II 

Calendar No. 696 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3346 

[Report No. 114–390] 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. NELSON, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. PETERS, Mr. WICKER, 

Mr. UDALL, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. THUNE, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 5, 2016 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transi4 tion Authorization Act of 2016’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2017. 

TITLE II—SUSTAINING NATIONAL SPACE COMMITMENTS 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress on sustaining national space commitments. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

TITLE III—MAXIMIZING UTILIZATION OF THE ISS AND LOWEARTH ORBIT 

Sec. 301. Operation of the ISS. 

Sec. 302. Transportation to ISS. 

Sec. 303. ISS transition plan. 

TITLE IV—ADVANCING HUMAN DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 

Subtitle A—Human Exploration Goals and Objectives 

Sec. 411. Human exploration long-term goals. 

Sec. 412. Goals and objectives. 

Sec. 413. Vision for space exploration. 

Sec. 414. Exploration plan and programs. 

Sec. 415. Stepping stone approach to exploration. 

Subtitle B—Assuring Core Capabilities for Exploration 

Sec. 421. Space Launch System and Orion. 

Subtitle C—Journey to Mars 

Sec. 431. Space technology infusion. 

Sec. 432. Findings on human space exploration. 

Sec. 433. Strategic framework for human spaceflight and exploration. 

Sec. 434. Advanced space suit capability. 

Sec. 435. Asteroid robotic redirect mission. 

Subtitle D—Scott Kelly Human Spaceflight and Exploration Act 

Sec. 441. Short title. 

Sec. 442. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 443. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight. 


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TITLE V—ADVANCING SPACE SCIENCE 

Sec. 501. Maintaining a balanced space science portfolio. 

Sec. 502. Planetary science. 

Sec. 503. James Webb Space Telescope. 

Sec. 504. Sense of Congress on wide-field infrared survey telescope. 

Sec. 505. Sense of Congress on Mars 2020 rover. 

Sec. 506. Europa. 

TITLE VI—MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY 

Subtitle A—Agency Information Technology and Cybersecurity 

Sec. 611. Information technology governance. 

Sec. 612. Information technology strategic plan. 

Sec. 613. Cybersecurity. 

Sec. 614. Oversight implementation progress. 

Sec. 615. Software oversight. 

Sec. 616. Security management of foreign national access. 

Sec. 617. Cybersecurity of web applications. 

Subtitle B—Collaboration Among Mission Directorates and Other Matters 

Sec. 621. Collaboration among mission directorates. 

Sec. 622. NASA launch capabilities collaboration. 

Sec. 623. Commercial space launch cooperation. 

Sec. 624. Detection and avoidance of counterfeit parts. 

Sec. 625. Education and outreach. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

5 Administration. 

6 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

8 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

9 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con11 gress’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

2 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

3 (4) CIS-LUNAR SPACE.—The term ‘‘cis-lunar 

4 space’’ means the region of space from the Earth 

5 out to and including the region around the surface 

6 of the Moon. 

7 (5) DEEP SPACE.—The term ‘‘deep space’’ 

8 means the region of space beyond low-Earth orbit, 

9 to include cis-lunar space. 

10 (6) GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.—The term 

11 ‘‘government astronaut’’ has the meaning given the 

12 term in section 50902 of title 51, United States 

13 Code. 

14 (7) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter15 national Space Station. 

16 (8) ISS MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term 

17 ‘‘ISS management entity’’ means the organization 

18 with which the Administrator has a cooperative 

19 agreement under section 504(a) of the National Aer20 onautics and Space Administration Authorization 

21 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18354(a)). 

22 (9) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na23 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

24 (10) ORION.—The term ‘‘Orion’’ means the 

25 multipurpose crew vehicle described under section 


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1 303 of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis2 tration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

3 18323). 

4 (11) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term 

5 ‘‘Space Launch System’’ has the meaning given the 

6 term in section 3 of the National Aeronautics and 

7 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

8 U.S.C. 18302). 

9 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

10 APPROPRIATIONS 

11 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2017. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to NASA for 

13 fiscal year 2017, $19,508,000,000, as follows: 

14 (1) For Exploration, $4,532,000,000. 

15 (2) For Space Operations, $4,950,700,000. 

16 (3) For Science, $5,395,000,000. 

17 (4) For Aeronautics, $601,000,000. 

18 (5) For Space Technology, $686,500,000. 

19 (6) For Education, $108,000,000. 

20 (7) For Safety, Security, and Mission Services, 

21 $2,796,700,000. 

22 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com23 pliance and Restoration, $400,000,000. 

24 (9) For Inspector General, $38,100,000. 


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1 TITLE II—SUSTAINING NA2 TIONAL SPACE COMMIT3 MENTS 

4 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUSTAINING NATIONAL 

5 SPACE COMMITMENTS. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) the United States, in collaboration with its 

9 international, academic, and industry partners, 

10 should sustain and build upon our national space 

11 commitments and investments across Administra12 tions with a continuity of purpose to advance recent 

13 achievements of space exploration and space science 

14 to extend humanity’s reach into deep space, includ15 ing cis-lunar space, the Moon, the surface and 

16 moons of Mars, and beyond; 

17 (2) NASA leaders can best leverage investments 

18 in the United States space program by continuing to 

19 develop a balanced portfolio for space exploration 

20 and space science, including continued development 

21 of the Space Launch System, Orion, Commercial 

22 Crew and Commercial Resupply Services, the James 

23 Webb Space Telescope, and the ongoing operations 

24 of the International Space Station; 


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1 (3) a national, government-led space program 

2 that builds on current science and exploration pro3 grams and advances human knowledge and capabili4 ties and opens the frontier beyond Earth for our5 selves, our international partners, commercial enter6 prise, and science is of critical importance to our na7 tional destiny and to a future guided by United 

8 States values and freedoms; 

9 (4) continuity of purpose and effective execu10 tion of core NASA programs are essential for effi11 cient use of resources in pursuit of timely and tan12 gible accomplishments; 

13 (5) NASA could improve its efficiency and ef14 fectiveness by working with industry to streamline 

15 existing programs and requirements, procurement 

16 practices, institutional footprint, and bureaucracy 

17 while preserving effective program oversight, ac18 countability, and safety; 

19 (6) United States Government astronauts 

20 changed the trajectory of human history toward the 

21 promise of the stars, and it is imperative that the 

22 United States maintain and enhance its leadership 

23 in space exploration and continue to expand freedom 

24 and opportunities in space for all Americans that are 


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1 consistent with the Constitution of the United 

2 States; and 

3 (7) NASA is and should remain a multimission 

4 agency with a balanced and robust set of core mis5 sions in science, space technology, aeronautics, 

6 human space flight and exploration, and education. 

7 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find9 ings: 

10 (1) Challenges of the past, such as the cancella11 tion of major programs, have disrupted completion 

12 of major space systems thereby— 

13 (A) impeding planning and pursuit of na14 tional objectives in human space exploration; 

15 (B) placing the Nation’s investment in 

16 space exploration at risk; and 

17 (C) degrading the aerospace industrial 

18 base. 

19 (2) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad20 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

21 18301 et seq.) reflects a broad, bipartisan agree22 ment on the path forward for NASA’s core missions 

23 in science, space technology, aeronautics, human 

24 space flight and exploration, and education, which 


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1 serves as the foundation for the policy updates by 

2 this Act. 

3 (3) Sustaining the investment and maximizing 

4 utilization of the ISS and ISS National Laboratory 

5 with our international and industry partners is— 

6 (A) consistent with the goals and objectives 

7 of the United States space program; and 

8 (B) imperative to continuing United States 

9 global leadership in human space exploration, 

10 science, research, technology development, and 

11 education opportunities that contribute to devel12 opment of the next generation of American sci13 entists, engineers, and leaders, and to creating 

14 the opportunity for economic development of 

15 low-Earth orbit. 

16 (4) NASA has made measurable progress in de17 velopment and testing of the Space Launch System 

18 and Orion exploration systems with the near-term 

19 objectives of the initial integrated test flight and 

20 launch in 2018, a human mission in 2021, and con21 tinued missions in cis-lunar space and eventually to 

22 the surface of Mars. 

23 (5) The Commercial Crew Program is on sched24 ule to reestablish the capability to launch United 


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1 States government astronauts from United States 

2 soil into orbit by the end of 2018. 

3 (6) The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, in its 

4 2015 Annual Report, urged continuity of purpose 

5 noting concerns over the potential for cost overruns 

6 and schedule slips that could accompany significant 

7 changes to core NASA programs. 

8 TITLE III—MAXIMIZING UTILIZA9 TION OF THE ISS AND LOW10 EARTH ORBIT 

11 SEC. 301. OPERATION OF THE ISS. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that— 

14 (1) after 15 years of continuous human pres15 ence in low-Earth orbit, the ISS continues to over16 come challenges and operate safely; 

17 (2) expansion of partnerships, scientific re18 search, commercial applications, and exploration 

19 testbed capabilities of the ISS is essential to ensur20 ing the greatest return on investments made by the 

21 United States and its international space partners in 

22 the development, assembly, and operations of that 

23 unique facility; 

24 (3) stable and successful Commercial Cargo and 

25 Commercial Crew programs are critical to ensuring 


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1 timely provisioning of the ISS and to reestablishing 

2 the capability to launch United States government 

3 astronauts from United States soil into orbit; 

4 (4) sustaining United States leadership and 

5 progress in human space exploration is enabled by 

6 continuing utilization of the ISS— 

7 (A) to facilitate the commercialization and 

8 economic development of low-Earth orbit; 

9 (B) to serve as a testbed for technologies, 

10 and to conduct scientific research and develop11 ment; and 

12 (C) as an orbital facility enabling research 

13 upon— 

14 (i) the health, well-being, and per15 formance of humans in space; and 

16 (ii) the development of in-space sys17 tems enabling human space exploration be18 yond low-Earth orbit; 

19 (5) the Administrator should continue to sup20 port the development of the Commercial Crew Pro21 gram as planned to end reliance upon Russian 

22 transport of United States government astronauts to 

23 the ISS which has not been possible since the retire24 ment of the Space Shuttle program in 2011; and 


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1 (6) the ISS should continue to provide a plat2 form for fundamental, microgravity, discovery-based 

3 space life and physical sciences research that is crit4 ical for enabling space exploration, protecting hu5 mans in space, increasing pathways for commercial 

6 space development that depend on advances in basic 

7 research, and contribute to advancing science, tech8 nology, engineering, and mathematics research. 

9 (b) CONTINUATION OF THE ISS.—Congress reaf10 firms the policy set forth in section 501 of the National 

11 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

12 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351) that it shall be the policy of 

13 the United States, in consultation with its international 

14 partners in the ISS program, to support full and complete 

15 utilization of the ISS through at least 2024. 

16 SEC. 302. TRANSPORTATION TO ISS. 

17 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMERCIAL CREW

18 AND COMMERCIAL CARGO PROGRAMS.—It is the sense of 

19 Congress that— 

20 (1) NASA should build upon the success of the 

21 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services and 

22 Commercial Resupply Services programs that have 

23 allowed private sector companies to partner with 

24 NASA to deliver cargo and scientific experiments to 

25 the ISS since 2012; 


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1 (2) once certified to meet NASA’s safety and 

2 reliability requirements and fully operational to meet 

3 ISS crew transfer needs, the Commercial Crew Pro4 gram transportation systems should serve as the pri5 mary means of transporting United States govern6 ment astronauts and international partner astro7 nauts from United States soil to and from the ISS; 

8 (3) Commercial Crew Program transportation 

9 systems should have the capability of serving as ISS 

10 emergency crew rescue vehicles; 

11 (4) the 21st Century Launch Complex Program 

12 has enabled significant modernization and infra13 structure improvements as launch sites across the 

14 United States to support NASA’s Commercial Re15 supply Services and other civil and commercial space 

16 flight missions; and 

17 (5) the 21st Century Launch Complex Program 

18 should be continued in a manner that leverages 

19 State and private investments to achieve the goals of 

20 the program. 

21 (b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

22 United States that, to foster the competitive development, 

23 operation, improvement and commercial availability of 

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1 ticable, shall be procured via fair and open competition 

2 for well-defined, milestone-based, Federal Acquisition 

3 Regulation-based contracts under section 201(a) of the 

4 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author5 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)). 

6 (c) COMMERCIAL CARGO PROGRAM.—Section 401 of 

7 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au8 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18341) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘Commercial Orbital Transportation Services’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘Commercial Resupply Services’’. 

11 (d) CREW SAFETY.—The Administrator shall protect 

12 the safety of United States crews by ensuring commercial 

13 crew systems meet all applicable human rating require14 ments in accordance with section 403(b)(1) of the Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza16 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18342(b)(1)). 

17 SEC. 303. ISS TRANSITION PLAN. 

18 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that NASA has been 

19 both the primary supplier and consumer of human space 

20 flight capabilities and services of the ISS and in low-Earth 

21 orbit. 

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that an orderly transition is needed for United 

24 States human space flight activities in low-Earth orbit 

25 from the current regime, that relies heavily on NASA 


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1 sponsorship, to a regime where NASA is one of many cus2 tomers of a low-Earth orbit commercial human space 

3 flight enterprise. 

4 (c) REPORTS.—Section 50111 of title 51, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(c) ISS TRANSITION PLAN.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in co9 ordination with the ISS management entity, ISS 

10 partners, the scientific user community, and the 

11 commercial space sector shall develop a plan to tran12 sition in a step-wise approach from the current re13 gime that relies heavily on NASA sponsorship to a 

14 regime where NASA is one of many customers of a 

15 low-Earth orbit commercial human space flight en16 terprise. 

17 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics 

19 and Space Administration Transition Authorization 

20 Act of 2016, and triennially thereafter until 2023, 

21 the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate 

22 committees of Congress a report that includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) an identification of low-Earth orbit 

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1 ration objectives and mission requirements be2 yond the period of operation and utilization of 

3 the ISS described in section 503 of the Na4 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration 

5 Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18353), 

6 if any; 

7 ‘‘(B) steps NASA is taking and will take, 

8 including demonstrations that could be con9 ducted on the ISS, to stimulate and facilitate 

10 commercial demand and supply of products and 

11 services in low-Earth orbit; 

12 ‘‘(C) an assessment of current and pro13 jected commercial activities in low-Earth orbit, 

14 including on the ISS, and their potential for 

15 meeting the capabilities identified in subpara16 graph (A); 

17 ‘‘(D) an identification of barriers pre18 venting the commercialization of low-Earth 

19 orbit, including issues relating to policy, regula20 tions, commercial intellectual property, data, 

21 and confidentiality that could inhibit the use of 

22 the ISS as a commercial incubator; 

23 ‘‘(E) an evaluation of the feasible and pre24 ferred service life of the ISS beyond the period 

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1 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

2 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18353), through at 

3 least 2028, as a unique scientific, commercial, 

4 and exploration-related facility, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) a general discussion of inter6 national partner capabilities and prospects 

7 for extending the partnership, to include 

8 the potential for participation by additional 

9 countries, for the purposes of the human 

10 development and exploration of deep space; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a review of essential systems, 

12 equipment upgrades, or potential mainte13 nance that would be necessary to extend 

14 ISS operations and utilization; 

15 ‘‘(iii) an evaluation of the cost and 

16 schedule requirements associated with the 

17 development and delivery of essential sys18 tems, equipment upgrades, or potential 

19 maintenance identified under clause (ii); 

20 ‘‘(iv) an identification of possible 

21 international, academic, or industry part22 ner contributions, cost-share, and program 

23 transitions to provide the upgrades identi24 fied under clause (ii); 


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1 ‘‘(v) impacts on the goals and objec2 tives of the ISS National Laboratory and 

3 the management entity responsible for op4 eration of the ISS National Laboratory; 

5 ‘‘(vi) impacts on services provided by 

6 the Commercial Resupply Services and 

7 Commercial Crew Program to the ISS; 

8 ‘‘(vii) impacts on the use of the ISS 

9 as a testbed to transition functions of the 

10 ISS to the commercial space sector and en11 hance economic development of low-Earth 

12 orbit, including the evolution of self-sus13 taining commercial activities; 

14 ‘‘(viii) an assessment on the technical 

15 limiting factor of the ISS lifetime, includ16 ing a list of critical components and their 

17 expected lifetime and availability; 

18 ‘‘(ix) an evaluation of the potential for 

19 expanding the use of ISS facilities to ac20 commodate the needs of researchers and 

21 other users, including changes to policies, 

22 regulations, and laws that would stimulate 

23 greater private and public involvement on 

24 the ISS; and 


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1 ‘‘(x) such other information as may be 

2 necessary to fully describe the justification 

3 for and feasibility of extending the service 

4 life of the ISS, including the potential sci5 entific or technological benefits to the Fed6 eral Government or public, or to academic 

7 or commercial entities; 

8 ‘‘(F) an evaluation of the functions, roles, 

9 and responsibilities for management and oper10 ation of the ISS and a determination of— 

11 ‘‘(i) those functions, roles, and re12 sponsibilities the Federal Government 

13 should retain during the lifecycle of the 

14 ISS; 

15 ‘‘(ii) those functions, roles, and re16 sponsibilities that could be transferred to 

17 the commercial space sector; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the metrics that would indicate 

19 the commercial space sector’s readiness 

20 and ability to assume the functions, roles, 

21 and responsibilities described in clause (ii); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iv) any necessary changes to any 

24 agreements or other documents and the 


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1 law to enable the activities described in 

2 subparagraphs (B) and (C); and 

3 ‘‘(G) progress on meeting human explo4 ration research objectives on ISS and prospects 

5 for accomplishing future exploration and other 

6 research objectives on future commercially sup7 plied low-Earth orbit platforms or migration of 

8 those objectives to cis-lunar space. 

