capabilities are not available during any extended period 
after the date that the Space Shuttle is retired. Before rely-
ing on ISS partners to upmass or downmass cargo, the Ad-
ministrator must certify to the Congress that no United 
States or commercial cargo resupply capabilities are avail-
able. 
SEC. 216. CENTRIFUGE. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall carry out 
an assessment of innovative options for deploying a vari-
able-gravity centrifuge on the ISS. The assessment shall 
identify the requirements for a variable-gravity centrifuge 
to support fundamental and applied research on the ISS, 
including research to help mitigate the risk of long-term 
spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit. The assessment shall 
also— 
(1) review the requirements for development, 
launch, and operation of the facility on the ISS; 
(2) provide an estimate of the potential cost and 
timeline for developing and deploying the centrifuge 
capabilities evaluated as part of the assessment; 
(3) evaluate the status of previous work on devel-
opment of an in-flight centrifuge for the ISS and the 
cost and time that would be required to complete the 
work and launch the facility; and 
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(4) identify the potential for international col-
laboration and other potential partnerships or inno-
vative acquisition approaches that could facilitate the 
development and deployment of a centrifuge facility 
for the ISS. 
(b) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 
shall transmit the assessment described in subsection (a) to 
the Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 
217. 
EXPLORATION 
TECHNOLOGY 
DEVELOPMENT 
USING THE ISS. 
(a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall develop priorities 
for technology development, testing, and demonstration ac-
tivities that enable and support NASA’s long-term plans 
for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and that require the 
capabilities of the ISS, and shall develop a plan, including 
milestones, a schedule, and an estimate of resource require-
ments, for carrying out the prioritized activities. The plan 
shall be developed for the period of fiscal years 2011 through 
2020. 
(b) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 
shall transmit the plan developed under subsection (a) to 
the Congress not later than 270 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
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SEC. 218. FUNDAMENTAL SPACE LIFE SCIENCE AND PHYS-
ICAL SCIENCES AND RELATED TECHNOLOGY 
RESEARCH. 
(a) STRATEGIC PLAN FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
RESEARCH.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator, in con-
sultation with academia, other Federal agencies, and 
other potential stakeholders, shall develop a strategic 
plan for carrying out competitive, peer-reviewed fun-
damental space life science and physical sciences and 
related technology research, including research on 
phenomena such as the response of fluids and mate-
rials to reduced gravity environments that need to be 
understood in developing exploration-related tech-
nologies and systems. The plan shall— 
(A) address the facilities and instrumenta-
tion that would enable and facilitate such re-
search; 
(B) be consistent with the priorities and 
recommendations established by the National 
Academies in its decadal survey of life and 
microgravity sciences; 
(C) provide a research timeline and identify 
the resource requirements for its implementation; 
(D) include an estimate of the number of 
students, including undergraduate, graduate, 
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and post-doctoral students, and early-career re-
searchers that would be supported in carrying 
out the plan; and 
(E) identify— 
(i) criteria for the proposed space re-
search, including— 
(I) a justification for the research 
to be carried out in the space micro-
gravity environment; 
(II) the use of model systems; 
(III) the testing of flight hardware 
to understand and ensure its func-
tioning in the microgravity environ-
ment; 
(IV) the use of controls to help 
distinguish among the direct and indi-
rect effects of microgravity, among 
other effects of the flight or space envi-
ronment; 
(V) approaches for facilitating 
data collection, analysis, and interpre-
tation; 
(VI) procedures to ensure repeti-
tion of experiments as needed; and 
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(VII) support for timely presen-
tation of the peer-reviewed results of 
the research; 
(ii) instrumentation required to sup-
port the measurements and analysis of the 
research to be carried out under the stra-
tegic plan, including the potential use of in-
strumentation developed by other countries 
and the potential for a variable-gravity cen-
trifuge to support the research; 
(iii) the capabilities needed to support 
direct, real-time communications between 
astronauts working on research experiments 
onboard the ISS and the principal investi-
gator on the ground; and 
(iv) a process for involving the external 
user community in research planning, in-
cluding planning for relevant flight hard-
ware and instrumentation, and for utiliza-
tion of the ISS, free flyers, or other research 
platforms. 
(2) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad-
ministrator shall transmit the strategic plan devel-
oped under paragraph (1) to the Congress. 
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(b) INTEGRATED RESEARCH MANAGEMENT ORGANIZA-
TION.— 
(1) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
ensure that a responsible official is designated at 
NASA headquarters to lead a competitive, inte-
grated basic and applied research program in 
fundamental space life science and physical 
sciences and related technology. 
