II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3068 

To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Human 

Space Flight Activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2010 

Mr. KYL (for Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Human Space Flight 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Human Space Flight Capability Assurance and Enhance6 ment Act of 2010’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 


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Sec. 3. Statement of human space flight policy. 

Sec. 4. Space Shuttle operations. 

Sec. 5. International Space Station operations. 

Sec. 6. International Space Station utilization. 

Sec. 7. Transportation systems development. 

Sec. 8. Definitions. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 10. Application with other laws. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States Human Space Flight 

4 program has, since the first Mercury flight on May 

5 5, 1961, has been a source of pride and inspiration 

6 for the Nation. 

7 (2) The extraordinary challenges of achieving 

8 access to space both motivated and accelerated the 

9 development of technologies and industrial capabili10 ties that have had widespread applications which 

11 have contributed to the technological excellence of 

12 the United States. 

13 (3) It is essential to the economic well-being of 

14 the Nation that the aerospace industrial capacity, 

15 highly skilled workforce, and embedded expertise re16 main engaged in demanding, challenging, and excit17 ing efforts that ensure United States leadership in 

18 space exploration and related activities. 

19 (4) The completion of the International Space 

20 Station, the ability to sustain a crew of at least 6 

21 members, and the ability to conduct unique microVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:25 Mar 04, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3068.IS S3068

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1 gravity research that can only be accomplished in 

2 the space environment, provides an opportunity for 

3 scientific and technological advancement that must 

4 be immediately and fully exploited. 

5 (5) The designation of the U.S. Segment of the 

6 International Space Station as a National Labora7 tory, as provided in section 507 of the National Aer8 onautics and Space Administration Authorization 

9 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16767) and as further pro10 vided in subtitle A of title VI of the National Aero11 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

12 of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17751 through 17753), provides 

13 an opportunity for multiple United States govern14 ment agencies, University-based researchers, com15 mercial research organizations, and others to utilize 

16 the unique environment of microgravity for funda17 mental scientific research and potential commercial 

18 developments. 

19 (6) In order to assure the full and complete uti20 lization of the International Space Station, including 

21 the ability to sustain the systems and physical infra22 structure of the vehicle, effective and timely trans23 portation systems are required, which must be able 

24 to deliver the full range of logistics, support, and 


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1 maintenance items which may be necessary through 

2 the year 2020. 

3 (7) For some potential replacement elements 

4 necessary for Space Station sustainability, the Space 

5 Shuttle represents the only vehicle, existing or 

6 planned, capable of carrying those elements to the 

7 International Space Station in the near term. 

8 (8) In order to ensure effective utilization of 

9 Space Station research facilities, the capability for 

10 returning processed experiment samples and re11 search-related equipment to Earth is essential. 

12 (9) The maintenance of human exploration 

13 goals, such as a return to the Moon, a voyage to 

14 Mars, or other celestial bodies or locations is essen15 tial for providing the necessary long-term focus and 

16 programmatic robustness of the United States civil17 ian space program. 

18 (10) The United States must develop, as rap19 idly as possible, replacement vehicles capable of pro20 viding both human and cargo launch capability to 

21 low-Earth orbit and, by expansion or modification of 

22 core design features, capable of delivering large pay23 loads into low-earth orbit or to destinations beyond 

24 low-Earth orbit. 


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1 (11) While commercial transportation systems 

2 may contribute valuable services, it is in the United 

3 States national interest to maintain a government4 operated space transportation system for crew and 

5 cargo delivery to low-Earth orbit and beyond. 

6 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT POLICY. 

7 (a) USE OF NON-U.S. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT

8 TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY.—It is the policy of the 

9 United States that reliance upon and use of non-United 

10 States human space flight capability shall only be under11 taken as a temporary contingency in circumstances where 

12 no United States-owned and operated human space flight 

13 capability is available, operational, and certified for flight 

14 by appropriate Federal agencies. 

15 (b) U.S. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT CAPACITY.—The 

16 Congress reaffirms the policy stated in section 501(a) of 

17 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au18 thorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16761(a)), that the 

19 United States shall maintain an uninterrupted capability 

20 for human space flight and operations in low-earth orbit, 

21 and beyond, as an essential instrument of national secu22 rity and the ability to ensure continued United States par23 ticipation and leadership in the exploration and utilization 

24 of space. 


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1 SEC. 4. SPACE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS. 

2 (a) RETENTION OF SPACE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS

3 CAPABILITY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

5 take all necessary steps to ensure that all Space 

6 Shuttle Program activities and operations are able 

7 to continue, or to be resumed, including flight oper8 ations and support, pending the completion of the 

9 reviews, requirements, and reports of this section. 

