II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5382 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2004 

Received 

AN ACT 

To promote the development of the emerging commercial 

human space flight industry, and for other purposes. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Space 

3 Launch Amendments Act of 2004’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—Section 70101 of 

6 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘human 

8 space flight,’’ after ‘‘microgravity research,’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (a)(4)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘satellite’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘services now available 

12 from’’ and inserting ‘‘capabilities of’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (a)(8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (4) in subsection (a)(9), by striking the period 

16 and inserting a semicolon; 

17 (5) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the 

18 following new paragraphs: 

19 ‘‘(10) the goal of safely opening space to the 

20 American people and their private commercial, sci21 entific, and cultural enterprises should guide Federal 

22 space investments, policies, and regulations; 

23 ‘‘(11) private industry has begun to develop 

24 commercial launch vehicles capable of carrying 

25 human beings into space and greater private invest26 ment in these efforts will stimulate the Nation’s 
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1 commercial space transportation industry as a 

2 whole; 

3 ‘‘(12) space transportation is inherently risky, 

4 and the future of the commercial human space flight 

5 industry will depend on its ability to continually im6 prove its safety performance; 

7 ‘‘(13) a critical area of responsibility for the 

8 Department of Transportation is to regulate the op9 erations and safety of the emerging commercial 

10 human space flight industry; 

11 ‘‘(14) the public interest is served by creating 

12 a clear legal, regulatory, and safety regime for com13 mercial human space flight; and 

14 ‘‘(15) the regulatory standards governing 

15 human space flight must evolve as the industry ma16 tures so that regulations neither stifle technology de17 velopment nor expose crew or space flight partici18 pants to avoidable risks as the public comes to ex19 pect greater safety for crew and space flight partici20 pants from the industry.’’; 

21 (6) in subsection (b)(2)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub23 paragraph (A); 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 

25 in subparagraph (B); and 
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) promoting the continuous improve4 ment of the safety of launch vehicles designed 

5 to carry humans, including through the 

6 issuance of regulations, to the extent permitted 

7 by this chapter;’’; and 

8 (7) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘issue and 

9 transfer’’ and inserting ‘‘issue permits and commer10 cial licenses and transfer’’. 

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 70102 of title 49, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

14 (17) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), 

15 (10), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (18), (21), and 

16 (22), respectively; 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol18 lowing new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) ‘crew’ means any employee of a licensee or 

20 transferee, or of a contractor or subcontractor of a 

21 licensee or transferee, who performs activities in the 

22 course of that employment directly relating to the 

23 launch, reentry, or other operation of or in a launch 

24 vehicle or reentry vehicle that carries human 

25 beings.’’; 
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1 (3) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated by 

2 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘, 

3 crew, or space flight participant’’ after ‘‘any pay4 load’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (6)(A), as so redesignated by 

6 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘and 

7 payload’’ and inserting ‘‘, payload, crew (including 

8 crew training), or space flight participant’’; 

9 (5) in paragraph (8)(A), as so redesignated by 

10 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘or 

11 human beings’’ after ‘‘place a payload’’; 

12 (6) by inserting after paragraph (10), as so re13 designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 

14 following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(11) except in section 70104(c), ‘permit’ 

16 means an experimental permit issued under section 

17 70105a.’’; 

18 (7) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated by 

19 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘crew, 

20 or space flight participants,’’ after ‘‘and its pay21 load,’’; 

22 (8) in paragraph (14)(A), as so redesignated by 

23 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘and 

24 its payload’’ inserting ‘‘and payload, crew (including 

25 crew training), or space flight participant’’; 
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1 (9) by inserting after paragraph (16), as so re2 designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 

3 following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(17) ‘space flight participant’ means an indi5 vidual, who is not crew, carried within a launch vehi6 cle or reentry vehicle.’’; 

7 (10) by inserting after paragraph (18), as so 

8 redesignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 

9 following new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(19) unless and until regulations take effect 

11 under section 70120(c)(2), ‘suborbital rocket’ means 

12 a vehicle, rocket-propelled in whole or in part, in13 tended for flight on a suborbital trajectory, and the 

14 thrust of which is greater than its lift for the major15 ity of the rocket-powered portion of its ascent. 

