter’’ after

2 ‘‘may launch’’; and

3 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or reentering’’ after

4 ‘‘related to launching’’; and

5 (E) in subsection (c)—

6 (i) by amending the subsection head7 ing to read as follows: ‘‘PREVENTING

8 LAUNCHES AND REENTRIES.—’’;

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

10 ‘‘prevent the launch’’; and

11 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

12 ‘‘decides the launch’’;

13 (6) in section 70105—

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘A person

15 may apply’’ in subsection (a);

16 (B) by striking ‘‘receiving an application’’

17 both places it appears in subsection (a) and in18 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘accepting an application

19 in accordance with criteria established pursuant

20 to subsection (b)(2)(D)’’;

21 (C) by adding at the end of subsection (a)

22 the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall transmit to

23 the Committee on Science of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce,

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a
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1 written notice not later than 30 days after any

2 occurrence when a license is not issued within

3 the deadline established by this subsection.

4 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary

5 may establish procedures for safety approvals of launch

6 vehicles, reentry vehicles, safety systems, processes, serv7 ices, or personnel that may be used in conducting licensed

8 commercial space launch or reentry activities.’’;

9 (D) by inserting ‘‘or a reentry site, or the

10 reentry of a reentry vehicle,’’ after ‘‘operation

11 of a launch site’’ in subsection (b)(1);

12 (E) by striking ‘‘or operation’’ and insert13 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘, operation, or reentry’’ in

14 subsection (b)(2)(A);

15 (F) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub16 section (b)(2)(B);

17 (G) by striking the period at the end of

18 subsection (b)(2)(C) and inserting in lieu there19 of ‘‘; and’’;

20 (H) by adding at the end of subsection

21 (b)(2) the following new subparagraph:

22 ‘‘(D) regulations establishing criteria for ac23 cepting or rejecting an application for a license

24 under this chapter within 60 days after receipt of

25 such application.’’; and
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1 (I) by inserting ‘‘, including the require2 ment to obtain a license,’’ after ‘‘waive a re3 quirement’’ in subsection (b)(3);

4 (7) in section 70106(a)—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘or reentry site’’ after

6 ‘‘observer at a launch site’’;

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry vehicle’’ after

8 ‘‘assemble a launch vehicle’’; and

9 (C) by inserting ‘‘or reentry vehicle’’ after

10 ‘‘with a launch vehicle’’;

11 (8) in section 70108—

12 (A) by amending the section designation

13 and heading to read as follows:

14 ‘‘§ 70108. Prohibition, suspension, and end of

15 launches, operation of launch sites and

16 reentry sites, and reentries’’;

17 and

18 (B) in subsection (a)—

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘or reentry site, or re20 entry of a reentry vehicle,’’ after ‘‘oper21 ation of a launch site’’; and

22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

23 ‘‘launch or operation’’;

24 (9) in section 70109—
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1 (A) by amending the section designation

2 and heading to read as follows:

3 ‘‘§ 70109. Preemption of scheduled launches or reen4 tries’’;

5 (B) in subsection (a)—

6 (i) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

7 ‘‘ensure that a launch’’;

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, reentry site,’’ after

9 ‘‘United States Government launch site’’;

10 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or reentry date

11 commitment’’ after ‘‘launch date commit12 ment’’;

13 (iv) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

14 ‘‘obtained for a launch’’;

15 (v) by inserting ‘‘, reentry site,’’ after

16 ‘‘access to a launch site’’;

17 (vi) by inserting ‘‘, or services related

18 to a reentry,’’ after ‘‘amount for launch

19 services’’; and

20 (vii) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

21 ‘‘the scheduled launch’’; and

22 (C) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or re23 entry’’ after ‘‘prompt launching’’;

24 (10) in section 70110—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after ‘‘pre2 vent the launch’’ in subsection (a)(2); and

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry site, or re4 entry of a reentry vehicle,’’ after ‘‘operation of

5 a launch site’’ in subsection (a)(3)(B);

6 (11) in section 70111—

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after

8 ‘‘launch’’ in subsection (a)(1)(A);