(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The official des-
ignated under subparagraph (A) shall be respon-
sible for— 
(i) leading near-term and long-term 
strategic planning pursuant to the research 
plan developed under subsection (a); 
(ii) ensuring the input of the external 
user community in science planning proc-
esses; 
(iii) ensuring the implementation of 
an integrated, multidisciplinary and inter-
disciplinary, competitive research program 
in fundamental space life and physical 
sciences and related technology; 
(iv) supporting the appropriate inter-
action of research investigators and agency 
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managers and engineers in planning, de-
signing, testing, and operations related to 
such research projects; 
(v) monitoring progress of the program 
in achieving the objectives and milestones 
identified in the strategic plan developed 
under subsection (a)(1); and 
(vi) other functions required to support 
the research program under this section. 
(C) 
COORDINATION
AND
COMMUNICA-
TIONS.—The Administrator shall ensure that the 
responsible official coordinates and commu-
nicates the fundamental space life science and 
physical sciences and related technology research 
activities with relevant entities within NASA, 
with the ISS research management institution 
designated under section 212(a), and with other 
relevant agencies and organizations. 
(2) 
BUDGET
REQUEST.—The 
Administrator 
shall, as part of the annual NASA fiscal year budget 
request— 
(A) identify and include a description of re-
search being carried out pursuant to section 204 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
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tration Authorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
16633); 
(B) identify the percentage of the total re-
search budget for ISS research that the research 
described in subparagraph (A) represents; and 
(C) identify the programs proposed for car-
rying out research activities on the ISS and the 
proposed funding to support those research pro-
grams, including a breakdown for each of the 
programs identified of the funding requested for 
competitive grants. 
Subtitle C—Space Shuttle 
SEC. 221. CONTINGENT AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL 
SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION. 
(a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 
Congress that it is very important, in view of the extension 
of the life of the ISS until at least 2020, for the Shuttle 
fleet to leave the ISS in the best possible configuration for 
the post-Shuttle era and that NASA should take all nec-
essary steps to ensure the continued viability of the ISS 
in the event that there are delays in the delivery or the in-
ability to deliver critical parts and supplies once the Shut-
tle is retired. 
(b) CONTINGENT AUTHORIZATION
OF ADDITIONAL 
SHUTTLE MISSION BEYOND THE PLANNED MANIFEST.— 
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The Administrator is authorized to conduct 1 additional 
Space Shuttle mission to the ISS beyond the missions con-
tained in the flight manifest as of February 1, 2010, if— 
(1) the Administrator determines that an addi-
tional Space Shuttle mission is a useful and nec-
essary step to reduce risks to the operation and utili-
zation of the ISS that are associated with the retire-
ment of the Shuttle fleet; and 
(2) the conditions in subsection (c) have been 
met. 
(c) CONDITIONS.—In order to comply with subsection 
(b), the Administrator shall determine and certify that all 
of the following conditions have been met: 
(1) The importance of conducting the additional 
Space Shuttle mission to the ISS outweighs the risks 
associated with conducting a Shuttle mission without 
a backup Shuttle launch-on-need capability. 
(2) Any actions resulting from safety inspections 
and reviews required by NASA’s Orbiter Modification 
Down Period (OMDP) and other safety guidance have 
been successfully addressed. 
(3) Workarounds addressing mandatory OMDP 
requirements, if any, have been identified and the as-
sociated risks have been characterized. 
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(4) The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has re-
viewed the safety issues associated with the additional 
Shuttle mission as well as NASA’s plans to mitigate 
any identified risks. 
(d) CONTINGENT AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—In the event that the additional Shuttle flight to 
the ISS is authorized, funding for the incremental costs as-
sociated with the additional mission is authorized as follows 
from within funds authorized in title I: 
(1) For fiscal year 2011, $700,000,000, to be 
taken in the amounts specified below from within the 
funding for the following accounts and transferred to 
the Space Shuttle account: 
(A) $175,000,000 from the ISS, except that 
at least $50,000,000 shall remain available for 
fundamental space life and physical sciences and 
related technology research. 
(B) $525,000,000 from the restructured ex-
ploration program. 
(2) For Fiscal Year 2012, $200,000,000, to be 
taken from within the funding for the ISS and trans-
ferred to the Space Shuttle account, except that at 
least $50,000,000 shall remain available for funda-
mental space life and physical sciences and related 
technology research. 
