I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 810 
To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 9, 2015 
Mr. PALAZZO (for himself, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Ms. EDDIE 
BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. BROOKS of Alabama) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology 
A BILL 
To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration Author-
ization Act of 2015’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
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TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 
Sec. 101. Fiscal year 2015. 
TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 
Subtitle A—Exploration 
Sec. 201. Space exploration policy. 
Sec. 202. Stepping stone approach to exploration. 
Sec. 203. Space Launch System. 
Sec. 204. Orion crew capsule. 
Sec. 205. Space radiation. 
Sec. 206. Planetary protection for human exploration missions. 
Subtitle B—Space Operations 
Sec. 211. International Space Station. 
Sec. 212. Barriers impeding enhanced utilization of the ISS’s National Labora-
tory by commercial companies. 
Sec. 213. Utilization of International Space Station for science missions. 
Sec. 214. International Space Station cargo resupply services lessons learned. 
Sec. 215. Commercial crew program. 
Sec. 216. Space communications. 
TITLE III—SCIENCE 
Subtitle A—General 
Sec. 301. Science portfolio. 
Sec. 302. Radioisotope power systems. 
Sec. 303. Congressional declaration of policy and purpose. 
Sec. 304. University class science missions. 
Sec. 305. Assessment of science mission extensions. 
Subtitle B—Astrophysics 
Sec. 311. Decadal cadence. 
Sec. 312. Extrasolar planet exploration strategy. 
Sec. 313. James Webb Space Telescope. 
Sec. 314. National Reconnaissance Office telescope donation. 
Sec. 315. Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope. 
Sec. 316. Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. 
Subtitle C—Planetary Science 
Sec. 321. Decadal cadence. 
Sec. 322. Near-Earth objects. 
Sec. 323. Near-Earth objects public-private partnerships. 
Sec. 324. Research on near-earth object tsunami effects. 
Sec. 325. Astrobiology strategy. 
Sec. 326. Astrobiology public-private partnerships. 
Sec. 327. Assessment of Mars architecture. 
Subtitle D—Heliophysics 
Sec. 331. Decadal cadence. 
Sec. 332. Review of space weather. 
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Subtitle E—Earth Science 
Sec. 341. Goal. 
Sec. 342. Decadal cadence. 
Sec. 343. Venture class missions. 
Sec. 344. Assessment. 
TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 
Sec. 401. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 402. Aeronautics research goals. 
Sec. 403. Unmanned aerial systems research and development. 
Sec. 404. Research program on composite materials used in aeronautics. 
Sec. 405. Hypersonic research. 
Sec. 406. Supersonic research. 
Sec. 407. Research on NextGen airspace management concepts and tools. 
Sec. 408. Rotorcraft research. 
Sec. 409. Transformative aeronautics research. 
Sec. 410. Study of United States leadership in aeronautics research. 
TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 
Sec. 501. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 502. Space Technology Program. 
Sec. 503. Utilization of the International Space Station for technology dem-
onstrations. 
TITLE VI—EDUCATION 
Sec. 601. Education. 
Sec. 602. Independent review of the National Space Grant College and Fellow-
ship Program. 
Sec. 603. Sense of Congress. 
TITLE VII—POLICY PROVISIONS 
Sec. 701. Asteroid Retrieval Mission. 
Sec. 702. Termination liability sense of Congress. 
Sec. 703. Baseline and cost controls. 
Sec. 704. Project and program reserves. 
Sec. 705. Independent reviews. 
Sec. 706. Commercial technology transfer program. 
Sec. 707. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Council. 
Sec. 708. Cost estimation. 
Sec. 709. Avoiding organizational conflicts of interest in major Administration 
acquisition programs. 
Sec. 710. Facilities and infrastructure. 
Sec. 711. Detection and avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts. 
Sec. 712. Space Act Agreements. 
Sec. 713. Human spaceflight accident investigations. 
Sec. 714. Fullest commercial use of space. 
Sec. 715. Orbital debris. 
Sec. 716. Review of orbital debris removal concepts. 
Sec. 717. Use of operational commercial suborbital vehicles for research, devel-
opment, and education. 
Sec. 718. Fundamental space life and physical sciences research. 
Sec. 719. Restoring commitment to engineering research. 
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Sec. 720. Liquid rocket engine development program. 
Sec. 721. Remote satellite servicing demonstrations. 
Sec. 722. Information technology governance. 
Sec. 723. Strengthening Administration security. 
Sec. 724. Prohibition on use of funds for contractors that have committed 
fraud or other crimes. 
Sec. 725. Protection of Apollo landing sites. 
Sec. 726. Astronaut occupational healthcare. 
Sec. 727. Sense of Congress on access to observational data sets. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra-
tion’’ means the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. 