9 ‘‘(3) DEMONSTRATIONS.—Demonstrations iden10 tified under paragraph (2) may— 

11 ‘‘(A) test the capabilities described in para12 graph (2)(A); and 

13 ‘‘(B) demonstrate or test capabilities, in14 cluding commercial modules or deep space habi15 tats, Environmental Control and Life Support 

16 Systems, orbital satellite assembly, exploration 

17 space suits, a node that enables a wide variety 

18 of activity, including multiple commercial mod19 ules and airlocks, additional docking or berth20 ing ports for commercial crew and cargo, oppor21 tunities for the commercial space sector to cost 

22 share for transportation and other services on 

23 the ISS, and other commercial activities.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—ADVANCING HUMAN 

2 DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 

3 Subtitle A—Human Exploration 

4 Goals and Objectives 

5 SEC. 411. HUMAN EXPLORATION LONG-TERM GOALS. 

6 Section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics and 

7 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

8 U.S.C. 18312(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(a) LONG-TERM GOALS.—The long-term goals of 

10 the human space flight and exploration efforts of NASA 

11 shall be— 

12 ‘‘(1) to expand permanent human presence be13 yond low-Earth orbit and to do so, where practical, 

14 in a manner involving international, academic, and 

15 industry partners; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the peaceful settlement of a location in 

17 space or on another celestial body and a thriving 

18 space economy in the 21st century.’’. 

19 SEC. 412. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. 

20 Section 202(b) of the National Aeronautics and 

21 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

22 U.S.C. 18312(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

24 inserting a semicolon; 


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

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(5) to achieve human exploration of Mars, in5 cluding the establishment of a capability to extend 

6 human presence, including potential human habi7 tation, on the surface of Mars.’’. 

8 SEC. 413. VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION. 

9 Section 20302 of title 51, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘in cis-lunar 

12 space or’’ after ‘‘sustained human presence’’; and 

13 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(b) FUTURE EXPLORATION OF MARS.—The Admin16 istrator shall manage human space flight programs, in17 cluding the Space Launch System and Orion, to enable 

18 humans to explore Mars and other destinations by defin19 ing a series of sustainable steps and conducting mission 

20 planning, research, and technology development on a time21 table that is technically and fiscally possible, consistent 

22 with section 70504.’’. 

23 SEC. 414. EXPLORATION PLAN AND PROGRAMS. 

24 Section 70502(2) of title 51, United States Code, is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) implement an exploration research and 

2 technology development program to enable human 

3 and robotic operations consistent with section 

4 20302(b) of this title;’’. 

5 SEC. 415. STEPPING STONE APPROACH TO EXPLORATION. 

6 Section 70504 of title 51, United States Code, is 

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘§ 70504. Stepping stone approach to exploration 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to maximize the cost10 effectiveness of the long-term exploration and utilization 

11 activities of the United States, the Administrator shall 

12 take all necessary steps, including engaging international, 

13 academic, and industry partners to ensure that activities 

14 in the Administration’s human exploration program bal15 ance how those activities might also help meet the require16 ments of future exploration and utilization activities lead17 ing to human habitation on the surface of Mars. 

18 ‘‘(b) COMPLETION.—Within budgetary consider19 ations, once an exploration-related project enters its devel20 opment phase, the Administrator shall seek, to the max21 imum extent practicable, to complete that project without 

22 undue delays.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Assuring Core 

2 Capabilities for Exploration 

3 SEC. 421. SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM AND ORION. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) NASA has made steady progress in devel7 oping and testing the Space Launch System and 

8 Orion exploration systems with the successful Explo9 ration Flight Test of Orion in December of 2014, 

10 the final qualification test firing of the 5-segment 

11 Space Launch System boosters in June 2016, and a 

12 full thrust, full duration test firing of the RS–25 

13 Space Launch System core stage engine in August 

14 2016. 

15 (2) Through the 21st Century Launch Complex 

16 program and Exploration Ground Systems (referred 

17 to in this section as ‘‘EGS’’) programs, NASA has 

18 made significant progress in transforming explo19 ration ground systems infrastructure to meet 

20 NASA’s mission requirements for the Space Launch 

21 System and Orion and to modernize NASA’s launch 

22 complexes to the benefit of the civil, defense, and 

23 commercial space sectors. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SPACE LAUNCH SYS2 TEM, ORION, AND EGS.—It is the sense of Congress 

3 that— 

4 (1) as the United States works to send humans 

5 on a series of missions on or near Mars in the 

6 2030s, the United States national space program 

7 should continue to make progress on its commitment 

8 by fully developing the Space Launch System, Orion, 

9 and related exploration ground systems; 

10 (2) using the Space Launch System and Orion 

11 for a wide range of contemplated missions will facili12 tate the national defense, science, and exploration 

13 objectives of the United States; and 

14 (3) continuity of purpose within the Space 

15 Launch System and Orion programs are imperative 

16 as NASA prepares for the uncrewed mission, EM– 

17 1, planned for 2018 followed by the crewed mission, 

18 EM–2, in cis-lunar space planned for 2021, and for 

19 subsequent missions beginning with EM–3 extending 

20 into cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. 

21 (c) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) EXPLORATION MISSIONS.—The Adminis23 trator shall continue development of— 

24 (A) an uncrewed exploration mission to 

25 demonstrate the capability of both the Space 


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1 Launch System and Orion as an integrated sys2 tem by 2018; 

3 (B) a crewed exploration mission to dem4 onstrate the Space Launch System, including 

5 the Core Stage and Exploration Upper Stages, 

6 and the crewed Orion by 2021; 

7 (C) subsequent missions beginning with 

8 EM–3 using the Space Launch System and 

9 Orion to extend into cis-lunar space and eventu10 ally to Mars; and 

11 (D) development of a deep space habitat as 

12 the next element in a deep space exploration ar13 chitecture along with the Space Launch System 

14 and Orion. 

15 (2) OTHER USES.—The Administrator shall as16 sess the utility of the Space Launch System for use 

17 by the science community and for other Federal 

18 Government launch needs, including consideration of 

19 overall cost and schedule savings from reduced tran20 sit times and increased science returns enabled by 

21 the unique capabilities of the Space Launch System. 

22 Subtitle C—Journey to Mars 

23 SEC. 431. SPACE TECHNOLOGY INFUSION. 

24 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that advancing propulsion technology would improve 


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1 the efficiency of trips to Mars and could shorten travel 

2 time to Mars and reduce astronaut health risks, reduce 

3 radiation exposure, consumables, and mass of materials 

4 required for the journey. 

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

6 that the Administrator shall develop technologies to sup7 port the Administration’s core missions as described in 

8 section 2(3) of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad9 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

10 18301(3)) and support sustained investments in early 

11 stage innovation and fundamental research, and tech12 nologies to expand the boundaries of the national aero13 space enterprise. 

14 (c) PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES.—A goal of propul15 sion technologies developed under subsection (b), shall be 

16 to significantly reduce human travel time to Mars. 

17 SEC. 432. FINDINGS ON HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION. 

18 Congress makes the following findings: 

19 (1) In accordance with section 204 of the Na20 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au21 thorization Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 2813), the Na22 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med23 icine, through its Committee on Human Spaceflight, 

24 conducted a review of the goals, core capabilities, 

25 and direction of human space flight, and published 


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1 the findings and recommendations in a 2014 report 

2 entitled, ‘‘Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and 

3 Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space 

4 Exploration’’. 

5 (2) The Committee on Human Spaceflight in6 cluded leaders from the aerospace, scientific, secu7 rity, and policy communities. 

8 (3) With input from the public, the Committee 

9 on Human Spaceflight concluded that many prac10 tical and aspirational rationales for human space 

11 flight together constitute a compelling case for con12 tinued national investment and pursuit of human 

13 space exploration toward the horizon goal of Mars. 

14 (4) According to the Committee on Human 

15 Spaceflight, the rationales include economic benefits, 

16 national security, national prestige, inspiring stu17 dents and other citizens, scientific discovery, human 

18 survival, and a sense of shared destiny. 

19 (5) The Committee on Human Spaceflight af20 firmed that Mars is the appropriate long-term goal 

21 for the human space flight program. 

22 (6) The Committee on Human Spaceflight rec23 ommended that NASA define a series of sustainable 

24 steps and conduct mission planning and technology 


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1 development as needed to achieve the long-term goal 

2 of placing humans on the surface of Mars. 

3 (7) Expanding human presence beyond low4 Earth orbit and advancing toward human missions 

5 to Mars requires early planning and timely decisions 

6 to be made in the near-term on the necessary 

7 courses of action for commitments to achieve short8 term and long-term goals and objectives. 

9 (8) In addition to the 2014 report described in 

10 paragraph (1), there are several independently devel11 oped reports or concepts that describe potential 

12 Mars architectures or concepts and identify Mars as 

13 the long-term goal for human space exploration, in14 cluding NASA’s ‘‘The Global Exploration Roadmap’’ 

15 of 2013, ‘‘NASA’s Journey to Mars–Pioneering 

16 Next Steps in Space Exploration’’ of 2015, NASA 

17 Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s ‘‘Minimal Architecture 

18 for Human Journeys to Mars’’ of 2015, and Explore 

19 Mars’ ‘‘The Humans to Mars Report 2016’’. 

20 SEC. 433. STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR HUMAN 

21 SPACEFLIGHT AND EXPLORATION. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) expanding human presence beyond low25 Earth orbit and advancing toward human missions 


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1 to Mars in the 2030s requires early planning and 

2 timely decisions to be made in the near-term on the 

3 necessary courses of action for commitments to 

4 achieve short-term and long-term goals and objec5 tives; 

6 (2) for strong and sustained United States 

7 leadership, a need exists to advance a strategic 

8 framework, addressing exploration objectives in col9 laboration with international, academic, and industry 

10 partners; 

11 (3) an approach that incrementally advances to12 ward a long-term goal is one in which nearer-term 

13 developments and implementation would influence 

14 future development and implementation; and 

15 (4) a strategic framework should begin with 

16 low-Earth orbit, then address progress beyond low17 Earth orbit to cis-lunar space in greater detail than 

18 future missions ultimately aimed at human arrival 

19 and activities on or near Mars. 

20 (b) STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de22 velop a strategic framework, including, a critical de23 cision plan, to expand human presence beyond low24 Earth orbit, including to cis-lunar space, the moons 

25 of Mars, the surface of Mars, and beyond. 


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1 (2) SCOPE.—The strategic framework shall in2 clude— 

3 (A) an integrated set of exploration, 

4 science, and other goals and objectives of a 

5 United States human space exploration pro6 gram with the long-term goal of human mis7 sions near to or on the surface of Mars in the 

8 2030s; 

9 (B) opportunities for international, aca10 demic, and industry partnerships for explo11 ration-related systems, services, research, and 

12 technology if those opportunities provide cost13 savings, accelerate program schedules, or other14 wise benefit the exploration objectives developed 

15 under subparagraph (A); 

16 (C) precursor missions in cis-lunar space 

17 and other missions or activities necessary to 

18 meet the exploration objectives developed under 

19 subparagraph (A); 

20 (D) capabilities and technologies, including 

21 the Space Launch System, Orion, a deep space 

22 habitat, and other capabilities, that enable the 

23 exploration objectives developed under subpara24 graph (A); 


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1 (E) a description of how cis-lunar ele2 ments, objectives, and activities advance the 

3 human exploration of Mars; 

4 (F) an assessment of potential human 

5 health and other risks, including radiation expo6 sure; and 

7 (G) mitigation plans, whenever possible, to 

8 address the risks identified in subparagraph 

9 (F). 

10 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the stra11 tegic framework, the Administrator shall consider— 

12 (A) using key exploration capabilities, 

13 namely the Space Launch System and Orion; 

14 (B) using existing commercially available 

15 technologies and capabilities or those tech16 nologies and capabilities being developed by in17 dustry for commercial purposes; 

18 (C) an organizational approach to ensure 

19 collaboration and coordination among NASA’s 

20 Mission Directorates under section 621, when 

21 appropriate; 

22 (D) building upon the initial uncrewed 

23 mission, EM–1, and first crewed mission, EM– 

24 2, of the Space Launch System and Orion to 

25 establish a sustainable cadence of missions exVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Dec 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3346.RS S3346

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1 tending human exploration missions into cis2 lunar space; 

3 (E) developing the precursor missions and 

4 activities that will demonstrate, test, and de5 velop key technologies and capabilities essential 

6 for achieving human missions to Mars, includ7 ing long-duration human operations beyond 

8 low-Earth orbit, space suits, solar electric pro9 pulsion, deep space habitats, environmental con10 trol life support systems, Mars lander and as11 cent vehicle, entry, descent, landing, ascent, 

12 Mars surface systems, and in-situ resource utili13 zation; 

14 (F) demonstrating and testing one or more 

15 habitat modules in cis-lunar space to prepare 

16 for Mars missions; 

17 (G) using public-private, firm fixed-price 

18 partnerships, where practicable; 

19 (H) collaborating with international, aca20 demic, and industry partners, when appro21 priate; 

22 (I) risks to human health and sensitive on23 board technologies, including radiation expo24 sure; 


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1 (J) evaluating the risks identified through 

2 research outcomes under the NASA Human Re3 search Program’s Behavioral Health Element; 

4 and 

5 (K) the recommendations and ideas of sev6 eral independently developed reports or con7 cepts that describe potential Mars architectures 

8 or concepts and identify Mars as the long-term 

9 goal for human space exploration, including the 

10 reports described under section 432(8). 

11 (4) CRITICAL DECISION PLAN ON HUMAN SPACE

12 EXPLORATION.—As part of the strategic framework, 

13 the Administrator shall include a critical decision 

14 plan— 

15 (A) identifying and defining key decisions 

16 guiding human space exploration priorities and 

17 plans that need to be made before June 30, 

18 2020, including decisions that may guide 

19 human space exploration capability develop20 ment, precursor missions, long-term missions, 

21 and activities; and 

22 (B) defining decisions needed to maximize 

23 efficiencies and resources for reaching the near, 

24 intermediate, and long-term goals and objec25 tives of human space exploration. 


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1 (5) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall submit 

2 an initial strategic framework, including a critical 

3 decision plan, to the appropriate committee of Con4 gress before December 31, 2017, and an updated 

5 strategic framework biennially thereafter. 

6 SEC. 434. ADVANCED SPACE SUIT CAPABILITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub9 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed 

10 plan for achieving an advanced space suit capability that 

11 aligns with the crew needs for exploration enabled by the 

12 space launch system and Orion, including an evaluation 

13 of the merit of delivering the planned suit system for use 

14 on the ISS. 

15 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the detailed 

16 plan under subsection (a), the Administrator shall con17 sider leveraging NASA’s existing investments and tech18 nologies. 

19 SEC. 435. ASTEROID ROBOTIC REDIRECT MISSION. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find21 ings: 

22 (1) NASA initially estimated that the Asteroid 

23 Robotic Redirect Mission would launch in December 

24 2020 and cost no more than $1.25 billion, excluding 

25 launch and operations. 


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1 (2) On July 15, 2016, NASA conducted its Key 

2 Decision Point–B review of the Asteroid Robotic Re3 direct Mission or approval for Phase B in mission 

4 formulation. 

5 (3) During the Key Decision Point–B review, 

6 NASA estimated that costs have grown to $1.4 bil7 lion excluding launch and operations for a launch in 

8 December 2021 and the agency must evaluate 

9 whether to accept the increase or reduce the Aster10 oid Robotic Redirect Mission’s scope to stay within 

11 the cost cap set by the Administrator. 

12 (4) In April 2015, the NASA Advisory Coun13 cil— 

14 (A) issued a finding that— 

15 (i) high-performance solar electric 

16 propulsion will likely be an important part 

17 of an architecture to send humans to 

18 Mars; and 

19 (ii) maneuvering a large test mass is 

20 not necessary to provide a valid in-space 

21 test of a new solar electric propulsion 

22 stage; 

23 (B) determined that a solar electric propul24 sion mission will contribute more directly to the 

25 goal of sending humans to Mars if the mission 


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1 is focused entirely on development and valida2 tion of the solar electric propulsion stage; and 

3 (C) determined that other possible motiva4 tions for acquiring and maneuvering a boulder, 

5 such as asteroid science and planetary defense, 

6 do not have value commensurate with their 

7 probable cost. 

8 (5) The Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission is 

9 competing for resources with other critical explo10 ration development programs, including the Space 

11 Launch System, Orion, commercial crew, and a hab12 itation module. 

13 (6) In 2014, the NASA Advisory Council rec14 ommended that NASA conduct an independent cost 

15 and technical assessment of the Asteroid Robotic 

16 Redirect Mission. 

17 (7) NASA completed the assessment under 

18 paragraph (6) and reviewed it as part of the agen19 cy’s Key Decision Point–B review. 

20 (8) In 2015, the NASA Advisory Council rec21 ommended that NASA preserve the following key ob22 jectives if the program needed to be descoped: 

23 (A) Development of high power solar elec24 tric propulsion. 


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1 (B) Ability to maneuver in a low gravity 

2 environment in deep space. 

3 (9) In January 2015 and July 2015, the NASA 

4 Advisory Council expressed its concern to NASA 

5 about the potential for growing costs for the pro6 gram and highlighted that choices would need to be 

7 made about the program’s content. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) the technological and scientific goals of the 

11 Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission may not be com12 mensurate with the cost; and 

13 (2) alternative missions may provide a more 

14 cost effective and scientifically beneficial means to 

15 demonstrate the technologies needed for a human 

16 mission to Mars that would otherwise be dem17 onstrated by the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission. 

18 (c) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis20 trator shall— 

21 (1) conduct an evaluation of— 

22 (A) alternative approaches to the Asteroid 

23 Robotic Redirect Mission for demonstrating the 

24 technologies and capabilities needed for a 

25 human mission to Mars that would otherwise be 


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1 demonstrated by the Asteroid Robotic Redirect 

2 Mission; 

3 (B) the scientific and technical benefits of 

4 the alternatives approaches identified in sub5 paragraph (A) compared to the Asteroid Redi6 rect Robotic Mission to future human explo7 ration; 

8 (C) the commercial benefits of the alter9 native approaches identified in subparagraph 

10 (A), including the impact on the development of 

11 domestic solar electric propulsion technology to 

12 bolster United States competitiveness in the 

13 global marketplace; and 

14 (D) a comparison of the estimated costs of 

15 the alternative approaches identified in sub16 paragraph (A); and 

17 (2) submit to the appropriate Committees of 

18 Congress a report on the evaluation under para19 graph (1), including any recommendations. 

20 Subtitle D—Scott Kelly Human 

21 Spaceflight and Exploration Act 

22 SEC. 441. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Scott Kelly Human 

24 Spaceflight and Exploration Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 442. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) Human space exploration can pose signifi5 cant challenges and is full of substantial risk, which 

6 has ultimately claimed the lives of 24 National Aero7 nautics and Space Administration astronauts serving 

8 in the line of duty. 