10 (2) CURRENT SHUTLE MANIFEST FLIGHT AS11 SURANCE.—The Administrator shall take all steps 

12 necessary to ensure shuttle launch capability 

13 through fiscal year 2011 to enable launch, at a min14 imum, of all payloads manifested as of February 28, 

15 2010. In fulfillment of this requirement, the Admin16 istrator is prohibited from terminating any con17 tractor support which will endanger or inhibit the 

18 launching of shuttle payloads manifested as of Feb19 ruary 28, 2010, should launches be required after 

20 the first quarter of fiscal year 2011. 

21 (b) CERTIFICATION OF SPACE SHUTTLE SYSTEMS; 

22 VALIDATION OF FLIGHT READINESS DETERMINATION

23 PROCEDURES.—No later than 30 days after the date of 

24 enactment of this Act the Administrator shall ask the Na25 tional Academies of Science to appoint a Flight Certifi26 cation Review Committee, consisting of 5 individuals with 


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1 appropriate engineering expertise and experience in certifi2 cation of space flight vehicle hardware, systems, and 

3 equipment testing and validation procedures, to review 

4 space shuttle certification activities undertaken or initi5 ated after February 2003. The Committee shall provide 

6 an assessment regarding the adequacy of those validation 

7 procedures in assuring vehicle durability, flight-worthi8 ness, and sustainability for continued operations through 

9 a period of up to 5 years beyond the space shuttle flight 

10 manifest planned as of February 2010. The Committee 

11 shall take into account current and historical trends in 

12 anomaly detection and resolution within major compo13 nents of the space shuttle systems. 

14 (c) COMPLETION OF CERTIFICATION REVIEW AND

15 REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Committee appointed 

16 under subsection (b) shall complete its task within 90 days 

17 of its appointment and shall provide its findings and deter18 minations concurrently to the Administrator and to the 

19 committees of jurisdiction no later than 120 days after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (d) SPACE SHUTTLE CAPABILITY RETENTION.—Not22 withstanding any other provision of law, to the extent 

23 practicable NASA shall operate the Space Shuttle pro24 gram at a flight rate of no more than 2 missions in any 

25 consecutive 12-month period beginning during the fiscal 


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1 years for which appropriations are authorized under sec2 tion 9 of this Act. 

3 (e) EXISTING HARDWARE COMPONENTS.—The Ad4 ministrator shall ensure that hardware components in ex5 istence as of March, 2010, remain available for use in con6 nection with any additional flights required under sub7 section (g)(2) beyond those on the current flight manifest 

8 schedule. 

9 (f) PROHIBITION OF SCHEDULED TERMINATION.— 

10 The Administrator may not terminate the Space Shuttle 

11 Program as of a scheduled date certain. 

12 (g) TERMINATION CONDITIONS.—Termination of 

13 space shuttle missions operations shall be contingent 

14 upon— 

15 (1) completion of the space shuttle flights 

16 planned as of February 28, 2010; 

17 (2) delivery of remaining manufactured orbital 

18 replacement units, research instrumentation, and 

19 other maintenance materials and equipment origi20 nally scheduled for delivery to the International 

21 Space Station in the flight manifest schedule pre22 pared no later than November, 2005, and which are 

23 identified in the review required by section 5(b)(2) 

24 and deemed essential for maintenance and support 

25 of the International Space Station through the end 


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1 of fiscal year 2020, and which require the payload 

2 capability of the space shuttle Orbiter for delivery to 

3 the International Space Station; and 

4 (3) a determination by the President that ter5 mination of space shuttle missions in support of 

6 International Space Station operations— 

7 (A) is consistent with paragraph (2) of this 

8 subsection, and any other provision of this Act 

9 regarding the provision of human space flight 

10 capabilities; and 

11 (B) will not cause a degradation of the 

12 equipment, logistics, cargo up-mass and down13 mass delivery capability necessary to provide 

14 full utilization of international space station 

15 science and research capabilities for both 

16 United States National Laboratory and Inter17 national Partner scientific research and experi18 mentation which the United States is obligated 

19 by international agreement to provide. 

20 (h) ADDITIONAL DETERMINATION REQUIRE21 MENTS.—The President shall include in such a determina22 tion a detailed description of alternate means for the pro23 vision of necessary support for the conduct of full utiliza24 tion of the International Space Station for research and 

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1 velopment, the scheduled availability of such alternative 

2 means of support, and such materials as may be necessary 

3 to justify the determination. 

4 (i) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The President shall pro5 vide any determination under this section to the commit6 tees of jurisdiction, which shall review such determination 

7 and consider whether to recommend legislative action to 

8 establish further conditions for termination of space shut9 tle operations. 

