H. Res. 572
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
October 5, 1998.
Resolved, That, upon the adoption of this resolution, the
House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker’s
table the bill H.R. 1702 together with the Senate amendment
thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with
an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to
be inserted by the Senate amendment, insert the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Commercial Space Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I—PROMOTION OF COMMERCIAL SPACE OPPORTUNITIES
Sec. 101. Commercialization of Space Station.
Sec. 102. Commercial space launch amendments.
Sec. 103. Launch voucher demonstration program.
Sec. 104. Promotion of United States Global Positioning System standards.
Sec. 105. Acquisition of space science data.
Sec. 106. Administration of Commercial Space Centers.
Sec. 107. Sources of Earth science data.
TITLE II—FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF SPACE TRANSPORTATION
SERVICES
Sec. 201. Requirement to procure commercial space transportation services.
Sec. 202. Acquisition of commercial space transportation services.
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Sec. 203. Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 amendments.
Sec. 204. Shuttle privatization.
Sec. 205. Use of excess intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Sec. 206. National launch capability study.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration;
(2) the term ‘‘commercial provider’’ means any
person providing space transportation services or
other space-related activities, primary control of
which is held by persons other than Federal, State,
local, and foreign governments;
(3) the term ‘‘payload’’ means anything that a
person undertakes to transport to, from, or within
outer space, or in suborbital trajectory, by means of
a space transportation vehicle, but does not include
the space transportation vehicle itself except for its
components which are specifically designed or adapt-
ed for that payload;
(4) the term ‘‘space-related activities’’ includes
research and development, manufacturing, process-
ing, service, and other associated and support activi-
ties;
(5) the term ‘‘space transportation services’’
means the preparation of a space transportation ve-
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hicle and its payloads for transportation to, from, or
within outer space, or in suborbital trajectory, and
the conduct of transporting a payload to, from, or
within outer space, or in suborbital trajectory;
(6) the term ‘‘space transportation vehicle’’
means any vehicle constructed for the purpose of op-
erating in, or transporting a payload to, from, or
within, outer space, or in suborbital trajectory, and
includes any component of such vehicle not specifi-
cally designed or adapted for a payload;
(7) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several
States of the Union, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and any other common-
wealth, territory, or possession of the United States;
and
(8) the term ‘‘United States commercial pro-
vider’’ means a commercial provider, organized
under the laws of the United States or of a State,
which is—
(A) more than 50 percent owned by United
States nationals; or
(B) a subsidiary of a foreign company and
the Secretary of Transportation finds that—
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(i) such subsidiary has in the past evi-
denced a substantial commitment to the
United States market through—
(I) investments in the United
States in long-term research, develop-
ment, and manufacturing (including
the manufacture of major components
and subassemblies); and
(II) significant contributions to
employment in the United States; and
(ii) the country or countries in which
such foreign company is incorporated or
organized, and, if appropriate, in which it
principally conducts its business, affords
reciprocal treatment to companies de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) comparable to
that afforded to such foreign company’s
subsidiary in the United States, as evi-
denced by—
(I) providing comparable oppor-
tunities for companies described in
subparagraph (A) to participate in
Government sponsored research and
development similar to that authorized
under this Act;
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(II) providing no barriers, to
companies described in subparagraph
(A) with respect to local investment
opportunities, that are not provided to
foreign companies in the United
States; and
(III) providing adequate and ef-
fective protection for the intellectual
property rights of companies de-
scribed in subparagraph (A).
TITLE I—PROMOTION OF COM-
MERCIAL SPACE OPPORTUNI-
TIES
SEC. 101. COMMERCIALIZATION OF SPACE STATION.
(a) POLICY.—The Congress declares that a priority
goal of constructing the International Space Station is the
economic development of Earth orbital space. The Con-
gress further declares that free and competitive markets
create the most efficient conditions for promoting eco-
nomic development, and should therefore govern the eco-
nomic development of Earth orbital space. The Congress
further declares that the use of free market principles in
operating, servicing, allocating the use of, and adding ca-
pabilities to the Space Station, and the resulting fullest
possible engagement of commercial providers and partici-
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pation of commercial users, will reduce Space Station
operational costs for all partners and the Federal Govern-
ment’s share of the United States burden to fund oper-
ations.
(b) REPORTS.—(1) The Administrator shall deliver to
the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate, within 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, a study that identifies and exam-
ines—
(A) the opportunities for commercial providers
to play a role in International Space Station activi-
ties, including operation, use, servicing, and aug-
mentation;
(B) the potential cost savings to be derived
from commercial providers playing a role in each of
these activities;
(C) which of the opportunities described in sub-
paragraph (A) the Administrator plans to make
available to commercial providers in fiscal years
1999 and 2000;
(D) the specific policies and initiatives the Ad-
ministrator is advancing to encourage and facilitate
these commercial opportunities; and
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(E) the revenues and cost reimbursements to
the Federal Government from commercial users of
the Space Station.