16 ‘‘(20) ‘suborbital trajectory’ means the inten17 tional flight path of a launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, 

18 or any portion thereof, whose vacuum instantaneous 

19 impact point does not leave the surface of the 

20 Earth.’’; and 

21 (11) in paragraph (21), as so redesignated by 

22 paragraph (1) of this subsection— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara24 graph (C); 
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1 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

2 subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

4 subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(E) crew or space flight participants.’’. 

6 (c) COMMERCIAL HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.—(1) Sec7 tion 70103(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended by inserting ‘‘, including those involving space 

9 flight participants’’ after ‘‘private sector’’. 

10 (2) Section 70103 of title 49, United States Code, 

11 is amended by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

12 (d), and by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(c) SAFETY.—In carrying out the responsibilities 

15 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall encourage, facili16 tate, and promote the continuous improvement of the safe17 ty of launch vehicles designed to carry humans, and the 

18 Secretary may, consistent with this chapter, promulgate 

19 regulations to carry out this subsection.’’. 

20 (3) Section 70104(a) of title 49, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘License Requirement.—A li23 cense issued or transferred under this chapter’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘Requirement.—A license issued or trans25 ferred under this chapter, or a permit,’’; and 
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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol2 lowing: ‘‘Notwithstanding this subsection, a permit 

3 shall not authorize a person to operate a launch site 

4 or reentry site.’’. 

5 (4) Section 70104(b) of title 49, United States Code, 

6 is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘holder of a 

7 license’’. 

8 (5) Section 70104 of title 49, United States Code, 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(d) SINGLE LICENSE OR PERMIT.—The Secretary 

12 of Transportation shall ensure that only 1 license or per13 mit is required from the Department of Transportation 

14 to conduct activities involving crew or space flight partici15 pants, including launch and reentry, for which a license 

16 or permit is required under this chapter. The Secretary 

17 shall ensure that all Department of Transportation regula18 tions relevant to the licensed or permitted activity are sat19 isfied.’’. 

20 (6) Section 70105(a) of title 49, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a license is 

23 not issued’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary has not 

24 taken action on a license application’’; and 
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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(including 

2 approval procedures for the purpose of protecting 

3 the health and safety of crews and space flight par4 ticipants, to the extent permitted by subsections (b) 

5 and (c))’’ after ‘‘or personnel’’. 

6 (7) Section 70105(b)(1) of title 49, United States 

7 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘for a 

8 license’’. 

9 (8) Section 70105(b)(2)(B) of title 49, United States 

10 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘an additional requirement 

11 necessary to protect’’ and inserting ‘‘any additional re12 quirement necessary to protect’’. 

13 (9) Section 70105(b)(2)(C) of title 49, United States 

14 Code, is amended— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘for a li16 cense’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end thereof. 

18 (10) Section 70105(b)(2) of title 49, United States 

19 Code, is amended by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

20 subparagraph (E) and inserting after subparagraph (C) 

21 the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(D) additional license requirements, for a 

23 launch vehicle carrying a human being for com24 pensation or hire, necessary to protect the 

25 health and safety of crew or space flight partici-
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1 pants, only if such requirements are imposed 

2 pursuant to final regulations issued in accord3 ance with subsection (c); and’’. 

4 (11) Section 70105(b)(2)(E) of title 49, United 

5 States Code, as so redesignated by paragraph (11) of this 

6 subsection, is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘for 

7 a license’’. 

8 (12) Section 70105(b)(3) of title 49, United States 

9 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

10 Secretary may not grant a waiver under this paragraph 

11 that would permit the launch or reentry of a launch vehicle 

12 or a reentry vehicle without a license or permit if a human 

13 being will be on board.’’. 