10 (j) TERMINATION.—The Administrator may not take 

11 steps to terminate the Space Shuttle Program before the 

12 later of— 

13 (1) the date that is 60 legislative days after re14 ceipt of the determination by the Congress; or 

15 (2) the date on which the Congress has taken 

16 final action with respect to any bill reported by a 

17 committee of jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (i). 

18 (k) DECOMMISSIONING OF ORBITER VEHICLES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the termination of the 

20 Space Shuttle program as provided in this section, 

21 the Administrator shall assume responsibility for de22 commissioning the remaining orbiter vehicles accord23 ing to established safety and historic preservation 

24 procedures prior to their designation as surplus gov25 ernment property. The remaining orbiter vehicles 


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1 shall be made available and located for display and 

2 maintenance by a competitive procedure established 

3 pursuant to the disposition plan developed under 

4 section 613(a) of the National Aeronautics and 

5 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 

6 U.S.C. 17761(a)), with priority consideration given 

7 to eligible applicants meeting all conditions of that 

8 plan which would provide for the location, display, 

9 and maintenance of one orbiter at or near the John10 son Space Center, in Houston, Texas, and one or11 biter at or near the Kennedy Space Center near 

12 Titusville, Florida. 

13 (2) DISPLAY AND MAINTENANCE.—The orbiter 

14 vehicles made available under paragraph (1) shall be 

15 displayed and maintained through agreements and 

16 procedures established pursuant to section 613(a) of 

17 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

18 Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17761(a)). 

19 NASA shall be responsible for the costs of safely de20 commissioning, transporting, and re-assembling the 

21 orbiter vehicle for display. 

22 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to NASA 

24 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

25 subsection. 


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1 (l) PRESERVATION OF VEHICLE AND SYSTEMS DE2 SIGN AND ENGINEERING DATA.—The Administrator shall 

3 immediately take all necessary steps to ensure the collec4 tion and preservation of space shuttle structures, systems, 

5 and infrastructure design, manufacturing, testing, and 

6 maintenance data for historical archival purposes and for 

7 possible use as technical resource material and pro8 grammatic lessons learned and technical interchange ap9 plicability for future space vehicle design and operations. 

10 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OPERATIONS. 

11 (a) POLICY STATEMENT.—It shall be the policy of 

12 the United States, in consultation with its International 

13 Partners in the International Space Station program, to 

14 support full and complete utilization of the Space Station 

15 through at least the year 2020. 

16 (b) MAINTENANCE OF U.S. SEGMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

18 take all steps necessary to ensure the safe and effec19 tive operations, maintenance, and maximum utiliza20 tion of the United States Segment of the Inter21 national Space Station through fiscal year 2020. 

22 (2) VEHICLE AND COMPONENT REVIEW.—In 

23 carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, 

24 immediately upon enactment of this Act, conduct an 

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1 ational systems and components, structural ele2 ments, and permanent scientific equipment on board 

3 or planned for delivery and installation aboard the 

4 International Space Station, including both United 

5 States and international partner elements, to deter6 mine anticipated spare or replacement requirements 

7 to ensure complete, effective, and safe function and 

8 full scientific utilization of the ISS. The Adminis9 trator shall enable the Comptroller General to mon10 itor and, as appropriate, participate in the review re11 quired by this paragraph in such a way as to enable 

12 the Comptroller General to provide an independent 

13 assessment of the review to the committees of juris14 diction. 

15 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—No later 

16 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act 

17 the Administrator shall provide the completed as18 sessment to the committees of jurisdiction. The re19 sults of the required assessment shall include, at 

20 minimum, the following: 

21 (A) The identification of spare or replace22 ment elements and parts currently produced, in 

23 inventory, or on order, and the state of readi24 ness and schedule for delivery to the ISS, in25 cluding the planned transportation means for 


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1 such delivery. Each element identified shall in2 clude a description of its location, function, 

3 criticality for system integrity, and specifica4 tions regarding size, weight, and necessary con5 figuration for launch and delivery. 

6 (B) The identification of anticipated re7 quirements for spare or replacement elements 

8 not currently in inventory or on order, a de9 scription of their location, function, criticality 

10 for system integrity, the anticipated cost and 

11 schedule for design, procurement, manufacture 

12 and delivery, and specifications regarding size, 

13 weight, and necessary configuration for launch 

14 and delivery, including available launch vehicles 

15 capable of transportation of such items to the 

16 International Space Station. 

17 (c) RESEARCH FACILITIES AND CAPABILITIES.—Uti18 lization of research facilities and capabilities aboard the 

19 International Space Station other than exploration-related 

20 research and technology development activities, and asso21 ciated ground support and logistics, shall be planned, 

22 managed, and supported by the organizations described in 

23 section 6. 