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘and reentry services’’

10 after ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (a)(1)(B);

11 (C) by inserting ‘‘or reentry services’’ after

12 ‘‘or launch services’’ in subsection (a)(2);

13 (D) by striking ‘‘source.’’ in subsection

14 (a)(2) and inserting ‘‘source, whether such

15 source is located on or off a Federal range.’’;

16 (E) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after ‘‘com17 mercial launch’’ both places it appears in sub18 section (b)(1);

19 (F) by inserting ‘‘or reentry services’’ after

20 ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (b)(2)(C);

21 (G) by inserting after subsection (b)(2) the

22 following new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure the establishment of

24 uniform guidelines for, and consistent implementation of,

25 this section by all Federal agencies.’’;
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1 (H) by striking ‘‘or its payload for launch’’

2 in subsection (d) and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘or reentry vehicle, or the payload of either, for

4 launch or reentry’’; and

5 (I) by inserting ‘‘, reentry vehicle,’’ after

6 ‘‘manufacturer of the launch vehicle’’ in sub7 section (d);

8 (12) in section 70112—

9 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting

10 ‘‘launch or reentry’’ after ‘‘(1) When a’’;

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after ‘‘one

12 launch’’ in subsection (a)(3);

13 (C) by inserting ‘‘or reentry services’’ after

14 ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (a)(4);

15 (D) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting

16 ‘‘launch or reentry’’ after ‘‘(1) A’’;

17 (E) by inserting ‘‘or reentry services’’ after

18 ‘‘launch services’’ each place it appears in sub19 section (b);

20 (F) by inserting ‘‘applicable’’ after ‘‘car21 ried out under the’’ in paragraphs (1) and (2)

22 of subsection (b);

23 (G) by inserting ‘‘OR REENTRIES’’ after

24 ‘‘LAUNCHES’’ in the heading for subsection (e);
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1 (H) by inserting ‘‘or reentry site or a re2 entry’’ after ‘‘launch site’’ in subsection (e);

3 and

4 (I) in subsection (f), by inserting ‘‘launch

5 or reentry’’ after ‘‘carried out under a’’;

6 (13) in section 70113(a)(1) and (d)(1) and (2),

7 by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after ‘‘one launch’’ each

8 place it appears;

9 (14) in section 70115(b)(1)(D)(i)—

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘reentry site,’’ after

11 ‘‘launch site,’’; and

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry vehicle’’ after

13 ‘‘launch vehicle’’ both places it appears;

14 (15) in section 70117—

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘or reentry site, or to re16 enter a reentry vehicle’’ after ‘‘operate a launch

17 site’’ in subsection (a);

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry’’ after ‘‘ap19 proval of a space launch’’ in subsection (d);

20 (C) by amending subsection (f) to read as

21 follows:

22 ‘‘(f) LAUNCH NOT AN EXPORT; REENTRY NOT AN

23 IMPORT.—A launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, or payload

24 that is launched or reentered is not, because of the launch

25 or reentry, an export or import, respectively, for purposes
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1 of a law controlling exports or imports, except that pay2 loads launched pursuant to foreign trade zone procedures

3 as provided for under the Foreign Trade Zones Act (19

4 U.S.C. 81a–81u) shall be considered exports with regard

5 to customs entry.’’; and

6 (D) in subsection (g)—

7 (i) by striking ‘‘operation of a launch

8 vehicle or launch site,’’ in paragraph (1)

9 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘reentry, op10 eration of a launch vehicle or reentry vehi11 cle, operation of a launch site or reentry

12 site,’’; and

13 (ii) by inserting ‘‘reentry,’’ after

14 ‘‘launch,’’ in paragraph (2); and

15 (16) by adding at the end the following new

16 sections:

17 ‘‘§ 70120. Regulations

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor19 tation, within 9 months after the date of the enactment

20 of this section, shall issue regulations to carry out this

21 chapter that include—

22 ‘‘(1) guidelines for industry and State govern23 ments to obtain sufficient insurance coverage for po24 tential damages to third parties;
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1 ‘‘(2) procedures for requesting and obtaining li2 censes to launch a commercial launch vehicle;

3 ‘‘(3) procedures for requesting and obtaining

4 operator licenses for launch;

5 ‘‘(4) procedures for requesting and obtaining

6 launch site operator licenses; and

7 ‘‘(5) procedures for the application of govern8 ment indemnification.