14 (13) Section 70105(b) of title 49, United States 

15 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(4) The holder of a license or a permit under 

18 this chapter may launch or reenter crew only if— 

19 ‘‘(A) the crew has received training and 

20 has satisfied medical or other standards speci21 fied in the license or permit in accordance with 

22 regulations promulgated by the Secretary; 

23 ‘‘(B) the holder of the license or permit 

24 has informed any individual serving as crew in 

25 writing, prior to executing any contract or other 
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1 arrangement to employ that individual (or, in 

2 the case of an individual already employed as of 

3 the date of enactment of the Commercial Space 

4 Launch Amendments Act of 2004, as early as 

5 possible, but in any event prior to any launch 

6 in which the individual will participate as crew), 

7 that the United States Government has not cer8 tified the launch vehicle as safe for carrying 

9 crew or space flight participants; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the holder of the license or permit 

11 and crew have complied with all requirements of 

12 the laws of the United States that apply to 

13 crew. 

14 ‘‘(5) The holder of a license or a permit under 

15 this chapter may launch or reenter a space flight 

16 participant only if— 

17 ‘‘(A) in accordance with regulations pro18 mulgated by the Secretary, the holder of the li19 cense or permit has informed the space flight 

20 participant in writing about the risks of the 

21 launch and reentry, including the safety record 

22 of the launch or reentry vehicle type, and the 

23 Secretary has informed the space flight partici24 pant in writing of any relevant information re25 lated to risk or probable loss during each phase 
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1 of flight gathered by the Secretary in making 

2 the determination required by section 

3 70112(a)(2) and (c); 

4 ‘‘(B) the holder of the license or permit 

5 has informed any space flight participant in 

6 writing, prior to receiving any compensation 

7 from that space flight participant or (in the 

8 case of a space flight participant not providing 

9 compensation) otherwise concluding any agree10 ment to fly that space flight participant, that 

11 the United States Government has not certified 

12 the launch vehicle as safe for carrying crew or 

13 space flight participants; 

14 ‘‘(C) in accordance with regulations pro15 mulgated by the Secretary, the space flight par16 ticipant has provided written informed consent 

17 to participate in the launch and reentry and 

18 written certification of compliance with any reg19 ulations promulgated under paragraph (6)(A); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(D) the holder of the license or permit 

22 has complied with any regulations promulgated 

23 by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (6). 

24 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary may issue regulations re25 quiring space flight participants to undergo an ap-
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1 propriate physical examination prior to a launch or 

2 reentry under this chapter. This subparagraph shall 

3 cease to be in effect three years after the date of en4 actment of the Commercial Space Launch Amend5 ments Act of 2004. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may issue additional regu7 lations setting reasonable requirements for space 

8 flight participants, including medical and training 

9 requirements. Such regulations shall not be effective 

10 before the expiration of 3 years after the date of en11 actment of the Commercial Space Launch Amend12 ments Act of 2004.’’. 

13 (14) Section 70105 of title 49, United States Code, 

14 is amended by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

15 (d), and by adding after subsection (b) the following new 

16 subsection: 

17 ‘‘(c) SAFETY REGULATIONS.—(1) The Secretary may 

18 issue regulations governing the design or operation of a 

19 launch vehicle to protect the health and safety of crew and 

20 space flight participants. 

21 ‘‘(2) Regulations issued under this subsection 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) describe how such regulations would 

24 be applied when the Secretary is determining 

25 whether to issue a license under this chapter; 
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1 ‘‘(B) apply only to launches in which a ve2 hicle will be carrying a human being for com3 pensation or hire; 

4 ‘‘(C) be limited to restricting or prohibiting 

5 design features or operating practices that— 

6 ‘‘(i) have resulted in a serious or fatal 

7 injury (as defined in 49 CFR 830, as in ef8 fect on November 10, 2004) to crew or 

9 space flight participants during a licensed 

10 or permitted commercial human space 

11 flight; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) contributed to an unplanned 

13 event or series of events during a licensed 

14 or permitted commercial human space 

15 flight that posed a high risk of causing a 

16 serious or fatal injury (as defined in 49 

17 CFR 830, as in effect on November 10, 

18 2004) to crew or space flight participants; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(D) be issued with a description of the in21 stance or instances when the design feature or 

22 operating practice being restricted or prohibited 

23 contributed to a result or event described in 

24 subparagraph (C). 
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1 ‘‘(3) Beginning 8 years after the date of enact2 ment of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments 

3 Act of 2004, the Secretary may propose regulations 

4 under this subsection without regard to paragraph 

5 (2)(C) and (D). Any such regulations shall take into 

6 consideration the evolving standards of safety in the 

7 commercial space flight industry. 

