making cash prize awards under this section. Such money may be used only 
for that purpose, and only such money may be used for that purpose. The 
Secretary of Commerce shall make publicly available an itemized list of the 
sources of such funding. 
Subtitle VI—Land Remote Sensing Policy 
Programs 
Chapter 
Sec. 
601. Land Remote Sensing Policy ................................................................
60101 
603. Remote Sensing .........................................................................................
60301 
CHAPTER 601—LAND REMOTE SENSING POLICY 
SUBCHAPTER I—FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS 
Sec. 
60101.
Findings. 
60102.
Definitions. 
SUBCHAPTER II—LANDSAT 
60111.
Landsat Program Management. 
60112.
Transfer of Landsat 6 program responsibilities. 
60113.
Data policy for Landsat 7. 
SUBCHAPTER III—LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SPACE SYSTEMS 
60121.
General licensing authority. 
60122.
Conditions for operation. 
60123.
Administrative authority of Secretary. 
60124.
Regulatory authority of Secretary. 
60125.
Agency activities. 
SUBCHAPTER IV—RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION 
60131.
Continued Federal research and development. 
60132.
Availability of federally gathered unenhanced data. 
60133.
Technology demonstration program. 
60134.
Preference for private sector land remote sensing system. 
SUBCHAPTER V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
60141.
Nondiscriminatory data availability. 
60142.
Archiving of data. 
60143.
Nonreproduction. 
60144.
Reimbursement for assistance. 
60145.
Acquisition of equipment. 
60146.
Radio frequency allocation. 
60147.
Consultation. 
60148.
Enforcement. 
SUBCHAPTER VI—PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIALIZATION OF WEATHER 
SATELLITES 
60161.
Prohibition. 
60162.
Future considerations. 
SUBCHAPTER I—FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS 
§ 60101. Findings 
Congress finds and declares the following: 
(1) 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 resources, in carrying out national security functions, and in 
planning and conducting many other activities of scientific, economic, 
and social importance. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:42 Dec 27, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00096
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6221
E:\BILLS\H4780.IH
H4780
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
(2) The Federal Government’s Landsat system established the 
United States as the world leader in land remote sensing technology. 
(3) The national interest of the United States lies in maintaining 
international leadership in satellite land remote sensing and in broadly 
promoting the beneficial use of remote sensing data. 
(4) The cost of Landsat data has impeded the use of such data for 
scientific purposes, such as for global environmental change research, 
as well as for other public sector applications. 
(5) Given the importance of the Landsat program to the United 
States, urgent actions, including expedited procurement procedures, are 
required to ensure data continuity. 
(6) Full commercialization of the Landsat program cannot be 
achieved within the foreseeable future, and thus should not serve as the 
near-term goal of national policy on land remote sensing; however, com-
mercialization of land remote sensing should remain a long-term goal 
of United States policy. 
(7) Despite the success and importance of the Landsat system, fund-
ing and organizational uncertainties over the past several years have 
placed its future in doubt and have jeopardized United States leader-
ship in land remote sensing. 
(8) Recognizing the importance of the Landsat program in helping 
to meet national and commercial objectives, the President approved, on 
February 11, 1992, a National Space Policy Directive which was devel-
oped by the National Space Council and commits the United States to 
ensuring the continuity of Landsat coverage into the 21st century. 
(9) Because Landsat data are particularly important for national se-
curity purposes and global environmental change research, management 
responsibilities for the program should be transferred from the Depart-
ment of Commerce to an integrated program management involving the 
Department of Defense and the Administration. 
(10) Regardless of management responsibilities for the Landsat pro-
gram, the Nation’s broad civilian, national security, commercial, and 
foreign policy interests in remote sensing will best be served by ensur-
ing that Landsat remains an unclassified program that operates ac-
cording to the principles of open skies and nondiscriminatory access. 
(11) Technological advances aimed at reducing the size and weight 
of satellite systems hold the potential for dramatic reductions in the 
cost, and substantial improvements in the capabilities, of future land 
remote sensing systems, but such technological advances have not been 
demonstrated for land remote sensing and therefore cannot be relied 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:42 Dec 27, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00097
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6221
E:\BILLS\H4780.IH
H4780
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
upon as the sole means of achieving data continuity for the Landsat 
program. 
