ing, or mathematics degrees who wish to gain working ex-
perience in NASA. 
(c) SELECTION.—From the applications, the Admin-
istrator shall select 10 finalists annually as James E. 
Webb Cooperative Education Distinguished Scholars. 
(d) AWARD.—The James E. Webb Cooperative Edu-
cation Distinguished Scholars shall be provided with— 
(1) learning experiences that will enhance their 
understanding of activities conducted in the various 
NASA Centers in furtherance of NASA’s missions 
and priorities; 
(2) exposure to NASA headquarters functions 
and activities; and 
(3) stipends for living expenses. 
TITLE VIII—ACQUISITION 
MANAGEMENT 
SEC. 801. PROHIBITION ON EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS WHEN 
30 PERCENT THRESHOLD IS EXCEEDED. 
Section 103(e) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Authorization of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
16613(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘beginning 18 months 
after the date the Administrator transmits a report under 
subsection (d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘beginning 18 months 
after the Administrator makes such determination’’. 
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SEC. 802. PROJECT AND PROGRAM RESERVES. 
To ensure that the establishment, maintenance, and 
allotment of project and program reserves contribute to 
prudent management, not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
transmit to the Congress a report describing NASA’s cri-
teria for establishing the amount of reserves at the project 
and program levels and how such criteria complement 
NASA’s policy of budgeting at a 70 percent confidence 
level. 
SEC. 803. INDEPENDENT REVIEWS. 
Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Con-
gress a report describing NASA’s procedures for con-
ducting independent reviews of projects and programs at 
lifecycle milestones and how NASA ensures the independ-
ence of the individuals who conduct those reviews prior 
to their assignment. 
SEC. 804. AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN-
TEREST IN MAJOR NASA ACQUISITION PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) REVISED REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 
than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator shall revise the NASA Supplement to 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uniform 
guidance and tighten existing requirements for preventing 
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organizational conflicts of interest by contractors in major 
acquisition programs. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The revised regulations required by 
subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 
(1) address organizational conflicts of interest 
that could potentially arise as a result of— 
(A) lead system integrator contracts on 
major acquisition programs and contracts that 
follow lead system integrator contracts on such 
programs, particularly contracts for production; 
(B) the ownership of business units per-
forming systems engineering and technical as-
sistance functions, professional services, or 
management support services in relation to 
major acquisition programs by contractors who 
simultaneously own business units competing to 
perform as either the prime contractor or the 
supplier of a major subsystem or component for 
such programs; 
(C) the award of major subsystem con-
tracts by a prime contractor for a major acqui-
sition program to business units or other affili-
ates of the same parent corporate entity, and 
particularly the award of subcontracts for soft-
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ware integration or the development of a pro-
prietary software system architecture; or 
(D) the performance by, or assistance of, 
contractors in technical evaluations on major 
acquisition programs; 
(2) ensure that NASA receives advice, when ap-
propriate, on systems architecture and systems engi-
neering matters with respect to major acquisition 
programs from federally funded research and devel-
opment centers or other sources independent of the 
prime contractor; 
(3) require that a contract for the performance 
of systems engineering and technical assistance 
functions for a major acquisition program contains 
a provision prohibiting the contractor or any affiliate 
of the contractor from participating as a prime con-
tractor or a major subcontractor in the development 
of a system under the program; and 
(4) establish such limited exceptions to the re-
quirement in paragraphs (2) and (3) as may be nec-
essary to ensure that NASA has continued access to 
advice on systems architecture and systems engi-
neering matters from highly qualified contractors 
with domain experience and expertise, while ensuring 
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that such advice comes from sources that are objec-
tive and unbiased. 
SEC. 805. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
The Administrator shall transmit to the Congress, 
not later than April 30 of each year, an estimate of the 
total termination liability as of the end of the second fiscal 
quarter for all NASA contracts with a total value in excess 
of $200,000,000. 
TITLE IX—OTHER PROVISIONS 
SEC. 901. CLOUD COMPUTING. 
(a) DEFINITION.—As defined by the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology, for purposes of this 
section, the term ‘‘cloud computing’’ means a model for 
enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a 
shared pool of configurable computing resources that can 
be rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort or 
service provider interaction. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after NASA has 
entered into a contract for its first use of a non-Federal 
cloud computing facility, the Comptroller General shall 
transmit to the Congress a report detailing whether sen-
sitive but unclassified and classified NASA information 
was processed on that facility and if so, how NASA en-
sured that data access and security requirements were in 
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place to safeguard NASA’s scientific and technical infor-
mation. 