(2) The Administrator shall deliver to the Committee
on Science of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, within 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, an independently-conducted market study that
examines and evaluates potential industry interest in pro-
viding commercial goods and services for the operation,
servicing, and augmentation of the International Space
Station, and in the commercial use of the International
Space Station. This study shall also include updates to
the cost savings and revenue estimates made in the study
described in paragraph (1) based on the external market
assessment.
(3) The Administrator shall deliver to the Congress,
no later than the submission of the President’s annual
budget request for fiscal year 2000, a report detailing how
many proposals (whether solicited or not) the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration received during
calendar years 1997 and 1998 regarding commercial oper-
ation, servicing, utilization, or augmentation of the Inter-
national Space Station, broken down by each of these four
categories, and specifying how many agreements the Na-
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tional Aeronautics and Space Administration has entered
into in response to these proposals, also broken down by
these four categories.
(4) Each of the studies and reports required by para-
graphs (1), (2), and (3) shall include consideration of the
potential role of State governments as brokers in promot-
ing commercial participation in the International Space
Station program.
SEC. 102. COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH AMENDMENTS.
(a) AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 701 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) in the table of sections—
(A) by amending the item relating to sec-
tion 70104 to read as follows:
‘‘70104. Restrictions on launches, operations, and reentries.’’;
(B) by amending the item relating to sec-
tion 70108 to read as follows:
‘‘70108. Prohibition, suspension, and end of launches, operation of launch sites
and reentry sites, and reentries.’’;
(C) by amending the item relating to sec-
tion 70109 to read as follows:
‘‘70109. Preemption of scheduled launches or reentries.’’;
and
(D) by adding at the end the following new
items:
‘‘70120. Regulations.
‘‘70121. Report to Congress.’’.
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(2) in section 70101—
(A) by inserting ‘‘microgravity research,’’
after ‘‘information services,’’ in subsection
(a)(3);
(B) by inserting ‘‘, reentry,’’ after ‘‘launch-
ing’’ both places it appears in subsection (a)(4);
(C) by inserting ‘‘, reentry vehicles,’’ after
‘‘launch vehicles’’ in subsection (a)(5);
(D) by inserting ‘‘and reentry services’’
after ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (a)(6);
(E) by inserting ‘‘, reentries,’’ after
‘‘launches’’ both places it appears in subsection
(a)(7);
(F) by inserting ‘‘, reentry sites,’’ after
‘‘launch sites’’ in subsection (a)(8);
(G) by inserting ‘‘and reentry services’’
after ‘‘launch services’’ in subsection (a)(8);
(H) by inserting ‘‘reentry sites,’’ after
‘‘launch sites,’’ in subsection (a)(9);
(I) by inserting ‘‘and reentry site’’ after
‘‘launch site’’ in subsection (a)(9);
(J) by inserting ‘‘, reentry vehicles,’’ after
‘‘launch vehicles’’ in subsection (b)(2);
(K) by striking ‘‘launch’’ in subsection
(b)(2)(A);
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(L) by inserting ‘‘and reentry’’ after ‘‘con-
duct of commercial launch’’ in subsection
(b)(3);
(M) by striking ‘‘launch’’ after ‘‘and trans-
fer commercial’’ in subsection (b)(3); and
(N) by inserting ‘‘and development of re-
entry sites,’’ after ‘‘launch-site support facili-
ties,’’ in subsection (b)(4);
(3) in section 70102—
(A) in paragraph (3)—
(i) by striking ‘‘and any payload’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or reentry vehicle
and any payload from Earth’’;
(ii) by striking the period at the end
of subparagraph (C) and inserting in lieu
thereof a comma; and
(iii) by adding after subparagraph (C)
the following:
‘‘including activities involved in the preparation of a
launch vehicle or payload for launch, when those ac-
tivities take place at a launch site in the United
States.’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘or reentry vehicle’’ after
‘‘means of a launch vehicle’’ in paragraph (8);
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(C) by redesignating paragraphs (10),
(11), and (12) as paragraphs (14), (15), and
(16), respectively;
(D) by inserting after paragraph (9) the
following new paragraphs:
‘‘(10) ‘reenter’ and ‘reentry’ mean to return or
attempt to return, purposefully, a reentry vehicle
and its payload, if any, from Earth orbit or from
outer space to Earth.
‘‘(11) ‘reentry services’ means—
‘‘(A) activities involved in the preparation
of a reentry vehicle and its payload, if any, for
reentry; and
‘‘(B) the conduct of a reentry.
‘‘(12) ‘reentry site’ means the location on Earth
to which a reentry vehicle is intended to return (as
defined in a license the Secretary issues or transfers
under this chapter).
‘‘(13) ‘reentry vehicle’ means a vehicle designed
to return from Earth orbit or outer space to Earth,
or a reusable launch vehicle designed to return from
Earth orbit or outer space to Earth, substantially in-
tact.’’; and
(E) by inserting ‘‘or reentry services’’ after
‘‘launch services’’ each place it appears in para-