(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Administra-
tion. 
(3) ORION CREW CAPSULE.—The term ‘‘Orion 
crew capsule’’ means the multipurpose crew vehicle 
described in section 303 of the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 
(42 U.S.C. 18323). 
(4) SPACE ACT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Space 
Act Agreement’’ means an agreement created under 
the authority to enter into ‘‘other transactions’’ 
under section 20113(e) of title 51, United States 
Code. 
(5) SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Space 
Launch System’’ means the follow-on Government- 
owned civil launch system developed, managed, and 
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operated by the Administration to serve as a key 
component to expand human presence beyond low- 
Earth orbit, as described in section 302 of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au-
thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322). 
TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 
APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2015. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad-
ministration for fiscal year 2015 $18,010,200,000 as fol-
lows: 
(1) For Space Exploration, $4,356,700,000, of 
which— 
(A) $1,700,000,000 shall be for the Space 
Launch System; 
(B) $351,300,000 shall be for Exploration 
Ground Systems; 
(C) $1,194,000,000 shall be for the Orion 
crew capsule; 
(D) $306,400,000 shall be for Exploration 
Research and Development; and 
(E) $805,000,000 shall be for Commercial 
Crew Development activities. 
(2) For Space Operations, $3,827,800,000. 
(3) For Science, $5,244,700,000, of which— 
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(A) $1,772,500,000 shall be for Earth 
Science; 
(B) $1,437,800,000 shall be for Planetary 
Science, with up to $30,000,000 for the 
Astrobiology Institute; 
(C) $684,800,000 shall be for Astro-
physics; 
(D) $645,400,000 shall be for the James 
Webb Space Telescope; 
(E) 
$662,200,000 
shall 
be 
for 
Heliophysics; and 
(F) $42,000,000 shall be for Education. 
(4) For Aeronautics, $651,000,000. 
(5) For Space Technology, $596,000,000. 
(6) For Education, $119,000,000. 
(7) For Safety, Security, and Mission Services, 
$2,758,900,000. 
(8) For Construction and Environmental Com-
pliance and Restoration, $419,100,000. 
(9) For Inspector General, $37,000,000. 
TITLE II—HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT 
Subtitle A—Exploration 
SEC. 201. SPACE EXPLORATION POLICY. 
(a) POLICY.—Human exploration deeper into the 
solar system shall be a core mission of the Administration. 
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It is the policy of the United States that the goal of the 
Administration’s exploration program shall be to success-
fully conduct a crewed mission to the surface of Mars to 
begin human exploration of that planet. The use of the 
surface of the Moon, cis-lunar space, near-Earth asteroids, 
Lagrangian points, and Martian moons may be pursued 
provided they are properly incorporated into the Human 
Exploration Roadmap described in section 70504 of title 
51, United States Code. 
(b) VISION
FOR
SPACE
EXPLORATION.—Section 
20302 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ORION CREW CAPSULE.—The term ‘Orion 
crew capsule’ means the multipurpose crew vehicle 
described in section 303 of the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 
(42 U.S.C. 18323). 
‘‘(2) SPACE
LAUNCH
SYSTEM.—The term 
‘Space Launch System’ means the follow-on Govern-
ment-owned civil launch system developed, managed, 
and operated by the Administration to serve as a 
key component to expand human presence beyond 
low-Earth orbit, as described in section 302 of the 
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au-
thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322).’’. 
(c) KEY OBJECTIVES.—Section 202(b) of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza-
tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) to accelerate the development of capabili-
ties to enable a human exploration mission to the 
surface 
of 
Mars 
and 
beyond 
through 
the 
prioritization of those technologies and capabilities 
best suited for such a mission in accordance with the 
Human Exploration Roadmap under section 70504 
of title 51, United States Code.’’. 
(d) USE OF NON-UNITED STATES HUMAN SPACE 
FLIGHT
TRANSPORTATION
CAPABILITIES.—Section 
201(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18311(a)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) USE OF NON-UNITED STATES HUMAN SPACE 
FLIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—NASA may not obtain non- 
United States human space flight capabilities unless 
no domestic commercial or public-private partnership 
provider that the Administrator has determined to 
meet safety and affordability requirements estab-
lished by NASA for the transport of its astronauts 
is available to provide such capabilities. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘domestic commercial provider’ 
means a person providing space transportation serv-
ices or other space-related activities, the majority 
control of which is held by persons other than a 
Federal, State, local, or foreign government, foreign 
company, or foreign national.’’. 
(e) REPEAL OF SPACE SHUTTLE CAPABILITY ASSUR-
ANCE.—Section 203 of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 18313) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (b); 
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 
(3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
subsections (b) and (c), respectively. 