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1 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MANAGEMENT 

2 AND UTILIZATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF RESPONSIBILITY

4 FOR UNITED STATES SPACE STATION NATIONAL LAB5 ORATORY.—The Administrator shall establish responsi6 bility for the International Space Station United States 

7 National Laboratory within the Space Operations Mission 

8 Directorate, ISS Program Office at NASA Headquarters, 

9 or any successor entity within NASA. The head of the Of10 fice shall be an official, designated by the Administrator, 

11 who shall serve as a Deputy Associate Administrator for 

12 International Space Station, or at an equivalent rank, and 

13 to whom responsibility shall be delegated for, at a min14 imum, the conduct of ISS operations, maintenance and 

15 utilization by both NASA and non-NASA organizations. 

16 The Officer shall serve as the formal liaison to the organi17 zation specified in subsection (b). 

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL LABORATORY

19 MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The Administrator shall execute 

20 an agreement with a cooperative organization described in 

21 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

22 that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 

23 Code to manage the activities of the ISS United States 

24 National Laboratory. The organization shall be designed 

25 specifically for the unique purpose of developing and im26 plementing research and development projects utilizing the 


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1 International Space Station U.S. Segment, and to be en2 gaged exclusively in this enterprise without other organi3 zational objectives or responsibilities on behalf of the orga4 nization or any parent entity. The head of the office estab5 lished by subsection (a) is responsible for liaison and man6 agement of the agreement. The Administrator shall dele7 gate, at a minimum, the following responsibilities to the 

8 organization, which shall carry out its responsibilities in 

9 cooperation and consultation with the head of the office 

10 established by subsection (a): 

11 (1) Planning and coordinating the ISS National 

12 Laboratory research activities. 

13 (2) Development and implementation of guide14 lines, selection criteria, and flight support require15 ments for non-NASA scientific utilization of Inter16 national Space Station research capabilities and fa17 cilities available in United States-owned modules or 

18 in partner-owned facilities allocated to United States 

19 utilization by international agreement. 

20 (3) Interaction with and support of the Inter21 national Space Station National Laboratory Advi22 sory Committee, established under section 602 of the 

23 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au24 thorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17752), and the 

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1 vided by that Committee under the terms of the ena2 bling legislation and subsequent organizational docu3 ments, negotiation, approval, and implementation of 

4 memoranda of understanding, Space Act agree5 ments, or other authorized cooperative mechanisms, 

6 with non-NASA United States government entities, 

7 academic institutions or consortia, and commercial 

8 entities, leading to utilization of the United States 

9 International Space Station National Laboratory fa10 cilities. 

11 (4) Coordination of transportation requirements 

12 in support of the United States International Space 

13 Station National Laboratory facilities, including pro14 visions for delivery of instrumentation, logistics sup15 port, and related experiment materials, and provi16 sions for return to Earth of collected samples, mate17 rials, and scientific instruments in need of replace18 ment or upgrade. 

19 (5) Cooperation with NASA, other Federal 

20 Agencies, States, or commercial entities in ensuring 

21 the enhancement and sustained operations of non22 exploration-related space-station research payload 

23 ground support facilities, including the Space Life 

24 Sciences Laboratory, Space Station Processing Fa25 cility and Payload Operations Control Center and 


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1 any other ground facilities critical to the utilization 

2 of the International Space Station. 

3 (6) Development and implementation of sci4 entific outreach and education activities designed to 

5 ensure effective utilization of International Space 

6 Station research capabilities, through such instru7 ments as memoranda of understanding, Space Act 

8 agreements executed by NASA, or other cooperative 

9 agreements, and through the conduct of scientific 

10 assemblies, conferences, etc., for presentation of re11 search findings, methods and mechanisms for dis12 semination of non-restricted research findings, and 

13 development of educational programs, course supple14 ments, interaction with educational programs at all 

15 grade levels, including student-focused research op16 portunities for conduct of research in the United 

17 States International Space Station National Labora18 tory managed facilities. 

19 (c) RESEARCH FACILITIES ALLOCATION AND INTE20 GRATION OF RESEARCH PAYLOADS.— 

21 (1) ALLOCATION OF ISS RESEARCH FACILI22 TIES.—Beginning as soon as practicable after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, United States Inter24 national Space Station National Laboratory man25 aged experiments shall be guaranteed access to, and 


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1 utilization of, 50 percent of the United States re2 search facilities allocation and requisite crew time 

3 through fiscal year 2014. Beginning with fiscal year 

4 2015, the percentage allocation shall increase by an 

5 additional 10 percent per year through fiscal year 

6 2020. 