9 (2) As United States government astronauts 

10 participate in long-duration and exploration 

11 spaceflight missions they may experience increased 

12 health risks, such as vision impairment, bone 

13 demineralization, and behavioral health and perform14 ance risks, and may be exposed to galactic cosmic 

15 radiation. Exposure to high levels of radiation and 

16 microgravity can result in acute and long-term 

17 health consequences that can increase the risk of 

18 cancer and tissue degeneration and have potential 

19 effects on the musculoskeletal system, central nerv20 ous system, cardiovascular system, immune function, 

21 and vision. 

22 (3) To advance the goal of long-duration and 

23 exploration spaceflight missions, United States gov24 ernment astronaut Scott Kelly participated in a 1- 

25 year twins study in space while his identical twin 

26 brother, former United States government astronaut 


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1 Mark Kelly, acted as a human control specimen on 

2 Earth, providing an understanding of the physical, 

3 behavioral, microbiological, and molecular reaction of 

4 the human body to an extended period of time in 

5 space. 

6 (4) Since the Administration currently provides 

7 medical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment for 

8 United States government astronauts during their 

9 active employment, given the unknown long-term 

10 health consequences of long-duration space explo11 ration, the Administration has requested statutory 

12 authority from Congress to provide medical moni13 toring, diagnosis, and treatment to former crew14 members of human space flights for psychological 

15 and medical conditions associated with human space 

16 flight. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that— 

19 (1) the United States should continue to seek 

20 the unknown and lead the world in space exploration 

21 and scientific discovery as the Administration pre22 pares for long-duration and exploration spaceflight 

23 in deep space and an eventual mission to Mars; 


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1 (2) data relating to the health of astronauts will 

2 become increasingly valuable to improving our un3 derstanding of many diseases humans face on Earth; 

4 (3) the Administration should provide the type 

5 of monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment described in 

6 subsection (a) only for conditions the Administration 

7 considers unique to the training or exposure to the 

8 spaceflight environment of crewmembers of human 

9 space flights and should not require any former 

10 crewmembers to participate in the Administration’s 

11 monitoring; 

12 (4) such monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment 

13 should not replace a former crewmember’s private 

14 health insurance; 

15 (5) expanded data acquired from such moni16 toring, diagnosis, and treatment should be used to 

17 tailor treatment, inform the requirements for new 

18 spaceflight medical hardware, and develop controls 

19 in order to prevent disease occurrence in the astro20 naut corps; 

21 (6) the Administration’s existing radiation ex22 posure standards, which have been used for missions 

23 pertaining to the Space Shuttle and the ISS, would 

24 limit missions to durations of 150 to 250 days and 

25 would pose significant challenges to long-duration or 


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1 exploration spaceflight or a multiyear mission to 

2 Mars; and 

3 (7) the 340-day space mission of Scott Kelly 

4 aboard the ISS— 

5 (A) was pivotal for the goal of the United 

6 States for humans to explore deep space and 

7 Mars as the mission generated new insight into 

8 how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, 

9 isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-dura10 tion space flight; and 

11 (B) will help support the physical and 

12 mental well-being of astronauts during longer 

13 space exploration missions in the future. 

14 SEC. 443. MEDICAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH RELAT15 ING TO HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 201 of 

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

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 20148. Medical monitoring and research relating to 

20 human space flight 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro22 vision of law, the Administrator may provide for the med23 ical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of a United 

24 States government astronaut, or a former United States 

25 government astronaut or payload specialist for conditions 


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1 that the Administrator considers associated with human 

2 space flight, including scientific and medical tests for psy3 chological and medical conditions. 

4 ‘‘(b) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may not— 

5 ‘‘(1) provide for medical monitoring, diagnosis, 

6 or treatment of a United States government astro7 naut, or a former United States government astro8 naut or payload specialist under subsection (a) for 

9 any psychological or medical condition that is not as10 sociated with human space flight; or 

11 ‘‘(2) require a former United States govern12 ment astronaut or payload specialist to participate 

13 in the monitoring authorized under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(c) PRIVACY.—Consistent with applicable provisions 

15 of law relating to privacy, the Administrator shall protect 

16 the privacy of all medical records generated under sub17 section (a) and accessible to the Administration. 

18 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro19 mulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 

20 section.’’. 

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

22 chapter 201 of title 51, United States Code, is amended 

23 by inserting after the item relating to section 20147 the 

24 following: 

‘‘20148. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—ADVANCING SPACE 

2 SCIENCE 

3 SEC. 501. MAINTAINING A BALANCED SPACE SCIENCE 

4 PORTFOLIO. 

5 (a) SCIENCE PORTFOLIO.—Section 803 of the Na6 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza7 tion Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–267; 124 Stat. 2832) 

8 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 803. OVERALL SCIENCE PORTFOLIO. 

10 ‘‘Congress restates its sense that— 

11 ‘‘(1) a balanced and adequately funded set of 

12 activities, consisting of research and analysis grants 

13 programs, technology development, suborbital re14 search activities, and small, medium, and large space 

15 missions, contributes to a robust and productive 

16 science program and serves as a catalyst for innova17 tion and discovery; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the Administrator should set science prior19 ities by following the guidance provided by the sci20 entific community through the National Academy of 

21 Sciences’ decadal surveys.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

23 to section 803 in the table of contents in section 1(b) of 

24 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au25 thorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–267; 124 Stat. 


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1 2806) is amended by striking ‘‘Overall science portfolio2 sense of the Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘Overall science 

3 portfolio’’. 

4 SEC. 502. PLANETARY SCIENCE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) Administration support for planetary 

7 science is critical to enabling greater understanding 

8 of the solar system and the origin of the Earth; 

9 (2) the United States leads the world in plan10 etary science and can augment its success in that 

11 area with appropriate international, academic, and 

12 industry partnerships; 

13 (3) a mix of small, medium, and large planetary 

14 science missions is required to sustain a steady ca15 dence of planetary exploration; and 

16 (4) robotic planetary exploration is a key com17 ponent of preparing for future human exploration. 

18 (b) MISSION PRIORITIES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the pri20 orities established in the most recent decadal survey 

21 for planetary science, the Administrator shall en22 sure, to the greatest extent practicable, the comple23 tion of a balanced set of Discovery, New Frontiers, 

24 and flagship missions. 


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1 (2) MISSION PRIORITY ADJUSTMENTS.—Con2 sistent with the set of missions described in para3 graph (1), and while maintaining the continuity of 

4 scientific data and steady development of capabilities 

5 and technologies, the Administrator may seek, if 

6 necessary, adjustments to mission priorities, sched7 ule, and scope in light of changing budget projec8 tions. 

9 SEC. 503. JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that— 

12 (1) the James Webb Space Telescope should 

13 significantly advance our understanding of star and 

14 planet formation, improve our knowledge of the early 

15 universe, and support United States leadership in 

16 astrophysics; and 

17 (2) consistent with annual Government Ac18 countability Office reviews of the James Webb Space 

19 Telescope program, the Administrator should con20 tinue robust surveillance of the performance of the 

21 James Webb Space Telescope project and continue 

22 to improve the reliability of cost estimates and con23 tractor performance data and other major 

24 spaceflight projects in order to enhance NASA’s 


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1 ability to successfully deliver the James Webb Space 

2 Telescope on-time and within budget. 

3 SEC. 504. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON WIDE-FIELD INFRARED 

4 SURVEY TELESCOPE. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope 

7 (commonly known as ‘‘WFIRST’’) mission has the 

8 potential to enable scientific discoveries that will 

9 transform our understanding of the universe; and 

10 (2) the Administrator, to the extent practicable, 

11 should make progress on the technologies and capa12 bilities needed to position the Administration to 

13 meet the objectives, as outlined in the 2010 National 

14 Academies’ Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal 

15 Survey, in a way that maximizes the scientific pro16 ductivity of meeting those objectives for the re17 sources invested. 

18 SEC. 505. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON MARS 2020 ROVER. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that— 

20 (1) the Mars 2020 mission, to develop a Mars 

21 rover and to enable the return of samples to Earth, 

22 should remain a priority for NASA; and 

23 (2) the Mars 2020 mission— 

24 (A) should significantly increase our un25 derstanding of Mars; 


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1 (B) should help determine whether life pre2 viously existed on that planet; and 

3 (C) should provide opportunities to gather 

4 knowledge and demonstrate technologies that 

5 address the challenges of future human expedi6 tions to Mars. 

7 SEC. 506. EUROPA. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find9 ings: 

10 (1) Studies of Europa, Jupiter’s moon, indicate 

11 that Europa may provide a habitable environment, 

12 as it contains key ingredients known to support life 

13 on Earth, including liquid water, heat, chemistry, 

14 and time. 

15 (2) In 2012, using the Hubble Space Telescope, 

16 NASA scientists observed water vapor around the 

17 south polar region of Europa, which provides poten18 tial evidence of water plumes in that region. 

19 (3) For decades, the Europa mission has con20 sistently ranked as a high priority mission for the 

21 scientific community. 

22 (4) The Europa mission was ranked as the top 

23 priority mission in the previous Planetary Science 

24 Decadal Survey and ranked as the second-highest 


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1 priority in the current Planetary Science Decadal 

2 Survey. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) the Europa mission could provide another 

6 avenue in which to capitalize on our Nation’s cur7 rent investment in the Space Launch System that 

8 would significantly reduce the transit time for such 

9 a deep space mission; and 

10 (2) a scientific, robotic exploration mission to 

11 Europa, as prioritized in both Planetary Science 

12 Decadal Surveys, should be supported. 

13 TITLE VI—MAXIMIZING 

14 EFFICIENCY 

15 Subtitle A—Agency Information 

16 Technology and Cybersecurity 

17 SEC. 611. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta19 tion with the chief information officer of NASA, shall— 

20 (1) ensure the NASA Chief Information Officer 

21 has a significant role in the management, govern22 ance, and oversight processes related to information 

23 technology operations and investments and informa24 tion security programs for the protection of NASA 

25 systems; 


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1 (2) establish the NASA Chief Information Offi2 cer as a direct report to the Administrator; 

3 (3) ensure the NASA Chief Information Officer 

4 has the appropriate resources and insight to oversee 

5 NASA information technology and information secu6 rity operations and investments; 

7 (4) provide an information technology program 

8 management framework to increase the efficiency 

9 and effectiveness of information technology invest10 ments, including relying on metrics for identifying 

11 and reducing potential duplication, waste, and cost; 

12 (5) establish a monetary threshold for all agen13 cy information technology investments and related 

14 contracts, including non-highly and highly special15 ized and specialized information technology, regard16 less of the procurement instrument, over which the 

17 NASA Chief Information Officer shall have final ap18 proval; 

19 (6) improve the operational linkage between the 

20 NASA Chief Information Officer and each NASA 

21 mission directorate, center, and mission support of22 fice to ensure both agency and mission needs are 

23 considered in agency-wide information technology 

24 and information security management and oversight; 


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1 (7) review the portfolio of information tech2 nology investments and spending, including informa3 tion technology-related investments included as part 

4 of activities within NASA mission directorates that 

5 may not be considered information technology, to en6 sure investments are recognized and reported appro7 priately based on guidance from the Office of Man8 agement and Budget; 

9 (8) consider appropriate revisions to the char10 ters of information technology boards and councils 

11 that inform information technology investment and 

12 operation decisions; and 

13 (9) consider whether the Chief Information Of14 ficer should have a seat on any boards or councils 

15 described in paragraph (8). 

16 SEC. 612. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

18 NASA Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the 

19 chief information officer of each Administration center, 

20 shall develop an information technology strategic plan to 

21 guide NASA information technology management and 

22 strategic objectives. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the strategic 

24 plan, the NASA Chief Information Officer shall ensure 

25 that the strategic plan is consistent with— 


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1 (1) the deadline under section 306(a) of title 5, 

2 United States Code; and 

3 (2) the requirements under section 3506 of title 

4 44, United States Code. 

5 (c) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan shall include— 

6 (1) near and long-term goals and objectives for 

7 leveraging information technology; 

8 (2) a plan for how the NASA Chief Information 

9 Officer will submit to Congress of a list of informa10 tion technology projects, including completion dates 

11 and risk level in accordance with guidance from the 

12 Office of Management and Budget; 

13 (3) an implementation overview for an agency14 wide centralized approach to information technology 

15 investments and operations, including reducing bar16 riers to cross-center collaboration; 

17 (4) coordination by the NASA Chief Informa18 tion Officer with centers and mission directorates to 

19 ensure that information technology policies are effec20 tively and efficiently implemented across the agency; 

21 (5) a plan to increase the efficiency and effec22 tiveness of information technology investments, in23 cluding a description of how unnecessarily duplica24 tive, wasteful, legacy, or outdated information tech25 nology across NASA will be identified and elimiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Dec 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3346.RS S3346

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1 nated, and a schedule for the identification and 

2 elimination of such information technology; 

3 (6) a plan for improving the information secu4 rity of agency information and agency information 

5 systems, including improving security control assess6 ments and role-based security training of employees; 

7 and 

8 (7) submission by the NASA Chief Information 

9 Officer to Congress of information regarding high 

10 risk projects and cybersecurity risks. 

11 (d) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The NASA Chief 

12 Information Officer shall submit to the appropriate com13 mittees of Congress the strategic plan under subsection 

14 (a) and any updates thereto. 

15 SEC. 613. CYBERSECURITY. 

16 (a) FINDING.—The security of NASA information 

17 and information systems is vital to the success of the mis18 sion of the agency. 

19 (b) INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.—Section 1207 of 

20 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au21 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18445) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c) 

23 as subsections (b) through (d), respectively; 

24 (2) by inserting before subsection (b), as redes25 ignated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) AGENCY-WIDE INFORMATION SECURITY

2 PLAN.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics 

5 and Space Administration Transition Authorization 

6 Act of 2016, the Administrator shall implement the 

7 information security plan developed under paragraph 

8 (2) and take such further actions as the Adminis9 trator considers necessary to improve the informa10 tion security system in accordance with this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.—Subject 

12 to paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), the chief informa13 tion officer of NASA, shall develop an agency-wide 

14 information security plan to enhance information se15 curity for NASA information and information infra16 structure. 

17 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the plan 

18 under paragraph (2), the chief information officer 

19 shall ensure that the plan— 

20 ‘‘(A) is consistent with policies, standards, 

21 guidelines, and directives on information secu22 rity under subchapter II of chapter 35 of title 

23 44, United States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is consistent with the standards and 

2 guidelines under section 11331 of title 40, 

3 United States Code; and 

4 ‘‘(C) meets applicable National Institute of 

5 Standards and Technology information security 

6 standards and guidelines. 

7 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL.—The chief information officer 

8 shall submit the plan to the Administrator for ap9 proval prior to its implementation. 

10 ‘‘(5) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

11 ‘‘(A) an overview of the requirements of 

12 the information security system; 

13 ‘‘(B) an agency-wide risk management 

14 framework for information security; 

15 ‘‘(C) a description of the information secu16 rity system management controls and common 

17 controls that are necessary to ensure compli18 ance with information security-related require19 ments; 

20 ‘‘(D) an identification and assignment of 

21 roles, responsibilities, and management commit22 ment for information security at the agency; 

23 ‘‘(E) coordination among organizational 

24 entities, including between each center, facility, 

25 mission directorate, and mission support office, 


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1 and among agency entities responsible for dif2 ferent aspects of information security; 

3 ‘‘(F) heightened consideration of the need 

4 to protect the information security of mission5 critical systems and activities and high-impact 

6 and moderate-impact information systems; and 

7 ‘‘(G) a schedule of frequent reviews and 

8 updates, as necessary, of the plan.’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (b), as redesignated— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 

12 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

14 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

15 and’’; and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(D) an update on the agency’s efforts to 

19 apply additional information security protec20 tions to secure high-impact and moderate-im21 pact information systems and mission-critical 

22 systems and activities, including those systems 

23 that control spacecraft and maintain critical 

24 data sources.’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 

2 3545’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3555’’. 

3 SEC. 614. OVERSIGHT IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS. 

4 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, and periodically thereafter until the informa6 tion security plan under section 1207 of the National Aer7 onautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

8 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18445), as amended, is developed and 

9 implemented agency-wide, the Administrator shall provide 

10 to the appropriate committees of Congress an update on 

11 the progress made toward implementation of or response 

12 to— 

13 (1) the information security plan under that 

14 section; and 

15 (2) the information security-related rec16 ommendations made by the NASA Inspector General 

17 and the Comptroller General in the 5 years pre18 ceding the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 615. SOFTWARE OVERSIGHT. 

20 The Administrator shall— 

21 (1) develop a strategic plan to transition NASA 

22 from legacy software by adopting a service-based ac23 quisition model in line with industry best practices; 

24 (2) develop and implement an agency-wide soft25 ware license management policy to improve cenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Dec 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3346.RS S3346

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1 tralization, lifecycle management, and procurement 

2 education, including education on contract negotia3 tions, relevant laws and regulations, and agency-wide 

4 contract terms and conditions; and 

5 (3) direct an agency-wide inventory of NASA’s 

6 total software licenses and spending, including costs, 

7 benefits, usage, and trending data. 

8 SEC. 616. SECURITY MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN NATIONAL 

9 ACCESS. 

10 The Administrator shall notify the appropriate com11 mittees of Congress when the agency has implemented the 

12 information technology security recommendations from 

13 the National Academy of Public Administration on foreign 

14 national access management, based on reports from Janu15 ary 2014 and March 2016. 

16 SEC. 617. CYBERSECURITY OF WEB APPLICATIONS. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the NASA Chief Information Officer shall— 

19 (1) develop a plan, including such actions and 

20 milestones as are necessary, to fully remediate secu21 rity vulnerabilities of NASA web applications within 

22 a timely fashion after discovery; and 

23 (2) implement the recommendation from the 

24 NASA Inspector General in the audit report dated 

25 July 10, 2014, (IG–14–023) to remove from the 


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1 Internet or secure with a web application firewall all 

2 NASA web applications in development or testing 

3 mode. 

