What This Bill Does
This bill creates a demonstration program where the government will partner with private companies and universities to test and develop technology for removing space junk (orbital debris) from orbit. It also requires the government to develop standard safety practices that all U.S. space activities must follow to prevent creating more space junk in the future.
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Who It Affects
- Private space companies working on commercial projects
- Universities and research institutions
- Nonprofit organizations focused on space activities
- Federal agencies including NASA, the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Administration
- Satellite operators and space mission planners
- International space partners and other countries operating in space
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Key Provisions
- The Secretary of Commerce must publish a list of specific pieces of space junk that could be safely removed within 90 days of the law taking effect. This list will include details like the junk's age, location, size, and weight (Sec. 4(a)).
- NASA must establish a competitive demonstration project within 180 days where eligible private companies, universities, and nonprofits can propose and test technologies to remove selected space junk (Sec. 4(b)(1)).
- The government will provide funding, equipment, and technical support to help these organizations develop and demonstrate working debris removal technology (Sec. 4(b)(3)).
- A national space safety council must update the government's orbital debris mitigation standard practices within 1 year to cover collision risk, explosion risk, casualty risk, and new technologies like automated tracking systems (Sec. 6(a)).
- The Secretary of Commerce must create standard practices for coordinating space activities between satellites and space missions to improve safety (Sec. 7(a)).
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the federal government will begin actively removing space junk instead of just monitoring it. Private companies will have opportunities to compete for contracts to develop and demonstrate debris removal technology. The government will also adopt updated safety standards for all space activities to prevent creating new space junk. Federal agencies will use the same safety practices across all their space operations rather than each having different rules.
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Important Definitions
- **Active debris remediation**: The intentional process of moving, repurposing, or removing space junk using tools or equipment, but does not include passive removal methods (letting objects naturally fall from orbit).
- **Orbital debris**: Any human-made space object orbiting Earth that no longer serves its original purpose and has reached the end of its mission or cannot safely operate.
- **Eligible entity**: U.S.-based commercial companies, universities, nonprofits, or partnerships between these groups that can participate in the demonstration program.
- **Space traffic coordination**: Planning and coordinating space activities to keep operations safe and sustainable.
- **Demonstration project**: The specific program where NASA will fund and oversee companies and universities testing debris removal technology.
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text. Various deadlines are set for specific actions (90 days, 180 days, 1 year) from "the date of the enactment of this Act," but the exact effective date is not stated.
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 447
AN ACT
To establish a demonstration program for the active remedi-
ation of orbital debris and to require the development
of uniform orbital debris standard practices in order
to support a safe and sustainable orbital environment,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
2
† S 447 ES
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Orbital Sustainability
2
Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘ORBITS Act of 2023’’.
3
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
4
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
5
ings:
6
(1) The safety and sustainability of operations
7
in low-Earth orbit and nearby orbits in outer space
8
have become increasingly endangered by a growing
9
amount of orbital debris.
10
(2) Exploration and scientific research missions
11
and commercial space services of critical importance
12
to the United States rely on continued and secure
13
access to outer space.
14
(3) Efforts by nongovernmental space entities
15
to apply lessons learned through standards and best
16
practices will benefit from government support for
17
implementation both domestically and internation-
18
ally.
19
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
20
gress that to preserve the sustainability of operations in
21
space, the United States Government should—
22
(1) to the extent practicable, develop and carry
23
out programs, establish or update regulations, and
24
commence initiatives to minimize orbital debris, in-
25
cluding initiatives to demonstrate active debris reme-
26
3
† S 447 ES
diation of orbital debris generated by the United
1
States Government or other entities under the juris-
2
diction of the United States;
3
(2) lead international efforts to encourage other
4
spacefaring countries to mitigate and remediate or-
5
bital debris under their jurisdiction and control; and
6
(3) encourage space system operators to con-
7
tinue implementing best practices for space safety
8
when deploying satellites and constellations of sat-
9
ellites, such as transparent data sharing and design-
10
ing for system reliability, so as to limit the genera-
11
tion of future orbital debris.