9 ‘‘(b) REENTRY.—The Secretary of Transportation,

10 within 6 months after the date of the enactment of this

11 section, shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to

12 carry out this chapter that includes—

13 ‘‘(1) procedures for requesting and obtaining li14 censes to reenter a reentry vehicle;

15 ‘‘(2) procedures for requesting and obtaining

16 operator licenses for reentry; and

17 ‘‘(3) procedures for requesting and obtaining

18 reentry site operator licenses.

19 ‘‘§ 70121. Report to Congress

20 ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to

21 Congress an annual report to accompany the President’s

22 budget request that—

23 ‘‘(1) describes all activities undertaken under

24 this chapter, including a description of the process

25 for the application for and approval of licenses under
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1 this chapter and recommendations for legislation

2 that may further commercial launches and reentries;

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) reviews the performance of the regulatory

5 activities and the effectiveness of the Office of Com6 mercial Space Transportation.’’.

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

8 70119 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read

9 as follows:

10 ‘‘§ 70119. Authorization of appropriations

11 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary of Transportation for the activities of the Office

13 of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space

14 Transportation—

15 ‘‘(1) $6,275,000 for the fiscal year ending Sep16 tember 30, 1999; and

17 ‘‘(2) $6,600,000 for the fiscal year ending Sep18 tember 30, 2000.’’.

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

20 subsection (a)(6)(B) shall take effect upon the effective

21 date of final regulations issued pursuant to section

22 70105(b)(2)(D) of title 49, United States Code, as added

23 by subsection (a)(6)(H).
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1 SEC. 103. LAUNCH VOUCHER DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

2 Section 504 of the National Aeronautics and Space

3 Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993 (15

4 U.S.C. 5803) is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘the Office of Commercial

7 Programs within’’; and

8 (B) by striking ‘‘Such program shall not

9 be effective after September 30, 1995.’’;

10 (2) by striking subsection (c); and

11 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

12 subsections (c) and (d), respectively.

13 SEC. 104. PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES GLOBAL POSI14 TIONING SYSTEM STANDARDS.

15 (a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that the Global

16 Positioning System, including satellites, signal equipment,

17 ground stations, data links, and associated command and

18 control facilities, has become an essential element in civil,

19 scientific, and military space development because of the

20 emergence of a United States commercial industry which

21 provides Global Positioning System equipment and related

22 services.

23 (b) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—In order to

24 support and sustain the Global Positioning System in a

25 manner that will most effectively contribute to the na26 tional security, public safety, scientific, and economic in-
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1 terests of the United States, the Congress encourages the

2 President to—

3 (1) ensure the operation of the Global Position4 ing System on a continuous worldwide basis free of

5 direct user fees;

6 (2) enter into international agreements that

7 promote cooperation with foreign governments and

8 international organizations to—

9 (A) establish the Global Positioning Sys10 tem and its augmentations as an acceptable

11 international standard; and

12 (B) eliminate any foreign barriers to appli13 cations of the Global Positioning System world14 wide; and

15 (3) provide clear direction and adequate re16 sources to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for

17 Communications and Information so that on an

18 international basis the Assistant Secretary can—

19 (A) achieve and sustain efficient manage20 ment of the electromagnetic spectrum used by

21 the Global Positioning System; and

22 (B) protect that spectrum from disruption

23 and interference.
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1 SEC. 105. ACQUISITION OF SPACE SCIENCE DATA.

2 (a) ACQUISITION FROM COMMERCIAL PROVIDERS.—

3 The Administrator shall, to the extent possible and while

4 satisfying the scientific or educational requirements of the

5 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and

6 where appropriate, of other Federal agencies and scientific

7 researchers, acquire, where cost effective, space science

8 data from a commercial provider.