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phases, consistent with the policy established in section 
201(a) of this Act. 
(c) IN GENERAL.—Given the critical importance of 
a heavy-lift launch vehicle and crewed spacecraft to enable 
the achievement of the goal established in section 201(a) 
of this Act, as well as the accomplishment of intermediate 
exploration milestones and the provision of a backup capa-
bility to transfer crew and cargo to the International 
Space Station, the Administrator shall make the expedi-
tious development, test, and achievement of operational 
readiness of the Space Launch System and the Orion crew 
capsule the highest priority of the exploration program. 
(d) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE-
VIEW.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit 
to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
on the Administration’s acquisition of ground systems in 
support of the Space Launch System. The report shall as-
sess the extent to which ground systems acquired in sup-
port of the Space Launch System are focused on the direct 
support of the Space Launch System and shall identify 
any ground support projects or activities that the Admin-
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istration is undertaking that do not solely or primarily 
support the Space Launch System. 
(e) UTILIZATION REPORT.—The Administrator, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Direc-
tor of National Intelligence, shall prepare a report that 
addresses the effort and budget required to enable and 
utilize a cargo variant of the 130-ton Space Launch Sys-
tem configuration described in section 302(c) of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Authoriza-
tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)). This report shall 
also include consideration of the technical requirements of 
the scientific and national security communities related to 
such Space Launch System and shall directly assess the 
utility and estimated cost savings obtained by using such 
Space Launch System for national security and space 
science missions. The Administrator shall transmit such 
report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(f) NAMING COMPETITION.—Beginning not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act and 
concluding not later than 1 year after such date of enact-
ment, the Administrator shall conduct a well-publicized 
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competition among students in elementary and secondary 
schools to name the elements of the Administration’s ex-
ploration program, including— 
(1) a name for the deep space human explo-
ration program as a whole, which includes the Space 
Launch System, the Orion crew capsule, and future 
missions; and 
(2) a name for the Space Launch System. 
(g) ADVANCED BOOSTER COMPETITION.— 
(1) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Admin-
istrator of the Administration shall transmit to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate a report that— 
(A) describes the estimated total develop-
ment cost of an advanced booster for the Space 
Launch System; 
(B) details any reductions or increases to 
the development cost of the Space Launch Sys-
tem which may result from conducting a com-
petition for an advanced booster; and 
(C) outlines any potential schedule delay to 
the Space Launch System 2017 Exploration 
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Mission–1 launch as a result of increased costs 
associated with conducting a competition for an 
advanced booster. 
(2) COMPETITION.—If the Associate Adminis-
trator reports reductions pursuant to paragraph 
(1)(B), and no adverse schedule impact pursuant to 
paragraph (1)(C), then the Administration shall con-
duct a full and open competition for an advanced 
booster for the Space Launch System to meet the 
requirements described in section 302(c) of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Au-
thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18322(c)), to 
begin as soon as practicable after the development of 
the upper stage has been initiated. 
SEC. 204. ORION CREW CAPSULE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Orion crew capsule shall meet 
the practical needs and the minimum capability require-
ments described in section 303 of the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 
2010 (42 U.S.C. 18323). 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 
a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
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on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate— 
(1) detailing those components and systems of 
the Orion crew capsule that ensure it is in compli-
ance with section 303(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
18323(b)); 
(2) detailing the expected date that the Orion 
crew capsule will be available to transport crew and 
cargo to the International Space Station; and 
(3) certifying that the requirements of section 
303(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 18323(b)(3)) will 
be met by the Administration. 
SEC. 205. SPACE RADIATION. 
(a) STRATEGY AND PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de-
velop a space radiation mitigation and management 
strategy and implementation plan to enable the 
achievement of the goal established in section 201 
that includes key research and monitoring require-
ments, milestones, a timetable, and an estimate of 
facility and budgetary requirements. 
(2) COORDINATION.—The strategy shall include 
a mechanism for coordinating Administration re-
search, technology, facilities, engineering, operations, 
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mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
TITLE IV—AERONAUTICS 
SEC. 401. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) a robust aeronautics research portfolio will 
help maintain the United States status as a leader 
in aviation, enhance the competitiveness of the 
United States in the world economy and improve the 
quality of life of all citizens; 
(2) aeronautics research is essential to the Ad-
ministration’s mission, continues to be an important 
core element of the Administration’s mission and 
should be supported; 
(3) the Administrator should coordinate and 
consult with relevant Federal agencies and the pri-
vate sector to minimize duplication and leverage re-
sources; and 
(4) carrying aeronautics research to a level of 
maturity that allows the Administration’s research 
results to be transitioned to the users, whether pri-
vate or public sector, is critical to their eventual 
adoption. 
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