Transition to a commercially led low-Earth orbit economy

(a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the transition from the International Space Station to commercial destinations to support a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit is in the national and economic security interests of the United States; and (2) the United States should— (A) facilitate partnerships between the Federal Government, international partners, and the commercial space sector, including through the purchase of commercial low-Earth orbit services, to ensure the evolution of an ecosystem with private sector development of new technologies, hardware, processes, capabilities, and other commercial low-Earth orbit service offerings; and (B) continue to consider private sector proposals that further the development of the low-Earth orbit economy in which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is one of many customers. (b) Authorization The Administrator shall authorize activities on the International Space Station and within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that develop infrastructure, hardware, processes, capabilities, technologies, and personnel to enable the development of commercial low-Earth orbit destinations and a United States-led low-Earth orbit economy. (c) Commercial activities The Administrator may permit the use of the International Space Station, in a manner consistent with the policy and purposes of the Administration under section 20102 of title 51, United States Code— (1) to carry out the activities described in subsection (b); and (2) to conduct— (A) science and technology research with commercial applications; and (B) marketing and sponsorship of services and products on a cost-reimbursable basis. (d) Reports Section 50111 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: (c) Low-Earth orbit transition plan (1) In general The Administrator, in coordination with the ISS management entity (as defined in section 2 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–10)), the commercial low-Earth orbit management entity, the commercial crew management entity, International Space Station partners, and the scientific user community shall develop a plan to transition from the current regime that relies heavily on Administration sponsorship to a regime where the United States Government is one of many customers of a low-Earth orbit nongovernmental human space flight enterprise. (2) Briefing Not later than April 1, 2025, and annually thereafter until the date on which the International Space Station has de-orbited and not fewer than 1 commercial destination supports a continuous presence in low-Earth orbit, the Administrator shall provide the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives with a briefing that includes— (A) an evaluation of the service life of the International Space Station through 2030, as a unique scientific, commercial, and space exploration-related facility, including— (i) the cost associated with extending the service life of the International Space Station through 2030; (ii) an assessment of the technical limiting factors of the service life of the International Space Station; and (iii) such other information as may be necessary to fully describe the justification for and feasibility of extending the service life of the International Space Station, including the potential scientific or technological benefits to the Federal Government, the public, or academic or commercial entities; (B) an identification of barriers to the development and commercialization of the low-Earth orbit economy, including potential policy, regulatory frameworks, research security protocols, and intellectual property and data protection laws, that could prohibit— (i) commercial research and development on the International Space Station; or (ii) expansion of a userbase, other than the Administration, for commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit; (C) the steps the Administration is taking to eliminate barriers described in subparagraph (B); (D) an identification of the necessary actions and an estimate of the costs to de-orbit the International Space Station at the end of its service life; (E) the status of the actions identified under subparagraph (D); (F) the impact on the Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program, the Moon to Mars program, and any other human exploration program of extending the service life of International Space Station beyond 2030; (G) a summary of the status of the transition from the International Space Station to commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit, including— (i) the status of the prospects for accomplishing future mission requirements, space exploration objectives, recommendations and schedules under the current National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, and other research objectives to maintain United States leadership in scientific and commercial discovery on future commercially led low-Earth orbit platforms or migration of such objectives to cis-lunar space (as defined in section 2 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–10); (ii) a description of the commercial low-Earth orbit destination services procurement strategy, including status of the commercial low-Earth orbit destination procurement timeline and the schedule for attaining operational capacity of such destinations after contract awards are made; and (iii) a description and schedule of major milestones and the manner in which such milestones relate to de-orbiting the International Space Station; and (H) an evaluation of the functions, roles, and responsibilities for management and operation of the Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program, including an identification of— (i) such functions, roles, and responsibilities the Federal Government could retain during and at the end of the transition from the International Space Station to commercial destinations; (ii) such functions, roles, and responsibilities that would be transferred to the commercial space sector; (iii) the metrics that would indicate the readiness and ability of the commercial space sector to assume the functions, roles, and responsibilities identified under clause (ii); and (iv) any legislative changes, and any changes to any agreement or other document, necessary to enable the mission requirements, objectives, steps identified under subparagraph (C), and recommendations and schedules described in subparagraph (G)(i). (3) Low-Earth orbit defined In this subsection, the term low-Earth orbit means the area encompassing Earth-centered orbits at an altitude not more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers)..