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SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL 
§ 60101. Definitions 
In this chapter: 
(1) COST OF FULFILLING USER REQUESTS.—The term ‘‘cost of ful-
filling user requests’’ means the incremental costs associated with pro-
viding 
product 
generation, 
reproduction, 
and 
distribution 
of 
unenhanced data in response to user requests and shall not include any 
acquisition, amortization, or depreciation of capital assets originally 
paid for by the United States Government or other costs not specifi-
cally attributable to fulfilling user requests. 
(2) DATA CONTINUITY.—The term ‘‘data continuity’’ means the con-
tinued acquisition and availability of unenhanced data which are, from 
the point of view of the user— 
(A) sufficiently consistent (in terms of acquisition geometry, 
coverage characteristics, and spectral characteristics) with previous 
Landsat data to allow comparisons for global and regional change 
detection and characterization; and 
(B) compatible with such data and with methods used to receive 
and process such data. 
(3) DATA PREPROCESSING.—The term ‘‘data preprocessing’’— 
(A) may include— 
(i) rectification of system and sensor distortions in land re-
mote sensing data as it is received directly from the satellite 
in preparation for delivery to a user; 
(ii) registration of such data with respect to features of the 
Earth; and 
(iii) calibration of spectral response with respect to such 
data; but 
(B) does not include conclusions, manipulations, or calculations 
derived from such data, or a combination of such data with other 
data. 
(4) LAND
REMOTE
SENSING.—The term ‘‘land remote sensing’’ 
means the collection of data which can be processed into imagery of 
surface features of the Earth from an unclassified satellite or satellites, 
other than an operational United States Government weather satellite. 
(5) LANDSAT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘Landsat Pro-
gram Management’’ means the integrated program management struc-
ture— 
(A) established by, and responsible to, the Administrator and 
the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 60111(a) of this 
title; and
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(B) consisting of appropriate officers and employees of the Ad-
ministration, the Department of Defense, and any other United 
States Government agencies the President designates as respon-
sible for the Landsat program. 
(6) LANDSAT
SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Landsat system’’ means 
Landsats 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and any follow-on land remote sensing 
system operated and owned by the United States Government, along 
with any related ground equipment, systems, and facilities owned by 
the United States Government. 
(7) LANDSAT 6 CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘Landsat 6 contractor’’ 
means the private sector entity which was awarded the contract for 
spacecraft construction, operations, and data marketing rights for the 
Landsat 6 spacecraft. 
(8) LANDSAT 7.—The term ‘‘Landsat 7’’ means the follow-on sat-
ellite to Landsat 6. 
(9) NATIONAL SATELLITE LAND REMOTE SENSING DATA ARCHIVE.— 
The term ‘‘National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive’’ 
means the archive established by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant 
to the archival responsibilities defined in section 60142 of this title. 
(10) NONCOMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—The term ‘‘noncommercial pur-
poses’’ means activities undertaken by individuals or entities on the 
condition, upon receipt of unenhanced data, that— 
(A) such data shall not be used in connection with any bid for 
a commercial contract, development of a commercial product, or 
any other non-United States Government activity that is expected, 
or has the potential, to be profitmaking; 
(B) the results of such activities are disclosed in a timely and 
complete fashion in the open technical literature or other method 
of public release, except when such disclosure by the United States 
Government or its contractors would adversely affect the national 
security or foreign policy of the United States or violate a provi-
sion of law or regulation; and 
(C) such data shall not be distributed in competition with 
unenhanced data provided by the Landsat 6 contractor. 
(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—
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(A) United States Government agencies; 
(B) researchers involved with the United States Global Change 
Research Program and its international counterpart programs; 
and 
(C) other researchers and international entities that have signed 
with the United States Government a cooperative agreement in-
volving the use of Landsat data for noncommercial 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 program. Such respon-
sibility shall be carried out by establishing an integrated program manage-
ment structure for the Landsat system. 
(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
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(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 
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;
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(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); 
(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
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(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 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-
106 
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.— 
(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 sub-
chapter 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 sub-
stantial 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 li-
censee and the importance of promoting widespread access to re-
mote 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 entered into be-
tween a United States Government agency and the licensee. 
§ 60122. Conditions for operation 
(a) LICENSE REQUIRED FOR OPERATION.—No person that is subject to 
the jurisdiction or control of the United States may, directly or through any 
subsidiary or affiliate, operate any private remote sensing space system 
without a license pursuant to section 60121 of this title. 
