SEC. 405. RESEARCH PROGRAM TO FACILITATE GREATER 
USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN AIR-
CRAFT. 
The Administrator shall continue NASA’s cooperative 
research program with industry to identify and dem-
onstrate more effective and safe ways of developing, manu-
facturing, and maintaining composite materials for use in 
airframes, subsystems, and propulsion components. 
SEC. 406. TRANSFORMATIVE AERONAUTICS RESEARCH. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator, 
in looking strategically into the future and ensuring that 
NASA’s Center personnel are at the leading edge of aero-
nautics research, should continue building on NASA’s In-
novative Concepts for Aviation project that supports the 
early-stage advancement of new processes, novel concepts, 
and innovative technologies that have the potential to meet 
national aeronautics needs. The Administrator shall con-
tinue to ensure that awards for the investigation of these 
concepts and technologies are open for competition among 
NASA civil servants at its Centers, separate from other 
awards open only to non-NASA sources, including the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory. 
SEC. 407. UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN AERONAUTICS 
RESEARCH. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
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(1) it is critical that the United States maintain 
its leadership in civil aeronautics research; 
(2) other countries are making concerted efforts 
to reach and then surpass the United States in civil 
aeronautics research; and 
(3) it is critical that this challenge be met. 
(b) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Academies for a study to 
benchmark the position of the United States in civil aero-
nautics research compared to the rest of the world. The 
study shall— 
(1) seek to define metrics by which relative 
leadership in civil aeronautics research can be deter-
mined; 
(2) ascertain whether other countries are catch-
ing up or have surpassed the United States in civil 
aeronautics research; 
(3) identify in what areas the United States is 
losing ground; and 
(4) provide recommendations on what can be 
done to regain or retain global leadership, includ-
ing— 
(A) defining the role NASA needs to play; 
(B) identifying public-private partnerships 
that could be formed; and 
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(C) estimating the impact on NASA’s 
budget should such recommendations be imple-
mented. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pro-
vide the results of the study to the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate. 
TITLE V—SPACE TECHNOLOGY 
PROGRAM 
SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that space technology is 
critical to— 
(1) enabling a new class of NASA missions be-
yond low-Earth orbit; 
(2) developing technologies and capabilities that 
will make NASA’s missions more affordable and 
more reliable; and 
(3) improving technological capabilities and pro-
moting innovation for NASA and the Nation. 
SEC. 502. SPACE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es-
tablish a space technology program to enable research and 
development on advanced space technologies and systems 
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that are independent of specific space mission flight 
projects. The program shall support— 
(1) early-stage concepts and innovation; 
(2) development of innovative technologies in 
areas such as in-space chemical and electrical pro-
pulsion, power generation and storage, liquid rocket 
propulsion, avionics, structures, and materials that 
may enable new approaches to human and robotic 
space missions; 
(3) flight demonstrations of technologies, in-
cluding those that have the potential to benefit mul-
tiple NASA mission directorates, other Federal Gov-
ernment agencies, and the commercial space indus-
try; 
(4) NASA commitments to Small Business In-
novation Research (SBIR) and Small Business 
Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and activi-
ties; and 
(5) research, development, and demonstration 
of enabling technologies in support of future explo-
ration missions. 
(b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—In 
conducting the space technology program established 
under this section, the Administrator shall— 
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(1) to the maximum extent practicable, use a 
competitive process to select projects to be supported 
as part of the program; 
(2) make use of small satellites and NASA sub-
orbital platforms, to the extent practicable, to dem-
onstrate space technology concepts and develop-
ments; and 
(3) undertake partnerships with other Federal 
agencies, universities, private industry, and other 
spacefaring nations, as appropriate. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 
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 
comparing NASA’s space technology investments with the 
16 high-priority technology areas identified by the Na-
tional Academies in the National Research Council’s re-
port on NASA’s Space Technology Roadmaps. The Ad-
ministrator shall identify how NASA will address any gaps 
between the agency’s investments and the recommended 
technology areas, including a projection of funding re-
quirements. 
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