SEC. 902. REVIEW OF PRACTICES TO DETECT AND PRE-
VENT THE USE OF COUNTERFEIT PARTS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the 
Congress a review of NASA’s processes and controls to 
detect and prevent the use of counterfeit parts in NASA 
mission projects and related assets. The review shall ex-
amine— 
(1) the trends in known and identified counter-
feit parts in NASA’s supply chain; 
(2) NASA’s processes and controls to detect 
counterfeit parts and prevent their incorporation 
into NASA mission projects, instruments, and other 
mission-related assets; and 
(3) any gaps in NASA’s controls and processes 
for detecting counterfeit part and preventing their 
incorporation into NASA missions and related as-
sets. 
SEC. 903. PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LUNAR 
SITES. 
(a) INTERNATIONAL
DIALOG.—The Director of 
OSTP, in cooperation of the Administrator, other relevant 
Federal agencies, commercial entities, and international 
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bodies, shall enter into a dialogue to identify the questions 
and research needed to understand— 
(1) the potential adverse impacts of various 
uses of the Moon on scientific research activities; 
(2) the potential adverse impacts of such uses 
on lunar areas of historical, cultural, or scientific 
value; and 
(3) how to prevent or mitigate such impacts. 
(b) GRANTS PROGRAM.—The Administrator, in co-
operation with other relevant Federal agencies and stake-
holders, shall establish a grants program to conduct re-
search for the purpose of identifying and characterizing 
potential impacts related to lunar activities and describing 
potential means for managing and mitigating the impacts. 
(c) INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK.—As a result of 
the dialog under subsection (a), the Director of OSTP 
shall initiate an effort to establish a framework for identi-
fying, protecting, and preserving lunar areas determined 
to be of significant historical, cultural, or scientific value. 
(d) REPORT.—The Director of OSTP shall provide 
a report on the results of the international dialog under 
subsection (a) and the establishment of an international 
framework under subsection (c), to be transmitted to the 
Congress not later than 2 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
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SEC. 904. CONTINUITY OF MODERATE RESOLUTION LAND 
IMAGING REMOTE SENSING DATA. 
(a) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—The Congress re-
affirms the finding in section 2(1) of the Land Remote 
Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601(1)) which 
states that ‘‘The continuous collection and utilization of 
land remote sensing data from space are of major benefit 
in studying and understanding human impacts on the 
global environment, in managing the Earth’s natural re-
sources, in carrying out national security functions, and 
in planning and conducting many other activities of sci-
entific, economic, and social importance.’’. 
(b) CONTINUOUS LAND REMOTE SENSING DATA 
COLLECTION.—The Director of OSTP shall take steps in 
consultation with other relevant Federal agencies to en-
sure, to the maximum extent practicable, the continuous 
collection of space-based medium-resolution observations 
of the Earth’s land cover and to ensure that the data are 
made available in such ways as to facilitate the widest pos-
sible use. 
SEC. 905. SPACE WEATHER. 
(a) STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The 
Director of OSTP, in coordination with the Administrator 
and with other relevant Federal agencies, space weather 
coordinating bodies, industry, academia, and other stake-
holders, shall prepare a long-term strategy for a sustain-
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able space weather program and develop a plan to imple-
ment the strategy. The implementation plan shall— 
(1) define individual agency responsibilities for 
carrying out the strategy; 
(2) identify the milestones and schedule re-
quired for each agency’s contributions; 
(3) provide an estimate of the resources re-
quired for each agency to carry out its responsibil-
ities; 
(4) establish a process for coordinating agency 
responsibilities, programs, and budgets required for 
implementing the plan; and 
(5) identify opportunities for private sector and 
international contributions to implementing the plan. 
(b) STUDY ON PREDICTION.—The Director of OSTP 
shall enter into an arrangement with the National Acad-
emies to assess the status of capabilities for space weather 
prediction and recommend the highest priority basic re-
search, infrastructure, and operational needs required to 
improve the Nation’s ability to predict space weather 
events. The study should also address the benefits of space 
weather prediction. The Director shall transmit the results 
of the study to the Congress not later than 18 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 
906. 
USE 
OF 
OPERATIONAL 
COMMERCIAL 
SUB-
ORBITAL VEHICLES FOR RESEARCH, DEVEL-
OPMENT, AND EDUCATION. 
