I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3245
To promote the development of the commercial space transportation industry, 
to authorize appropriations for the Office of the Associate Administrator 
for Commercial Space Transportation, to authorize appropriations for 
the Office of Space Commerce, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2003
Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself, Mr. GORDON, and Mr. HALL) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science 
A BILL 
To promote the development of the commercial space trans-
portation industry, to authorize appropriations for the 
Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial 
Space Transportation, to authorize appropriations for the 
Office of Space Commerce, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Space Act 
of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that—
(1) a prolonged and severe downturn in the 
market for commercial space launches has resulted 
in—
(A) a significant reduction in the United 
States global market share in orbital space 
launches; 
(B) a severe decrease in the number of 
Government-licensed orbital launches; and 
(C) a commercial space transportation in-
dustry dependent upon Government business 
opportunities; 
(2) the continuous reduction of cost and im-
provement in safety and reliability of commercial 
space transportation capabilities is a necessary in-
gredient to achieving most United States space 
goals; 
(3) the opening of outer space to the American 
people and their economic, scientific, and cultural 
enterprises is a priority goal which should guide 
Federal space investments, policy development, and 
regulatory action; 
(4) despite a weak United States launch indus-
try, recent industrial and technical developments in-
dicate that commercial suborbital human spaceflight 
vehicles are under active development in both the
United States and other nations, and greater private 
investment in these development efforts will promote 
greater innovation and competitiveness for the 
United States commercial space transportation in-
dustry as a whole; 
(5) space transportation is not without risks; 
(6) a critical area of responsibility for the Of-
fice of the Associate Administrator for Commercial 
Space Transportation is to ensure that the Federal 
regulation of this new commercial suborbital human 
spaceflight industry should focus on protecting the 
safety of the general, uninvolved public, while allow-
ing involved persons to assume risks which are in-
herent to human spaceflight activities; 
(7) enactment of a 3-year extension of the ex-
cess third party claims payment provision of chapter 
701 of title 49, United States Code (Commercial 
Space Launch Activities) is necessary to provide an 
appropriate period to evaluate recommended changes 
to the Government’s commercial space launch in-
demnification regime; 
(8) the Secretary of Transportation should es-
tablish regulatory guidelines that foster an efficient 
and cost-effective process for ensuring safe commer-
cial space launch operations at the Nation’s launch 
ranges and bases; and 
(9) the public interest is served by creating a 
clear legal and regulatory regime for commercial 
space transportation, including an unambiguous de-
lineation of regulatory roles and responsibilities. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR OF-
FICE OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION.—Sec-
tion 70119 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) $11,523,000 for fiscal year 2004; and 
‘‘(2) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Section 70101(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘human 
spaceflight,’’ after ‘‘research,’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘satellite’’ and 
inserting ‘‘space’’, and by striking ‘‘services now 
available from’’ and inserting ‘‘capabilities of’’. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 70102 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 
(16) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9),
(10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (16), (19), and (20), re-
spectively; 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) ‘crew’ means an individual or individuals 
carried within a launch or reentry vehicle who per-
forms a function necessary for the protection of pub-
lic safety. ’’; 
(3) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated by 
paragraph (1) of this subsection—
(A) by inserting ‘‘an individual or’’ after 
‘‘means’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘or return from’’ after ‘‘to 
place in’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘that object’’ and inserting 
‘‘that individual or object’’; 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (14), as so re-
designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(15) ‘spaceflight participant’ means an indi-
vidual who is not crew carried within a launch or re-
entry vehicle during a launch or reentry.’’; 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (16), as so re-
designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 
following new paragraphs:
‘‘(17) ‘suborbital rocket’ means a rocket-pro-
pelled vehicle intended for flight on a suborbital tra-
jectory whose thrust is greater than its lift for the 
majority of the powered portion of its flight. 
‘‘(18) ‘suborbital trajectory’ means the inten-
tional flight path of a launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, 
or any portion thereof, whose vacuum instantaneous 
impact point does not leave the surface of the 
Earth.’’; and 
(6) in paragraph (19), as so redesignated by 
paragraph (1) of this subsection—
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (C); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) crew or spaceflight participants.’’. 