9 (b) TREATMENT OF SPACE SCIENCE DATA AS COM10 MERCIAL ITEM UNDER ACQUISITION LAWS.—Acquisitions

11 of space science data by the Administrator shall be carried

12 out in accordance with applicable acquisition laws and reg13 ulations (including chapters 137 and 140 of title 10,

14 United States Code). For purposes of such law and regula15 tions, space science data shall be considered to be a com16 mercial item. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed

17 to preclude the United States from acquiring, through

18 contracts with commercial providers, sufficient rights in

19 data to meet the needs of the scientific and educational

20 community or the needs of other government activities.

21 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

22 term ‘‘space science data’’ includes scientific data concern23 ing—

24 (1) the elemental and mineralogical resources of

25 the moon, asteroids, planets and their moons, and

26 comets;
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1 (2) microgravity acceleration; and

2 (3) solar storm monitoring.

3 (d) SAFETY STANDARDS.—Nothing in this section

4 shall be construed to prohibit the Federal Government

5 from requiring compliance with applicable safety stand6 ards.

7 (e) LIMITATION.—This section does not authorize the

8 National Aeronautics and Space Administration to provide

9 financial assistance for the development of commercial

10 systems for the collection of space science data.

11 SEC. 106. ADMINISTRATION OF COMMERCIAL SPACE CEN12 TERS.

13 The Administrator shall administer the Commercial

14 Space Center program in a coordinated manner from Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration head16 quarters in Washington, D.C.

17 SEC. 107. SOURCES OF EARTH SCIENCE DATA.

18 (a) ACQUISITION.—The Administrator shall, to the

19 extent possible and while satisfying the scientific or edu20 cational requirements of the National Aeronautics and

21 Space Administration, and where appropriate, of other

22 Federal agencies and scientific researchers, acquire, where

23 cost-effective, space-based and airborne Earth remote

24 sensing data, services, distribution, and applications from

25 a commercial provider.
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1 (b) TREATMENT AS COMMERCIAL ITEM UNDER AC2 QUISITION LAWS.—Acquisitions by the Administrator of

3 the data, services, distribution, and applications referred

4 to in subsection (a) shall be carried out in accordance with

5 applicable acquisition laws and regulations (including

6 chapters 137 and 140 of title 10, United States Code).

7 For purposes of such law and regulations, such data, serv8 ices, distribution, and applications shall be considered to

9 be a commercial item. Nothing in this subsection shall be

10 construed to preclude the United States from acquiring,

11 through contracts with commercial providers, sufficient

12 rights in data to meet the needs of the scientific and edu13 cational community or the needs of other government ac14 tivities.

15 (c) STUDY.—(1) The Administrator shall conduct a

16 study to determine the extent to which the baseline sci17 entific requirements of Earth Science can be met by com18 mercial providers, and how the National Aeronautics and

19 Space Administration will meet such requirements which

20 cannot be met by commercial providers.

21 (2) The study conducted under this subsection

22 shall—

23 (A) make recommendations to promote the

24 availability of information from the National Aero25 nautics and Space Administration to commercial
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1 providers to enable commercial providers to better

2 meet the baseline scientific requirements of Earth

3 Science;

4 (B) make recommendations to promote the dis5 semination to commercial providers of information

6 on advanced technology research and development

7 performed by or for the National Aeronautics and

8 Space Administration; and

9 (C) identify policy, regulatory, and legislative

10 barriers to the implementation of the recommenda11 tions made under this subsection.

12 (3) The results of the study conducted under this

13 subsection shall be transmitted to the Congress within 6

14 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 (d) SAFETY STANDARDS.—Nothing in this section

16 shall be construed to prohibit the Federal Government

17 from requiring compliance with applicable safety stand18 ards.