8 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be con9 strued to limit the authority of the Secretary to 

10 issue requirements or regulations to protect the pub11 lic health and safety, safety of property, national se12 curity interests, and foreign policy interests of the 

13 United States.’’. 

14 (15) Section 70105(d) of title 49, United States 

15 Code, as so redesignated by paragraph (15) of this sub16 section, is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘of a 

17 license’’. 

18 (16) Chapter 701 of title 49, United States Code, is 

19 amended by inserting after section 70105 the following 

20 new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 70105a. Experimental permits 

22 ‘‘(a) A person may apply to the Secretary of Trans23 portation for an experimental permit under this section 

24 in the form and manner the Secretary prescribes. Con25 sistent with the protection of the public health and safety, 
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1 safety of property, and national security and foreign policy 

2 interests of the United States, the Secretary, not later 

3 than 120 days after receiving an application pursuant to 

4 this section, shall issue a permit if the Secretary decides 

5 in writing that the applicant complies, and will continue 

6 to comply, with this chapter and regulations prescribed 

7 under this chapter. The Secretary shall inform the appli8 cant of any pending issue and action required to resolve 

9 the issue if the Secretary has not made a decision not later 

10 than 90 days after receiving an application. The Secretary 

11 shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House 

12 of Representatives and Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate a written notice not 

14 later than 15 days after any occurrence when the Sec15 retary has failed to act on a permit within the deadline 

16 established by this section. 

17 ‘‘(b) In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary 

18 may establish procedures for safety approvals of launch 

19 vehicles, reentry vehicles, safety systems, processes, serv20 ices, or personnel that may be used in conducting commer21 cial space launch or reentry activities pursuant to a per22 mit. 

23 ‘‘(c) In order to encourage the development of a com24 mercial space flight industry, the Secretary may when 
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1 issuing permits use the authority granted under section 

2 70105(b)(2)(C). 

3 ‘‘(d) The Secretary may issue a permit only for reus4 able suborbital rockets that will be launched or reentered 

5 solely for— 

6 ‘‘(1) research and development to test new de7 sign concepts, new equipment, or new operating 

8 techniques; 

9 ‘‘(2) showing compliance with requirements as 

10 part of the process for obtaining a license under this 

11 chapter; or 

12 ‘‘(3) crew training prior to obtaining a license 

13 for a launch or reentry using the design of the rock14 et for which the permit would be issued. 

15 ‘‘(e) Permits issued under this section shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) authorize an unlimited number of launches 

17 and reentries for a particular suborbital rocket de18 sign for the uses described in subsection (d); and 

19 ‘‘(2) specify the type of modifications that may 

20 be made to the suborbital rocket without changing 

21 the design to an extent that would invalidate the 

22 permit. 

23 ‘‘(f) Permits shall not be transferable. 

24 ‘‘(g) A permit may not be issued for, and a permit 

25 that has already been issued shall cease to be valid for, 
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1 a particular design for a reusable suborbital rocket after 

2 a license has been issued for the launch or reentry of a 

3 rocket of that design. 

4 ‘‘(h) No person may operate a reusable suborbital 

5 rocket under a permit for carrying any property or human 

6 being for compensation or hire. 

7 ‘‘(i) For the purposes of sections 70106, 70107, 

8 70108, 70109, 70110, 70112, 70115, 70116, 70117, and 

9 70121 of this chapter— 

10 ‘‘(1) a permit shall be considered a license; 

11 ‘‘(2) the holder of a permit shall be considered 

12 a licensee; 

13 ‘‘(3) a vehicle operating under a permit shall be 

14 considered to be licensed; and 

15 ‘‘(4) the issuance of a permit shall be consid16 ered licensing. 

17 This subsection shall not be construed to allow the 

18 transfer of a permit.’’. 