12
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
13
In this Act:
14
(1) ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION.—The term
15
‘‘active debris remediation’’—
16
(A) means the deliberate process of facili-
17
tating the de-orbit, repurposing, or other dis-
18
posal of orbital debris, which may include mov-
19
ing orbital debris to a safe position, using an
20
object or technique that is external or internal
21
to the orbital debris; and
22
(B) does not include de-orbit, repurposing,
23
or other disposal of orbital debris by passive
24
means.
25
4
† S 447 ES
(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
1
trator’’ means the Administrator of the National
2
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
3
(3)
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
4
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
5
gress’’ means—
6
(A) the Committee on Appropriations, the
7
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans-
8
portation, the Committee on Foreign Relations,
9
and the Committee on Armed Services of the
10
Senate; and
11
(B) the Committee on Appropriations, the
12
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
13
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the
14
Committee on Armed Services of the House of
15
Representatives.
16
(4) DEMONSTRATION
PROJECT.—The term
17
‘‘demonstration project’’ means the active orbital de-
18
bris remediation demonstration project carried out
19
under section 4(b).
20
(5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
21
ty’’ means—
22
(A) a United States-based—
23
(i) non-Federal, commercial entity;
24
5
† S 447 ES
(ii) institution of higher education (as
1
defined in section 101(a) of the Higher
2
Education
Act
of
1965
(20
U.S.C.
3
1001(a))); or
4
(iii) nonprofit organization;
5
(B) any other United States-based entity
6
the Administrator considers appropriate; and
7
(C) a partnership of entities described in
8
subparagraphs (A) and (B).
9
(6) ORBITAL DEBRIS.—The term ‘‘orbital de-
10
bris’’ means any human-made space object orbiting
11
Earth that—
12
(A) no longer serves an intended purpose;
13
and
14
(B)(i) has reached the end of its mission;
15
or
16
(ii) is incapable of safe maneuver or
17
operation.
18
(7) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a
19
specific investment with defined requirements, a life-
20
cycle cost, a period of duration with a beginning and
21
an end, and a management structure that may inter-
22
face with other projects, agencies, and international
23
partners to yield new or revised technologies ad-
24
dressing strategic goals.
25
6
† S 447 ES
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
1
the Secretary of Commerce.
2
(9) SPACE TRAFFIC COORDINATION.—The term
3
‘‘space traffic coordination’’ means the planning, co-
4
ordination, and on-orbit synchronization of activities
5
to enhance the safety and sustainability of oper-
6
ations in the space environment.
7
SEC. 4. ACTIVE DEBRIS REMEDIATION.
8
(a) PRIORITIZATION OF ORBITAL DEBRIS.—
9
(1) LIST.—Not later than 90 days after the
10
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in
11
consultation with the Administrator, the Secretary
12
of Defense, the Secretary of State, the National
13
Space Council, and representatives of the commer-
14
cial space industry, academia, and nonprofit organi-
15
zations, shall publish a list of select identified orbital
16
debris that may be remediated to improve the safety
17
and sustainability of orbiting satellites and on-orbit
18
activities.
19
(2) CONTENTS.—The list required under para-
20
graph (1)—
21
(A) shall be developed using appropriate
22
sources of data and information derived from
23
governmental and nongovernmental sources, in-
24
cluding space situational awareness data ob-
25
7
† S 447 ES
tained by the Office of Space Commerce, to the
1
extent practicable;
2
(B) shall include, to the extent prac-
3
ticable—
4
(i) a description of the approximate
5
age, location in orbit, size, mass, tumbling
6
state,
post-mission
passivation
actions
7
taken, and national jurisdiction of each or-
8
bital debris identified; and
9
(ii) data required to inform decisions
10
regarding potential risk and feasibility of
11
safe remediation;
12
(C) may include orbital debris that poses a
13
significant risk to terrestrial people and assets,
14
including risk resulting from potential environ-
15
mental impacts from the uncontrolled reentry of
16
the orbital debris identified; and
17
(D) may include collections of small debris
18
that, as of the date of the enactment of this
19
Act, are untracked.