4 Subtitle B—Collaboration Among 

5 Mission Directorates and Other 

6 Matters 

7 SEC. 621. COLLABORATION AMONG MISSION DIREC8 TORATES. 

9 The Administrator shall encourage an interdiscipli10 nary approach among all NASA mission directorates and 

11 divisions, whenever appropriate, for projects or missions— 

12 (1) to improve coordination, and encourage col13 laboration and early planning on scope; 

14 (2) to determine areas of overlap or alignment; 

15 (3) to find ways to leverage across divisional 

16 perspectives to maximize the outcomes; and 

17 (4) to be more efficient with resources and 

18 funds. 

19 SEC. 622. NASA LAUNCH CAPABILITIES COLLABORATION. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find21 ings: 

22 (1) The Launch Services Program is respon23 sible for the acquisition, management, and technical 

24 oversight of commercial launch services for NASA’s 

25 science and robotic missions. 


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1 (2) The Commercial Crew Program is respon2 sible for the acquisition, management, and technical 

3 oversight of commercial crew transportation systems. 

4 (3) The Launch Services Program and Com5 mercial Crew Program have worked together to gain 

6 exceptional technical insight into the contracted 

7 launch service providers that are common to both 

8 programs. 

9 (4) The Launch Services Program has a long 

10 history of oversight of 12 different launch vehicles 

11 and over 80 launches. 

12 (5) Co-location of the Launch Services Program 

13 and Commercial Crew Program has enabled the 

14 Commercial Crew Program to efficiently obtain the 

15 launch vehicle technical expertise of and provide en16 gineering and analytical support to the Commercial 

17 Crew Program. 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that— 

20 (1) the Launch Services Program and Commer21 cial Crew Program each benefit from communication 

22 and coordination of launch manifests, technical in23 formation, and common launch vehicle insight be24 tween the programs; and 


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1 (2) such communication and coordination is en2 abled by the co-location of the programs. 

3 (c) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pursue a 

4 strategy for acquisition of crewed transportation services 

5 and non-crewed launch services that continues to enhance 

6 communication, collaboration, and coordination between 

7 the Launch Services Program and the Commercial Crew 

8 Program. 

9 SEC. 623. COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH COOPERATION. 

10 (a) FINDING.—Congress recognized the benefit of 

11 commercial space launch cooperation between the Federal 

12 Government and the private sector when it granted the 

13 Secretary of Defense authority to foster cooperation be14 tween the Department of Defense and certain covered en15 tities relating to space transportation infrastructure under 

16 section 2276 of title 10, United States Code. 

17 (b) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 505 of title 51, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘§ 50507. Commercial launch cooperation 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY FOR AGREEMENTS RELATING TO

22 SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.—Notwith23 standing section 50504, the Administrator— 

24 ‘‘(1) may enter into an agreement with a cov25 ered entity to provide the covered entity with supVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Dec 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3346.RS S3346

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1 port and services related to the space transportation 

2 infrastructure of the Administration— 

3 ‘‘(A) to maximize the use of the space 

4 transportation infrastructure of the Administra5 tion by the private sector in the United States; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) to encourage commercial space activi8 ties by enabling investment by covered entities 

9 in the space transportation infrastructure of the 

10 Administration; and 

11 ‘‘(2) at the request of the covered entity, may 

12 include that support and services in the contracted 

13 space launch and reentry range support require14 ments of the Administration if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Administrator determines that in16 cluding that support and services in the re17 quirements— 

18 ‘‘(i) is in the best interest of the Fed19 eral Government; 

20 ‘‘(ii) does not interfere with the re21 quirements of the Administration; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) does not compete with the com23 mercial space activities of other covered en24 tities; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) any commercial requirement included 

2 in the agreement has full non-Federal funding 

3 before the execution of the agreement. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

6 enter into an agreement with a covered entity on a 

7 cooperative and voluntary basis to accept funds, 

8 services, and equipment to carry out the purposes in 

9 subsection (a)(1). 

10 ‘‘(2) USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Any funds, 

11 services, or equipment accepted by the Administrator 

12 under this subsection— 

13 ‘‘(A) may be used only for the objectives 

14 specified in this section in accordance with 

15 terms of use set forth in the agreement entered 

16 into under this subsection; and 

17 ‘‘(B) shall be managed by the Adminis18 trator in accordance with regulations promul19 gated under subsection (d). 

20 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO

21 AGREEMENTS.—An agreement entered into with a 

22 covered entity under this subsection shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) address the terms of use, ownership, 

24 and disposition of the funds, services, or equip25 ment contributed under the agreement; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) include a provision that the covered 

2 entity will not recover the costs of its contribu3 tion through any other agreement with the 

4 United States. 

5 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than January 31 

6 of each year, the Administrator shall submit to the appro7 priate committees of Congress a report on the process 

8 used to establish agreements under subsections (a) and 

9 (b), including noticing announcements of opportunities 

10 and criteria for selecting a covered entity, and the funds, 

11 services, and equipment accepted and used by the Admin12 istrator under this section during the preceding fiscal 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro15 mulgate regulations to carry out this section. 

16 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) COVERED ENTITY.—In this section, the 

18 term ‘covered entity’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) a non-Federal entity that— 

20 ‘‘(i) is organized under the laws of the 

21 United States or of any jurisdiction within 

22 the United States; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) is engaged in commercial space 

24 activities; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) an entity that controls, is controlled 

2 by, or is under common control with, a non3 Federal entity described in subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) LAUNCH SUPPORT FACILITIES.—The term 

5 ‘launch support facilities’ has the meaning given the 

6 term in section 50501. 

7 ‘‘(3) SPACE RECOVERY SUPPORT FACILITIES.— 

8 The term ‘space recovery support facilities’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 50501. 

10 ‘‘(4) SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUC11 TURE.—The term ‘space transportation infrastruc12 ture’ has the meaning given that term in section 

13 50501.’’. 

14 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

15 chapter 505 of title 51, United States Code, is amended 

16 by adding after the item relating to section 50506 the fol17 lowing: 

‘‘50507. Commercial space launch cooperation.’’. 

18 SEC. 624. DETECTION AND AVOIDANCE OF COUNTERFEIT 

19 PARTS. 

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

21 (1) A 2012 investigation by the Committee on 

22 Armed Services of the Senate of counterfeit elec23 tronic parts in the Department of Defense supply 

24 chain from 2009 through 2010 uncovered 1,800 

25 cases and over one million counterfeit parts and exVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Dec 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3346.RS S3346

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1 posed the threat such counterfeit parts pose to serv2 ice members and national security. 

3 (2) Since 2010, the Comptroller General of the 

4 United States has identified in 3 separate reports 

5 the risks and challenges associated with counterfeit 

6 parts and counterfeit prevention at both the Depart7 ment of Defense and NASA, including inconsistent 

8 definitions of counterfeit parts, poorly targeted qual9 ity control practices, and potential barriers to im10 provements to these practices. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that the presence of counterfeit electronic parts in 

13 the NASA supply chain poses a danger to United States 

14 government astronauts, crew, and other personnel and a 

15 risk to the agency overall. 

16 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

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

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis19 trator shall revise the NASA Supplement to the 

20 Federal Acquisition Regulation to improve the detec21 tion and avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts in 

22 the supply chain. 

23 (2) CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.—In revis24 ing the regulations under paragraph (1), the Admin25 istrator shall— 


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1 (A) require each covered contractor— 

2 (i) to detect and avoid the use or in3 clusion of any counterfeit parts in elec4 tronic parts or products that contain elec5 tronic parts; and 

6 (ii) to take such corrective actions as 

7 the Administrator considers necessary to 

8 remedy the use or inclusion described in 

9 clause (i); 

10 (iii) including a subcontractor, to no11 tify the applicable NASA contracting offi12 cer not later than 30 calendar days after 

13 the date the covered contractor becomes 

14 aware, or has reason to suspect, that any 

15 end item, component, part or material con16 tained in supplies purchased by NASA, or 

17 purchased by a covered contractor or sub18 contractor for delivery to, or on behalf of, 

19 NASA, contains a counterfeit electronic 

20 part or suspect counterfeit electronic part; 

21 (B) prohibit the cost of counterfeit elec22 tronic parts, suspect counterfeit electronic 

23 parts, and any corrective action described under 

24 subparagraph (A)(ii) from being included as al25 lowable costs under agency contracts, unless— 


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

4 electronic parts that has been reviewed and 

5 approved by NASA or the Department of 

6 Defense; and 

7 (ii) the covered contractor has pro8 vided the notice under subparagraph 

9 (A)(iii); or 

10 (iii) the counterfeit electronic parts or 

11 suspect counterfeit electronic parts were 

12 provided to the covered contractor as Gov13 ernment property in accordance with part 

14 45 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

15 (3) SUPPLIERS OF ELECTRONIC PARTS.—In re16 vising the regulations under paragraph (1), the Ad17 ministrator shall— 

18 (A) require NASA and covered contractors, 

19 including subcontractors, at all tiers— 

20 (i) to obtain electronic parts that are 

21 in production or currently available in 

22 stock from— 

23 (I) the original manufacturers of 

24 the parts or their authorized dealers; 

25 or 


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1 (II) suppliers who obtain such 

2 parts exclusively from the original 

3 manufacturers of the parts or their 

4 authorized dealers; and 

5 (ii) to obtain electronic parts that are 

6 not in production or currently available in 

7 stock from suppliers that meet qualifica8 tion requirements established under sub9 paragraph (C); 

10 (B) establish documented requirements 

11 consistent with published industry standards or 

12 Government contract requirements for— 

13 (i) notification of the agency; and 

14 (ii) inspection, testing, and authen15 tication of electronic parts that NASA or 

16 a covered contractor, including a subcon17 tractor, obtains from any source other 

18 than a source described in subparagraph 

19 (A); 

20 (C) establish qualification requirements, 

21 consistent with the requirements of section 

22 2319 of title 10, United States Code, pursuant 

23 to which NASA may identify suppliers that 

24 have appropriate policies and procedures in 

25 place to detect and avoid counterfeit electronic 


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1 parts and suspect counterfeit electronic parts; 

2 and 

3 (D) authorize a covered contractor, includ4 ing a subcontractor, to identify and use addi5 tional suppliers beyond those identified under 

6 subparagraph (C) if— 

7 (i) the standards and processes for 

8 identifying such suppliers comply with es9 tablished industry standards; 

10 (ii) the covered contractor assumes re11 sponsibility for the authenticity of parts 

12 provided by such suppliers under para13 graph (2); and 

14 (iii) the selection of such suppliers is 

15 subject to review and audit by NASA. 

16 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) COVERED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘cov18 ered contractor’’ means a contractor that supplies 

19 an electronic part, or a product that contains an 

20 electronic part, to NASA. 

21 (2) ELECTRONIC PART.—The term ‘‘electronic 

22 part’’ means a discrete electronic component, includ23 ing a microcircuit, transistor, capacitor, resistor, or 

24 diode, that is intended for use in a safety or mission 

25 critical application. 


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1 SEC. 625. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that— 

4 (1) United States competitiveness in the 21st 

5 century requires engaging the science, technology, 

6 engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this 

7 section as ‘‘STEM’’) talent in all States; 

8 (2) the Administration is uniquely positioned to 

9 educate and inspire students and the broader public 

10 on STEM subjects and careers; 

11 (3) the Administration’s Education Mission Di12 rectorates, along with the other mission directorates, 

13 have been effective in delivering educational content 

14 because of the strong engagement of Administration 

15 scientists and engineers in the Administration’s edu16 cation and outreach activities; and 

17 (4) the Administration’s education and outreach 

18 programs, including the Experimental Program to 

19 Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the 

20 Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, re21 flect the Administration’s successful commitment to 

22 growing and diversifying the national science and 

23 engineering workforce. 

24 (b) CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

25 ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con2 tinue engagement with the public and education op3 portunities for students via all the Administration’s 

4 mission directorates to the maximum extent prac5 ticable. 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

8 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con9 gress a report on the Administration’s near-term 

10 outreach plans for advancing space law education. 

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

12 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na13 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition 

14 Authorization Act of 2016’’. 

15 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

16 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2017. 

TITLE II—SUSTAINING NATIONAL SPACE COMMITMENTS 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress on sustaining national space commitments. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

TITLE III—MAXIMIZING UTILIZATION OF THE ISS AND LOW-EARTH 

ORBIT 

Sec. 301. Operation of the ISS. 

Sec. 302. Transportation to ISS. 

Sec. 303. ISS transition plan. 

Sec. 304. Indemnification; NASA launch services and reentry services. 


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TITLE IV—ADVANCING HUMAN DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 

Subtitle A—Human Exploration Goals and Objectives 

Sec. 411. Human exploration long-term goals. 

Sec. 412. Goals and objectives. 

Sec. 413. Vision for space exploration. 

Sec. 414. Exploration plan and programs. 

Sec. 415. Stepping stone approach to exploration. 

Subtitle B—Assuring Core Capabilities for Exploration 

Sec. 421. Space Launch System and Orion. 

Subtitle C—Journey to Mars 

Sec. 431. Space technology infusion. 

Sec. 432. Findings on human space exploration. 

Sec. 433. Strategic framework for human spaceflight and exploration. 

Sec. 434. Advanced space suit capability. 

Sec. 435. Asteroid robotic redirect mission. 

Subtitle D—Scott Kelly Human Spaceflight and Exploration Act 

Sec. 441. Short title. 

Sec. 442. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 443. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight. 

TITLE V—ADVANCING SPACE SCIENCE 

Sec. 501. Maintaining a balanced space science portfolio. 

Sec. 502. Planetary science. 

Sec. 503. James Webb Space Telescope. 

Sec. 504. Sense of Congress on Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope. 

Sec. 505. Sense of Congress on Mars 2020 rover. 

Sec. 506. Europa. 

TITLE VI—MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY 

Subtitle A—Agency Information Technology and Cybersecurity 

Sec. 611. Information technology governance. 

Sec. 612. Information technology strategic plan. 

Sec. 613. Cybersecurity. 

Sec. 614. Oversight implementation progress. 

Sec. 615. Software oversight. 

Sec. 616. Security management of foreign national access. 

Sec. 617. Cybersecurity of web applications. 

Subtitle B—Collaboration Among Mission Directorates and Other Matters 

Sec. 621. Collaboration among mission directorates. 

Sec. 622. NASA launch capabilities collaboration. 

Sec. 623. Commercial space launch cooperation. 

Sec. 624. Detection and avoidance of counterfeit parts. 

Sec. 625. Education and outreach. 

Sec. 626. Leveraging commercial satellite servicing capabilities across mission directorates. 


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Sec. 627. Flight opportunities. 

Sec. 628. Sense of Congress on small class launch missions. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

6 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National Aer8 onautics and Space Administration. 

9 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

10 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

11 means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

14 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

15 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

16 (4) CIS-LUNAR SPACE.—The term ‘‘cis-lunar 

17 space’’ means the region of space from the Earth out 

18 to and including the region around the surface of the 

19 Moon. 

20 (5) DEEP SPACE.—The term ‘‘deep space’’ means 

21 the region of space beyond low-Earth orbit, to include 

22 cis-lunar space. 


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1 (6) GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.—The term ‘‘gov2 ernment astronaut’’ has the meaning given the term 

3 in section 50902 of title 51, United States Code. 

4 (7) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter5 national Space Station. 

6 (8) ISS MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ISS 

7 management entity’’ means the organization with 

8 which the Administrator has a cooperative agreement 

9 under section 504(a) of the National Aeronautics and 

10 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 

11 U.S.C. 18354(a)). 

12 (9) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na13 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

14 (10) ORION.—The term ‘‘Orion’’ means the mul15 tipurpose crew vehicle described under section 303 of 

16 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

17 Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 

18 (11) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Space 

19 Launch System’’ has the meaning given the term in 

20 section 3 of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad21 ministration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

22 18302). 


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1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

2 APPROPRIATIONS 

3 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2017. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to NASA for 

5 fiscal year 2017, $19,508,000,000, as follows: 

6 (1) For Exploration, $4,532,000,000. 

7 (2) For Space Operations, $4,950,700,000. 

8 (3) For Science, $5,395,000,000. 

9 (4) For Aeronautics, $601,000,000. 

10 (5) For Space Technology, $686,500,000. 

11 (6) For Education, $108,000,000. 

12 (7) For Safety, Security, and Mission Services, 

13 $2,796,700,000. 

14 (8) For Construction and Environmental Com15 pliance and Restoration, $400,000,000. 

16 (9) For Inspector General, $38,100,000. 

17 TITLE II—SUSTAINING NA18 TIONAL SPACE COMMIT19 MENTS 

20 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUSTAINING NATIONAL 

21 SPACE COMMITMENTS. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that— 

23 (1) the United States, in collaboration with its 

24 international, academic, and industry partners, 

25 should sustain and build upon our national space 


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1 commitments and investments across Administrations 

2 with a continuity of purpose to advance recent 

3 achievements of space exploration and space science to 

4 extend humanity’s reach into deep space, including 

5 cis-lunar space, the Moon, the surface and moons of 

6 Mars, and beyond; 

7 (2) NASA leaders can best leverage investments 

8 in the United States space program by continuing to 

9 develop a balanced portfolio for space exploration and 

10 space science, including continued development of the 

11 Space Launch System, Orion, Commercial Crew Pro12 gram, Commercial Resupply Services Program, the 

13 James Webb Space Telescope, and the ongoing oper14 ations of the ISS; 

15 (3) a national, government-led space program 

16 that builds on current science and exploration pro17 grams, advances human knowledge and capabilities, 

18 and opens the frontier beyond Earth for ourselves, our 

19 international partners, commercial enterprise, and 

20 science is of critical importance to our national des21 tiny and to a future guided by United States values 

22 and freedoms; 

23 (4) continuity of purpose and effective execution 

24 of core NASA programs are essential for efficient use 


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1 of resources in pursuit of timely and tangible accom2 plishments; 

3 (5) NASA could improve its efficiency and effec4 tiveness by working with industry to streamline exist5 ing programs and requirements, procurement prac6 tices, institutional footprint, and bureaucracy while 

7 preserving effective program oversight, accountability, 

8 and safety; 

9 (6) United States government astronauts 

10 changed the trajectory of human history toward the 

11 promise of the stars, and it is imperative that the 

12 United States maintain and enhance its leadership in 

13 space exploration and continue to expand freedom 

14 and opportunities in space for all Americans that are 

15 consistent with the Constitution of the United States; 

16 and 

17 (7) NASA is and should remain a multimission 

18 agency with a balanced and robust set of core mis19 sions in science, space technology, aeronautics, human 

20 space flight and exploration, and education. 