19 (17) Section 70106(a) of title 49, United States 

20 Code, is amended— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘at a site used for crew or 

22 space flight participant training,’’ after ‘‘assemble a 

23 launch vehicle or reentry vehicle,’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘section 70104(c)’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘sections 70104(c), 70105, and 70105a’’. 
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1 (18) Section 70107(b) of title 49, United States 

2 Code, is amended— 

3 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘On the initia4 tive’’; and 

5 (B) by adding the following new paragraph at 

6 the end: 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall modify a license issued 

8 or transferred under this chapter whenever a modi9 fication is needed for the license to be in conformity 

10 with a regulation that was issued pursuant to sec11 tion 70105(c) after the issuance of the license. This 

12 paragraph shall not apply to permits.’’. 

13 (19) Section 70107 of title 49, United States Code, 

14 is amended by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

15 subsections (e) and (f), respectively, and by inserting after 

16 subsection (c) the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL SUSPENSIONS.—(1) The Secretary 

18 may suspend a license when a previous launch or reentry 

19 under the license has resulted in a serious or fatal injury 

20 (as defined in 49 CFR 830, as in effect on November 10, 

21 2004) to crew or space flight participants and the Sec22 retary has determined that continued operations under the 

23 license are likely to cause additional serious or fatal injury 

24 (as defined in 49 CFR 830, as in effect on November 10, 

25 2004) to crew or space flight participants. 
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1 ‘‘(2) Any suspension imposed under this sub2 section shall be for as brief a period as possible and, 

3 in any event, shall cease when the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(A) has determined that the licensee has 

5 taken sufficient steps to reduce the likelihood of 

6 a recurrence of the serious or fatal injury; or 

7 ‘‘(B) has modified the license pursuant to 

8 subsection (b) to sufficiently reduce the likeli9 hood of a recurrence of the serious or fatal in10 jury. 

11 ‘‘(3) This subsection shall not apply to per12 mits.’’. 

13 (20) Section 70110(a)(1) of title 49, United States 

14 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 70105a’’ after 

15 ‘‘70105(a)’’. 

16 (21) Section 70112(b)(2) of title 49, United States 

17 Code, is amended— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘crew, space flight partici19 pants,’’ after ‘‘transferee, contractors, subcontrac20 tors,’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘or by space flight partici22 pants,’’ after ‘‘its own employees’’. 

23 (22) Section 70113(a)(1) of title 49, United States 

24 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘but not against a space 

25 flight participant,’’ after ‘‘subcontractor of a customer,’’. 
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1 (23) Section 70113(f) of title 49, United States Code, 

2 is amended by inserting at the end the following: ‘‘This 

3 section does not apply to permits.’’. 

4 (24) Section 70115(b)(1)(D)(i) of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘crew or space flight 

6 participant training site,’’ after ‘‘site of a launch vehicle 

7 or reentry vehicle,’’. 

8 (25) Section 70120 of title 49, United States Code, 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub10 sections: 

11 ‘‘(c) AMENDMENTS.—(1) Not later than 12 months 

12 after the date of enactment of the Commercial Space 

13 Launch Amendments Act of 2004, the Secretary shall 

14 publish proposed regulations to carry out that Act, includ15 ing regulations relating to crew, space flight participants, 

16 and permits for launch or reentry of reusable suborbital 

17 rockets. Not later than 18 months after such date of en18 actment, the Secretary shall issue final regulations. 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) Starting 3 years after the date of en20 actment of the Commercial Space Launch Amend21 ments Act of 2004, the Secretary may issue final 

22 regulations changing the definition of suborbital 

23 rocket under this chapter. No such regulation may 

24 take effect until 180 days after the Secretary has 

25 submitted the regulation to the Congress. 
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1 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may issue regulations 

2 under this paragraph only if the Secretary has de3 termined that the definition in section 70102 does 

4 not describe, or will not continue to describe, all ap5 propriate vehicles and only those vehicles. In making 

6 that determination, the Secretary shall take into ac7 count the evolving nature of the commercial space 

8 launch industry. 