(b) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.—Any license issued pursuant to this 
subchapter shall specify that the licensee shall comply with all of the re-
quirements of this chapter and shall— 
(1) operate the system in such manner as to preserve the national 
security of the United States and to observe the international obliga-
107 
tions of the United States in accordance with section 60146 of this 
title; 
(2) make available to the government of any country (including the 
United States) unenhanced data collected by the system concerning the 
territory under the jurisdiction of such government as soon as such 
data are available and on reasonable terms and conditions; 
(3) make unenhanced data designated by the Secretary in the license 
pursuant to section 60121(e) of this title available in accordance with 
section 60141 of this title; 
(4) upon termination of operations under the license, make disposi-
tion of any satellites in space in a manner satisfactory to the President; 
(5) furnish the Secretary with complete orbit and data collection 
characteristics of the system, and inform the Secretary immediately of 
any deviation; and 
(6) notify the Secretary of any significant or substantial agreement 
the licensee intends to enter with a foreign nation, entity, or consor-
tium involving foreign nations or entities. 
(c) ADDITIONAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
FOR LANDSAT 6 CON-
TRACTOR.—In addition to the requirements of subsection (b), any license 
issued pursuant to this subchapter to the Landsat 6 contractor shall specify 
that the Landsat 6 contractor shall— 
(1) notify the Secretary of any value added activities (as defined by 
the Secretary by regulation) that will be conducted by the Landsat 6 
contractor or by a subsidiary or affiliate; and 
(2) if such activities are to be conducted, provide the Secretary with 
a plan for compliance with section 60141 of this title. 
§ 60123. Administrative authority of Secretary 
(a) FUNCTIONS.—In order to carry out the responsibilities specified in 
this subchapter, the Secretary may— 
(1) grant, condition, or transfer licenses under this chapter; 
(2) seek an order of injunction or similar judicial determination from 
a district court of the United States with personal jurisdiction over the 
licensee to terminate, modify, or suspend licenses under this subchapter 
and to terminate licensed operations on an immediate basis, if the Sec-
retary determines that the licensee has substantially failed to comply 
with any provisions of this chapter, with any terms, conditions, or re-
strictions of such license, or with any international obligations or na-
tional security concerns of the United States; 
(3) provide penalties for noncompliance with the requirements of li-
censes or regulations issued under this subchapter, including civil pen-
108 
alties not to exceed $10,000 (each day of operation in violation of such 
licenses or regulations constituting a separate violation); 
(4) compromise, modify, or remit any such civil penalty; 
(5) issue subpoenas for any materials, documents, or records, or for 
the attendance and testimony of witnesses for the purpose of con-
ducting a hearing under this section; 
(6) seize any object, record, or report pursuant to a warrant from 
a magistrate based on a showing of probable cause to believe that such 
object, record, or report was used, is being used, or is likely to be used 
in violation of this chapter or the requirements of a license or regula-
tion issued thereunder; and 
(7) make investigations and inquiries and administer to or take from 
any person an oath, affirmation, or affidavit concerning any matter re-
lating to the enforcement of this chapter. 
(b) REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTION.—Any applicant or licensee that makes 
a timely request for review of an adverse action pursuant to paragraph (1), 
(3), (5), or (6) of subsection (a) shall be entitled to adjudication by the Sec-
retary on the record after an opportunity for any agency hearing with re-
spect to such adverse action. Any final action by the Secretary under this 
subsection shall be subject to judicial review under chapter 7 of title 5. 
§ 60124. Regulatory authority of Secretary 
The Secretary may issue regulations to carry out this subchapter. Such 
regulations shall be promulgated only after public notice and comment in 
accordance with the provisions of section 553 of title 5. 
§ 60125. Agency activities 
(a) LICENSE APPLICATION AND ISSUANCE.—A private sector party may 
apply for a license to operate a private remote sensing space system which 
utilizes, on a space-available basis, a civilian United States Government sat-
ellite or vehicle as a platform for such system. The Secretary, pursuant to 
this subchapter, may license such system if it meets all conditions of this 
subchapter and— 
(1) the system operator agrees to reimburse the Government in a 
timely manner for all related costs incurred with respect to such utili-
zation, including a reasonable and proportionate share of fixed, plat-
form, data transmission, and launch costs; and 
(2) such utilization would not interfere with or otherwise compromise 
intended civilian Government missions, as determined by the agency re-
sponsible for such civilian platform. 
(b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may offer assistance to private sector 
parties in finding appropriate opportunities for such utilization.