Title: Commercial Space Support Vehicle Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Commercial Space Support Vehicle Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to issue licenses or permits for flights of a space support vehicle that are not a launch or reentry. Such a vehicle may be a launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, or a component of a launch or reentry vehicle.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5346 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5346

  To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for licenses and 
    experimental permits for space support vehicles, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2018

 Mr. Posey (for himself, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Babin, and Mr. Lawson 
 of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for licenses and 
    experimental permits for space support vehicles, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial Space Support Vehicle 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 50902 of title 51, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (21) through (25) as 
        paragraphs (23) through (27), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (20) the following:
                    ``(21) `space support flight' means a flight in the 
                air that is--
                            ``(A) not a launch or reentry; but
                            ``(B) related to launch or reentry 
                        services.
                    ``(22) `space support vehicle' means a vehicle that 
                is--
                            ``(A) a launch vehicle;
                            ``(B) a reentry vehicle; or
                            ``(C) a component of a launch or reentry 
                        vehicle.''.

SEC. 3. LICENSING OF SPACE SUPPORT FLIGHTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 50904 of title 51, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Space Support Flights.--
            ``(1) The Secretary of Transportation may issue or transfer 
        a license for multiple space support flights of a space support 
        vehicle to a citizen of the United States, but only if such 
        citizen holds an operator license issued under this chapter for 
        launch or reentry of such space support vehicle as, or included 
        as a component of, a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle.
            ``(2) A licensee may only carry out a space support flight 
        of a space support vehicle under a license for carrying a 
        person or property for compensation or hire if such flight 
        lands at the same site from which the vehicle took flight.''.
    (b) Limitation on Wavier of Requirements.--Section 50905(b)(3) of 
title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``, or the 
operation of a space support vehicle,'' after ``or a reentry vehicle''.

SEC. 4. EXPERIMENTAL PERMITS FOR SPACE SUPPORT FLIGHTS.

    Section 50906 of title 51, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) The Secretary may issue a permit only for--
            ``(1) reusable suborbital rockets or reusable launch 
        vehicles that will be launched into a suborbital trajectory or 
        reentered under that permit solely for--
                    ``(A) research and development to test design 
                concepts, equipment, or operating techniques;
                    ``(B) showing compliance with requirements as part 
                of the process for obtaining a license for launch or 
                reentry under this chapter; or
                    ``(C) crew training for a launch or reentry using 
                the design of the rocket or vehicle for which the 
                permit would be issued; or
            ``(2) a space support vehicle, or a vehicle that is in 
        development to become a space support vehicle, operated by a 
        citizen of the United States for space support flights that 
        will be conducted under the permit for, or in support of, the 
        purposes described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of 
        paragraph (1).''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:
    ``(h) No person may, under a permit, operate a reusable suborbital 
rocket, reusable launch vehicle, or space support vehicle for carrying 
any property or human being for compensation or hire.''.

SEC. 5. COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to 
discuss potential regulatory approaches, potential performance 
standards, or any other topic related to this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act with the commercial space industry prior to the 
issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.

    (a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on March 1, 2019.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Transportation may issue such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out the amendments made by this 
Act beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
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