H. R. 3237—84 
(C) such data shall not be distributed in competition 
with unenhanced data provided by the Landsat 6 con-
tractor. 
(11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Commerce. 
(12) UNENHANCED
DATA.—The term ‘‘unenhanced data’’ 
means land remote sensing signals or imagery products that 
are unprocessed or subject only to data preprocessing. 
(13) UNITED
STATES
GOVERNMENT
AND
ITS
AFFILIATED 
USERS.—The term ‘‘United States Government and its affiliated 
users’’ means— 
(A) United States Government agencies; 
(B) researchers involved with the United States Global 
Change Research Program and its international counter-
part programs; and 
(C) other researchers and international entities that have 
signed with the United States Government a cooperative 
agreement involving the use of Landsat data for non-
commercial purposes. 
SUBCHAPTER II—LANDSAT 
§ 60111. Landsat Program Management 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator and the Secretary of 
Defense shall be responsible for management of the Landsat pro-
gram. Such responsibility shall be carried out by establishing an 
integrated program management structure for the Landsat system. 
(b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Administrator, the Secretary of 
Defense, and any other United States Government official the Presi-
dent designates as responsible for part of the Landsat program 
shall establish, through a management plan, the roles, responsibil-
ities, and funding expectations for the Landsat program of the 
appropriate United States Government agencies. The management 
plan shall— 
(1) specify that the fundamental goal of the Landsat Program 
Management is the continuity of unenhanced Landsat data 
through the acquisition and operation of a Landsat 7 satellite 
as quickly as practicable which is, at a minimum, functionally 
equivalent to the Landsat 6 satellite, with the addition of 
a tracking and data relay satellite communications capability; 
(2) include a baseline funding profile that— 
(A) is mutually acceptable to the Administration and 
the Department of Defense for the period covering the 
development and operation of Landsat 7; and 
(B) provides for total funding responsibility of the 
Administration and the Department of Defense, respec-
tively, to be approximately equal to the funding responsi-
bility of the other as spread across the development and 
operational life of Landsat 7; 
(3) specify that any improvements over the Landsat 6 func-
tional equivalent capability for Landsat 7 will be funded by 
a specific sponsoring agency or agencies, in a manner agreed 
to by the Landsat Program Management, if the required 
funding exceeds the baseline funding profile required by para-
graph (2), and that additional improvements will be sought 
only if the improvements will not jeopardize data continuity; 
and
H. R. 3237—85 
(4) provide for a technology demonstration program whose 
objective shall be the demonstration of advanced land remote 
sensing technologies that may potentially yield a system which 
is less expensive to build and operate, and more responsive 
to data users, than is the current Landsat system. 
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Landsat Program Management shall 
be responsible 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 secu-
rity, 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 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 Manage-
ment may, subject to appropriations and only under the existing 
contract authority of the United States Government agencies that 
compose the Landsat Program Management, enter into contracts 
with the private sector for services such as satellite operations 
and data preprocessing. 
(e) LANDSAT ADVISORY PROCESS.— 
(1) ADVICE AND COMMENTS.—The Landsat Program Manage-
ment shall seek impartial advice and comments regarding the 
status, effectiveness, 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 
representatives from United States Government agencies, 
State and local government agencies, academic institutions, 
nonprofit organizations, value-added companies, the agri-
cultural, mineral extraction, 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 pre-
pare and submit biennially a report to Congress which— 
(A) reports the public comments received pursuant to 
paragraph (1); and
H. R. 3237—86 
(B) includes— 
(i) a response to the public comments received pursu-
ant to paragraph (1); 
(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 Manage-
ment, pursuant to section 60111 of this title. 
§ 60113. Data policy for Landsat 7 
(a) LANDSAT 7 DATA POLICY.—The Landsat Program Manage-
ment, in consultation with other appropriate United States Govern-
ment 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, commer-
cial, 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 serv-
ices 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. 
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 private 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.
H. R. 3237—87 
(2) LIMITATION WITH RESPECT TO SYSTEM USED FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES.—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 
OBLIGATIONS, AND NATIONAL SECURITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No license shall be granted by the Secretary 
unless the Secretary determines in writing that the applicant 
will comply with the requirements of this chapter, any regula-
tions issued pursuant to this chapter, and any applicable inter-
national obligations and national 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 com-
plete 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 applica-
tion was first submitted. Unless the Secretary has, within 
30 days after receipt of an application, notified the applicant 
of information necessary to complete an application, the Sec-
retary may not deny the application on the basis of the absence 
of any such information. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall 
review 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 competi-
tion. 
(e) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE UNENHANCED DATA.— 
(1) DESIGNATION OF DATA.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with other appropriate United States Government agencies and 
pursuant to paragraph (2), shall designate in a license issued 
pursuant to this subchapter any unenhanced data required 
to be provided by the licensee under section 60122(b)(3) of 
this title. 
(2) PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION.—The Secretary shall make 
a designation under paragraph (1) after determining that— 
(A) such data are generated by a system for which all 
or a substantial part of the development, fabrication, 
launch, or operations costs have been or will be directly 
funded by the United States Government; or 
(B) it is in the interest of the United States to require 
such data to be provided by the licensee consistent with 
section 60122(b)(3) of this title, after considering the impact 
on the licensee and the importance of promoting widespread 
access to remote sensing data from United States and 
foreign systems. 
(3) CONSISTENCY WITH CONTRACT OR OTHER ARRANGEMENT.— 
A designation made by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall 
not be inconsistent with any contract or other arrangement