(a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall prepare a plan 
describing the processes required to support the potential 
use of commercial reusable suborbital flight vehicles, once 
demonstrated and proven successful on an operational 
basis, for carrying out competitively selected scientific and 
engineering investigations and educational activities. The 
plan shall— 
(1) describe NASA, space flight operator, and 
supporting contractor responsibilities for developing 
standard payload interfaces, conducting payload 
safety analyses, payload integration and processing, 
payload operations, and safety assurance for NASA- 
sponsored space flight participants, among other 
functions required to fly NASA-sponsored payloads 
and space flight participants on commercial sub-
orbital vehicles; 
(2) identify NASA-provided hardware, software, 
or services that may be provided to space flight op-
erators on a cost-reimbursable basis, through agree-
ments entered into under section 203(c)(5) of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 
U.S.C. 2473(c)(5)), or on a contractual basis; and 
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(3) describe the United States Government and 
space flight operator responsibilities for liability and 
indemnification with respect to commercial sub-
orbital vehicle flights that involve NASA-sponsored 
payloads or activities, NASA-supported space flight 
participants, or other NASA-related contributions. 
(b) COMMERCIAL REUSABLE SUBORBITAL CAPABILI-
TIES AND RISKS.—The Administrator shall assess and 
characterize the potential capabilities and performance of 
commercial reusable suborbital vehicles for addressing sci-
entific research, including research requiring access to low 
gravity and microgravity environments, for carrying out 
technology demonstrations related to science, exploration, 
or space operations requirements, and for providing oppor-
tunities for educating and training space scientists and en-
gineers, once those vehicles become operational. The as-
sessment shall also characterize the risks of using poten-
tial commercial reusable suborbital flights to NASA-spon-
sored researchers, investigators, and scientific investiga-
tions and flight hardware. The Administrator shall make 
a determination on the need to enter into arrangements 
with commercial reusable suborbital service providers for 
flights or flight services to acquire analytical data to in-
form the assessment. 
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(c) TRANSMITTAL.—The plan and assessment de-
scribed in subsections (a) and (b) shall be transmitted to 
the Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
(d) INDEMNIFICATION AND LIABILITY.—The Admin-
istrator shall not proceed with a request for proposals, 
award any contract, commit any United States Govern-
ment funds, or enter into any other agreement for the pro-
vision of a commercial reusable suborbital vehicle launch 
service until all indemnification and liability issues associ-
ated with the use of such systems by the United States 
Government shall have been addressed and the Adminis-
trator has provided to the Congress a report describing 
the indemnification and liability provisions that are 
planned to be included in such contracts or agreements. 
SEC. 907. STUDY ON EXPORT CONTROL MATTERS RELATED 
TO UNITED STATES ASTRONAUT SAFETY AND 
NASA MISSION OPERATIONS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of OSTP, in 
consultation with the Administrator and other relevant 
Federal agencies, shall conduct a study to examine the 
need for a process for granting real-time, limited waivers 
to export control license restrictions or regulations that 
are necessary for United States Government entities and 
contractors to enter into technical discussions and to share 
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technical data with foreign government entities and con-
tractors to resolve anomalies that may— 
(1) threaten the safety of United States astro-
nauts aboard cooperative crewed spacecraft such as 
the ISS; or 
(2) impair the operations of international civil 
research and other spacecraft that involve the na-
tional interests of the United States. 
(b) TRANSMITTAL.—The results of the study shall be 
transmitted to the Congress not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 908. AMENDMENT TO THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS 
AND SPACE ACT OF 1958. 
Section 202 of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2472) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) The Administrator and the Deputy Adminis-
trator may be retired commissioned military personnel.’’. 
SEC. 909. NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS. 
(a) RESPONSIBLE
OFFICIAL.—The Administrator 
shall designate a responsible official for coordinating 
NASA’s near-Earth object observation activities and 
NASA’s interactions with other Federal agencies and 
international entities on near-Earth object surveys, de-
fense, and efforts related to addressing any threats to the 
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United States posed by near-Earth objects. The respon-
sible official shall report directly to the Administrator. 
(b) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY ON NEAR-EARTH 
OBJECT SURVEY.—The Congress reaffirms the direction 
set forth in section 321(d)(1) of the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 16691(d)(1)) that directed the Administrator ‘‘to 
plan, develop, and implement a Near-Earth Object Survey 
program to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize the 
physical characteristics of near-Earth objects equal to or 
greater than 140 meters in diameter in order to assess 
the threat of such near-Earth objects to the Earth’’. 
(c) PLAN.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 
to the Congress a plan for carrying out the direction re-
affirmed by subsection (b). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 
the funds authorized for Planetary Science in title I, 
$1,000,000 in fiscal year 2012 and $1,000,000 in fiscal 
year 2013 shall be for supporting competitively awarded 
grants for investigation of innovative approaches to car-
rying out the congressionally mandated survey of near- 
Earth objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in di-
ameter, and $5,000,000 in fiscal year 2014 and 
$5,000,000 in fiscal year 2015 shall be for preliminary 
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design and development work on an innovative concept for 
carrying out the Congressionally mandated survey of near- 
Earth objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in di-
ameter. 
Æ 
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