108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5382
AN ACT
To promote the development of the emerging commercial
human space flight industry, 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
Launch Amendments Act of 2004’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—Section 70101 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘human
space flight,’’ after ‘‘microgravity research,’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(4)—
(A) by striking ‘‘satellite’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘services now available
from’’ and inserting ‘‘capabilities of’’;
(3) in subsection (a)(8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at
the end;
(4) in subsection (a)(9), by striking the period
and inserting a semicolon;
(5) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the
following new paragraphs:
‘‘(10) the goal of safely opening space to the
American people and their private commercial, sci-
entific, and cultural enterprises should guide Federal
space investments, policies, and regulations;
‘‘(11) private industry has begun to develop
commercial launch vehicles capable of carrying
human beings into space and greater private invest-
ment in these efforts will stimulate the Nation’s
commercial space transportation industry as a
whole;
‘‘(12) space transportation is inherently risky,
and the future of the commercial human space flight
industry will depend on its ability to continually im-
prove its safety performance;
‘‘(13) a critical area of responsibility for the
Department of Transportation is to regulate the op-
erations and safety of the emerging commercial
human space flight industry;
‘‘(14) the public interest is served by creating
a clear legal, regulatory, and safety regime for com-
mercial human space flight; and
‘‘(15) the regulatory standards governing
human space flight must evolve as the industry ma-
tures so that regulations neither stifle technology de-
velopment nor expose crew or space flight partici-
pants to avoidable risks as the public comes to ex-
pect greater safety for crew and space flight partici-
pants from the industry.’’;
(6) in subsection (b)(2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (A);
(B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon
in subparagraph (B); and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(C) promoting the continuous improve-
ment of the safety of launch vehicles designed
to 
carry 
humans, 
including 
through 
the
issuance of regulations, to the extent permitted
by this chapter;’’; and
(7) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘issue and
transfer’’ and inserting ‘‘issue permits and commer-
cial licenses and transfer’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 70102 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through
(17) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9),
(10), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (18), (21), and
(22), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(2) ‘crew’ means any employee of a licensee or
transferee, or of a contractor or subcontractor of a
licensee or transferee, who performs activities in the
course of that employment directly relating to the
launch, reentry, or other operation of or in a launch
vehicle or reentry vehicle that carries human
beings.’’;
(3) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘,
crew, or space flight participant’’ after ‘‘any pay-
load’’;
(4) in paragraph (6)(A), as so redesignated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘and
payload’’ and inserting ‘‘, payload, crew (including
crew training), or space flight participant’’;
(5) in paragraph (8)(A), as so redesignated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘or
human beings’’ after ‘‘place a payload’’;
(6) by inserting after paragraph (10), as so re-
designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(11) except in section 70104(c), ‘permit’
means an experimental permit issued under section
70105a.’’;
(7) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘crew,
or space flight participants,’’ after ‘‘and its pay-
load,’’;
(8) in paragraph (14)(A), as so redesignated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘and
its payload’’ inserting ‘‘and payload, crew (including
crew training), or space flight participant’’;
(9) by inserting after paragraph (16), as so re-
designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(17) ‘space flight participant’ means an indi-
vidual, who is not crew, carried within a launch vehi-
cle or reentry vehicle.’’;
(10) by inserting after paragraph (18), as so
redesignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
following new paragraphs:
‘‘(19) unless and until regulations take effect
under section 70120(c)(2), ‘suborbital rocket’ means
a vehicle, rocket-propelled in whole or in part, in-
tended for flight on a suborbital trajectory, and the
thrust of which is greater than its lift for the major-
ity of the rocket-powered portion of its ascent.
‘‘(20) ‘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
(11) in paragraph (21), 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 ‘‘; or’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(E) crew or space flight participants.’’.
(c) COMMERCIAL HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.—(1) Sec-
tion 70103(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ‘‘, including those involving space
flight participants’’ after ‘‘private sector’’.
(2) Section 70103 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection
(d), and by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
‘‘(c) SAFETY.—In carrying out the responsibilities
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall encourage, facili-
tate, and promote the continuous improvement of the safe-
ty of launch vehicles designed to carry humans, and the
Secretary may, consistent with this chapter, promulgate
regulations to carry out this subsection.’’.
(3) Section 70104(a) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘License Requirement.—A li-
cense issued or transferred under this chapter’’ and
inserting ‘‘Requirement.—A license issued or trans-
ferred under this chapter, or a permit,’’; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Notwithstanding this subsection, a permit
shall not authorize a person to operate a launch site
or reentry site.’’.
(4) Section 70104(b) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘holder of a
license’’.
