Advancing Human Spaceflight Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1756 To extend the commitment of the United States to the International Space Station, to develop advanced space suits, and to authorize a stepping stone approach to exploration, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. KELLY) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To extend the commitment of the United States to the Inter- national Space Station, to develop advanced space suits, and to authorize a stepping stone approach to explo- ration, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Human 4 Spaceflight Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1756 IS (1) The Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969, 1 marked the first steps of a human being on the sur- 2 face of another world, representing a giant leap for 3 all humanity and a significant demonstration of the 4 spaceflight capabilities of the United States. 5 (2) Section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics 6 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 7 (42 U.S.C. 18312(a)) establishes for the National 8 Aeronautics and Space Administration the long-term 9 goals of expanding human presence in space and es- 10 tablishing a thriving space economy in low-Earth 11 orbit and beyond. 12 (3) The 2017 National Security Strategy des- 13 ignates the human exploration of the solar system as 14 a strategic priority for the United States. 15 (4) Establishing and ensuring the sustainability 16 of human space exploration of the solar system, as 17 called for in the Space Policy Directive–1 entitled 18 ‘‘Reinvigorating America’s Human Space Explo- 19 ration Program’’ (82 Fed. Reg. 239 (December 11, 20 2017)) and the National Space Exploration Cam- 21 paign Report of the National Aeronautics and Space 22 Administration issued in September 2018, will re- 23 quire carrying out human exploration and related 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1756 IS extravehicular activities on the surface of other ce- 1 lestial bodies in a safe and cost-effective manner. 2 (5) The Johnson Space Center has decades of 3 experience working with international partners, 4 other Federal agencies, and partners in industry and 5 academia to study, develop, and carry out the 6 human spaceflight priorities of the United States. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra- 10 tion’’ means the National Aeronautics and Space 11 Administration. 12 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 13 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 14 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 15 (3) JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.—The term 16 ‘‘Johnson Space Center’’ means the Lyndon B. 17 Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 18 (4) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na- 19 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 20 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 21 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 22 should support efforts to establish a long-term human set- 23 tlement in space. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1756 IS SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON PERMANENT ESTAB- 1 LISHMENT OF HUMAN PRESENCE CAPA- 2 BILITY IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT. 3 It is the policy of the United States— 4 (1) to continuously maintain the capability for 5 a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit 6 through and beyond the useful life of the Inter- 7 national Space Station; and 8 (2) that such capability shall— 9 (A) maintain the global leadership of the 10 United States and relationships with partners 11 and allies; 12 (B) contribute to the general welfare of the 13 United States; and 14 (C) leverage commercial capabilities to pro- 15 mote affordability so as not to preclude a ro- 16 bust portfolio of other human space exploration 17 activities. 18 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. 19 (a) CONTINUATION OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STA- 20 TION.—Section 501(a) of the National Aeronautics and 21 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 22 U.S.C. 18351(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2024’’ and in- 23 serting ‘‘2030’’. 24 (b) CONTINUED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF 25 UNITED STATES SEGMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1756 IS STATION.—Section 503(a) of the National Aeronautics 1 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 2 U.S.C. 18353(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2024’’ and in- 3 serting ‘‘2030’’. 4 (c) RESEARCH CAPACITY ALLOCATION AND INTE- 5 GRATION OF RESEARCH PAYLOADS.—Section 504(d) of 6 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au- 7 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18354(d)) is amend- 8 ed— 9 (1) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by 10 striking ‘‘2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 11 (2) in paragraph (2), in the third sentence, by 12 striking ‘‘2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 13 (d) MAINTAINING USE THROUGH AT LEAST 2030.— 14 Section 70907 of title 51, United States Code, is amend- 15 ed— 16 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘2024’’ 17 and inserting ‘‘2030’’; 18 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2024’’ and 19 inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 20 (3) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘2024’’ 21 and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 22 (e) TRANSITION STRATEGY.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days 24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1756 IS ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Com- 1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 2 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 3 nology of the House of Representatives a strategy 4 that— 5 (A) describes the manner in which the Ad- 6 ministration will ensure a stepwise transition to 7 an eventual successor platform consistent with 8 the ISS Transition Principles specified in the 9 International Space Station Transition Report 10 issued pursuant to section 50111(c)(2) of title 11 51, United States Code, on March 30, 2018; 12 (B) includes capability-driven milestones 13 and timelines leading to such a transition; 14 (C) takes into account the importance of 15 maintaining workforce expertise, core capabili- 16 ties, and continuity at the centers of the Ad- 17 ministration, including such centers that are 18 primarily focused on human spaceflight; 19 (D) considers how any transition described 20 in subparagraph (A) affects international and 21 commercial partnerships; 22 (E) presents opportunities for future en- 23 gagement with— 24 (i) international partners; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1756 IS (ii) countries with growing spaceflight 1 capabilities, if such engagement is not pre- 2 cluded by other provisions of law; 3 (iii) the scientific community, includ- 4 ing the microgravity research community; 5 (iv) the private sector; and 6 (v) other United States Government 7 users; and 8 (F) promotes the continued economic de- 9 velopment of low-Earth orbit. 