Office of Space Commerce

(a) Definitions (1) In general Section 50701 of title 51, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 50701. Definitions In this chapter: (1) Assistant Secretary The term Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce. (2) Bureau The term Bureau means the Bureau of Space Commerce established under section 50702. (3) Orbital debris The term orbital debris — (A) means— (i) any human-made space object orbiting Earth that— (I) no longer serves an intended purpose; (II) has reached the end of its mission; or (III) is incapable of safe maneuver or operation; and (ii) a rocket body and other hardware left in orbit as a result of normal launch and operational activities; and (B) includes fragmentation debris produced by failure or collision of human-made space objects. (4) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce. (5) Space object The term space object means any object launched into space or created in space space, robotically or by humans, including the component parts of such an object. (6) Space situational awareness The term space situational awareness means— (A) the identification, characterization, tracking, and the predicted movement and behavior of space objects and orbital debris; and (B) the understanding of the space operational environment. (7) Space traffic coordination The term space traffic coordination means the planning, assessment, and coordination of activities to enhance the safety, stability, and sustainability of operations in the space environment.. (2) Clerical amendment The table of sections for chapter 507 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 50701 and inserting the following: 50701. Definitions.. (b) Transition of Office to Bureau Subsection (a) of section 50702 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following:, which, not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of the SAFE Orbit Act this Act, shall be elevated by the Secretary of Commerce from an office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to a bureau reporting directly to the Office of the Secretary of Commerce. (c) Additional functions of Bureau Subsection (c) of such section is amended— (1) in paragraph (4), by striking; and and inserting a semicolon; (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting; and; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (6) to perform space situational awareness and space traffic management duties pursuant to the SAFE Orbit Act.. (d) Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce (1) In general Subsection (b) of such section is amended to read as follows: (b) Assistant Secretary The Bureau shall be headed by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce, who shall— (1) be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) report directly to the Secretary of Commerce; and (3) have a rate of pay that is equal to the rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.. (2) Conforming amendments (A) Section 50702(d) of title 51, United States Code, is amended— (i) in the subsection heading, by striking Director and inserting Assistant Secretary; and (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Director and inserting Assistant Secretary. (B) Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking Assistant Secretaries of Commerce (11) and inserting Assistant Secretaries of Commerce (12). (3) References On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, any reference in any law or regulation to the Director of the Office of Space Commerce shall be deemed to be a reference to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce. (e) Transition report (e) Office of Space Commerce staffing (1) Required staff levels during Office to Bureau transition Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date that is 1 year after the date on which the transition from office to bureau is complete, the Secretary of Commerce (referred to in this subsection as the Secretary) and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce (referred to in this subsection as the Assistant Secretary) shall— (A) complete a staffing plan for the Office of Space Commerce, consistent with the functions described in section 50702 of title 51, United States Code, as amended by this Act, and the transition from an office to a bureau; and (B) submit such plan to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. (2) Notification of terminations not based on performance Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary shall not reduce the number of full-time equivalent positions in the Office of Space Commerce or the Bureau of Space Commerce for any reason other than performance without prior notification to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. (f) Transition report (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that sets forth transition and continuity of operations plans for the functional and administrative transfer of the Office of Space Commerce from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to a bureau reporting to the Office of the Secretary of Commerce. (2) Goal The goal of transition and continuity of operations planning shall be to minimize the cost and administrative burden of establishing the Bureau of Space Commerce while maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the functions and responsibilities of the Bureau of Space Commerce, in accordance with this section and the amendments made by this section. (3) Appropriate committees of Congress defined In this subsection, the term appropriate committees of Congress means— (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.