Advancing Human Spaceflight Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 584 To extend the commitment of the United States to the International Space Station, to develop advanced space suits, and to enable human space settlement, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 27, 2019 Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 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 enable human space settlement, 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’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 584 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 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 584 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 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON PERMANENT ESTAB- 19 LISHMENT OF HUMAN PRESENCE CAPA- 20 BILITY IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT. 21 It is the policy of the United States to permanently 22 establish a human presence capability in low-Earth orbit 23 and that such capability shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 584 IS (1) maintain the global leadership of the United 1 States and relationships with partners and allies; 2 (2) contribute to the general welfare of the 3 United States; and 4 (3) be affordable so as not to preclude a robust 5 portfolio of other human space exploration activities. 6 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. 7 (a) CONTINUATION OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STA- 8 TION.—Section 501(a) of the National Aeronautics and 9 Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 10 U.S.C. 18351(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2024’’ and in- 11 serting ‘‘2030’’. 12 (b) CONTINUED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF 13 UNITED STATES SEGMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE 14 STATION.—Section 503(a) of the National Aeronautics 15 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 16 U.S.C. 18353(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2024’’ and in- 17 serting ‘‘2030’’. 18 (c) RESEARCH CAPACITY ALLOCATION AND INTE- 19 GRATION OF RESEARCH PAYLOADS.—Section 504(d) of 20 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Au- 21 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18354(d)) is amend- 22 ed— 23 (1) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by 24 striking ‘‘2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 584 IS (2) in paragraph (2), in the third sentence, by 1 striking ‘‘2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 2 (d) MAINTAINING USE THROUGH AT LEAST 2030.— 3 Section 70907 of title 51, United States Code, is amend- 4 ed— 5 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘2024’’ 6 and inserting ‘‘2030’’; 7 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2024’’ and 8 inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 9 (3) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘2024’’ 10 and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 11 (e) TRANSITION STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 12 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad- 13 ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com- 15 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 16 of Representatives a strategy that— 17 (1) describes the manner in which the Adminis- 18 tration will ensure a stepwise transition to an even- 19 tual successor platform consistent with the ISS 20 Transition Principles specified in the International 21 Space Station Transition Report issued pursuant to 22 section 50111(c)(2) of title 51, United States Code, 23 on March 30, 2018; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 584 IS (2) includes capability-driven milestones and 1 timelines leading to such a transition; 2 (3) takes into account the importance of main- 3 taining workforce expertise, core capabilities, and 4 continuity at the centers of the Administration, in- 5 cluding such centers that are primarily focused on 6 human spaceflight; 7 (4) considers how any transition described in 8 paragraph (1) affects international and commercial 9 partnerships; 10 (5) presents opportunities for future engage- 11 ment with— 12 (A) international partners; 13 (B) countries with growing spaceflight ca- 14 pabilities, if such engagement is not precluded 15 by other provisions of law; 16 (C) the scientific community, including the 17 microgravity research community; 18 (D) the private sector; and 19 (E) other United States Government users; 20 and 21 (6) promotes the continued economic develop- 22 ment of low-Earth orbit. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 584 IS SEC. 6. ADVANCED SPACE SUITS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) Space suits and associated extravehicular 4 activity technologies (in this section referred to as 5 ‘‘EVA technologies’’) are critical space exploration 6 technologies. 7 (2) The civil service workforce of the Adminis- 8 tration at the Johnson Space Center has unique ca- 9 pabilities to integrate, design, and validate space 10 suits and associated EVA technologies. 11 (3) Maintaining a strong core competency in 12 the design, development, manufacture, and operation 13 of space suits and related technologies allows the 14 Administration to be an informed purchaser of com- 15 petitively awarded commercial space suits and asso- 16 ciated EVA technologies. 17 (4) The Administration should fully use the 18 International Space Station by 2025 to test future 19 space suits and associated EVA technologies to re- 20 duce risk and improve safety. 21 (b) SPACE SUITS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 23 tablish a program to develop space suits and associ- 24 ated EVA technologies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 584 IS (2) SUPPORT FOR PROGRAM.