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Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 18441(b)(2)). 
SEC. 716. REVIEW OF ORBITAL DEBRIS REMOVAL CON-
CEPTS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the amount of orbital debris in low-Earth orbit 
poses risks for human activities and robotic spacecraft and 
that this debris may increase due to collisions between ex-
isting debris objects. Understanding options to address 
and remove orbital debris is important for ensuring safe 
and effective spacecraft operations in low-Earth orbit. 
(b) REVIEW.—The Administrator, in collaboration 
with other relevant Federal agencies, shall solicit and re-
view concepts and technological options for removing or-
bital debris from low-Earth orbit. The solicitation and re-
view shall also address the requirements for and feasibility 
of developing and implementing each of the options. 
(c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
provide a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate on the solicitation and review required under sub-
section (b).
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SEC. 
717. 
USE 
OF 
OPERATIONAL 
COMMERCIAL 
SUB-
ORBITAL VEHICLES FOR RESEARCH, DEVEL-
OPMENT, AND EDUCATION. 
(a) POLICY.—The Administrator shall develop a pol-
icy on the use of operational commercial reusable sub-
orbital flight vehicles for carrying out scientific and engi-
neering investigations and educational activities. 
(b) PLAN.—The Administrator shall prepare a plan 
on the Administration’s use of operational commercial re-
usable suborbital flight vehicles for carrying out scientific 
and engineering investigations and educational activities. 
The plan shall— 
(1) describe the purposes for which the Admin-
istration intends to use such vehicles; 
(2) describe the processes required to support 
such use, including the criteria used to determine 
which scientific and engineering investigations and 
educational activities are selected for a suborbital 
flight; 
(3) describe Administration, space flight oper-
ator, and supporting contractor responsibilities for 
developing standard payload interfaces and con-
ducting payload safety analyses, payload integration 
and processing, payload operations, and safety as-
surance for Administration-sponsored space flight 
participants, among other functions required to fly
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Administration-sponsored payloads and space flight 
participants on operational commercial suborbital ve-
hicles; 
(4) identify Administration-provided hardware, 
software, or services that may be provided to com-
mercial reusable suborbital space flight operators on 
a cost-reimbursable basis, through agreements or 
contracts entered into under section 20113(e) of 
title 51, United States Code; and 
(5) describe the United States Government and 
space flight operator responsibilities for liability and 
indemnification with respect to commercial sub-
orbital vehicle flights that involve Administration- 
sponsored payloads or activities, Administration-sup-
ported space flight participants, or other Adminis-
tration-related contributions. 
(c) ASSESSMENT OF CAPABILITIES AND RISKS.—The 
Administrator shall assess and characterize the potential 
capabilities and performance of commercial reusable sub-
orbital vehicles for addressing scientific research, includ-
ing research requiring access to low-gravity and micro-
gravity environments, for carrying out technology dem-
onstrations related to science, exploration, or space oper-
ations requirements, and for providing opportunities for 
educating and training space scientists and engineers,
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once those vehicles become operational. The assessment 
shall also characterize the risks of using potential commer-
cial reusable suborbital flights to Administration-spon-
sored researchers and scientific investigations and flight 
hardware. 
(d) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
transmit the plan and assessment described in subsections 
(b) and (c) 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. 
(e) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—In conjunction 
with the Administration’s annual budget request justifica-
tion for each fiscal year, the Administrator shall transmit 
a 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 
describing progress in carrying out the Commercial Reus-
able Suborbital Research Program, including the number 
and type of suborbital missions planned in each fiscal 
year. 
(f) 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-
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vision of a commercial reusable suborbital vehicle launch 
service for an Administration-sponsored spaceflight partic-
ipant until transmittal of the plan and assessment speci-
fied in subsections (b) and (c), the liability issues associ-
ated with the use of such systems by the United States 
Government have been addressed, and the liability and in-
demnification provisions that are planned to be included 
in such contracts or agreements have been provided 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. 
SEC. 718. FUNDAMENTAL SPACE LIFE AND PHYSICAL 
SCIENCES RESEARCH. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It the sense of Congress 
that fundamental, discovery-based space life and physical 
sciences research is critical for enabling space exploration, 
protecting humans in space, and providing societal bene-
fits, and that the space environment facilitates the ad-
vancement of understanding of the life sciences and phys-
ical sciences. Space life and physical science research con-
tributes to advancing science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics research, and provides careers and training 
opportunities in academia, Federal laboratories, and com-
mercial industry. Congress encourages the Administrator 
to augment discovery-based fundamental research and to
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establish requirements reflecting the importance of such 
research in keeping with the priorities established in the 
National Academies’ decadal survey entitled ‘‘Recapturing 
a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical 
Sciences Research for a New Era’’. 
(b) BUDGET REQUEST.—The Administrator shall in-
clude as part of the Administration’s annual budget re-
quest for each fiscal year a budget line for fundamental 
space life and physical sciences research, devoted to com-
petitive, peer-reviewed grants, that is separate from the 
International Space Station Operations account. 
(c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator, in 
consultation with academia, other Federal agencies, 
and other potential stakeholders, shall develop a 
strategic plan for carrying out competitive, peer-re-
viewed fundamental space life science and physical 
sciences and related technology research, among 
other activities, consistent with the priorities in the 
National Academies’ decadal survey described in 
subsection (a). 
(2) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit the strategic plan developed 
under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Science,