Orbital debris research and development

(a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that NASA’s research and development activities related to understanding and mitigating the hazards posed by orbital debris are critical to ensuring the continued safe operation of NASA missions, including the safety of humans living and working in space, and such activities further enable scientific and technological advances that can be leveraged by the broader space operations community to foster a sustainable space environment. (b) Research and development The Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, conduct research and development to advance scientific understanding and technological capabilities related to orbital debris characterization and mitigation. (c) Considerations In conducting the research and development described in subsection (b), the Administrator may consider activities that— (1) improve the characterization and modeling of the space environment, including the characterization and modeling of objects of both natural and anthropogenic origins that cannot be directly characterized by ground-based measurements; (2) leverage space weather research and development elements within NASA’s Heliophysics program, to the extent appropriate and in accordance with the priorities established in the most recent solar and space physics decadal survey; (3) support the application of relevant research, tools, and technologies to advance orbital debris characterization and mitigation and the transfer of such research, tools, and technologies to stakeholders, as appropriate and practicable; and (4) involve coordination with other relevant Federal entities that have a shared interest in technologies and research advanced under this section.