20
(3)
PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY;
PERIODIC
UP-
21
DATES.—
22
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
23
graph (B), the list required under paragraph
24
(1) shall be published in unclassified form on a
25
8
† S 447 ES
publicly accessible internet website of the De-
1
partment of Commerce.
2
(B) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary may not
3
include on the list published under subpara-
4
graph (A) data acquired from nonpublic
5
sources.
6
(C) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Such list shall
7
be updated periodically.
8
(4) ACQUISITION, ACCESS, USE, AND HANDLING
9
OF DATA OR INFORMATION.—In carrying out the ac-
10
tivities under this subsection, the Secretary—
11
(A) shall acquire, access, use, and handle
12
data or information in a manner consistent with
13
applicable provisions of law and policy, includ-
14
ing laws and policies providing for the protec-
15
tion of privacy and civil liberties, and subject to
16
any restrictions required by the source of the
17
information;
18
(B) shall have access, upon written re-
19
quest, to all information, data, or reports of any
20
executive agency that the Secretary determines
21
necessary to carry out the activities under this
22
subsection, provided that such access is—
23
(i) conducted in a manner consistent
24
with applicable provisions of law and policy
25
9
† S 447 ES
of the originating agency, including laws
1
and policies providing for the protection of
2
privacy and civil liberties; and
3
(ii) consistent with due regard for the
4
protection from unauthorized disclosure of
5
classified information relating to sensitive
6
intelligence sources and methods or other
7
exceptionally sensitive matters; and
8
(C) may obtain commercially available in-
9
formation that may not be publicly available.
10
(b) ACTIVE ORBITAL DEBRIS REMEDIATION DEM-
11
ONSTRATION PROJECT.—
12
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days
13
after the date of the enactment of this Act, subject
14
to the availability of appropriations, the Adminis-
15
trator, in consultation with the head of each relevant
16
Federal department or agency, shall establish a dem-
17
onstration project to make competitive awards for
18
the research, development, and demonstration of
19
technologies leading to the remediation of selected
20
orbital debris identified under subsection (a)(1).
21
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the demonstra-
22
tion project shall be to enable eligible entities to pur-
23
sue the phased development and demonstration of
24
10
† S 447 ES
technologies and processes required for active debris
1
remediation.
2
(3) PROCEDURES
AND
CRITERIA.—In estab-
3
lishing the demonstration project, the Administrator
4
shall—
5
(A) establish—
6
(i) eligibility criteria for participation;
7
and
8
(ii) a process for soliciting proposals
9
from eligible entities;
10
(iii) criteria for the contents of such
11
proposals;
12
(iv) project compliance and evaluation
13
metrics; and
14
(v) project phases and milestones;
15
(B) identify government-furnished data or
16
equipment;
17
(C) develop a plan for National Aero-
18
nautics and Space Administration participation,
19
as appropriate, in technology development and
20
intellectual property rights that—
21
(i) leverages National Aeronautics and
22
Space Administration Centers that have
23
demonstrated
expertise
and
historical
24
knowledge in measuring, modeling, charac-
25
11
† S 447 ES
terizing, and describing the current and fu-
1
ture orbital debris environment; and
2
(ii) develops the technical consensus
3
for adopting mitigation measures for such
4
participation; and
5
(D)(i) assign a project manager to oversee
6
the demonstration project and carry out project
7
activities under this subsection; and
8
(ii) in assigning such project manager, le-
9
verage National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
10
istration Centers and the personnel of National
11
Aeronautics and Space Administration Centers,
12
as practicable.