7 (2) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH CAPABILITY.—If 

8 the head of the ISS Program Office determines that 

9 there are NASA research plans that would require 

10 research capability beyond the percentage allocation 

11 under paragraph (1), those research plans shall be 

12 prepared in the form of requested research opportu13 nities submitted to the established process for con14 sideration of proposed research within the alloca15 tions and capabilities of the International Space Sta16 tion National Laboratory, as provided in paragraph 

17 (1). These research proposals may include the estab18 lishment of partnerships with non-NASA institutions 

19 eligible to propose research to be conducted within 

20 National Laboratory allocated research facilities. 

21 Until fiscal year 2020, the head of the Office may 

22 grant exceptions to this requirement if the proposed 

23 experiment is deemed essential for purposes of pre24 paring for exploration beyond low Earth Orbit, as 

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1 tion described in subsection (a) and the head of the 

2 office established under subsection (b). 

3 (3) RESEARCH PRIORITIES AND ENHANCED FA4 CILITIES.—The organization described in subsection 

5 (b) and the head of the office established under sub6 section (a) shall take into account recommendations 

7 of the National Academies of Science Decadal Sur8 vey on Life and Microgravity Sciences in estab9 lishing research priorities and in developing pro10 posed enhancements of research facilities and oppor11 tunities. 

12 (4) RESEARCH PAYLOAD RESPONSIBILITY.— 

13 NASA shall retain its roles and responsibilities in 

14 providing research payload transportation integra15 tion and operations processes essential to ensure 

16 safe and effective flight readiness and vehicle inte17 gration of research facilities and activities approved 

18 and prioritized by the organization described in sub19 section (b) and the head of the office established 

20 under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 7. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall take 

23 steps to ensure that the development of space transpor24 tation vehicles, systems, and infrastructure shall occur in 

25 such a way as to ensure the availability of complementary 


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1 and, where necessary, redundant transportation systems 

2 capable of delivering crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit, 

3 in particular to the International Space Station, and to 

4 destinations beyond low-Earth orbit. Systems developed 

5 and operated by the United States Government shall be 

6 the primary means for delivering crew and cargo to des7 tinations in low-Earth orbit until such time as commercial 

8 entities demonstrate, through a successful flight regime, 

9 as determined by established milestones within current 

10 Space Act Agreements, that they have the capability to 

11 deliver cargo to destinations in low-Earth orbit, including 

12 the International Space Station. Systems developed and 

13 operated by the United States government shall be the pri14 mary means for delivering crew and cargo to destinations 

15 beyond low earth orbit. Commercially developed launch 

16 systems, such as those being developed under NASA’s 

17 Commercial Orbital Transportation System, for which the 

18 United States government will serve primarily as a cus19 tomer, shall be the primary means for delivering cargo to 

20 the International Space Stations once they have success21 fully demonstrated that capability, as required by this sub22 section. 

23 (b) NATIONAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.— 

24 The Administrator is directed to develop a plan, no later 

25 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, for 


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1 the establishment of a National Space Transportation Sys2 tem. The National Space Transportation System shall in3 clude— 

4 (1) an architecture of government developed 

5 and operated space transportation systems, includ6 ing one or more launch vehicles and associated crew 

7 and cargo carriers; 

8 (2) a streamlined approach to development and 

9 acquisition of such systems funded and overseen by 

10 the United States Government, including possible 

11 adoption or modification of effective acquisition 

12 practices utilized by the Department of Defense, 

13 where appropriate, to more effectively meet civil 

14 space transportation requirements; 

15 (3) an operational concept that utilizes existing 

16 government and industry personnel and infrastruc17 ture in an efficient and cost effective manner; 

18 (4) continuation or modification of ongoing pro19 grams, associated contracts, and testing and evalua20 tion plans initiated under the Constellation Pro21 gram, including the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle 

22 and the Ares-1 Crew Launch Vehicle, to the extent 

23 that such elements are determined to be cost effec24 tive and operationally effective; 


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1 (5) a plan for incrementally upgrading initially 

2 developed and deployed systems so that such sys3 tems can be made operational with existing tech4 nology at the earliest possible opportunity and then 

5 upgraded over time to fulfill more demanding mis6 sions and incorporate new technology as it becomes 

7 available; and 

8 (6) a United States Government managed ap9 proach for overseeing and ensuring crew safety, in10 cluding oversight of human ratings requirements es11 tablished under subsection (f)(1)(C) of this section. 

