102 
(b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Administrator, the Secretary of Defense, 
and any other United States Government official the President designates 
as responsible for part of the Landsat program shall establish, through a 
management plan, the roles, responsibilities, and funding expectations for 
the Landsat program of the appropriate United States Government agen-
cies. The management plan shall— 
(1) specify that the fundamental goal of the Landsat Program Man-
agement is the continuity of unenhanced Landsat data through the ac-
quisition and operation of a Landsat 7 satellite as quickly as prac-
ticable which is, at a minimum, functionally equivalent to the Landsat 
6 satellite, with the addition of a tracking and data relay satellite com-
munications capability; 
(2) include a baseline funding profile that— 
(A) is mutually acceptable to the Administration and the De-
partment of Defense for the period covering the development and 
operation of Landsat 7; and 
(B) provides for total funding responsibility of the Administra-
tion and the Department of Defense, respectively, to be approxi-
mately equal to the funding responsibility of the other as spread 
across the development and operational life of Landsat 7; 
(3) specify that any improvements over the Landsat 6 functional 
equivalent capability for Landsat 7 will be funded by a specific spon-
soring agency or agencies, in a manner agreed to by the Landsat Pro-
gram Management, if the required funding exceeds the baseline funding 
profile required by paragraph (2), and that additional improvements 
will be sought only if the improvements will not jeopardize data con-
tinuity; and 
(4) provide for a technology demonstration program whose objective 
shall be the demonstration of advanced land remote sensing tech-
nologies that may potentially yield a system which is less expensive to 
build and operate, and more responsive to data users, than is the cur-
rent Landsat system. 
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Landsat Program Management shall be re-
sponsible for— 
(1) Landsat 7 procurement, launch, and operations; 
(2) ensuring that the operation of the Landsat system is responsive 
to the broad interests of the civilian, national security, commercial, and 
foreign users of the Landsat system; 
(3) ensuring that all unenhanced Landsat data remain unclassified 
and that, except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of section 
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103 
60146 of this title, no restrictions are placed on the availability of 
unenhanced data; 
(4) ensuring that land remote sensing data of high priority locations 
will be acquired by the Landsat 7 system as required to meet the needs 
of the United States Global Change Research Program, as established 
in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq.), 
and to meet the needs of national security users; 
(5) Landsat data responsibilities pursuant to this chapter; 
(6) oversight of Landsat contracts entered into under sections 102 
and 103 of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 
102–555, 106 Stat. 4168); 
(7) coordination of a technology demonstration program pursuant to 
section 60133 of this title; and 
(8) ensuring that copies of data acquired by the Landsat system are 
provided to the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive. 
(d) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—The Landsat Program Management 
may, subject to appropriations and only under the existing contract author-
ity of the United States Government agencies that compose the Landsat 
Program Management, enter into contracts with the private sector for serv-
ices such as satellite operations and data preprocessing. 
(e) LANDSAT ADVISORY PROCESS.— 
(1) ADVICE AND COMMENTS.—The Landsat Program Management 
shall seek impartial advice and comments regarding the status, effec-
tiveness, and operation of the Landsat system, using existing advisory 
committees and other appropriate mechanisms. Such advice shall be 
sought from individuals who represent— 
(A) a broad range of perspectives on basic and applied science 
and operational needs with respect to land remote sensing data; 
(B) the full spectrum of users of Landsat data, including rep-
resentatives from United States Government agencies, State and 
local government agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organi-
zations, value-added companies, the agricultural, mineral extrac-
tion, and other user industries, and the public; and 
(C) a broad diversity of age groups, sexes, and races. 
(2) REPORTS.—The Landsat Program Management shall prepare 
and submit biennially a report to Congress which— 
(A) reports the public comments received pursuant to paragraph 
(1); and 
(B) includes— 
(i) a response to the public comments received pursuant to 
paragraph (1); 
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(ii) information on the volume of use, by category, of data 
from the Landsat system; and 
(iii) any recommendations for policy or programmatic 
changes to improve the utility and operation of the Landsat 
system. 
§ 60112. Transfer of Landsat 6 program responsibilities 
The responsibilities of the Secretary with respect to Landsat 6 shall be 
transferred to the Landsat Program Management, as agreed to between the 
Secretary and the Landsat Program Management, pursuant to section 
60111 of this title. 
§ 60113. Data policy for Landsat 7 
(a) LANDSAT 7 DATA POLICY.—The Landsat Program Management, in 
consultation with other appropriate United States Government agencies, 
shall develop a data policy for Landsat 7 which should— 
(1) ensure that unenhanced data are available to all users at the cost 
of fulfilling user requests; 
(2) ensure timely and dependable delivery of unenhanced data to the 
full spectrum of civilian, national security, commercial, and foreign 
users and the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive; 
(3) ensure that the United States retains ownership of all 
unenhanced data generated by Landsat 7; 
(4) support the development of the commercial market for remote 
sensing data; 
(5) ensure that the provision of commercial value-added services 
based on remote sensing data remains exclusively the function of the 
private sector; and 
(6) to the extent possible, ensure that the data distribution system 
for Landsat 7 is compatible with the Earth Observing System Data 
and Information System. 
(b) ADDITIONAL DATA POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.—In addition, the data 
policy for Landsat 7 may provide for— 
(1) United States private sector entities to operate ground receiving 
stations in the United States for Landsat 7 data; 
(2) other means for direct access by private sector entities to 
unenhanced data from Landsat 7; and 
(3) the United States Government to charge a per image fee, license 
fee, or other such fee to entities operating ground receiving stations or 
distributing Landsat 7 data. 
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SUBCHAPTER III—LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING 
SPACE SYSTEMS 
§ 60121. General licensing authority 
(a) LICENSING AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with other appropriate United 
States Government agencies, the Secretary is authorized to license pri-
vate sector parties to operate private remote sensing space systems for 
such period as the Secretary may specify and in accordance with the 
provisions of this subchapter. 
(2) LIMITATION WITH RESPECT TO SYSTEM USED FOR OTHER PUR-
POSES.—In the case of a private space system that is used for remote 
sensing and other purposes, the authority of the Secretary under this 
subchapter shall be limited only to the remote sensing operations of 
such space system. 
(b) COMPLIANCE WITH LAW, REGULATIONS, INTERNATIONAL OBLIGA-
TIONS, AND NATIONAL SECURITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No license shall be granted by the Secretary un-
less the Secretary determines in writing that the applicant will comply 
with the requirements of this chapter, any regulations issued pursuant 
to this chapter, and any applicable international obligations and na-
tional security concerns of the United States. 
(2) LIST OF REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETE APPLICATION.—The 
Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a complete and specific 
list of all information required to comprise a complete application for 
a license under this subchapter. An application shall be considered 
complete when the applicant has provided all information required by 
the list most recently published in the Federal Register before the date 
the application was first submitted. Unless the Secretary has, within 
30 days after receipt of an application, notified the applicant of infor-
mation necessary to complete an application, the Secretary may not 
deny the application on the basis of the absence of any such informa-
tion. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall re-
view any application and make a determination thereon within 120 days of 
the receipt of such application. If final action has not occurred within such 
time, the Secretary shall inform the applicant of any pending issues and of 
actions required to resolve them. 
(d) IMPROPER BASIS FOR DENIAL.—The Secretary shall not deny such 
license in order to protect any existing licensee from competition. 
(e) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE UNENHANCED DATA.— 
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