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SEC. 222. EXPANDED SCOPE OF SPACE SHUTTLE TRANSI-
TION LIAISON OFFICE. 
Section 613(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 
17761(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Space Shuttle 
Transition Liaison Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Post-Shut-
tle Transition Liaison Office’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2 years after 
the completion of the last Space Shuttle flight’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2 years after the award of the final grant 
under section 223 of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 223. POST-SHUTTLE WORKFORCE TRANSITION INITIA-
TIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, acting 
through the Post-Shuttle Transition Liaison Office es-
tablished under section 613(b) of the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act 
of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17761(b)), as amended by section 
222, is authorized to make grants for the establish-
ment, operation, coordination, and implementation of 
aerospace workforce and community transition strate-
gies. 
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(2) TRANSFER.—The Administrator may trans-
fer amounts made available under this section to 
other Federal agencies for the purpose of assisting in 
the transition of aerospace workers and communities 
adversely affected by the termination of the Space 
Shuttle program. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under sub-
section (a) shall use the funds made available through the 
grant to— 
(1) conduct community and business outreach; 
(2) develop and implement regional revitaliza-
tion and facilities reuse strategies; 
(3) support entrepreneurship and new business 
development initiatives; and 
(4) support workforce retraining. 
SEC. 224. DISPOSITION OF ORBITER VEHICLES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the termination of the Space 
Shuttle Program, the Administrator shall decommission 
any remaining Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles according to 
established safety and historic preservation procedures prior 
to their designation as surplus government property. The 
orbiter vehicles shall be made available and located for dis-
play and maintenance through a competitive procedure that 
takes into account geographical diversity, established pursu-
ant to the disposition plan developed under section 613(a) 
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of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act 
of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 17761(a)), with priority consideration 
given to eligible applicants meeting all conditions of that 
plan which would provide for the display and maintenance 
of orbiters at locations with the best potential value to the 
public, including where the location of the orbiters can ad-
vance educational opportunities in science, technology, en-
gineering, and mathematics disciplines, and with an histor-
ical relationship with the Space Shuttle orbiters. 
(b) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ORBITER.—Notwith-
standing the procedures in subsection (a), the Smithsonian 
Institution shall be entitled to receive one of the remaining 
Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles. The Administrator shall col-
laborate with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 
to determine which orbiter the Smithsonian Institution 
shall receive, and otherwise determine the timing and proce-
dures of transfer from NASA to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. The Smithsonian Institution, which, as of the date of 
enactment of this Act, houses the Space Shuttle Enterprise, 
shall determine any new location for the Enterprise. 
(c) DISPLAY AND MAINTENANCE.—The orbiter vehicles 
made available under subsection (a) shall be displayed and 
maintained through agreements and procedures established 
pursuant to section 613(a) of the National Aeronautics and 
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Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 
17761(a)). 
Subtitle D—Space and Flight 
Support 
SEC. 231. 21ST CENTURY SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX INITIA-
TIVE. 
(a) PURPOSE.—Funding authorized in title I for the 
21st Century Space Launch Complex Initiative shall be 
available to carry out the following activities: 
(1) Investments to improve civil and national se-
curity operations at the Kennedy Space Center and 
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to enhance the 
overall capabilities of the Eastern Range and to re-
duce the long-term cost of operations and mainte-
nance. 
(2) Measures to provide multivehicle support, 
improvements in payload processing, and partnering 
at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
Air Force Station. 
(3) Measures to support the restructured explo-
ration program. 
(4) Such other measures related to launch sup-
port and infrastructure modernization at the Ken-
nedy Space Center as the Administrator may consider 
appropriate to carry out NASA’s launch operations. 
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(b) REPORT ON THE 21ST CENTURY SPACE LAUNCH 
COMPLEX INITIATIVE.— 
(1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
the Congress a report on the plan for the implementa-
tion of the 21st Century Space Launch Complex Ini-
tiative. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by this 
subsection shall include— 
(A) a description of those initiatives tied to 
the restructured exploration program; 
(B) a description of proposed initiatives in-
tended to be conducted jointly or in cooperation 
with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, 
or other installations or components of the 
United States Government; and 
(C) a timetable for carrying out activities 
and initiatives planned for the 21st Century 
Space Launch Complex Initiative. 
Subtitle E—Commercial Crew 
Transportation 
SEC. 241. AFFIRMATION OF POLICY. 