12 (c) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT NA13 TIONAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS EVO14 LUTION.—The Administrator shall develop and keep up 

15 to date a technology development plan to support the 

16 evolving requirements of the National Space Transpor17 tation System, both for low-Earth orbit requirements and 

18 for missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Technology funding 

19 provided pursuant to this subsection shall be determined 

20 based on the specific mission benefits and the performance 

21 requirements needed to achieve clearly identified mission 

22 objectives, such as planning to reach destinations beyond 

23 low-Earth orbit. There are authorized to be appropriated 

24 to the Administrator such amounts for technology funding 

25 for propulsion elements as may be necessary to advance 


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1 the state of the art in propulsion elements as a priority 

2 over developments of current state of the art in propulsion 

3 systems. 

4 (d) HEAVY-LIFT VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT.— 

5 (1) REVIEW.—As part of the National Space 

6 Transportation system required in subsection (b) of 

7 this section, the Administrator is directed to conduct 

8 a review of alternative heavy lift launch vehicle con9 figurations that may be developed by the United 

10 States government to transport crew and cargo to 

11 low-Earth orbit and beyond. 

12 (2) CONTENT.—The review shall— 

13 (A) include shuttle-derived vehicles which 

14 use existing United States propulsion systems, 

15 including liquid fuel engines, external tank, and 

16 solid rocket motor technology and related 

17 ground-based manufacturing capability, launch 

18 and operations infrastructure, and workforce 

19 expertise; 

20 (B) take into consideration technologies 

21 developed under the Constellation Program, in22 cluding those developed for the Ares I system; 

23 (C) include consideration of the degree to 

24 which alternative vehicles may be developed in 

25 an evolutionary fashion with the objective of 


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1 supporting initial crew and cargo transportation 

2 to the International Space Station by the end 

3 of 2013 and missions beyond low-Earth orbit by 

4 the end of 2018; and 

5 (D) include comparative development and 

6 projected operational costs. 

7 (e) NATIONAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AU8 THORITY TO PROCEED.—The Administrator is directed to 

9 select a heavy lift launch vehicle and accompanying crew 

10 vehicle design concept and to initiate detailed design ac11 tivities no later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act. If ongoing program development elements and 

13 activities from the Constellation Program are to be in14 cluded in such a National Space Transportation System, 

15 the Administrator shall take appropriate steps to extend 

16 or modify existing contracts to facilitate this objective. 

17 (f) COMMERCIALLY DEVELOPED SPACE TRANSPOR18 TATION VEHICLES.— 

19 (1) LAUNCH AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS.—The 

20 Congress restates its commitment, expressed in the 

21 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Acts 

22 of 2005 and 2008, to the development of commer23 cially developed launch and delivery systems to the 

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1 sions, known as the Commercial Orbital Transpor2 tation System. 

3 (2) PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS FOR COM4 MERCIAL CREW CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT.—Before 

5 undertaking any development activity in support of 

6 commercially developed crew transportation systems, 

7 the Administrator shall ensure that, at a minimum, 

8 the following steps are completed: 

9 (A) HUMAN RATING REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

10 later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Administrator shall develop and 

12 make publicly available detailed human ratings 

13 requirements to guide the design of commer14 cially developed crew transportation capabilities. 

15 The requirements shall be at least equivalent to 

16 proven requirements in use as of the date of en17 actment of this Act. 

18 (B) COMMERCIAL MARKET ASSESSMENT.— 

19 The Administrator shall initiate, using an ap20 propriate and qualified independent entity, an 

21 assessment of the potential non-government 

22 market for commercially developed crew and 

23 cargo space transportation systems and capa24 bilities. The assessment shall— 


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1 (i) include activities associated with 

2 potential private sector utilization of Inter3 national Space Station research and tech4 nology development capabilities and other 

5 potential activities in low-Earth orbit; and 

6 (ii) be completed and provided to the 

7 committees of jurisdiction no later than 

8 120 days after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act. 

10 (C) PROCUREMENT SYSTEM REVIEW.—The 

11 Administrator shall review established govern12 ment procurement and acquisition practices and 

13 processes, including Space Act Agreement au14 thorities, to determine the most cost-effective 

15 means of procuring commercial crew capabili16 ties and related services which will ensure ap17 propriate accountability, transparency, and 

18 maximum efficiency in the procurement of such 

19 services. The review shall include a description 

20 of proposed measures to address risk manage21 ment processes and the means of indemnifica22 tion for third party commercial entities, and 

23 processes for quality control, safety oversight, 

24 and application of Federal oversight processes 

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1 cies. A description of the proposed procurement 

2 process and justification for its selection shall 

3 be included in any proposed initiation of pro4 curement activity for commercially developed 

5 crew transportation services and shall be sub6 ject to review by the committees of jurisdiction 

7 before the initiation of any competitive process 

8 to procure such services. In support of the com9 mittee review, the Comptroller General shall un10 dertake an assessment of the review required by 

11 this subparagraph and provide a report to the 

12 committees of jurisdiction within 90 days after 

13 the date on which the Administrator provides 

14 the description and justification to the commit15 tees of jurisdiction. 