(5) Section 70104 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(d) SINGLE LICENSE OR PERMIT.—The Secretary
of Transportation shall ensure that only 1 license or per-
mit is required from the Department of Transportation
to conduct activities involving crew or space flight partici-
pants, including launch and reentry, for which a license
or permit is required under this chapter. The Secretary
shall ensure that all Department of Transportation regula-
tions relevant to the licensed or permitted activity are sat-
isfied.’’.
(6) Section 70105(a) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a license is
not issued’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary has not
taken action on a license application’’; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(including
approval procedures for the purpose of protecting
the health and safety of crews and space flight par-
ticipants, to the extent permitted by subsections (b)
and (c))’’ after ‘‘or personnel’’.
(7) Section 70105(b)(1) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘for a
license’’.
(8) Section 70105(b)(2)(B) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘an additional requirement
necessary to protect’’ and inserting ‘‘any additional re-
quirement necessary to protect’’.
(9) Section 70105(b)(2)(C) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘for a li-
cense’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end thereof.
(10) Section 70105(b)(2) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by redesignating subparagraph (D) as
subparagraph (E) and inserting after subparagraph (C)
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) additional license requirements, for a
launch vehicle carrying a human being for com-
pensation or hire, necessary to protect the
health and safety of crew or space flight partici-
pants, only if such requirements are imposed
pursuant to final regulations issued in accord-
ance with subsection (c); and’’.
(11) Section 70105(b)(2)(E) of title 49, United
States Code, as so redesignated by paragraph (11) of this
subsection, is amended by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ after ‘‘for
a license’’.
(12) Section 70105(b)(3) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The
Secretary may not grant a waiver under this paragraph
that would permit the launch or reentry of a launch vehicle
or a reentry vehicle without a license or permit if a human
being will be on board.’’.
(13) Section 70105(b) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(4) The holder of a license or a permit under
this chapter may launch or reenter crew only if—
‘‘(A) the crew has received training and
has satisfied medical or other standards speci-
fied in the license or permit in accordance with
regulations promulgated by the Secretary;
‘‘(B) the holder of the license or permit
has informed any individual serving as crew in
writing, prior to executing any contract or other
arrangement to employ that individual (or, in
the case of an individual already employed as of
the date of enactment of the Commercial Space
Launch Amendments Act of 2004, as early as
possible, but in any event prior to any launch
in which the individual will participate as crew),
that the United States Government has not cer-
tified the launch vehicle as safe for carrying
crew or space flight participants; and
‘‘(C) the holder of the license or permit
and crew have complied with all requirements of
the laws of the United States that apply to
crew.
‘‘(5) The holder of a license or a permit under
this chapter may launch or reenter a space flight
participant only if—
‘‘(A) in accordance with regulations pro-
mulgated by the Secretary, the holder of the li-
cense or permit has informed the space flight
participant in writing about the risks of the
launch and reentry, including the safety record
of the launch or reentry vehicle type, and the
Secretary has informed the space flight partici-
pant in writing of any relevant information re-
lated to risk or probable loss during each phase
of flight gathered by the Secretary in making
the 
determination 
required 
by 
section
70112(a)(2) and (c);
‘‘(B) the holder of the license or permit
has informed any space flight participant in
writing, prior to receiving any compensation
from that space flight participant or (in the
case of a space flight participant not providing
compensation) otherwise concluding any agree-
ment to fly that space flight participant, that
the United States Government has not certified
the launch vehicle as safe for carrying crew or
space flight participants;
‘‘(C) in accordance with regulations pro-
mulgated by the Secretary, the space flight par-
ticipant has provided written informed consent
to participate in the launch and reentry and
written certification of compliance with any reg-
ulations promulgated under paragraph (6)(A);
and
‘‘(D) the holder of the license or permit
has complied with any regulations promulgated
by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (6).
‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary may issue regulations re-
quiring space flight participants to undergo an ap-
propriate physical examination prior to a launch or
reentry under this chapter. This subparagraph shall
cease to be in effect three years after the date of en-
actment of the Commercial Space Launch Amend-
ments Act of 2004.
‘‘(B) The Secretary may issue additional regu-
lations setting reasonable requirements for space
flight participants, including medical and training
requirements. Such regulations shall not be effective
before the expiration of 3 years after the date of en-
actment of the Commercial Space Launch Amend-
ments Act of 2004.’’.
(14) Section 70105 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection
(d), and by adding after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
‘‘(c) SAFETY REGULATIONS.—(1) The Secretary may
issue regulations governing the design or operation of a
launch vehicle to protect the health and safety of crew and
space flight participants.
‘‘(2) Regulations issued under this subsection
shall—
‘‘(A) describe how such regulations would
be applied when the Secretary is determining
whether to issue a license under this chapter;