The Congress affirms the policy of— 
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(1) making use of United States commercially 
provided ISS crew transportation and crew rescue 
services to the maximum extent practicable; 
(2) limiting, to the maximum extent practicable, 
the use of the system developed under section 202 to 
non-ISS missions once commercial crew transpor-
tation and crew rescue services that meet safety re-
quirements become operational; and 
(3) facilitating, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, the transfer of NASA-developed technologies to 
United States commercial orbital human space trans-
portation companies in order to help promote the de-
velopment of commercially provided ISS crew trans-
portation and crew rescue services. 
SEC. 242. COMMERCIAL CREW AND RELATED COMMERCIAL 
SPACE INITIATIVES. 
(a) COMMERCIAL SERVICES OPPORTUNITIES.—NASA 
shall seek, to the extent practicable, to make use of commer-
cially available space services, including commercially 
available services to transport United States Government 
astronauts to and from the ISS, provided that— 
(1) those commercial services have demonstrated 
the capability to meet NASA-specified ascent, transit, 
entry, and ISS proximity operations safety require-
ments; 
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(2) the services provider has completed, and 
NASA has verified, crewed flight demonstrations or 
operational flights that comply with NASA standards, 
policies, and procedures; and 
(3) the per-seat cost to the United States is not 
greater than the per-seat cost for the system developed 
under section 202. 
(b) HUMAN-RATING.—The Administrator shall estab-
lish requirements, standards, and processes for the human 
rating of space transportation systems that are equivalent 
to NASA safety processes and procedures. 
(c) TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER.—The Administrator 
shall make available, on a nonexclusive basis, NASA-devel-
oped technologies for transfer to potential United States 
commercial orbital human space transportation companies. 
NASA shall determine the appropriate means, through cost- 
reimbursable arrangements or other mechanisms, to trans-
fer the technologies. 
(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND FACILITIES.—The 
Administrator shall make available, to the extent prac-
ticable, NASA facilities and equipment to assist in the test-
ing and demonstration of commercial crew transportation 
systems, including those associated with NASA’s safety and 
mission assurance activities, such as NASA’s Independent 
Verification 
and 
Validation 
facility 
for 
software 
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verification. The Administrator shall determine the appro-
priate means, through cost-reimbursable arrangements, 
agreements entered into under section 203(c)(5) of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 
2473(c)(5)), or other mechanisms, to provide technical as-
sistance and access to facilities to the commercial space sec-
tor. 
(e) NASA INSIGHT AND OVERSIGHT PROCESSES.— 
Any company that seeks to provide commercial crew trans-
portation services under contract to NASA shall enter into 
an arrangement with NASA that allows NASA to obtain 
ongoing insight into the design methodologies, processes, 
technologies, test data, and production and quality control 
practices employed in the development of the commercial 
crew transportation system throughout the development, 
test, demonstration, and production phases. NASA may 
offer early warning of conditions that could lead NASA to 
withhold certification of the crew transportation systems for 
the flight of United States Government personnel or to de-
cline to enter into a contract for services. NASA may not 
require the company to make changes to its design, tech-
nologies, or processes during the development, test, dem-
onstration, or production phases. 
(f) CONTRACTS FOR COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ISS 
CREW TRANSPORTATION AND CREW RESCUE SERVICES.— 
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(1) CERTIFICATION
OF
SAFETY
AND
RELI-
ABILITY.—Before entering into a contract for the use 
of commercially available commercial crew transpor-
tation or crew rescue services for United States Gov-
ernment astronauts, the Administrator shall certify 
that a commercial ISS crew transportation and crew 
rescue service provider with which a contract is 
planned has demonstrated the safety and reliability of 
its systems for crew transportation and crew rescue to 
be equivalent to NASA-promulgated safety and reli-
ability policies, procedures, and standards for human 
spaceflight. Individual certifications made under this 
paragraph shall be provided to the Committee on 
Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate. 
(2) FLIGHT
EXPERIENCE.—The Administrator 
shall not enter into any contract or commit any 
United States Government funds for a commercial 
ISS crew transportation or rescue service to a service 
provider until sufficient successful flight experience 
has been accrued by the service provider’s system to 
provide to NASA the safety-related and reliability-re-
lated data and information needed to determine 
whether to fly its astronauts on that system. The Ad-
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ministrator shall require an amount of demonstrated 
flight experience for a commercial crew transpor-
tation system that is at least as much as NASA re-
quires under Alternative 1 as delineated in the NASA 
Policy Directive NPD 8610.7D, effective January 31, 
2008, for common launch vehicle configurations before 
Class A (high cost and high priority) payloads can be 
flown on them. 