10 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The strategy re- 11 quired by paragraph (1) shall include an implemen- 12 tation plan describing the manner in which the Ad- 13 ministration plans to carry out such strategy. 14 (3) REPORT.—Not less frequently than bienni- 15 ally, the Administrator shall submit to the Com- 16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 17 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 18 and Technology of the House of Representatives a 19 report on the implementation of the strategy re- 20 quired by paragraph (1). 21 SEC. 7. ADVANCED SPACE SUITS. 22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 23 ings: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1756 IS (1) Space suits and associated extravehicular 1 activity technologies (in this section referred to as 2 ‘‘EVA technologies’’) are critical space exploration 3 technologies. 4 (2) The civil service workforce of the Adminis- 5 tration at the Johnson Space Center has unique ca- 6 pabilities to integrate, design, and validate space 7 suits and associated EVA technologies. 8 (3) Maintaining a strong core competency in 9 the design, development, manufacture, and operation 10 of space suits and related technologies allows the 11 Administration to be an informed purchaser of com- 12 petitively awarded commercial space suits and asso- 13 ciated EVA technologies. 14 (4) The Administration should fully use the 15 International Space Station by 2025 to test future 16 space suits and associated EVA technologies to re- 17 duce risk and improve safety. 18 (b) SPACE SUITS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 20 tablish a program to develop next-generation space 21 suits and associated EVA technologies. 22 (2) SUPPORT FOR PROGRAM.—The Director of 23 the Johnson Space Center shall support the program 24 established under paragraph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1756 IS (3) ACCOMMODATION OF DIVERSE ASTRONAUT 1 CORPS.—The Administrator shall ensure that space 2 suits developed and manufactured after the date of 3 the enactment of this Act accommodate a wide range 4 of sizes of astronauts so as to meet the needs of the 5 diverse NASA astronaut corps. 6 (4) AGREEMENTS WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES.—In 7 carrying out this subsection, the Administrator 8 may— 9 (A) enter into 1 or more agreements with 10 1 or more industry-proven space suit design, 11 development, and manufacturing suppliers; and 12 (B) leverage— 13 (i) prior and existing investments in 14 advanced space suit technologies; and 15 (ii) existing capabilities at NASA cen- 16 ters. 17 SEC. 8. HUMAN SPACE FACILITIES IN AND BEYOND LOW- 18 EARTH ORBIT. 19 (a) HUMAN SPACE FACILITY DEFINED.—In this sec- 20 tion, the term ‘‘human space facility’’ means a structure 21 for use in or beyond low-Earth orbit that supports, or has 22 the potential to support, human life. 23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 24 gress that human space facilities play a significant role 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1756 IS in the long-term pursuit by the Administration of the ex- 1 ploration goals under section 202(a) of the National Aero- 2 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 3 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(a)). 4 (c) REPORT ON CREWED AND UNCREWED HUMAN 5 SPACE FACILITIES.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad- 8 ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Com- 9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 10 and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 11 nology of the House of Representatives a report on 12 the potential development of 1 or more human space 13 facilities. 14 (2) CONTENTS.—With respect to the potential 15 development of each human space facility referred to 16 in paragraph (1), the report required under such 17 paragraph shall include a description of the fol- 18 lowing: 19 (A) The capacity of the human space facil- 20 ity to advance, enable, or complement human 21 exploration of the solar system, including 22 human exploration of the atmosphere and the 23 surface of celestial bodies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1756 IS (B) The role of the human space facility as 1 a staging, logistics, and operations hub in ex- 2 ploration architecture. 3 (C) The capacity of the human space facil- 4 ity to support the research, development, test- 5 ing, validation, operation, and launch of space 6 exploration systems and technologies. 7 (D) Opportunities and strategies for com- 8 mercial operation or public-private partnerships 9 with respect to the human space facility that 10 protect taxpayer interests and foster competi- 11 tion. 12 (E) The role of the human space facility in 13 encouraging further crewed and uncrewed ex- 14 ploration investments. 15 (F) The manner in which the development 16 and maintenance of the International Space 17 Station would reduce the cost of, and time nec- 18 essary for, the development of the human space 19 facility. 20 (d) CISLUNAR SPACE EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES.— 21 The Administrator shall establish an outpost in orbit 22 around the Moon that— 23 (1) demonstrates technologies, systems, and 24 operational concepts directly applicable to the space 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:24 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1756.IS S1756 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1756 IS vehicle that will be used to transport humans to 1 Mars; 2 (2) has the capability for periodic human habi- 3 tation; and 4 (3) can function as a point of departure, return, 5 or staging for Administration or nongovernmental or 6 international partner missions to multiple locations 7 on the lunar surface or other destinations. 8 SEC. 9. STEPPING STONE APPROACH TO EXPLORATION. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 70504 of title 51, United 10 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 11 ‘‘§ 70504. Stepping stone approach to exploration 12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in sustain- 13 able steps, may conduct missions to intermediate destina- 14 tions, such as the Moon, in accordance with section 15 20302(b), and on a timetable determined by the avail- 16 ability of funding, in order to achieve the objective of 17 human exploration of Mars specified in section 202(b)(5) 18 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au- 19 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(b)(5)), if the 20 Administrator— 21 ‘‘(1) determines that each such mission dem- 22 onstrates or advances a technology or operatio [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]