19 (e) ADMINISTRATION AND EXECUTION.—This section

20 shall be carried out as part of the Commercial Remote

21 Sensing Program at the Stennis Space Center.

22 (f) REMOTE SENSING.—

23 (1) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Section 201(b)

24 of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15

25 U.S.C. 5621(b)) is amended—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘NATIONAL

2 SECURITY.—’’; and

3 (B) by adding at the end the following new

4 paragraph:

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, within 6 months after the date

6 of the enactment of the Commercial Space Act of 1998,

7 shall publish in the Federal Register a complete and spe8 cific list of all information required to comprise a complete

9 application for a license under this title. An application

10 shall be considered complete when the applicant has pro11 vided all information required by the list most recently

12 published in the Federal Register before the date the ap13 plication was first submitted. Unless the Secretary has,

14 within 30 days after receipt of an application, notified the

15 applicant of information necessary to complete an applica16 tion, the Secretary may not deny the application on the

17 basis of the absence of any such information.’’.

18 (2) NOTIFICATION OF AGREEMENTS.—Section

19 202(b)(6) of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of

20 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5622(b)(6)) is amended by insert21 ing ‘‘significant or substantial’’ after ‘‘Secretary of

22 any’’.
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1 TITLE II—FEDERAL ACQUISI2 TION OF SPACE TRANSPOR3 TATION SERVICES

4 SEC. 201. REQUIREMENT TO PROCURE COMMERCIAL

5 SPACE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

7 this section, the Federal Government shall acquire space

8 transportation services from United States commercial

9 providers whenever such services are required in the

10 course of its activities. To the maximum extent prac11 ticable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to ac12 commodate the space transportation services capabilities

13 of United States commercial providers.

14 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The Federal Government shall

15 not be required to acquire space transportation services

16 under subsection (a) if, on a case-by-case basis, the Ad17 ministrator or, in the case of a national security issue,

18 the Secretary of the Air Force, determines that—

19 (1) a payload requires the unique capabilities of

20 the Space Shuttle;

21 (2) cost effective space transportation services

22 that meet specific mission requirements would not be

23 reasonably available from United States commercial

24 providers when required;
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1 (3) the use of space transportation services

2 from United States commercial providers poses an

3 unacceptable risk of loss of a unique scientific oppor4 tunity;

5 (4) the use of space transportation services

6 from United States commercial providers is incon7 sistent with national security objectives;

8 (5) the use of space transportation services

9 from United States commercial providers is incon10 sistent with international agreements for inter11 national collaborative efforts relating to science and

12 technology;

13 (6) it is more cost effective to transport a pay14 load in conjunction with a test or demonstration of

15 a space transportation vehicle owned by the Federal

16 Government; or

17 (7) a payload can make use of the available

18 cargo space on a Space Shuttle mission as a second19 ary payload, and such payload is consistent with the

20 requirements of research, development, demonstra21 tion, scientific, commercial, and educational pro22 grams authorized by the Administrator.

23 Nothing in this section shall prevent the Administrator

24 from planning or negotiating agreements with foreign en25 tities for the launch of Federal Government payloads for
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1 international collaborative efforts relating to science and

2 technology.

3 (c) DELAYED EFFECT.—Subsection (a) shall not

4 apply to space transportation services and space transpor5 tation vehicles acquired or owned by the Federal Govern6 ment before the date of the enactment of this Act, or with

7 respect to which a contract for such acquisition or owner8 ship has been entered into before such date.

9 (d) HISTORICAL PURPOSES.—This section shall not

10 be construed to prohibit the Federal Government from ac11 quiring, owning, or maintaining space transportation vehi12 cles solely for historical display purposes.

13 SEC. 202. ACQUISITION OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANS14 PORTATION SERVICES.

15 (a) TREATMENT OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPOR16 TATION SERVICES AS COMMERCIAL ITEM UNDER ACQUI17 SITION LAWS.—Acquisitions of space transportation serv18 ices by the Federal Government shall be carried out in

19 accordance with applicable acquisition laws and regula20 tions (including chapters 137 and 140 of title 10, United

21 States Code). For purposes of such law and regulations,

22 space transportation services shall be considered to be a

23 commercial item.

24 (b) SAFETY STANDARDS.—Nothing in this section

25 shall be construed to prohibit the Federal Government
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1 from requiring compliance with applicable safety stand2 ards.