(12) A technology demonstration program involving advanced remote 
sensing technologies could serve a vital role in determining the design 
of a follow-on spacecraft to Landsat 7, while also helping to determine 
whether such a spacecraft should be funded by the United States Gov-
ernment, by the private sector, or by an international consortium. 
(13) To maximize the value of the Landsat program to the American 
public, unenhanced Landsat 4 through 6 data should be made avail-
able, at a minimum, to United States Government agencies, to global 
environmental change researchers, and to other researchers that are fi-
nancially supported by the United States Government, at the cost of 
fulfilling user requests, and unenhanced Landsat 7 data should be 
made available to all users at the cost of fulfilling user requests. 
(14) To stimulate development of the commercial market for 
unenhanced data and value-added services, the United States Govern-
ment should adopt a data policy for Landsat 7 which allows competi-
tion within the private sector for distribution of unenhanced data and 
value-added services. 
(15) Development of the remote sensing market and the provision of 
commercial value-added services based on remote sensing data should 
remain exclusively the function of the private sector. 
(16) It is in the best interest of the United States to maintain a per-
manent, comprehensive Government archive of global Landsat and 
other land remote sensing data for long-term monitoring and study of 
the changing global environment. 
§ 60102. Definitions 
In this chapter: 
(1) COST OF FULFILLING USER REQUESTS.—The term ‘‘cost of ful-
filling user requests’’ means the incremental costs associated with pro-
viding 
product 
generation, 
reproduction, 
and 
distribution 
of 
unenhanced data in response to user requests and shall not include any 
acquisition, amortization, or depreciation of capital assets originally 
paid for by the United States Government or other costs not specifi-
cally attributable to fulfilling user requests. 
(2) DATA CONTINUITY.—The term ‘‘data continuity’’ means the con-
tinued acquisition and availability of unenhanced data which are, from 
the point of view of the user— 
(A) sufficiently consistent (in terms of acquisition geometry, 
coverage characteristics, and spectral characteristics) with previous 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:42 Dec 27, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6221
E:\BILLS\H4780.IH
H4780
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
Landsat data to allow comparisons for global and regional change 
detection and characterization; and 
(B) compatible with such data and with methods used to receive 
and process such data. 
(3) DATA PREPROCESSING.—The term ‘‘data preprocessing’’— 
(A) may include— 
(i) rectification of system and sensor distortions in land re-
mote sensing data as it is received directly from the satellite 
in preparation for delivery to a user; 
(ii) registration of such data with respect to features of the 
Earth; and 
(iii) calibration of spectral response with respect to such 
data; but 
(B) does not include conclusions, manipulations, or calculations 
derived from such data, or a combination of such data with other 
data. 
(4) LAND
REMOTE
SENSING.—The term ‘‘land remote sensing’’ 
means the collection of data which can be processed into imagery of 
surface features of the Earth from an unclassified satellite or satellites, 
other than an operational United States Government weather satellite. 
(5) LANDSAT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘Landsat Pro-
gram Management’’ means the integrated program management struc-
ture— 
(A) established by, and responsible to, the Administrator and 
the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 60111(a) of this 
title; and 
(B) consisting of appropriate officers and employees of the Ad-
ministration, the Department of Defense, and any other United 
States Government agencies the President designates as respon-
sible for the Landsat program. 
(6) LANDSAT
SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Landsat system’’ means 
Landsats 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and any follow-on land remote sensing 
system operated and owned by the United States Government, along 
with any related ground equipment, systems, and facilities owned by 
the United States Government. 
(7) LANDSAT 6 CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘Landsat 6 contractor’’ 
means the private sector entity which was awarded the contract for 
spacecraft construction, operations, and data marketing rights for the 
Landsat 6 spacecraft. 
(8) LANDSAT 7.—The term ‘‘Landsat 7’’ means the follow-on sat-
ellite to Landsat 6. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:42 Dec 27, 2007
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00099
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6221
E:\BILLS\H4780.IH
H4780
bajohnson on PROD1PC69 with BILLS