21 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress makes the following findings: 

23 (1) Challenges of the past, such as the cancella24 tion of major programs, have disrupted completion of 

25 major space systems thereby— 


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1 (A) impeding planning and pursuit of na2 tional objectives in human space exploration; 

3 (B) placing the Nation’s investment in 

4 space exploration at risk; and 

5 (C) degrading the aerospace industrial base. 

6 (2) The National Aeronautics and Space Admin7 istration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18301 

8 et seq.) reflects a broad, bipartisan agreement on the 

9 path forward for NASA’s core missions in science, 

10 space technology, aeronautics, human space flight and 

11 exploration, and education, which serves as the foun12 dation for the policy updates by this Act. 

13 (3) Sustaining the investment and maximizing 

14 utilization of the ISS and ISS National Laboratory 

15 with our international and industry partners is— 

16 (A) consistent with the goals and objectives 

17 of the United States space program; and 

18 (B) imperative to continuing United States 

19 global leadership in human space exploration, 

20 science, research, technology development, and 

21 education opportunities that contribute to devel22 opment of the next generation of American sci23 entists, engineers, and leaders, and to creating 

24 the opportunity for economic development of low25 Earth orbit. 


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1 (4) NASA has made measurable progress in de2 velopment and testing of the Space Launch System 

3 and Orion exploration systems with the near-term ob4 jectives of the initial integrated test flight and launch 

5 in 2018, a human mission in 2021, and continued 

6 missions with an annual cadence in cis-lunar space 

7 and eventually to the surface of Mars. 

8 (5) The Commercial Crew Program is on sched9 ule to reestablish the capability to launch United 

10 States government astronauts from United States soil 

11 into low-Earth orbit by the end of 2018. 

12 (6) The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, in its 

13 2015 Annual Report, urged continuity of purpose not14 ing concerns over the potential for cost overruns and 

15 schedule slips that could accompany significant 

16 changes to core NASA programs. 

17 TITLE III—MAXIMIZING UTILIZA18 TION OF THE ISS AND LOW19 EARTH ORBIT 

20 SEC. 301. OPERATION OF THE ISS. 

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

22 that— 

23 (1) after 15 years of continuous human presence 

24 in low-Earth orbit, the ISS continues to overcome 

25 challenges and operate safely; 


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1 (2) expansion of partnerships, scientific research, 

2 commercial applications, and exploration testbed ca3 pabilities of the ISS is essential to ensuring the great4 est return on investments made by the United States 

5 and its international space partners in the develop6 ment, assembly, and operations of that unique facil7 ity; 

8 (3) a stable and successful Commercial Resupply 

9 Services Program and Commercial Crew Program are 

10 critical to ensuring timely provisioning of the ISS 

11 and to reestablishing the capability to launch United 

12 States government astronauts from United States soil 

13 into low-Earth orbit; 

14 (4) sustaining United States leadership and 

15 progress in human space exploration is enabled in 

16 part by continuing utilization of the ISS— 

17 (A) to facilitate the commercialization and 

18 economic development of low-Earth orbit; 

19 (B) to serve as a testbed for technologies, 

20 and to conduct scientific research and develop21 ment; and 

22 (C) as an orbital facility enabling research 

23 upon— 

24 (i) the health, well-being, and perform25 ance of humans in space; and 


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1 (ii) the development of in-space sys2 tems enabling human space exploration be3 yond low-Earth orbit; 

4 (5) the Administrator should continue to support 

5 the development of the Commercial Crew Program as 

6 planned to end reliance upon Russian transport of 

7 United States government astronauts to the ISS 

8 which has not been possible since the retirement of the 

9 Space Shuttle program in 2011; and 

10 (6) the ISS should continue to provide a plat11 form for fundamental, microgravity, discovery-based 

12 space life and physical sciences research that is crit13 ical for enabling space exploration, protecting hu14 mans in space, increasing pathways for commercial 

15 space development that depend on advances in basic 

16 research, and contribute to advancing science, tech17 nology, engineering, and mathematics research. 

18 (b) CONTINUATION OF THE ISS.—Congress reaffirms 

19 the policy set forth in section 501 of the National Aero20 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

21 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351) that it shall be the policy of the 

22 United States, in consultation with its international part23 ners in the ISS program, to support full and complete utili24 zation of the ISS through at least 2024. 


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1 SEC. 302. TRANSPORTATION TO ISS. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMERCIAL CREW PRO3 GRAM AND COMMERCIAL RESUPPLY SERVICES PROGRAM.— 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) NASA should build upon the success of the 

6 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services and 

7 Commercial Resupply Services programs that have 

8 allowed private sector companies to partner with 

9 NASA to deliver cargo and scientific experiments to 

10 the ISS since 2012; 

11 (2) once certified to meet NASA’s safety and reli12 ability requirements and fully operational to meet 

13 ISS crew transfer needs, the Commercial Crew Pro14 gram transportation systems should serve as the pri15 mary means of transporting United States govern16 ment astronauts and international partner astronauts 

17 from United States soil to and from the ISS; 

18 (3) Commercial Crew Program transportation 

19 systems should have the capability of serving as ISS 

20 emergency crew rescue vehicles; 

21 (4) the 21st Century Launch Complex Program 

22 has enabled significant modernization and infrastruc23 ture improvements at launch sites across the United 

24 States to support NASA’s Commercial Resupply Serv25 ices Program and other civil and commercial space 

26 flight missions; and 


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1 (5) the 21st Century Launch Complex Program 

2 should be continued in a manner that leverages State 

3 and private investments to achieve the goals of the 

4 program. 

5 (b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

6 United States that, to foster the competitive development, 

7 operation, improvement and commercial availability of 

8 space transportation services, services for Federal Govern9 ment access to and return from the ISS, whenever prac10 ticable, shall be procured via fair and open competition for 

11 well-defined, milestone-based, Federal Acquisition Regula12 tion-based contracts under section 201(a) of the National 

13 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

14 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)). 

15 (c) COMMERCIAL CARGO PROGRAM.—Section 401 of 

16 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au17 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18341) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘Commercial Orbital Transportation Services’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘Commercial Resupply Services’’. 

20 (d) CREW SAFETY.—The Administrator shall protect 

21 the safety of United States crews by ensuring commercial 

22 crew systems meet all applicable human rating require23 ments in accordance with section 403(b)(1) of the National 

24 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

25 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18342(b)(1)). 


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1 SEC. 303. ISS TRANSITION PLAN. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that NASA has been 

3 both the primary supplier and consumer of human space 

4 flight capabilities and services of the ISS and in low-Earth 

5 orbit. 

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

7 that an orderly transition is needed for United States 

8 human space flight activities in low-Earth orbit from the 

9 current regime, that relies heavily on NASA sponsorship, 

10 to a regime where NASA is one of many customers of a 

11 low-Earth orbit commercial human space flight enterprise. 

12 (c) REPORTS.—Section 50111 of title 51, United 

13 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) ISS TRANSITION PLAN.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in co16 ordination with the ISS management entity, ISS 

17 partners, the scientific user community, and the com18 mercial space sector, shall develop a plan to transi19 tion in a step-wise approach from the current regime 

20 that relies heavily on NASA sponsorship to a regime 

21 where NASA is one of many customers of a low-Earth 

22 orbit commercial human space flight enterprise. 

23 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than December 1, 

24 2017, and triennially thereafter until 2023, the Ad25 ministrator shall submit to the appropriate commit26 tees of Congress a report that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an identification of low-Earth orbit 

2 capabilities necessary to meet the Administra3 tion’s deep space human space flight exploration 

4 objectives and mission requirements beyond the 

5 period of operation and utilization of the ISS 

6 described in section 503 of the National Aero7 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

8 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18353), if any; 

9 ‘‘(B) steps NASA is taking and will take, 

10 including demonstrations that could be con11 ducted on the ISS, to stimulate and facilitate 

12 commercial demand and supply of products and 

13 services in low-Earth orbit; 

14 ‘‘(C) an assessment of current and projected 

15 commercial activities in low-Earth orbit, includ16 ing on the ISS, and their potential for meeting 

17 the capabilities identified in subparagraph (A); 

18 ‘‘(D) an identification of barriers pre19 venting the commercialization of low-Earth 

20 orbit, including issues relating to policy, regula21 tions, commercial intellectual property, data, 

22 and confidentiality, that could inhibit the use of 

23 the ISS as a commercial incubator; 

24 ‘‘(E) an evaluation of the feasible and pre25 ferred service life of the ISS beyond the period 


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1 described in section 503 of the National Aero2 nautics and Space Administration Authorization 

3 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18353), through at least 

4 2028, as a unique scientific, commercial, and ex5 ploration-related facility, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) a general discussion of inter7 national partner capabilities and prospects 

8 for extending the partnership, to include the 

9 potential for participation by additional 

10 countries, for the purposes of the human de11 velopment and exploration of deep space; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a review of essential systems, 

13 equipment upgrades, or potential mainte14 nance that would be necessary to extend 

15 ISS operations and utilization; 

16 ‘‘(iii) an evaluation of the cost and 

17 schedule requirements associated with the 

18 development and delivery of essential sys19 tems, equipment upgrades, or potential 

20 maintenance identified under clause (ii); 

21 ‘‘(iv) an identification of possible 

22 international, academic, or industry part23 ner contributions, cost-share, and program 

24 transitions to provide the upgrades identi25 fied under clause (ii); 


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1 ‘‘(v) impacts on the goals and objec2 tives of the ISS National Laboratory and 

3 the management entity responsible for oper4 ation of the ISS National Laboratory; 

5 ‘‘(vi) impacts on services provided by 

6 the Commercial Resupply Services Program 

7 and Commercial Crew Program to the ISS; 

8 ‘‘(vii) impacts on the use of the ISS as 

9 a testbed to transition functions of the ISS 

10 to the commercial space sector and enhance 

11 economic development of low-Earth orbit, 

12 including the evolution of self-sustaining 

13 commercial activities; 

14 ‘‘(viii) an assessment on the technical 

15 limiting factors of the ISS lifetime, includ16 ing a list of critical components and their 

17 expected lifetime and availability; 

18 ‘‘(ix) an evaluation of the potential for 

19 expanding the use of ISS facilities to ac20 commodate the needs of researchers and 

21 other users, including changes to policies, 

22 regulations, and laws that would stimulate 

23 greater private and public involvement on 

24 the ISS; and 


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1 ‘‘(x) such other information as may be 

2 necessary to fully describe the justification 

3 for and feasibility of extending the service 

4 life of the ISS, including the potential sci5 entific or technological benefits to the Fed6 eral Government, public, or to academic or 

7 commercial entities; 

8 ‘‘(F) an evaluation of the functions, roles, 

9 and responsibilities for management and oper10 ation of the ISS and a determination of— 

11 ‘‘(i) those functions, roles, and respon12 sibilities the Federal Government should re13 tain during the lifecycle of the ISS; 

14 ‘‘(ii) those functions, roles, and respon15 sibilities that could be transferred to the 

16 commercial space sector; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the metrics that would indicate 

18 the commercial space sector’s readiness and 

19 ability to assume the functions, roles, and 

20 responsibilities described in clause (ii); and 

21 ‘‘(iv) any necessary changes to any 

22 agreements or other documents and the law 

23 to enable the activities described in sub24 paragraphs (B) and (C); and 


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1 ‘‘(G) a description of the progress on meet2 ing human exploration research objectives on 

3 ISS and prospects for accomplishing future ex4 ploration and other research objectives on future 

5 commercially supplied low-Earth orbit platforms 

6 or migration of those objectives to cis-lunar 

7 space. 

8 ‘‘(3) DEMONSTRATIONS.—Demonstrations identi9 fied under paragraph (2) may— 

10 ‘‘(A) test the capabilities described in para11 graph (2)(A); and 

12 ‘‘(B) demonstrate or test capabilities, in13 cluding commercial modules or deep space habi14 tats, Environmental Control and Life Support 

15 Systems, orbital satellite assembly, exploration 

16 space suits, a node that enables a wide variety 

17 of activity, including multiple commercial mod18 ules and airlocks, additional docking or berthing 

19 ports for commercial crew and cargo, opportuni20 ties for the commercial space sector to cost share 

21 for transportation and other services on the ISS, 

22 and other commercial activities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. INDEMNIFICATION; NASA LAUNCH SERVICES AND 

2 REENTRY SERVICES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 201 of 

4 title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 20148. Indemnification; NASA launch services and 

7 reentry services 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Under such regulations in con9 formity with this section as the Administrator shall pre10 scribe taking into account the availability, cost, and terms 

11 of liability insurance, any contract between the Adminis12 tration and a provider may provide that the United States 

13 will indemnify the provider against successful claims (in14 cluding reasonable expenses of litigation or settlement) by 

15 third parties for death, bodily injury, or loss of or damage 

16 to property resulting from launch services and reentry serv17 ices carried out under the contract that the contract defines 

18 as unusually hazardous or nuclear in nature, but only to 

19 the extent the total amount of successful claims related to 

20 the activities under the contract— 

21 ‘‘(1) is more than the amount of insurance or 

22 demonstration of financial responsibility described in 

23 subsection (c)(3); and 

24 ‘‘(2) is not more than the amount specified in 

25 section 50915(a)(1)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(b) TERMS OF INDEMNIFICATION.—A contract made 

2 under subsection (a) that provides indemnification shall 

3 provide for— 

4 ‘‘(1) notice to the United States of any claim or 

5 suit against the provider for death, bodily injury, or 

6 loss of or damage to property; and 

7 ‘‘(2) control of or assistance in the defense by the 

8 United States, at its election, of that claim or suit 

9 and approval of any settlement. 

10 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY INSURANCE OF THE PROVIDER.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provider under sub12 section (a) shall obtain liability insurance or dem13 onstrate financial responsibility in amounts to com14 pensate for the maximum probable loss from claims 

15 by— 

16 ‘‘(A) a third party for death, bodily injury, 

17 or property damage or loss resulting from a 

18 launch service or reentry service carried out 

19 under the contract; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the United States Government for 

21 damage or loss to Government property resulting 

22 from a launch service or reentry service carried 

23 out under the contract. 

24 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM PROBABLE LOSSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall determine the maximum probable losses 

3 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

4 (1) not later than 90 days after the date that the 

5 provider requests such a determination and sub6 mits all information the Administrator requires. 

7 ‘‘(B) REVISIONS.—The Administrator may 

8 revise a determination under subparagraph (A) 

9 of this paragraph if the Administrator deter10 mines the revision is warranted based on new 

11 information. 

12 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF INSURANCE.—For the total 

13 claims related to one launch or reentry, a provider 

14 shall not be required to obtain insurance or dem15 onstrate financial responsibility of more than— 

16 ‘‘(A)(i) $500,000,000 under paragraph 

17 (1)(A); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) $100,000,000 under paragraph 

19 (1)(B); or 

20 ‘‘(B) the maximum liability insurance 

21 available on the world market at reasonable cost. 

22 ‘‘(4) COVERAGE.—An insurance policy or dem23 onstration of financial responsibility under this sub24 section shall protect the following, to the extent of 


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1 their potential liability for involvement in launch 

2 services or reentry services: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Government. 

4 ‘‘(B) Personnel of the Government. 

5 ‘‘(C) Related entities of the Government. 

6 ‘‘(D) Related entities of the provider. 

7 ‘‘(E) Government astronauts. 

8 ‘‘(d) NO INDEMNIFICATION WITHOUT CROSS-WAIV9 ER.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Administrator 

10 may not indemnify a provider under this section unless 

11 there is a cross-waiver between the Administration and the 

12 provider as described in subsection (e). 

13 ‘‘(e) CROSS-WAIVERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, on behalf 

15 of the United States and its departments, agencies, 

16 and instrumentalities, shall reciprocally waive claims 

17 with a provider under which each party to the waiver 

18 agrees to be responsible, and agrees to ensure that its 

19 related entities are responsible, for damage or loss to 

20 its property, or for losses resulting from any injury 

21 or death sustained by its employees or agents, as a re22 sult of activities arising out of the performance of the 

23 contract. 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The waiver made by the Gov25 ernment under paragraph (1) shall apply only to the 


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1 extent that the claims are more than the amount of 

2 insurance or demonstration of financial responsibility 

3 required under subsection (c)(1)(B). 

4 ‘‘(f) WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.—Indemnification under 

5 subsection (a) may exclude claims resulting from the willful 

6 misconduct of the provider or its related entities. 

7 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION OF JUST AND REASONABLE

8 AMOUNT.—No payment may be made under subsection (a) 

9 unless the Administrator or the Administrator’s designee 

10 certifies that the amount is just and reasonable. 

11 ‘‘(h) PAYMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the approval by the 

13 Administrator, payments under subsection (a) may be 

14 made from funds appropriated for such payments. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator shall not 

16 approve payments under paragraph (1), except to the 

17 extent provided in an appropriation law or to the ex18 tent additional legislative authority is enacted pro19 viding for such payments. 

20 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.—If the Ad21 ministrator requests additional appropriations to 

22 make payments under this subsection, then the request 

23 for those appropriations shall be made in accordance 

24 with the procedures established under section 50915. 

25 ‘‘(i) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The authority to indemnify 

2 under this section shall not create any rights in third 

3 persons that would not otherwise exist by law. 