3 SEC. 203. LAUNCH SERVICES PURCHASE ACT OF 1990

4 AMENDMENTS.

5 The Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 (42

6 U.S.C. 2465b et seq.) is amended—

7 (1) by striking section 202;

8 (2) in section 203—

9 (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2);

10 and

11 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and

12 (4) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;

13 (3) by striking sections 204 and 205; and

14 (4) in section 206—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) COMMERCIAL PAY16 LOADS ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE.—’’; and

17 (B) by striking subsection (b).

18 SEC. 204. SHUTTLE PRIVATIZATION.

19 (a) POLICY AND PREPARATION.—The Administrator

20 shall prepare for an orderly transition from the Federal

21 operation, or Federal management of contracted oper22 ation, of space transportation systems to the Federal pur23 chase of commercial space transportation services for all

24 nonemergency space transportation requirements for

25 transportation to and from Earth orbit, including human,
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1 cargo, and mixed payloads. In those preparations, the Ad2 ministrator shall take into account the need for short-term

3 economies, as well as the goal of restoring the National

4 Aeronautics and Space Administration’s research focus

5 and its mandate to promote the fullest possible commercial

6 use of space. As part of those preparations, the Adminis7 trator shall plan for the potential privatization of the

8 Space Shuttle program. Such plan shall keep safety and

9 cost effectiveness as high priorities. Nothing in this section

10 shall prohibit the National Aeronautics and Space Admin11 istration from studying, designing, developing, or funding

12 upgrades or modifications essential to the safe and eco13 nomical operation of the Space Shuttle fleet.

14 (b) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Administrator shall

15 conduct a study of the feasibility of implementing the rec16 ommendation of the Independent Shuttle Management Re17 view Team that the National Aeronautics and Space Ad18 ministration transition toward the privatization of the

19 Space Shuttle. The study shall identify, discuss, and,

20 where possible, present options for resolving, the major

21 policy and legal issues that must be addressed before the

22 Space Shuttle is privatized, including—

23 (1) whether the Federal Government or the

24 Space Shuttle contractor should own the Space

25 Shuttle orbiters and ground facilities;
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1 (2) whether the Federal Government should in2 demnify the contractor for any third party liability

3 arising from Space Shuttle operations, and, if so,

4 under what terms and conditions;

5 (3) whether payloads other than National Aero6 nautics and Space Administration payloads should

7 be allowed to be launched on the Space Shuttle, how

8 missions will be prioritized, and who will decide

9 which mission flies and when;

10 (4) whether commercial payloads should be al11 lowed to be launched on the Space Shuttle and

12 whether any classes of payloads should be made in13 eligible for launch consideration;

14 (5) whether National Aeronautics and Space

15 Administration and other Federal Government pay16 loads should have priority over non-Federal payloads

17 in the Space Shuttle launch assignments, and what

18 policies should be developed to prioritize among pay19 loads generally;

20 (6) whether the public interest requires that

21 certain Space Shuttle functions continue to be per22 formed by the Federal Government; and

23 (7) how much cost savings, if any, will be gen24 erated by privatization of the Space Shuttle.
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1 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 60 days after

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the National Aero3 nautics and Space Administration shall complete the study

4 required under subsection (b) and shall submit a report

5 on the study to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

6 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

7 Science of the House of Representatives.

8 SEC. 205. USE OF EXCESS INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC

9 MISSILES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Government shall

11 not—

12 (1) convert any missile described in subsection

13 (c) to a space transportation vehicle configuration;

14 or

15 (2) transfer ownership of any such missile to

16 another person, except as provided in subsection (b).

17 (b) AUTHORIZED FEDERAL USES.—(1) A missile de18 scribed in subsection (c) may be converted for use as a

19 space transportation vehicle by the Federal Government

20 if, except as provided in paragraph (2) and at least 30

21 days before such conversion, the agency seeking to use the

22 missile as a space transportation vehicle transmits to the

23 Committee on National Security and the Committee on

24 Science of the House of Representatives, and to the Com25 mittee on Armed Services and the Committee on Com-
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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, a cer2 tification that the use of such missile—

3 (A) would result in cost savings to the Federal

4 Government when compared to the cost of acquiring

5 space transportation services from United States

6 commercial providers;

7 (B) meets all mission requirements of the agen8 cy, including performance, schedule, and risk re9 quirements;

10 (C) is consistent with international obligations

11 of the United States; and

12 (D) is approved by the Secretary of Defense or

13 his designee.