16 (D) USE OF GOVERNMENT-SUPPLIED CA17 PABILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.—In evalu18 ating any proposed development activity for 

19 commercially developed crew or cargo launch 

20 capabilities, the Administrator shall identify the 

21 anticipated contribution of government per22 sonnel, expertise, technologies, and infrastruc23 ture to be utilized in support of design, develop24 ment, or operations of such capabilities. The 

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1 ated costs of such support as part of any pro2 posed development initiative for the procure3 ment of commercially developed crew or cargo 

4 capabilities or services. 

5 (E) ESTABLISHMENT OF FLIGHT DEM6 ONSTRATION AND READINESS REQUIRE7 MENTS.—The Administrator shall establish ap8 propriate milestones and minimum performance 

9 accomplishments which must be completed be10 fore any authority is granted to proceed to pro11 curement of commercially developed crew trans12 portation systems or capabilities. 

13 (3) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

14 of the Congress that the development of commercial 

15 capabilities for the use of space may be of value in 

16 maximizing the utility and productivity of the Inter17 national Space Station by providing a commercial 

18 means of enabling crew transfer and crew rescue 

19 services for the International Space Station. The 

20 Congress further believes that once such commercial 

21 services have demonstrated the capability to meet es22 tablished ascent, entry, and International Space Sta23 tion proximity operations safety requirements the 

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1 ices to the maximum extent practicable. The Con2 gress further believes that the National Aeronautics 

3 and Space Administration should expedite, where 

4 possible, the use of domestic commercially provided 

5 International Space Station cargo missions, and that 

6 upon the certification by appropriate Federal agen7 cies of operational flight readiness for the provision 

8 of commercial crew transportation capabilities, the 

9 Administrator should limit, to the maximum extent 

10 practicable, the use of a United States government 

11 crew transportation vehicle to missions carrying crew 

12 beyond low Earth orbit. 

13 (4) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATION OR EXPENDI14 TURE OF FUNDS.—No funds authorized to be appro15 priated by this Act may be obligated or expended for 

16 the purpose of procuring a commercially developed 

17 crew transportation vehicle prior to completion of 

18 the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

19 (g) CARGO RETURN CAPABILITY.—The Adminis20 trator is directed to conduct a study of alternative means 

21 for development of the capability for a soft-landing return 

22 for return research samples or other derivative materials, 

23 and small to mid-sized (up to 1,000 kilograms) equipment 

24 for return and analysis, or refurbishment and redelivery 

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1 pendent study is appropriate, the results of the study shall 

2 be transmitted to the committees of jurisdiction no later 

3 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (h) REPORT TO COMMITTEES OF JURISDICTION.— 

5 The Administrator shall submit a report to the committees 

6 of jurisdiction on plans for implementing the requirements 

7 of this section no later than 90 days after the date of en8 actment of this act. 

9 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis12 trator’’ means the Administrator of NASA. 

13 (2) COMMERCIAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘commer14 cial entity’’ means a for-profit entity operating in 

15 such a way that— 

16 (A) private capital is at risk in the provi17 sion of a product, activity, or service; 

18 (B) there are existing or potential non19 governmental customers for the product, activ20 ity, or service conducted or provided by the en21 tity; 

22 (C) the commercial market ultimately de23 termines the viability of such product, activity, 

24 or service; and 


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1 (D) primary responsibility and manage2 ment initiative for the entity resides with the 

3 private sector. 

4 (3) COMMITTEES OF JURISDICTION.—The term 

5 ‘‘committees of jurisdiction’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

8 (B) the Committee on Science and Tech9 nology of the House of Representatives. 

10 (4) DOWN-MASS.—The term ‘‘down-mass’’ 

11 means physical elements, such as equipment re12 moved for repair, replacement or analysis, experi13 ment products, samples and devices, tools, personal 

14 crew items, manufactured goods, or other non-dis15 posable items, including historically significant mate16 rials or items, whether the property of the United 

17 States or an international partner, or a non-govern18 ment or commercial entity. 

19 (5) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter20 national Space Station. 

21 (6) ISS NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term 

22 ‘‘ISS National Laboratory’’ means the International 

23 Space Station United States National Laboratory 

24 Enterprise. 


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1 (7) LEGISLATIVE DAY.—The term ‘‘legislative 

2 day’’ means any calendar day on which the Senate 

3 and the House of Representatives are in session. 

4 (8) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

6 (9) SPACE ACT.—The term ‘‘Space Act’’ means 

7 the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 

8 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.). 