4 ‘‘(2) OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this sec5 tion may be construed as prohibiting the Adminis6 trator from indemnifying a provider or any other 

7 NASA contractor under other law, including under 

8 Public Law 85–804 (50 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(3) ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT.—Notwithstanding 

10 any other provision of this section— 

11 ‘‘(A) all obligations under this section are 

12 subject to the availability of funds; and 

13 ‘‘(B) nothing in this section may be con14 strued to require obligation or payment of funds 

15 in violation of sections 1341, 1342, 1349 through 

16 1351, and 1511 through 1519 of title 31, United 

17 States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘Anti18 Deficiency Act’). 

19 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—The Adminis20 trator may not provide indemnification under this section 

21 for an activity that requires a license or permit under chap22 ter 509. 

23 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT ASTRONAUT.—The term ‘gov2 ernment astronaut’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 50902. 

4 ‘‘(2) LAUNCH SERVICES.—The term ‘launch serv5 ices’ has the meaning given the term in section 50902. 

6 ‘‘(3) PROVIDER.—The term ‘provider’ means a 

7 person that provides domestic launch services or do8 mestic reentry services to the Government. 

9 ‘‘(4) REENTRY SERVICES.—The term ‘reentry 

10 services’ has the meaning given the term in section 

11 50902. 

12 ‘‘(5) RELATED ENTITY.—The term ‘related enti13 ty’ means a contractor or subcontractor. 

14 ‘‘(6) THIRD PARTY.—The term ‘third party’ 

15 means a person except— 

16 ‘‘(A) the United States Government; 

17 ‘‘(B) related entities of the Government in18 volved in launch services or reentry services; 

19 ‘‘(C) a provider; 

20 ‘‘(D) related entities of the provider in21 volved in launch services or reentry services; or 

22 ‘‘(E) a government astronaut.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

24 for subchapter III of chapter 201 of title 51, United States 


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1 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

2 section 20147 the following: 

‘‘20148. Indemnification; NASA launch services and reentry services.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—ADVANCING HUMAN 

4 DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 

5 Subtitle A—Human Exploration 

6 Goals and Objectives 

7 SEC. 411. HUMAN EXPLORATION LONG-TERM GOALS. 

8 Section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

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

10 18312(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(a) LONG-TERM GOALS.—The long-term goals of the 

12 human space flight and exploration efforts of NASA shall 

13 be— 

14 ‘‘(1) to expand permanent human presence be15 yond low-Earth orbit and to do so, where practical, 

16 in a manner involving international, academic, and 

17 industry partners; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the peaceful settlement of a location in 

19 space or on another celestial body and a thriving 

20 space economy in the 21st century.’’. 

21 SEC. 412. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. 

22 Section 202(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space 

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

24 18312(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

2 inserting a semicolon; 

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

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(5) to achieve human exploration of Mars, in7 cluding the establishment of a capability to extend 

8 human presence, including potential human habi9 tation, on the surface of Mars.’’. 

10 SEC. 413. VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION. 

11 Section 20302 of title 51, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘in cis-lunar 

14 space or’’ after ‘‘sustained human presence’’; and 

15 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(b) FUTURE EXPLORATION OF MARS.—The Adminis18 trator shall manage human space flight programs, includ19 ing the Space Launch System and Orion, to enable humans 

20 to explore Mars and other destinations by defining a series 

21 of sustainable steps and conducting mission planning, re22 search, and technology development on a timetable that is 

23 technically and fiscally possible, consistent with section 

24 70504.’’. 


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1 SEC. 414. EXPLORATION PLAN AND PROGRAMS. 

2 Section 70502(2) of title 51, United States Code, is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(2) implement an exploration research and 

5 technology development program to enable human 

6 and robotic operations consistent with section 

7 20302(b) of this title;’’. 

8 SEC. 415. STEPPING STONE APPROACH TO EXPLORATION. 

9 Section 70504 of title 51, United States Code, is 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 70504. Stepping stone approach to exploration 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to maximize the cost-ef13 fectiveness of the long-term exploration and utilization ac14 tivities of the United States, the Administrator shall take 

15 all necessary steps, including engaging international, aca16 demic, and industry partners, to ensure that activities in 

17 the Administration’s human exploration program balance 

18 how those activities might also help meet the requirements 

19 of future exploration and utilization activities leading to 

20 human habitation on the surface of Mars. 

21 ‘‘(b) COMPLETION.—Within budgetary considerations, 

22 once an exploration-related project enters its development 

23 phase, the Administrator shall seek, to the maximum extent 

24 practicable, to complete that project without undue delays.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Assuring Core 

2 Capabilities for Exploration 

3 SEC. 421. SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM AND ORION. 

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

5 (1) NASA has made steady progress in devel6 oping and testing the Space Launch System and 

7 Orion exploration systems with the successful Explo8 ration Flight Test of Orion in December of 2014, the 

9 final qualification test firing of the 5-segment Space 

10 Launch System boosters in June 2016, and a full 

11 thrust, full duration test firing of the RS–25 Space 

12 Launch System core stage engine in August 2016. 

13 (2) Through the 21st Century Launch Complex 

14 program and Exploration Ground Systems programs, 

15 NASA has made significant progress in transforming 

16 exploration ground systems infrastructure to meet 

17 NASA’s mission requirements for the Space Launch 

18 System and Orion and to modernize NASA’s launch 

19 complexes to the benefit of the civil, defense, and com20 mercial space sectors. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM, 

22 ORION, AND EXPLORATION GROUND SYSTEMS.—It is the 

23 sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) as the United States works to send humans 

25 on a series of missions on or near Mars in the 2030s, 


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1 the United States national space program should con2 tinue to make progress on its commitment by fully de3 veloping the Space Launch System, Orion, and re4 lated Exploration Ground Systems; 

5 (2) using the Space Launch System and Orion 

6 for a wide range of contemplated missions will facili7 tate the national defense, science, and exploration ob8 jectives of the United States; and 

9 (3) the United States should have continuity of 

10 purpose for Space Launch System and Orion in deep 

11 space exploration missions, using them beginning 

12 with the uncrewed mission, EM–1, planned for 2018, 

13 followed by the crewed mission, EM–2, in cis-lunar 

14 space planned for 2021, and for subsequent missions 

15 beginning with EM–3 extending into cis-lunar space 

16 and eventually to Mars. 

17 (c) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) EXPLORATION MISSIONS.—The Adminis19 trator shall continue development of— 

20 (A) an uncrewed exploration mission to 

21 demonstrate the capability of both the Space 

22 Launch System and Orion as an integrated sys23 tem by 2018; 

24 (B) a crewed exploration mission to dem25 onstrate the Space Launch System, including the 


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1 Core Stage and Exploration Upper Stages, and 

2 the crewed Orion mission by 2021; 

3 (C) subsequent missions beginning with 

4 EM–3 using the Space Launch System and 

5 Orion to extend into cis-lunar space and eventu6 ally to Mars; and 

7 (D) a deep space habitat as the next element 

8 in a deep space exploration architecture along 

9 with the Space Launch System and Orion. 

10 (2) OTHER USES.—The Administrator shall as11 sess the utility of the Space Launch System for use 

12 by the science community and for other Federal Gov13 ernment launch needs, including consideration of 

14 overall cost and schedule savings from reduced transit 

15 times and increased science returns enabled by the 

16 unique capabilities of the Space Launch System. 

17 Subtitle C—Journey to Mars 

18 SEC. 431. SPACE TECHNOLOGY INFUSION. 

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

20 that advancing propulsion technology would improve the ef21 ficiency of trips to Mars and could shorten travel time to 

22 Mars, reduce astronaut health risks, and reduce radiation 

23 exposure, consumables, and mass of materials required for 

24 the journey. 


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

2 the Administrator shall develop technologies to support the 

3 Administration’s core missions, as described in section 2(3) 

4 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au5 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18301(3)), and support 

6 sustained investments in early stage innovation, funda7 mental research, and technologies to expand the boundaries 

8 of the national aerospace enterprise. 

9 (c) PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES.—A goal of propul10 sion technologies developed under subsection (b) shall be to 

11 significantly reduce human travel time to Mars. 

12 SEC. 432. FINDINGS ON HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION. 

13 Congress makes the following findings: 

14 (1) In accordance with section 204 of the Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author16 ization Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 2813), the National 

17 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 

18 through its Committee on Human Spaceflight, con19 ducted a review of the goals, core capabilities, and di20 rection of human space flight, and published the find21 ings and recommendations in a 2014 report entitled, 

22 ‘‘Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and Ap23 proaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space Explo24 ration’’. 


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1 (2) The Committee on Human Spaceflight in2 cluded leaders from the aerospace, scientific, security, 

3 and policy communities. 

4 (3) With input from the public, the Committee 

5 on Human Spaceflight concluded that many practical 

6 and aspirational rationales for human space flight to7 gether constitute a compelling case for continued na8 tional investment and pursuit of human space explo9 ration toward the horizon goal of Mars. 

10 (4) According to the Committee on Human 

11 Spaceflight, the rationales include economic benefits, 

12 national security, national prestige, inspiring stu13 dents and other citizens, scientific discovery, human 

14 survival, and a sense of shared destiny. 

15 (5) The Committee on Human Spaceflight af16 firmed that Mars is the appropriate long-term goal 

17 for the human space flight program. 

18 (6) The Committee on Human Spaceflight rec19 ommended that NASA define a series of sustainable 

20 steps and conduct mission planning and technology 

21 development as needed to achieve the long-term goal 

22 of placing humans on the surface of Mars. 

23 (7) Expanding human presence beyond low24 Earth orbit and advancing toward human missions 

25 to Mars requires early planning and timely decisions 


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1 to be made in the near-term on the necessary courses 

2 of action for commitments to achieve short-term and 

3 long-term goals and objectives. 

4 (8) In addition to the 2014 report described in 

5 paragraph (1), there are several independently devel6 oped reports or concepts that describe potential Mars 

7 architectures or concepts and identify Mars as the 

8 long-term goal for human space exploration, includ9 ing NASA’s ‘‘The Global Exploration Roadmap’’ of 

10 2013, ‘‘NASA’s Journey to Mars–Pioneering Next 

11 Steps in Space Exploration’’ of 2015, NASA Jet Pro12 pulsion Laboratory’s ‘‘Minimal Architecture for 

13 Human Journeys to Mars’’ of 2015, and Explore 

14 Mars’ ‘‘The Humans to Mars Report 2016’’. 

15 SEC. 433. STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR HUMAN 

16 SPACEFLIGHT AND EXPLORATION. 

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

18 that— 

19 (1) expanding human presence beyond low-Earth 

20 orbit and advancing toward human missions to Mars 

21 in the 2030s requires early planning and timely deci22 sions to be made in the near-term on the necessary 

23 courses of action for commitments to achieve short24 term and long-term goals and objectives; 


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1 (2) for strong and sustained United States lead2 ership, a need exists to advance a strategic frame3 work, addressing exploration objectives in collabora4 tion with international, academic, and industry part5 ners; 

6 (3) an approach that incrementally advances to7 ward a long-term goal is one in which nearer-term 

8 developments and implementation would influence fu9 ture development and implementation; and 

10 (4) a strategic framework should begin with low11 Earth orbit, then address progress beyond low-Earth 

12 orbit to cis-lunar space in greater detail, and then 

13 address future missions ultimately aimed at human 

14 arrival and activities on or near Mars. 

15 (b) STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de17 velop a strategic framework, including a critical deci18 sion plan, to expand human presence beyond low19 Earth orbit, including to cis-lunar space, the moons 

20 of Mars, the surface of Mars, and beyond. 

21 (2) SCOPE.—The strategic framework shall in22 clude— 

23 (A) an integrated set of exploration, science, 

24 and other goals and objectives of a United States 

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1 term goal of human missions near to or on the 

2 surface of Mars in the 2030s; 

3 (B) opportunities for international, aca4 demic, and industry partnerships for explo5 ration-related systems, services, research, and 

6 technology if those opportunities provide cost7 savings, accelerate program schedules, or other8 wise benefit the exploration objectives developed 

9 under subparagraph (A); 

10 (C) precursor missions in cis-lunar space 

11 and other missions or activities necessary to 

12 meet the exploration objectives developed under 

13 subparagraph (A), including anticipated 

14 timelines and missions for the Space Launch 

15 System and Orion; 

16 (D) capabilities and technologies, including 

17 the Space Launch System, Orion, a deep space 

18 habitat, and other capabilities, that enable the 

19 exploration objectives developed under subpara20 graph (A); 

21 (E) a description of how cis-lunar elements, 

22 objectives, and activities advance the human ex23 ploration of Mars; 


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1 (F) an assessment of potential human 

2 health and other risks, including radiation expo3 sure; and 

4 (G) mitigation plans, whenever possible, to 

5 address the risks identified in subparagraph (F). 

6 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the stra7 tegic framework, the Administrator shall consider— 

8 (A) using key exploration capabilities, 

9 namely the Space Launch System and Orion; 

10 (B) using existing commercially available 

11 technologies and capabilities or those technologies 

12 and capabilities being developed by industry for 

13 commercial purposes; 

14 (C) an organizational approach to ensure 

15 collaboration and coordination among NASA’s 

16 Mission Directorates under section 621, when 

17 appropriate, including to collect and return to 

18 Earth a sample from the Martian surface; 

19 (D) building upon the initial uncrewed 

20 mission, EM–1, and first crewed mission, EM– 

21 2, of the Space Launch System and Orion to es22 tablish a sustainable cadence of missions extend23 ing human exploration missions into cis-lunar 

24 space, including anticipated timelines and mile25 stones; 


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1 (E) developing the precursor missions and 

2 activities that will demonstrate, test, and develop 

3 key technologies and capabilities essential for 

4 achieving human missions to Mars, including 

5 long-duration human operations beyond low6 Earth orbit, space suits, solar electric propul7 sion, deep space habitats, environmental control 

8 life support systems, Mars lander and ascent ve9 hicle, entry, descent, landing, ascent, Mars sur10 face systems, and in-situ resource utilization; 

11 (F) demonstrating and testing 1 or more 

12 habitat modules in cis-lunar space to prepare for 

13 Mars missions; 

14 (G) using public-private, firm fixed-price 

15 partnerships, where practicable; 

16 (H) collaborating with international, aca17 demic, and industry partners, when appropriate; 

18 (I) risks to human health and sensitive on19 board technologies, including radiation exposure; 

20 (J) evaluating the risks identified through 

21 research outcomes under the NASA Human Re22 search Program’s Behavioral Health Element; 

23 and 

24 (K) the recommendations and ideas of sev25 eral independently developed reports or concepts 


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1 that describe potential Mars architectures or con2 cepts and identify Mars as the long-term goal for 

3 human space exploration, including the reports 

4 described under section 432(8). 

5 (4) CRITICAL DECISION PLAN ON HUMAN SPACE

6 EXPLORATION.—As part of the strategic framework, 

7 the Administrator shall include a critical decision 

8 plan— 

9 (A) identifying and defining key decisions 

10 guiding human space exploration priorities and 

11 plans that need to be made before June 30, 2020, 

12 including decisions that may guide human space 

13 exploration capability development, precursor 

14 missions, long-term missions, and activities; 

15 (B) defining decisions needed to maximize 

16 efficiencies and resources for reaching the near, 

17 intermediate, and long-term goals and objectives 

18 of human space exploration; and 

19 (C) identifying and defining timelines and 

20 milestones for a sustainable cadence of missions 

21 beginning with EM–3 for the Space Launch Sys22 tem and Orion to extend human exploration 

23 from cis-lunar space to the surface of Mars. 

24 (5) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall submit 

25 an initial strategic framework, including a critical 


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1 decision plan, to the appropriate committees of Con2 gress before December 1, 2017, and an updated stra3 tegic framework biennially thereafter. 

4 SEC. 434. ADVANCED SPACE SUIT CAPABILITY. 

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

6 this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate 

7 committees of Congress a detailed plan for achieving an ad8 vanced space suit capability that aligns with the crew needs 

9 for exploration enabled by the Space Launch System and 

10 Orion, including an evaluation of the merit of delivering 

11 the planned suit system for use on the ISS. 

12 SEC. 435. ASTEROID ROBOTIC REDIRECT MISSION. 

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

14 (1) NASA initially estimated that the Asteroid 

15 Robotic Redirect Mission would launch in December 

16 2020 and cost no more than $1,250,000,000, exclud17 ing launch and operations. 

18 (2) On July 15, 2016, NASA conducted its Key 

19 Decision Point–B review of the Asteroid Robotic Re20 direct Mission or approval for Phase B in mission 

21 formulation. 

22 (3) During the Key Decision Point–B review, 

23 NASA estimated that costs have grown to 

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1 ate whether to accept the increase or reduce the Aster2 oid Robotic Redirect Mission’s scope to stay within 

3 the cost cap set by the Administrator. 

4 (4) In April 2015, the NASA Advisory Coun5 cil— 

6 (A) issued a finding that— 

7 (i) high-performance solar electric pro8 pulsion will likely be an important part of 

9 an architecture to send humans to Mars; 

10 and 

11 (ii) maneuvering a large test mass is 

12 not necessary to provide a valid in-space 

13 test of a new solar electric propulsion stage; 

14 (B) determined that a solar electric propul15 sion mission will contribute more directly to the 

16 goal of sending humans to Mars if the mission 

17 is focused entirely on development and valida18 tion of the solar electric propulsion stage; and 

19 (C) determined that other possible motiva20 tions for acquiring and maneuvering a boulder, 

21 such as asteroid science and planetary defense, 

22 do not have value commensurate with their prob23 able cost. 

24 (5) The Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission is 

25 competing for resources with other critical exploration 


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1 development programs, including the Space Launch 

2 System, Orion, commercial crew, and a habitation 

3 module. 

4 (6) In 2014, the NASA Advisory Council rec5 ommended that NASA conduct an independent cost 

6 and technical assessment of the Asteroid Robotic Redi7 rect Mission. 

8 (7) NASA completed the assessment under para9 graph (6) and reviewed it as part of the agency’s Key 

10 Decision Point–B review. 

11 (8) In 2015, the NASA Advisory Council rec12 ommended that NASA preserve the following key ob13 jectives if the program needed to be descoped: 

14 (A) Development of high power solar electric 

15 propulsion. 