(d) COMMERCIAL HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT.—(1) Sec-
tion 70104 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE WITH SPACEFLIGHT PARTICIPANT 
REQUIREMENTS.—The holder of a license under this 
chapter may launch or reenter a spaceflight participant 
only if—
‘‘(1) the spaceflight participant has received 
training and met medical or other standards speci-
fied in the license; 
‘‘(2) the spaceflight participant is informed of 
the safety record of the launch or reentry vehicle 
type; and 
‘‘(3) the launch or reentry vehicle is marked in 
a manner specified by the Secretary of Transpor-
tation which identifies it as a launch or reentry vehi-
cle rather than an aircraft.’’. 
(2) Section 70112(b)(1) of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘property damage or loss 
it sustains, or for personal injury to, death of, or property 
damage or loss sustained by its own employees’’ and in-
serting ‘‘personal injury, death, property damage, or loss 
it sustains, and for personal injury to, death of, or prop-
erty damage or loss sustained by its own employees,’’. 
SEC. 4. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK. 
The Secretary of Transportation shall take appro-
priate efforts, including realignment of personnel and re-
sources, to create a streamlined, cost-effective, and ena-
bling regulatory framework for the United States commer-
cial human spaceflight industry. The Secretary of Trans-
portation shall clearly distinguish the Department’s regu-
lation of air commerce from its regulation of commercial 
human spaceflight, and focus the Department’s regulation 
of commercial human spaceflight activities on protecting 
the safety of the general public, while allowing spaceflight 
participants who have been trained and meet license-spe-
cific standards to assume an informed level of risk. Not 
later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit to the 
Congress a report on the progress made in implementing 
this section. 
SEC. 5. COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION INDEM-
NIFICATION EXTENSION. 
Section 70113(f) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2004’’ and inserting 
‘‘December 31, 2007’’. 
SEC. 6. LIABILITY REGIME FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE 
TRANSPORTATION. 
(a) APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans-
portation shall enter into an appropriate arrangement 
with the National Academy of Public Administration to 
conduct a study on the liability risk-sharing regime in the
United States for commercial space transportation. The 
study shall recommend modifications to the liability re-
gime and characterization of actions required to imple-
ment those modifications. The study shall analyze the ade-
quacy, propriety, and effectiveness of, and the need for, 
the current liability risk-sharing regime. The study shall 
specifically consider—
(1) other countries’ regimes; 
(2) the use of the designation of ‘‘ultra haz-
ardous’’ for space transportation activities; 
(3) relevant international treaties; 
(4) impacts of reusable launch vehicles and 
spaceports; and 
(5) the feasibility of airline-like liability re-
gimes. 
The study shall use a clearly described, analytical method-
ology to specify the factors used in evaluating the current 
regime and alternative approaches to the current regime. 
Estimates of impacts shall be quantified where possible. 
(b) COMPLETION DATE.—The results of the study 
described in subsection (a) shall be transmitted to the 
Congress not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. OFFICE OF SPACE COMMERCE. 
(a) REDESIGNATION.—The Office of Space Commer-
cialization established under section 8 of the Technology 
Administration Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 1511e) is redesig-
nated as the Office of Space Commerce. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com-
merce for the Office of Space Commerce—
(1) $1,800,000 for fiscal year 2004; and 
(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. 
SEC. 8. DELEGATION OF LICENSING AUTHORITY. 
(a) DELEGATION.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 
delegate the authority provided to the Secretary under 
title II of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 
(15 U.S.C. 5621 et seq.) to the Director of the Office of 
Space Commerce. 
(b) AMENDMENT.—Section 8(c) of the Technology 
Administration Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 1511e(c)) is 
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(6); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (7) and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) licensing private sector parties to operate 
private remote sensing space systems; and
‘‘(9) serving as the Executive Secretary for the 
Interagency Global Positioning System Executive 
Board.’’.
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