9 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—(1) Licenses for the launch 

10 or reentry of launch vehicles or reentry vehicles with 

11 human beings on board and permits may be issued by the 

12 Secretary prior to the issuance of the regulations de13 scribed in subsection (c). 

14 ‘‘(2) As soon as practicable after the date of en15 actment of the Commercial Space Launch Amend16 ments Act of 2004, the Secretary shall issue guide17 lines or advisory circulars to guide the implementa18 tion of that Act until regulations are issued. 

19 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), 

20 no licenses for the launch or reentry of launch vehi21 cles or reentry vehicles with human beings on board 

22 or permits may be issued starting three years after 

23 the date of enactment of the Commercial Space 

24 Launch Amendments Act of 2004 unless the final 
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1 regulations described in subsection (c) have been 

2 issued.’’. 

3 (26) The table of sections for chapter 701 of title 49, 

4 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 

5 item relating to 70105 the following new item: 

‘‘70105a. Experimental permits.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. STUDIES. 

7 (a) RISK SHARING.—Not later than 60 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor9 tation shall enter into an arrangement with a nonprofit 

10 entity for the conduct of an independent comprehensive 

11 study of the liability risk sharing regime in the United 

12 States for commercial space transportation under section 

13 70113 of title 49, United States Code. To ensure that 

14 Congress has a full analysis of the liability risk sharing 

15 regime, the study shall assess methods by which the cur16 rent system could be eliminated, including an estimate of 

17 the time required to implement each of the methods as18 sessed. The study shall assess whether any alternative 

19 steps would be needed to maintain a viable and competi20 tive United States space transportation industry if the 

21 current regime were eliminated. In conducting the assess22 ment under this subsection, input from commercial space 

23 transportation insurance experts shall be sought. The 

24 study also shall examine liability risk sharing in other na25 tions with commercial launch capability and evaluate the 
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1 direct and indirect impact that ending this regime would 

2 have on the competitiveness of the United States commer3 cial space launch industry in relation to foreign commer4 cial launch providers and on United States assured access 

5 to space. 

6 (b) SAFETY.—The Secretary of Transportation, in 

7 consultation with the Administrator of the National Aero8 nautics and Space Administration, shall enter into an ar9 rangement with a nonprofit entity for a report analyzing 

10 safety issues related to launching human beings into 

11 space. In designing the study, the Secretary should take 

12 into account any recommendations from the Commercial 

13 Space Transportation Advisory Committee and the Na14 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Aerospace 

15 Safety Advisory Panel. The report shall be submitted to 

16 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans17 portation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

18 Science within 4 years of the date of enactment of this 

19 Act. The report shall analyze and make recommendations 

20 about— 

21 (1) the standards of safety and concepts of op22 eration that should guide the regulation of human 

23 space flight and whether the standard of safety 

24 should vary by class or type of vehicle, the purpose 

25 of flight, or other considerations; 
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1 (2) the effectiveness of the commercial licensing 

2 and permitting regime under chapter 701 of title 49, 

3 United States Code, particularly in ensuring the 

4 safety of the public and of crew and space flight par5 ticipants during launch, in-space transit, orbit, and 

6 reentry, and whether any changes are needed to that 

7 chapter; 

8 (3) whether there is a need for commercial 

9 ground operations for commercial space flight, in10 cluding provision of launch support, launch and re11 entry control, mission control, range operations, and 

12 communications and telemetry operations through 

13 all phases of flight, and if such operations developed, 

14 whether and how they should be regulated; 

15 (4) whether expendable and reusable launch 

16 and reentry vehicles should be regulated differently 

17 from each other, and whether either of those vehicles 

18 should be regulated differently when carrying human 

19 beings; 

20 (5) whether the Federal Government should 

21 separate the promotion of human space flight from 

22 the regulation of such activity; 

23 (6) how third parties could be used to evaluate 

24 the qualification and acceptance of new human space 

25 flight vehicles prior to their operation; 
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1 (7) how nongovernment experts could partici2 pate more fully in setting standards and developing 

3 regulations concerning human space flight safety; 

4 and 

5 (8) whether the Federal Government should 

6 regulate the extent of foreign ownership or control 

7 of human space flight companies operating or incor8 porated in the United States. 

9 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 

10 Section 102(c) of the Commercial Space Act of 1998 

11 is repealed. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 20, 

2004. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.