16 (B) Ability to maneuver in a low gravity 

17 environment in deep space. 

18 (9) In January 2015 and July 2015, the NASA 

19 Advisory Council expressed its concern to NASA 

20 about the potential for growing costs for the program 

21 and highlighted that choices would need to be made 

22 about the program’s content. 

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

24 that— 


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1 (1) the technological and scientific goals of the 

2 Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission may not be com3 mensurate with the cost; and 

4 (2) alternative missions may provide a more cost 

5 effective and scientifically beneficial means to dem6 onstrate the technologies needed for a human mission 

7 to Mars that would otherwise be demonstrated by the 

8 Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission. 

9 (c) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 180 

10 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis11 trator shall— 

12 (1) conduct an evaluation of— 

13 (A) alternative approaches to the Asteroid 

14 Robotic Redirect Mission for demonstrating the 

15 technologies and capabilities needed for a human 

16 mission to Mars that would otherwise be dem17 onstrated by the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mis18 sion; 

19 (B) the scientific and technical benefits of 

20 the alternatives approaches identified in sub21 paragraph (A) compared to the Asteroid Redirect 

22 Robotic Mission to future human exploration; 

23 (C) the commercial benefits of the alter24 native approaches identified in subparagraph 

25 (A), including the impact on the development of 


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1 domestic solar electric propulsion technology to 

2 bolster United States competitiveness in the glob3 al marketplace; and 

4 (D) a comparison of the estimated costs of 

5 the alternative approaches identified in subpara6 graph (A); and 

7 (2) submit to the appropriate committees of Con8 gress a report on the evaluation under paragraph (1), 

9 including any recommendations. 

10 Subtitle D—Scott Kelly Human 

11 Spaceflight and Exploration Act 

12 SEC. 441. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Scott Kelly Human 

14 Spaceflight and Exploration Act’’. 

15 SEC. 442. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

17 (1) Human space exploration can pose signifi18 cant challenges and is full of substantial risk, which 

19 has ultimately claimed the lives of 24 National Aero20 nautics and Space Administration astronauts serving 

21 in the line of duty. 

22 (2) As United States government astronauts par23 ticipate in long-duration and exploration spaceflight 

24 missions they may experience increased health risks, 

25 such as vision impairment, bone demineralization, 


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1 and behavioral health and performance risks, and 

2 may be exposed to galactic cosmic radiation. Expo3 sure to high levels of radiation and microgravity can 

4 result in acute and long-term health consequences that 

5 can increase the risk of cancer and tissue degenera6 tion and have potential effects on the musculoskeletal 

7 system, central nervous system, cardiovascular sys8 tem, immune function, and vision. 

9 (3) To advance the goal of long-duration and ex10 ploration spaceflight missions, United States govern11 ment astronaut Scott Kelly participated in a 1-year 

12 twins study in space while his identical twin brother, 

13 former United States government astronaut Mark 

14 Kelly, acted as a human control specimen on Earth, 

15 providing an understanding of the physical, behav16 ioral, microbiological, and molecular reaction of the 

17 human body to an extended period of time in space. 

18 (4) Since the Administration currently provides 

19 medical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment for 

20 United States government astronauts during their ac21 tive employment, given the unknown long-term health 

22 consequences of long-duration space exploration, the 

23 Administration has requested statutory authority 

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1 ment astronauts for psychological and medical condi2 tions associated with human space flight. 

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

4 that— 

5 (1) the United States should continue to seek the 

6 unknown and lead the world in space exploration and 

7 scientific discovery as the Administration prepares 

8 for long-duration and exploration spaceflight in deep 

9 space and an eventual mission to Mars; 

10 (2) data relating to the health of astronauts will 

11 become increasingly valuable to improving our under12 standing of many diseases humans face on Earth; 

13 (3) the Administration should provide the type of 

14 monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment described in 

15 subsection (a) only for conditions the Administration 

16 considers unique to the training or exposure to the 

17 spaceflight environment of United States government 

18 astronauts and should not require any former United 

19 States Government astronauts to participate in the 

20 Administration’s monitoring; 

21 (4) such monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment 

22 should not replace a former United States government 

23 astronaut’s private health insurance; 

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1 lor treatment, inform the requirements for new 

2 spaceflight medical hardware, and develop controls in 

3 order to prevent disease occurrence in the astronaut 

4 corps; 

5 (6) the Administration’s existing radiation expo6 sure standards, which have been used for missions 

7 pertaining to the Space Shuttle and the ISS, would 

8 limit missions to durations of 150 to 250 days and 

9 would pose significant challenges to long-duration or 

10 exploration spaceflight or a multiyear mission to 

11 Mars; and 

12 (7) the 340-day space mission of Scott Kelly 

13 aboard the ISS— 

14 (A) was pivotal for the goal of the United 

15 States for humans to explore deep space and 

16 Mars as the mission generated new insight into 

17 how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, 

18 isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-dura19 tion space flight; and 

20 (B) will help support the physical and men21 tal well-being of astronauts during longer space 

22 exploration missions in the future. 


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1 SEC. 443. MEDICAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH RELATING 

2 TO HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 201 of 

4 title 51, United States Code, as amended by section 304 

5 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘§ 20149. Medical monitoring and research relating to 

8 human space flight 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi10 sion of law, the Administrator may provide for the medical 

11 monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of a United States 

12 government astronaut, or a former United States govern13 ment astronaut or payload specialist, for conditions that 

14 the Administrator considers associated with human space 

15 flight, including scientific and medical tests for psycho16 logical and medical conditions. 

17 ‘‘(b) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may not— 

18 ‘‘(1) provide for medical monitoring, diagnosis, 

19 or treatment of a United States government astro20 naut, or a former United States government astro21 naut or payload specialist, under subsection (a) for 

22 any psychological or medical condition that is not as23 sociated with human space flight; or 

24 ‘‘(2) require a former United States government 

25 astronaut or payload specialist to participate in the 

26 monitoring authorized under subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(c) PRIVACY.—Consistent with applicable provisions 

2 of law relating to privacy, the Administrator shall protect 

3 the privacy of all medical records generated under sub4 section (a) and accessible to the Administration. 

5 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro6 mulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this 

7 section.’’. 

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

9 chapter 201 of title 51, United States Code, as amended 

10 by section 304 of this Act, is further amended by inserting 

11 after the item relating to section 20148 the following: 

‘‘20149. Medical monitoring and research relating to human space flight.’’. 

12 TITLE V—ADVANCING SPACE 

13 SCIENCE 

14 SEC. 501. MAINTAINING A BALANCED SPACE SCIENCE PORT15 FOLIO. 

16 (a) SCIENCE PORTFOLIO.—Section 803 of the National 

17 Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 

18 of 2010 (Public Law 111–267; 124 Stat. 2832) is amended 

19 to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 803. OVERALL SCIENCE PORTFOLIO. 

21 ‘‘Congress restates its sense that— 

22 ‘‘(1) a balanced and adequately funded set of ac23 tivities, consisting of research and analysis grant pro24 grams, technology development, suborbital research 

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1 sions, contributes to a robust and productive science 

2 program and serves as a catalyst for innovation and 

3 discovery; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the Administrator should set science prior5 ities by following the guidance provided by the sci6 entific community through the National Academies of 

7 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s decadal sur8 veys.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating to 

10 section 803 in the table of contents in section 1(b) of the 

11 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author12 ization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–267; 124 Stat. 2806) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘Overall science portfolio-sense of 

14 the Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘Overall science portfolio’’. 

15 SEC. 502. PLANETARY SCIENCE. 

16 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

17 (1) Administration support for planetary science 

18 is critical to enabling greater understanding of the 

19 solar system and the origin of the Earth; 

20 (2) the United States leads the world in plan21 etary science and can augment its success in that 

22 area with appropriate international, academic, and 

23 industry partnerships; 


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1 (3) a mix of small, medium, and large planetary 

2 science missions is required to sustain a steady ca3 dence of planetary exploration; and 

4 (4) robotic planetary exploration is a key compo5 nent of preparing for future human exploration. 

6 (b) MISSION PRIORITIES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the prior8 ities established in the most recent decadal survey for 

9 planetary science, the Administrator shall ensure, to 

10 the greatest extent practicable, the completion of a 

11 balanced set of Discovery, New Frontiers, and flag12 ship missions. 

13 (2) MISSION PRIORITY ADJUSTMENTS.—Con14 sistent with the set of missions described in para15 graph (1), and while maintaining the continuity of 

16 scientific data and steady development of capabilities 

17 and technologies, the Administrator may seek, if nec18 essary, adjustments to mission priorities, schedule, 

19 and scope in light of changing budget projections. 

20 SEC. 503. JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that— 

22 (1) the James Webb Space Telescope should sig23 nificantly advance our understanding of star and 

24 planet formation, improve our knowledge of the early 


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1 universe, and support United States leadership in as2 trophysics; and 

3 (2) consistent with annual Government Account4 ability Office reviews of the James Webb Space Tele5 scope program, the Administrator should continue ro6 bust surveillance of the performance of the James 

7 Webb Space Telescope project and continue to im8 prove the reliability of cost estimates and contractor 

9 performance data and other major spaceflight projects 

10 in order to enhance NASA’s ability to successfully de11 liver the James Webb Space Telescope on-time and 

12 within budget. 

13 SEC. 504. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON WIDE-FIELD INFRARED 

14 SURVEY TELESCOPE. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope 

17 (commonly known as ‘‘WFIRST’’) mission has the 

18 potential to enable scientific discoveries that will 

19 transform our understanding of the universe; and 

20 (2) the Administrator, to the extent practicable, 

21 should make progress on the technologies and capa22 bilities needed to position the Administration to meet 

23 the objectives, as outlined in the 2010 National Acad24 emies’ Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, 


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1 in a way that maximizes the scientific productivity 

2 of meeting those objectives for the resources invested. 

3 SEC. 505. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON MARS 2020 ROVER. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) the Mars 2020 mission, to develop a Mars 

6 rover and to enable the return of samples to Earth, 

7 should remain a priority for NASA; and 

8 (2) the Mars 2020 mission— 

9 (A) should significantly increase our under10 standing of Mars; 

11 (B) should help determine whether life pre12 viously existed on that planet; and 

13 (C) should provide opportunities to gather 

14 knowledge and demonstrate technologies that ad15 dress the challenges of future human expeditions 

16 to Mars. 

17 SEC. 506. EUROPA. 

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

19 (1) Studies of Europa, Jupiter’s moon, indicate 

20 that Europa may provide a habitable environment, as 

21 it contains key ingredients known to support life on 

22 Earth, including liquid water, heat, chemistry, and 

23 time. 

24 (2) In 2012, using the Hubble Space Telescope, 

25 NASA scientists observed water vapor around the 


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1 south polar region of Europa, which provides poten2 tial evidence of water plumes in that region. 

3 (3) For decades, the Europa mission has consist4 ently ranked as a high priority mission for the sci5 entific community. 

6 (4) The Europa mission was ranked as the top 

7 priority mission in the previous Planetary Science 

8 Decadal Survey and ranked as the second-highest pri9 ority in the current Planetary Science Decadal Sur10 vey. 

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

12 that— 

13 (1) the Europa mission could provide another 

14 avenue in which to capitalize on our Nation’s current 

15 investment in the Space Launch System that would 

16 significantly reduce the transit time for such a deep 

17 space mission; and 

18 (2) a scientific, robotic exploration mission to 

19 Europa, as prioritized in both Planetary Science 

20 Decadal Surveys, should be supported. 


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1 TITLE VI—MAXIMIZING 

2 EFFICIENCY 

3 Subtitle A—Agency Information 

4 Technology and Cybersecurity 

5 SEC. 611. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE. 

6 The Administrator, in consultation with the chief in7 formation officer of NASA, shall— 

8 (1) ensure the NASA Chief Information Officer 

9 has a significant role in the management, governance, 

10 and oversight processes related to information tech11 nology operations and investments and information 

12 security programs for the protection of NASA sys13 tems; 

14 (2) establish the NASA Chief Information Officer 

15 as a direct report to the Administrator; 

16 (3) ensure the NASA Chief Information Officer 

17 has the appropriate resources and insight to oversee 

18 NASA information technology and information secu19 rity operations and investments; 

20 (4) provide an information technology program 

21 management framework to increase the efficiency and 

22 effectiveness of information technology investments, 

23 including relying on metrics for identifying and re24 ducing potential duplication, waste, and cost; 


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1 (5) establish a monetary threshold for all agency 

2 information technology investments and related con3 tracts, including non-highly and highly specialized 

4 and specialized information technology, regardless of 

5 the procurement instrument, over which the NASA 

6 Chief Information Officer shall have final approval; 

7 (6) improve the operational linkage between the 

8 NASA Chief Information Officer and each NASA mis9 sion directorate, center, and mission support office to 

10 ensure both agency and mission needs are considered 

11 in agency-wide information technology and informa12 tion security management and oversight; 

13 (7) review the portfolio of information technology 

14 investments and spending, including information 

15 technology-related investments included as part of ac16 tivities within NASA mission directorates that may 

17 not be considered information technology, to ensure 

18 investments are recognized and reported appro19 priately based on guidance from the Office of Manage20 ment and Budget; 

21 (8) consider appropriate revisions to the charters 

22 of information technology boards and councils that 

23 inform information technology investment and oper24 ation decisions; and 


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1 (9) consider whether the NASA Chief Informa2 tion Officer should have a seat on any boards or 

3 councils described in paragraph (8). 

4 SEC. 612. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the NASA 

6 Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the chief in7 formation officer of each Administration center, shall de8 velop an information technology strategic plan to guide 

9 NASA information technology management and strategic 

10 objectives. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the strategic plan, 

12 the NASA Chief Information Officer shall ensure that the 

13 strategic plan is consistent with— 

14 (1) the deadline under section 306(a) of title 5, 

15 United States Code; and 

16 (2) the requirements under section 3506 of title 

17 44, United States Code. 

18 (c) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan shall include— 

19 (1) near and long-term goals and objectives for 

20 leveraging information technology; 

21 (2) a plan for how the NASA Chief Information 

22 Officer will submit to Congress of a list of informa23 tion technology projects, including completion dates 

24 and risk level in accordance with guidance from the 

25 Office of Management and Budget; 


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1 (3) an implementation overview for an agency2 wide centralized approach to information technology 

3 investments and operations, including reducing bar4 riers to cross-center collaboration; 

5 (4) coordination by the NASA Chief Information 

6 Officer with centers and mission directorates to en7 sure that information technology policies are effec8 tively and efficiently implemented across the agency; 

9 (5) a plan to increase the efficiency and effective10 ness of information technology investments, including 

11 a description of how unnecessarily duplicative, waste12 ful, legacy, or outdated information technology across 

13 NASA will be identified and eliminated, and a sched14 ule for the identification and elimination of such in15 formation technology; 

16 (6) a plan for improving the information secu17 rity of agency information and agency information 

18 systems, including improving security control assess19 ments and role-based security training of employees; 

20 and 

21 (7) submission by the NASA Chief Information 

22 Officer to Congress of information regarding high risk 

23 projects and cybersecurity risks. 

24 (d) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The NASA Chief 

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1 mittees of Congress the strategic plan under subsection (a) 

2 and any updates thereto. 

3 SEC. 613. CYBERSECURITY. 

4 (a) FINDING.—The security of NASA information and 

5 information systems is vital to the success of the mission 

6 of the agency. 

7 (b) INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.—Section 1207 of 

8 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au9 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18445) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c) 

11 as subsections (b) through (d), respectively; 

12 (2) by inserting before subsection (b), as redesig13 nated, the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) AGENCY-WIDE INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics and 

17 Space Administration Transition Authorization Act 

18 of 2016, the Administrator shall implement the infor19 mation security plan developed under paragraph (2) 

20 and take such further actions as the Administrator 

21 considers necessary to improve the information secu22 rity system in accordance with this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION SECURITY PLAN.—Subject to 

24 paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), the chief information of25 ficer of NASA, shall develop an agency-wide informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Dec 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3346.RS S3346

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1 tion security plan to enhance information security for 

2 NASA information and information infrastructure. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the plan 

4 under paragraph (2), the chief information officer 

5 shall ensure that the plan— 

6 ‘‘(A) is consistent with policies, standards, 

7 guidelines, and directives on information secu8 rity under subchapter II of chapter 35 of title 

9 44, United States Code; 

10 ‘‘(B) is consistent with the standards and 

11 guidelines under section 11331 of title 40, 

12 United States Code; and 

13 ‘‘(C) meets applicable National Institute of 

14 Standards and Technology information security 

15 standards and guidelines. 

16 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL.—The chief information officer 

17 shall submit the plan to the Administrator for ap18 proval prior to its implementation. 

19 ‘‘(5) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

20 ‘‘(A) an overview of the requirements of the 

21 information security system; 

22 ‘‘(B) an agency-wide risk management 

23 framework for information security; 

24 ‘‘(C) a description of the information secu25 rity system management controls and common 


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1 controls that are necessary to ensure compliance 

2 with information security-related requirements; 

3 ‘‘(D) an identification and assignment of 

4 roles, responsibilities, and management commit5 ment for information security at the agency; 

6 ‘‘(E) coordination among organizational en7 tities, including between each center, facility, 

8 mission directorate, and mission support office, 

9 and among agency entities responsible for dif10 ferent aspects of information security; 

11 ‘‘(F) heightened consideration of the need to 

12 protect the information security of mission-crit13 ical systems and activities and high-impact and 

14 moderate-impact information systems; and 

15 ‘‘(G) a schedule of frequent reviews and up16 dates, as necessary, of the plan.’’; and 

17 (3) in subsection (b), as redesignated— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 

20 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

22 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

23 and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(D) an update on the agency’s efforts to 

2 apply additional information security protec3 tions to secure high-impact and moderate-impact 

4 information systems and mission-critical systems 

5 and activities, including those systems that con6 trol spacecraft and maintain critical data 

7 sources.’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 

9 3545’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3555’’. 