13
(4) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PHASE.—
14
With respect to orbital debris identified under para-
15
graph (1) of subsection (a), the Administrator shall,
16
to the extent practicable and subject to the avail-
17
ability of appropriations, carry out the additional re-
18
search and development activities necessary to ma-
19
ture technologies, in partnership with eligible enti-
20
ties, with the intent to close commercial capability
21
gaps and enable potential future remediation mis-
22
sions for such orbital debris, with a preference for
23
technologies that are capable of remediating orbital
24
12
† S 447 ES
debris that have a broad range of characteristics de-
1
scribed in paragraph (2)(B)(i) of that subsection.
2
(5) DEMONSTRATION MISSION PHASE.—
3
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator
4
shall evaluate proposals for a demonstration
5
mission, and select and enter into a partnership
6
with an eligible entity, subject to the availability
7
of appropriations, with the intent to dem-
8
onstrate technologies determined by the Admin-
9
istrator to meet a level of technology readiness
10
sufficient to carry out on-orbit remediation of
11
select orbital debris.
12
(B) EVALUATION.—In evaluating pro-
13
posals for the demonstration project, the Ad-
14
ministrator shall—
15
(i) consider the safety, feasibility,
16
cost, benefit, and maturity of the proposed
17
technology;
18
(ii) consider the potential for the pro-
19
posed demonstration to successfully reme-
20
diate orbital debris and to advance the
21
commercial state of the art with respect to
22
active debris remediation;
23
(iii) carry out a risk analysis of the
24
proposed technology that takes into consid-
25
13
† S 447 ES
eration the potential casualty risk to hu-
1
mans in space or on the Earth’s surface;
2
(iv) in an appropriate setting, conduct
3
thorough testing and evaluation of the pro-
4
posed technology and each component of
5
such technology or system of technologies;
6
and
7
(v) consider the technical and finan-
8
cial feasibility of using the proposed tech-
9
nology to conduct multiple remediation
10
missions.
11
(C) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator
12
shall consult with the head of each relevant
13
Federal department or agency before carrying
14
out any demonstration mission under this para-
15
graph.
16
(D) ACTIVE
DEBRIS
REMEDIATION
DEM-
17
ONSTRATION MISSION.—It is the sense of Con-
18
gress that the Administrator should consider
19
maximizing competition for, and use best prac-
20
tices to engage commercial entities in, an active
21
debris remediation demonstration mission.
22
(6) BRIEFING AND REPORTS.—
23
(A) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 30
24
days after the establishment of the demonstra-
25
14
† S 447 ES
tion project under paragraph (1), the Adminis-
1
trator shall provide to the appropriate commit-
2
tees of Congress a briefing on the details of the
3
demonstration project.
4
(B) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1
5
year after the initial briefing under subpara-
6
graph (A), and annually thereafter until the
7
conclusion of the 1 or more demonstration mis-
8
sions, the Administrator shall submit to the ap-
9
propriate committees of Congress a status re-
10
port on—
11
(i) the technology developed under the
12
demonstration project;
13
(ii) progress toward the accomplish-
14
ment of the 1 or more demonstration mis-
15
sions; and
16
(iii) any duplicative efforts carried out
17
or supported by the National Aeronautics
18
and Space Administration or the Depart-
19
ment of Defense.
20
(C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than
21
1 year after the date on which the first dem-
22
onstration mission is carried out under this
23
subsection, the Administrator, in consultation
24
with the head of each relevant Federal depart-
25
15
† S 447 ES
ment or agency, shall submit to Congress a re-
1
port that provides legislative, regulatory, and
2
policy recommendations to improve active debris
3
remediation missions, as applicable.
4
(D) TECHNICAL ANALYSIS.—
5
(i) IN GENERAL.—To inform decisions
6
regarding the acquisition of active debris
7
remediation services by the Federal Gov-
8
ernment, not later than 1 year after the
9
date on which an award is made under
10
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]