S. 1898 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, May 22, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryCleaning up trash orbiting Earth
Space debris—dead satellites and rocket parts floating in orbit—can crash into working satellites and damage them. This bill asks NASA, the Department of Commerce, and other agencies to research and test ways to remove this orbital junk. NASA will fund a demonstration project to test debris-removal technology in space, and afterward report back to Congress on what worked and what could be improved. The bill also allows NASA and other agencies to hire companies to actually remove debris, and requires updates to the government's standards for managing space traffic and preventing future debris.
How it affects you
This doesn't directly change anything in your daily life right now. But if you use GPS, satellite internet, weather forecasts, or other services that depend on satellites, keeping those satellites safe from orbital debris helps protect those services for the future. The bill is mostly about preparing for this problem before it gets worse.
Read the official summary (Reported to Senate, Jun 18, 2026)
Orbital Sustainability Act of 2025 or the ORBITS Act of 2025
This bill requires specified agencies to support research and develop guidance on the remediation of orbital debris (human-made space objects that are no longer in use and can harm active satellites and space activities).
Under the bill, the Department of Commerce must maintain a list of orbital debris that may be remediated to improve safety and sustainability in space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) must establish a demonstration project to make competitive awards for research and development leading to the remediation of listed debris. NASA must ultimately select and partner with an entity to carry out a demonstration mission using technology capable of on-orbit remediation. After the first demonstration mission, NASA must report to Congress with recommendations to improve orbital debris remediation.
The bill also authorizes NASA and other relevant agencies to contract for orbital debris remediation services.
Separately, the National Space Council, in coordination with specified agencies, must update the existing U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices. This update must consider planned space systems (e.g., satellite constellations) and address factors including collision risk and post-mission disposal of space systems. The updated standard practices must be used to inform future federal regulations related to orbital debris and international discussions related to nongovernment space activities.
Finally, Commerce, in coordination with specified federal entities, must facilitate the development of standard practices for coordinating space traffic and promote their adoption and use for domestic and international space missions.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1898
A BILL
ORBITS Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO) · Introduced May 22, 2025 · Science, Technology, Communications · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jun 18, 2026: “Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 440.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 2 official versions.
Sections · 7
- Sec. 1Short titleNo change
- Sec. 2Findings; sense of CongressNo change
- Sec. 3DefinitionsNo change
- Sec. 4Active debris remediationNo change
- Sec. 5Active debris remediation servicesNo change
- Sec. 6Uniform orbital debris standard practices for United States space activitiesNo change
- Sec. 7Standard practices for space traffic coordinationNo change