(3) ADMINISTRATOR’S
ACTIONS.—To facilitate 
the ability of commercial crew transportation pro-
viders to comply with NASA human spaceflight safety 
and reliability requirements, the Administrator 
shall— 
(A) develop and communicate the human- 
rating requirements established under subsection 
(b) to commercial space companies; 
(B) establish minimum acceptable safety 
levels; 
(C) provide technical assistance, to the max-
imum extent practicable, to the commercial space 
sector in understanding and applying NASA 
human-rating 
requirements, 
standards, 
and 
processes to commercial crew transportation and 
crew rescue systems; 
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(D) establish and communicate to the com-
mercial sector the process NASA will apply for 
securing ongoing NASA insight into the design 
methodologies, processes, technologies, test data, 
and production and quality control practices 
employed in the development of the commercial 
crew transportation system throughout the devel-
opment, test, demonstration, and production 
phases; 
(E) establish and communicate to the com-
mercial sector NASA’s process for certifying that 
commercial human spaceflight systems (includ-
ing mission control, operations, ground systems, 
and other supporting infrastructure) comply 
with NASA human-rating requirements and 
standards and related NASA policies and proce-
dures for safety and reliability, which process 
shall be no less stringent than the NASA policies 
and procedural requirements established for 
launch of Class A (high cost and high priority) 
payloads; and 
(F) ensure that the certification established 
under subparagraph (E) includes independent 
verification and validation of compliance with 
NASA policies, procedures, and standards. 
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(g) ASAP REVIEW OF NASA’S HUMAN-RATING RE-
QUIREMENTS, STANDARDS, AND PROCESSES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Aerospace Safety Advi-
sory Panel shall conduct a review to identify issues 
pertinent to the establishment of human-rating re-
quirements, standards, and processes for commercial 
crew transportation and rescue systems that are pro-
posed for transport of United States astronauts. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Aerospace Safety 
and Advisory Panel shall transmit to the Congress a 
report describing— 
(A) the Panel’s assessment of NASA’s cur-
rently established human-rating specifications 
and guidance; 
(B) the Panel’s view of the mandatory safe-
ty requirements that must be met with regard to 
human rating; and 
(C) the steps NASA and the commercial 
space industry need to take to ensure that com-
mercial crew transportation and rescue vehicles 
have human rating requirements, standards, and 
processes equivalent to those of NASA. 
(h) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The Adminis-
trator shall not proceed with a request for proposals, award 
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any contract, or commit any United States Government 
funds for a commercial ISS crew transportation or rescue 
service to be provided by a commercial service provider 
until all indemnification and liability issues associated 
with the use of such systems by the United States Govern-
ment shall have been addressed and the Administrator has 
provided to the Congress a report describing the indem-
nification and liability provisions that are planned to be 
included in such contracts. 
(i) PREDICTED LEVEL OF SAFETY.—The Adminis-
trator shall not award any contract or commit any United 
States Government funds for a commercial ISS crew trans-
portation system service to a service provider unless that 
commercial crew transportation system has a predicted 
level of safety during ascent to low-Earth orbit, transit, and 
descent from low-Earth orbit that is not less than that speci-
fied for the Government system in section 202(a)(5). 
SEC. 243. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT 
OF COMMERCIAL ORBITAL HUMAN SPACE 
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall estab-
lish a program to provide financial assistance in the form 
of direct loans or loan guarantees to commercial entities 
for the costs of development of orbital human space trans-
portation systems. 
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(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A loan or loan guarantee 
may be made under such program only for a project in 
the United States to develop commercial orbital human 
space transportation systems that would be used to provide 
transportation services to and from low-earth orbit. 
(c) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—A loan or loan guarantee 
may be made under such program only for a borrower who 
is determined by the Administrator to be eligible under the 
criteria established pursuant to subsection (i). 
(d) LIMITATIONS.—No loan or loan guarantee shall be 
made unless the Administrator determines that— 
(1) there is a reasonable prospect of repayment 
of the principal and interest on the obligation by the 
borrower; 
(2) the amount of the obligation (when combined 
with amounts available to the borrower from other 
sources which shall be a minimum of 25 percent of 
the total expected project development cost) is suffi-
cient to carry out the total development project. 
(e) SUPERIORITY OF RIGHTS.—The rights of the Ad-
ministrator, with respect to any property acquired pursu-
ant to a loan, shall be superior to the rights of any other 
person with respect to the property. 