—The Director of 1 the Johnson Space Center shall support the program 2 established under paragraph (1). 3 (3) AGREEMENTS WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES.—In 4 carrying out this subsection, the Administrator may 5 enter into one or more agreements with one or more 6 private entities, as the Administrator considers ap- 7 propriate. 8 SEC. 7. HUMAN SPACE FACILITIES IN AND BEYOND LOW- 9 EARTH ORBIT. 10 (a) HUMAN SPACE FACILITY DEFINED.—In this sec- 11 tion, the term ‘‘human space facility’’ means a structure 12 for use in or beyond low-Earth orbit that supports, or has 13 the potential to support, human life. 14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 15 gress that human space facilities play a significant role 16 in the long-term pursuit by the Administration of the ex- 17 ploration goals under section 202(a) of the National Aero- 18 nautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 19 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(a)). 20 (c) REPORT ON CREWED AND UNCREWED HUMAN 21 SPACE FACILITIES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis- 24 trator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 584 IS Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 1 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 2 House of Representatives a report on the potential 3 development of one or more human space facilities. 4 (2) CONTENTS.—With respect to the potential 5 development of each human space facility referred to 6 in paragraph (1), the report required under such 7 paragraph shall include a description of the fol- 8 lowing: 9 (A) The capacity of the human space facil- 10 ity to advance, enable, or complement human 11 exploration of the solar system, including 12 human exploration of the atmosphere and the 13 surface of celestial bodies. 14 (B) The role of the human space facility as 15 a staging, logistics, and operations hub in ex- 16 ploration architecture. 17 (C) The capacity of the human space facil- 18 ity to support the research, development, test- 19 ing, validation, operation, and launch of space 20 exploration systems and technologies. 21 (D) Opportunities and strategies for com- 22 mercial operation or public-private partnerships 23 with respect to the human space facility that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 584 IS protect taxpayer interests and foster competi- 1 tion. 2 (E) The role of the human space facility in 3 encouraging further crewed and uncrewed ex- 4 ploration investments. 5 (F) The manner in which the development 6 and maintenance of the International Space 7 Station would reduce the cost of, and time nec- 8 essary for, the development of the human space 9 facility. 10 SEC. 8. ENABLING SPACE SETTLEMENT AS A NATIONAL 11 GOAL. 12 (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY AND PURPOSE.—Sec- 13 tion 20102 of title 51, United States Code, is amended— 14 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 15 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 16 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(d) EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND SETTLE- 19 MENT OF SPACE.—Congress declares that the expansion 20 of permanent human presence beyond Earth in a manner 21 that enables human space settlement and a thriving space 22 economy will enhance the general welfare of the United 23 States.’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 584 IS (3) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para- 1 graph (1), by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘(11) The expansion of permanent human pres- 4 ence beyond Earth in a way that enables human 5 space settlement and a thriving space economy.’’; 6 and 7 (4) in subsection (i), as redesignated by para- 8 graph (1), by striking ‘‘to (g)’’ and inserting 9 ‘‘through (h)’’. 10 (b) DEFINITION OF HUMAN SPACE SETTLEMENT.— 11 Section 20103 of title 51, United States Code, is amend- 12 ed— 13 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting ‘‘and de- 14 velopment’’ after ‘‘exploration’’; and 15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(3) HUMAN SPACE SETTLEMENT.—The term 17 ‘human space settlement’ means a community in 18 space or on a celestial body in which humans live on 19 a permanent basis and engage in personal and com- 20 mercial activity that enables growth over time, with 21 the goal of becoming economically and biologically 22 self-sustaining as a part of a larger network of 23 human space settlements.’’. 24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S584.IS S584 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 584 IS (1) Section 808(a) of the National Aeronautics 1 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 2 (42 U.S.C. 18387(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec- 3 tion 102(g) of the National Aeronautics and Space 4 Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451(g))’’ and inserting 5 ‘‘section 20102(h) of title 51, United States Code’’. 6 (2) Title 51, United States Code, is amended— 7 (A) in section 20116, by striking ‘‘section 8 20102(d)’’ each place it appears and inserting 9 ‘‘section 20102(e)’’; and 10 (B) in section 71101, by striking ‘‘section 11 20102(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 20102(h)’’. 12 SEC. 9. REPORT ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RELAT- 13 ING TO LIFE-SUSTAINING TECHNICAL SYS- 14 TEMS. 15 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 16 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 18 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 19 Technology of the House of Representatives a report on 20 the research and development of the Administration relat- 21 ing to technical systems for the self-sufficient sustainment 22 of life in and beyond low-Earth orbit. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]