14 (2) The requirement under paragraph (1) that the

15 certification described in that paragraph must be trans16 mitted at least 30 days before conversion of the missile

17 shall not apply if the Secretary of Defense determines that

18 compliance with that requirement would be inconsistent

19 with meeting immediate national security requirements.

20 (c) MISSILES REFERRED TO.— The missiles referred

21 to in this section are missiles owned by the United States

22 that—

23 (1) were formerly used by the Department of

24 Defense for national defense purposes as interconti25 nental ballistic missiles; and
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1 (2) have been declared excess to United States

2 national defense needs and are in compliance with

3 international obligations of the United States.

4 SEC. 206. NATIONAL LAUNCH CAPABILITY STUDY.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that a robust satellite

6 and launch industry in the United States serves the inter7 est of the United States by—

8 (1) contributing to the economy of the United

9 States;

10 (2) strengthening employment, technological,

11 and scientific interests of the United States; and

12 (3) serving the foreign policy and national secu13 rity interests of the United States.

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

15 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

16 the Secretary of Defense.

17 (2) TOTAL POTENTIAL NATIONAL MISSION

18 MODEL.—The term ‘‘total potential national mission

19 model’’ means a model that—

20 (A) is determined by the Secretary, in con21 sultation with the Administrator, to assess the

22 total potential space missions to be conducted

23 in the United States during a specified period

24 of time; and
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1 (B) includes all launches in the United

2 States (including launches conducted on or off

3 a Federal range).

4 (c) REPORT.—

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

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary shall, in consultation with the Administrator

8 and appropriate representatives of the satellite and

9 launch industry and the governments of States and

10 political subdivisions thereof—

11 (A) prepare a report that meets the re12 quirements of this subsection; and

13 (B) submit that report to the Committee

14 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

15 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the

16 House of Representatives.

17 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORT.—The report

18 prepared under this subsection shall—

19 (A) identify the total potential national

20 mission model for the period beginning on the

21 date of the report and ending on December 31,

22 2007;

23 (B) identify the resources that are nec24 essary or available to carry out the total poten-
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1 tial national mission model described in sub2 paragraph (A), including—

3 (i) launch property and services of the

4 Department of Defense, the National Aero5 nautics and Space Administration, and

6 non-Federal facilities; and

7 (ii) the ability to support commercial

8 launch-on-demand on short notification,

9 taking into account Federal requirements,

10 at launch sites or test ranges in the United

11 States;

12 (C) identify each deficiency in the re13 sources referred to in subparagraph (B); and

14 (D) with respect to the deficiencies identi15 fied under subparagraph (C), include estimates

16 of the level of funding necessary to address

17 those deficiencies for the period described in

18 subparagraph (A).

19 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the reports

20 under subsection (c), the Secretary, after consultation

21 with the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of

22 Commerce, and representatives from interested private

23 sector entities, States, and local governments, shall—

24 (1) identify opportunities for investment by

25 non-Federal entities (including States and political
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1 subdivisions thereof and private sector entities) to

2 assist the Federal Government in providing launch

3 capabilities for the commercial space industry in the

4 United States;

5 (2) identify one or more methods by which, if

6 sufficient resources referred to in subsection

7 (c)(2)(D) are not available to the Department of De8 fense and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad9 ministration, the control of the launch property and

10 launch services of the Department of Defense and

11 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

12 may be transferred from the Department of Defense

13 and the National Aeronautics and Space Administra14 tion to—

15 (A) one or more other Federal agencies;

16 (B) one or more States (or subdivisions

17 thereof);

18 (C) one or more private sector entities; or

19 (D) any combination of the entities de20 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C); and

21 (3) identify the technical, structural, and legal

22 impediments associated with making launch sites or
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1 test ranges in the United States viable and competi2 tive.

Attest:

Clerk.