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(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, a loan or loan guarantee made pur-
suant to this section shall— 
(1) bear interest at an annual rate, as deter-
mined by the Administrator, of— 
(A) in the case of a direct loan— 
(i) the cost of borrowing to the Depart-
ment of the Treasury for obligations of com-
parable maturity; or 
(ii) 4 percent; and 
(B) in the case of a guaranteed loan, the 
current applicable market rate for a loan of com-
parable maturity; and 
(2) have a term not to exceed 30 years. 
(g) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the terms and 
conditions of a loan or loan guarantee under this section, 
the Administrator shall consult with the Secretary of the 
Treasury. 
(h) FEES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
charge and collect fees for loans and loan guarantees 
in amounts the Administrator determines are suffi-
cient to cover applicable administrative expenses. 
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Fees collected under this 
subsection shall— 
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(A) be deposited by the Administrator into 
the Treasury of the United States; and 
(B) remain available until expended, subject 
to such other conditions as are contained in an-
nual appropriations Acts. 
(3) LIMITATION.—In charging and collecting fees 
under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall take 
into consideration the amount of the obligation. 
(i) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue 
final regulations before making any loan or loan guarantee 
under the program. Such regulations shall include— 
(1) criteria that the Administrator shall use to 
determine eligibility for loans and loan guarantees 
under this section, including whether a borrower dem-
onstrates that a non-governmental market exists for 
the orbital human space transportation service, as 
evidenced by written statements of interest from po-
tential purchasers of the services; 
(2) criteria that the Administrator shall use to 
determine the amount of any fees charged under sub-
section (h), including criteria related to the amount 
of the obligation; and 
(3) any other policies, procedures, or information 
necessary to implement this section. 
(j) AUDIT.— 
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(1) ANNUAL
INDEPENDENT
AUDITS.—The Ad-
ministrator shall enter into an arrangement with an 
independent auditor for annual evaluations of the 
program under this section. 
(2) 
COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
REVIEW.—The 
Comptroller General of the United States shall con-
duct a biennial review of the Administrator’s execu-
tion of the program under this section. 
(3) REPORT.—The results of the independent 
audit under paragraph (1) and the Comptroller Gen-
eral’s review under paragraph (2) shall be provided 
directly to the Committee on Science and Technology 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 
(k) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Concurrent with the sub-
mission to the Congress of the President’s annual budget 
request in each year after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on 
Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate a report containing a summary of all activi-
ties carried out under this section. 
(l) MINIMIZING RISK.—The Administrator shall pro-
mulgate regulations and policies to carry out this section 
in accordance with Office of Management and Budget Cir-
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cular No. A-129, entitled ‘‘Policies for Federal Credit Pro-
grams and Non-Tax Receivables’’, as in effect on the date 
of enactment of this section. 
(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COST.—The term ‘‘cost’’ has the meaning 
given such term under section 502 of the Federal 
Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 
(2) OBLIGATION.—The term ‘‘obligation’’ means 
the loan issued under this section or the loan or other 
debt obligation that is guaranteed under this section. 
(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the 
program established in subsection (a). 
Subtitle F—General Provisions 
SEC. 251. USE OF PROGRAM FUNDS. 
For all programs authorized under this title, author-
ized funds may be obligated only for performance of the pro-
grams. 
TITLE III—SCIENCE 
Subtitle A—Earth Science 
SEC. 301. EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS. 
The Administrator shall develop guidelines and proce-
dures for entering into arrangements with State, local, re-
gional, tribal, and other Federal Government agencies that 
seek to benefit from ongoing NASA technical information, 
capabilities, and support related to Earth science applica-
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(A) informal educational programming de-
signed to excite and inspire students and the 
general public about space and Earth science, 
aeronautics, engineering, and other STEM dis-
ciplines supported by NASA while strengthening 
their content knowledge in these disciplines; 
(B) teacher training and professional devel-
opment opportunities for pre-service and in-serv-
ice elementary and secondary school teachers de-
signed to increase the content knowledge of teach-
ers in space and Earth science, aeronautics, en-
gineering, and other STEM disciplines supported 
by NASA, especially through hands-on research 
and technology experiences; 
(C) research opportunities for secondary 
school students, including internships at NASA 
and its field centers, that provide secondary 
school students with hands-on research and tech-
nology experiences as well as exposure to working 
scientists and engineers; 
(D) research opportunities at NASA and its 
field centers for undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents pursuing degrees in space and Earth 
sciences, aeronautics, engineering, and other 
STEM disciplines supported by NASA; 
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