10 SEC. 614. OVERSIGHT IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS. 

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

12 this Act, and periodically thereafter until the information 

13 security plan under section 1207 of the National Aero14 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

15 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18445), as amended, is developed and im16 plemented agency-wide, the Administrator shall provide to 

17 the appropriate committees of Congress an update on the 

18 progress made toward implementation of or response to— 

19 (1) the information security plan under that sec20 tion; and 

21 (2) the information security-related recommenda22 tions made by the NASA Inspector General and the 

23 Comptroller General in the 5 years preceding the date 

24 of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 615. SOFTWARE OVERSIGHT. 

2 The Administrator shall— 

3 (1) develop a strategic plan to transition NASA 

4 from legacy software by adopting a service-based ac5 quisition model in line with industry best practices; 

6 (2) develop and implement an agency-wide soft7 ware license management policy to improve cen8 tralization, lifecycle management, and procurement 

9 education, including education on contract negotia10 tions, relevant laws and regulations, and agency-wide 

11 contract terms and conditions; and 

12 (3) direct an agency-wide inventory of NASA’s 

13 total software licenses and spending, including costs, 

14 benefits, usage, and trending data. 

15 SEC. 616. SECURITY MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN NATIONAL 

16 ACCESS. 

17 The Administrator shall notify the appropriate com18 mittees of Congress when the agency has implemented the 

19 information technology security recommendations from the 

20 National Academy of Public Administration on foreign na21 tional access management, based on reports from January 

22 2014 and March 2016. 

23 SEC. 617. CYBERSECURITY OF WEB APPLICATIONS. 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the NASA Chief Information Officer shall— 


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1 (1) develop a plan, including such actions and 

2 milestones as are necessary, to fully remediate secu3 rity vulnerabilities of NASA web applications within 

4 a timely fashion after discovery; and 

5 (2) implement the recommendation from the 

6 NASA Inspector General in the audit report dated 

7 July 10, 2014, (IG–14–023) to remove from the Inter8 net or secure with a web application firewall all 

9 NASA web applications in development or testing 

10 mode. 

11 Subtitle B—Collaboration Among 

12 Mission Directorates and Other 

13 Matters 

14 SEC. 621. COLLABORATION AMONG MISSION DIREC15 TORATES. 

16 The Administrator shall encourage an interdiscipli17 nary approach among all NASA mission directorates and 

18 divisions, whenever appropriate, for projects or missions— 

19 (1) to improve coordination, and encourage col20 laboration and early planning on scope; 

21 (2) to determine areas of overlap or alignment; 

22 (3) to find ways to leverage across divisional 

23 perspectives to maximize outcomes; and 

24 (4) to be more efficient with resources and funds. 


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1 SEC. 622. NASA LAUNCH CAPABILITIES COLLABORATION. 

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

3 (1) The Launch Services Program is responsible 

4 for the acquisition, management, and technical over5 sight of commercial launch services for NASA’s 

6 science and robotic missions. 

7 (2) The Commercial Crew Program is respon8 sible for the acquisition, management, and technical 

9 oversight of commercial crew transportation systems. 

10 (3) The Launch Services Program and Commer11 cial Crew Program have worked together to gain ex12 ceptional technical insight into the contracted launch 

13 service providers that are common to both programs. 

14 (4) The Launch Services Program has a long 

15 history of oversight of 12 different launch vehicles and 

16 over 80 launches. 

17 (5) Co-location of the Launch Services Program 

18 and Commercial Crew Program has enabled the Com19 mercial Crew Program to efficiently obtain the launch 

20 vehicle technical expertise of and provide engineering 

21 and analytical support to the Commercial Crew Pro22 gram. 

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

24 that— 

25 (1) the Launch Services Program and Commer26 cial Crew Program each benefit from communication 


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1 and coordination of launch manifests, technical infor2 mation, and common launch vehicle insight between 

3 the programs; and 

4 (2) such communication and coordination is en5 abled by the co-location of the programs. 

6 (c) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pursue a 

7 strategy for acquisition of crewed transportation services 

8 and non-crewed launch services that continues to enhance 

9 communication, collaboration, and coordination between 

10 the Launch Services Program and the Commercial Crew 

11 Program. 

12 SEC. 623. COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH COOPERATION. 

13 (a) FINDING.—Congress recognized the benefit of com14 mercial space launch cooperation between the Federal Gov15 ernment and the private sector when it granted the Sec16 retary of Defense authority to foster cooperation between the 

17 Department of Defense and certain covered entities relating 

18 to space transportation infrastructure under section 2276 

19 of title 10, United States Code. 

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

21 that— 

22 (1) the Administrator should take into account 

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1 tual arrangements with commercial and government 

2 customers when developing and carrying out agree3 ments under section 50507 of title 51, United States 

4 Code, with State spaceports operating on NASA fa5 cilities; and 

6 (2) the authority granted under section 50507 of 

7 title 51, United States Code, is not intended to super8 sede or conflict with the congressional intent and pur9 poses codified in chapter 509 of that title, the respon10 sibilities of the Secretary of Transportation under sec11 tion 50913 of that title, or with the intent of section 

12 50504 of that title. 

13 (c) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 505 of title 51, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 50507. Commercial launch cooperation 

16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY FOR AGREEMENTS RELATING TO

17 SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Admin18 istrator— 

19 ‘‘(1) may enter into an agreement with a covered 

20 entity to provide the covered entity with support and 

21 services related to the space transportation infrastruc22 ture of the Administration— 

23 ‘‘(A) to maximize the use of the space trans24 portation infrastructure of the Administration 

25 by the private sector in the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to maximize the effectiveness and effi2 ciency of the space transportation infrastructure 

3 of the Administration; 

4 ‘‘(C) to reduce the cost of services provided 

5 by the Administration related to space transpor6 tation infrastructure at launch support facilities 

7 and space recovery support facilities; and 

8 ‘‘(D) to encourage commercial space activi9 ties by enabling investment by covered entities in 

10 the space transportation infrastructure of the 

11 Administration; and 

12 ‘‘(2) at the request of the covered entity, may in13 clude that support and services in the contracted 

14 space launch and reentry range support requirements 

15 of the Administration if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Administrator determines that in17 cluding that support and services in the require18 ments— 

19 ‘‘(i) is in the best interest of the Fed20 eral Government; 

21 ‘‘(ii) does not interfere with the re22 quirements of the Administration; 

23 ‘‘(iii) does not compete with the com24 mercial space activities of other covered en25 tities; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) does not result in the Adminis2 tration retaining ownership of assets which 

3 are no longer needed to meet a pro4 grammatic mission of the Administration; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) any commercial requirement included 

7 in the agreement has full non-Federal funding 

8 before the execution of the agreement. 

9 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

11 enter into an agreement with a covered entity on a 

12 cooperative and voluntary basis to accept funds, serv13 ices, and equipment to carry out the purposes in sub14 section (a)(1). 

15 ‘‘(2) USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Any funds, serv16 ices, or equipment accepted by the Administrator 

17 under this subsection— 

18 ‘‘(A) may be used only for the objectives 

19 specified in this section in accordance with terms 

20 of use set forth in the agreement entered into 

21 under this subsection; and 

22 ‘‘(B) shall be managed by the Administrator 

23 in accordance with procedures prescribed under 

24 subsection (d). 


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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO AGREE2 MENTS.—An agreement entered into with a covered 

3 entity under this subsection shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) address the terms of use, ownership, 

5 and disposition of the funds, services, or equip6 ment contributed under the agreement; 

7 ‘‘(B) include a provision that the covered 

8 entity will not recover the costs of its contribu9 tion through any other agreement with the 

10 United States; and 

11 ‘‘(C) include a provision that the contribu12 tion of a covered entity will not preclude access 

13 to or use by another covered entity. 

14 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than January 31 of 

15 each year, the Administrator shall submit to the appro16 priate committees of Congress a report on the process used 

17 to establish agreements under subsections (a) and (b), in18 cluding noticing announcements of opportunities and cri19 teria for selecting a covered entity, and the funds, services, 

20 and equipment accepted and used by the Administrator 

21 under this section during the preceding fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—The Administrator shall pre23 scribe procedures to carry out this section consistent with 

24 sections 50504 and 50913. 

25 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED ENTITY.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘covered entity’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a non-Federal entity that— 

4 ‘‘(i) is organized under the laws of the 

5 United States or of any jurisdiction within 

6 the United States; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) is engaged in commercial space 

8 activities; or 

9 ‘‘(B) an entity that controls, is controlled 

10 by, or is under common control with, a non-Fed11 eral entity described in subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(2) LAUNCH SUPPORT FACILITIES.—The term 

13 ‘launch support facilities’ has the meaning given the 

14 term in section 50501. 

15 ‘‘(3) SPACE RECOVERY SUPPORT FACILITIES.— 

16 The term ‘space recovery support facilities’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 50501. 

18 ‘‘(4) SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUC19 TURE.—The term ‘space transportation infrastruc20 ture’ has the meaning given that term in section 

21 50501.’’. 

22 (d) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

23 chapter 505 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by 

24 adding after the item relating to section 50506 the fol25 lowing: 

‘‘50507. Commercial space launch cooperation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 624. DETECTION AND AVOIDANCE OF COUNTERFEIT 

2 PARTS. 

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

4 (1) A 2012 investigation by the Committee on 

5 Armed Services of the Senate of counterfeit electronic 

6 parts in the Department of Defense supply chain 

7 from 2009 through 2010 uncovered 1,800 cases and 

8 over 1,000,000 counterfeit parts and exposed the 

9 threat such counterfeit parts pose to service members 

10 and national security. 

11 (2) Since 2010, the Comptroller General of the 

12 United States has identified in 3 separate reports the 

13 risks and challenges associated with counterfeit parts 

14 and counterfeit prevention at both the Department of 

15 Defense and NASA, including inconsistent definitions 

16 of counterfeit parts, poorly targeted quality control 

17 practices, and potential barriers to improvements to 

18 these practices. 

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

20 that the presence of counterfeit electronic parts in the NASA 

21 supply chain poses a danger to United States government 

22 astronauts, crew, and other personnel and a risk to the 

23 agency overall. 

24 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

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

26 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 


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1 shall revise the NASA Supplement to the Federal Ac2 quisition Regulation to improve the detection and 

3 avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts in the supply 

4 chain. 

5 (2) CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.—In revis6 ing the regulations under paragraph (1), the Admin7 istrator shall— 

8 (A) require each covered contractor— 

9 (i) to detect and avoid the use or inclu10 sion of any counterfeit parts in electronic 

11 parts or products that contain electronic 

12 parts; 

13 (ii) to take such corrective actions as 

14 the Administrator considers necessary to 

15 remedy the use or inclusion described in 

16 clause (i); and 

17 (iii) including a subcontractor, to no18 tify the applicable NASA contracting officer 

19 not later than 30 calendar days after the 

20 date the covered contractor becomes aware, 

21 or has reason to suspect, that any end item, 

22 component, part or material contained in 

23 supplies purchased by NASA, or purchased 

24 by a covered contractor or subcontractor for 

25 delivery to, or on behalf of, NASA, contains 


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1 a counterfeit electronic part or suspect 

2 counterfeit electronic part; and 

3 (B) prohibit the cost of counterfeit electronic 

4 parts, suspect counterfeit electronic parts, and 

5 any corrective action described under subpara6 graph (A)(ii) from being included as allowable 

7 costs under agency contracts, unless— 

8 (i)(I) the covered contractor has an 

9 operational system to detect and avoid 

10 counterfeit electronic parts and suspect 

11 counterfeit electronic parts that has been re12 viewed and approved by NASA or the De13 partment of Defense; and 

14 (II) the covered contractor has 

15 provided the notice under subpara16 graph (A)(iii); or 

17 (ii) the counterfeit electronic parts or 

18 suspect counterfeit electronic parts were 

19 provided to the covered contractor as Gov20 ernment property in accordance with part 

21 45 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

22 (3) SUPPLIERS OF ELECTRONIC PARTS.—In re23 vising the regulations under paragraph (1), the Ad24 ministrator shall— 


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1 (A) require NASA and covered contractors, 

2 including subcontractors, at all tiers— 

3 (i) to obtain electronic parts that are 

4 in production or currently available in 

5 stock from— 

6 (I) the original manufacturers of 

7 the parts or their authorized dealers; or 

8 (II) suppliers who obtain such 

9 parts exclusively from the original 

10 manufacturers of the parts or their au11 thorized dealers; and 

12 (ii) to obtain electronic parts that are 

13 not in production or currently available in 

14 stock from suppliers that meet qualification 

15 requirements established under subpara16 graph (C); 

17 (B) establish documented requirements con18 sistent with published industry standards or 

19 Government contract requirements for— 

20 (i) notification of the agency; and 

21 (ii) inspection, testing, and authentica22 tion of electronic parts that NASA or a cov23 ered contractor, including a subcontractor, 

24 obtains from any source other than a source 

25 described in subparagraph (A); 


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1 (C) establish qualification requirements, 

2 consistent with the requirements of section 2319 

3 of title 10, United States Code, pursuant to 

4 which NASA may identify suppliers that have 

5 appropriate policies and procedures in place to 

6 detect and avoid counterfeit electronic parts and 

7 suspect counterfeit electronic parts; and 

8 (D) authorize a covered contractor, includ9 ing a subcontractor, to identify and use addi10 tional suppliers beyond those identified under 

11 subparagraph (C) if— 

12 (i) the standards and processes for 

13 identifying such suppliers comply with es14 tablished industry standards; 

15 (ii) the covered contractor assumes re16 sponsibility for the authenticity of parts 

17 provided by such suppliers under para18 graph (2); and 

19 (iii) the selection of such suppliers is 

20 subject to review and audit by NASA. 

21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) COVERED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 contractor’’ means a contractor that supplies an elec24 tronic part, or a product that contains an electronic 

25 part, to NASA. 


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1 (2) ELECTRONIC PART.—The term ‘‘electronic 

2 part’’ means a discrete electronic component, includ3 ing a microcircuit, transistor, capacitor, resistor, or 

4 diode, that is intended for use in a safety or mission 

5 critical application. 

6 SEC. 625. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

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

8 that— 

9 (1) United States competitiveness in the 21st 

10 century requires engaging the science, technology, en11 gineering, and mathematics (referred to in this sec12 tion as ‘‘STEM’’) talent in all States; 

13 (2) the Administration is uniquely positioned to 

14 educate and inspire students and the broader public 

15 on STEM subjects and careers; 

16 (3) the Administration’s Education and Commu17 nication Offices, Mission Directorates, and Centers 

18 have been effective in delivering educational content 

19 because of the strong engagement of Administration 

20 scientists and engineers in the Administration’s edu21 cation and outreach activities; and 

22 (4) the Administration’s education and outreach 

23 programs, including the Experimental Program to 

24 Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the 

25 Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, reflect 


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1 the Administration’s successful commitment to grow2 ing and diversifying the national science and engi3 neering workforce. 

4 (b) CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH AC5 TIVITIES AND PROGRAMS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con7 tinue engagement with the public and education op8 portunities for students via all the Administration’s 

9 mission directorates to the maximum extent prac10 ticable. 

11 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

13 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

14 report on the Administration’s near-term outreach 

15 plans for advancing space law education. 

16 SEC. 626. LEVERAGING COMMERCIAL SATELLITE SERV17 ICING CAPABILITIES ACROSS MISSION DIREC18 TORATES. 

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

20 (1) Refueling and relocating aging satellites to 

21 extend their operational lifetimes is a capacity that 

22 NASA will substantially benefit from and is impor23 tant for lowering the costs of ongoing scientific, na24 tional security, and commercial satellite operations. 


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1 (2) The technologies involved in satellite serv2 icing, such as dexterous robotic arms, propellant 

3 transfer systems, and solar electric propulsion, are all 

4 critical capabilities to support a human exploration 

5 mission to Mars. 

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

7 that— 

8 (1) satellite servicing is a vital capability that 

9 will bolster the capacity and affordability of NASA’s 

10 ongoing scientific and human exploration operations 

11 while simultaneously enhancing the ability of domes12 tic companies to compete in the global marketplace; 

13 and 

14 (2) future NASA satellites and spacecraft across 

15 mission directorates should be constructed in a man16 ner that allows for servicing in order to maximize 

17 operational longevity and affordability. 

18 (c) LEVERAGING OF CAPABILITIES.—The Adminis19 trator shall identify orbital assets in both the Science Mis20 sion Directorate and the Human Exploration and Oper21 ations Mission Directorate that could benefit from satellite 

22 servicing-related technologies, and shall work across all 

23 NASA mission directorates to evaluate opportunities for the 

24 private sector to perform such services or advance technical 


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1 capabilities by leveraging the technologies and techniques 

2 developed by NASA programs and other industry programs. 

3 SEC. 627. FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES. 

4 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PAYLOADS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to conduct necessary 

6 research, the Administrator shall continue and, as the 

7 Administrator considers appropriate, expand the de8 velopment of technology payloads for— 

9 (A) scientific research; and 

10 (B) investigating new or improved capabili11 ties. 

12 (2) FUNDS.—For the purpose of carrying out 

13 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make funds 

14 available for— 

15 (A) flight testing; 

16 (B) payload development; and 

17 (C) hardware related to subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B). 

19 (b) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaffirms 

20 that the Administrator should provide flight opportunities 

21 for payloads to microgravity environments and suborbital 

22 altitudes as authorized by section 907 of the National Aero23 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 

24 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18405). 


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1 SEC. 628. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SMALL CLASS LAUNCH 

2 MISSIONS. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (1) Venture Class Launch Services contracts 

5 awarded under the Launch Services Program will ex6 pand opportunities for future dedicated launches of 

7 CubeSats and other small satellites and small orbital 

8 science missions; and 

9 (2) principal investigator-led small orbital 

10 science missions, including CubeSat class, Small Ex11 plorer (SMEX) class, and Venture class, offer valuable 

12 opportunities to advance science at low cost, train the 

13 next generation of scientists and engineers, and enable 

14 participants to acquire skills in systems engineering 

15 and systems integration that are critical to maintain16 ing the Nation’s leadership in space and to enhancing 

17 United States innovation and competitiveness abroad. 


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Calendar No. 696 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3346 

[Report No. 114–390] 

A BILL 

To authorize the programs of the National Aeropurposes. nautics and Space Administration, and for other 

DECEMBER 5, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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