9 (10) UNITED STATES SEGMENT OF THE INTER10 NATIONAL SPACE STATION.—The term ‘‘United 

11 States Segment of the International Space Station’’ 

12 includes all structural elements, supporting equip13 ment, external attachment locations, pressurized 

14 modules, and associated contents, purchased or man15 ufactured by or for the United States, and partner16 supplied facilities allocated for utilization as deter17 mined through bilateral and multilateral agreements. 

18 (11) UP-MASS.—The term ‘‘up-mass’’ means 

19 physical elements, such as equipment, spare parts, 

20 replacement parts, experimental facilities, and asso21 ciated materials, and various supplies necessary for 

22 the operation and maintenance of the space station 

23 vehicle, modules, hardware, and crew support. 


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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) FY 2010.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated to the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis4 tration for fiscal year 2010: 

5 (1) Space Science Mission Directorate, 

6 $4,493,300,000. 

7 (2) Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, 

8 $3,779,800,000. 

9 (3) Space Operations Mission Directorate, 

10 $6,180,600,000. 

11 (4) Aeronautics and Space Research and Tech12 nology Mission Directorate, $682,200,000. 

13 (5) Education Programs, $183,800,000. 

14 (6) Cross-Agency Support, $2,919,900,000. 

15 (7) Construction and Environmental Compli16 ance and Restoration, $448,300,000. 

17 (8) Office of Inspector General, $35,000,000. 

18 (b) FY 2011.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated to the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis20 tration for fiscal year fiscal year 2011: 

21 (1) Space Science Mission Directorate, 

22 $5,005,600,000. 

23 (2) Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, 

24 $4.263,400,000. 

25 (3) Space Operations Mission Directorate, 

26 $4,887,800,000. 


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1 (4) Aeronautics and Space Research and Tech2 nology Mission Directorate, $1,151,800,000. 

3 (5) Education Programs, $145,800,000. 

4 (6) Cross-Agency Support, $3,111,400,000. 

5 (7) Construction and Environmental Compli6 ance and Restoration, $397,300,000. 

7 (8) Office of Inspector General, $36,000,000. 

8 (c) FY 2012.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis10 tration for fiscal year 2012: 

11 (1) Space Science Mission Directorate, 

12 $5,248,600,000. 

13 (2) Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, 

14 $4,577,400,000. 

15 (3) Space Operations Mission Directorate, 

16 $4,290,200,000. 

17 (4) Aeronautics and Space Research and Tech18 nology Mission Directorate, $1,596,900,000. 

19 (5) Education Programs, $145,800,000. 

20 (6) Cross-Agency Support, $3,189,600,000. 

21 (7) Construction and Environmental Compli22 ance and Restoration, $363,800,000. 

23 (8) Office of Inspector General, $36,000,000. 

24 (d) SPACE SHUTTLE SUSTAINING OPERATIONS.— 

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1 ized to be appropriated an additional $200,000,000 for 

2 Space Shuttle operations in fiscal year 2010, 

3 $1,200,000,000 for Space Shuttle Operations in fiscal 

4 year 2011, and $2,000,000,000 for Space Shuttle Oper5 ations in fiscal year 2012. 

6 (e) ISS OPERATIONS.—For purposes of imple7 menting section 5, there are authorized to be appropriated 

8 an additional $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 for pro9 curement of necessary spares, replacement units, and as10 sociated transportation costs of elements necessary to en11 sure viable sustained vehicle maintenance and operations, 

12 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and $100,000,000 for 

13 fiscal year 2012. 

14 (f) ISS UTILIZATION.—For purposes of imple15 menting section 6, there are authorized to be appropriated 

16 an additional $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2010, 

17 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and $15,000,000 for fis18 cal year 2012. 

19 (g) NO FISCAL YEAR LIMITATION ON FUNDING.— 

20 All funds appropriated pursuant to this section shall re21 main available until expended. 

22 (h) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Administrator may 

23 transfer funds among any of the accounts identified in this 

24 section if, not less than 30 days before the date of any 

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1 nation of the needs for the transfer, the amount proposed 

2 to be transferred, and an analysis of the impact on activi3 ties from which funding is proposed to be transferred, to 

4 the committees of jurisdiction of the House of Representa5 tives and the Senate. No such transfer shall occur until 

6 the Administrator has received an affirmative response in7 dicating agreement to the proposed transfer from the 

8 chairs of the committees of jurisdiction. 

9 SEC. 10. APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAWS. 

10 The proviso under the heading ‘‘EXPLORATION’’, 

11 under the heading ‘‘SCIENCE’’ in the matter dealing with 

12 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 

13 Science Appropriations Act, 2010 (title II of division B 

14 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010; Public Law 

15 111–117) shall not apply to any activity authorized under 

16 this Act. 

Æ 


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