Space Frontier Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 323 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 919 [Report No. 116–172] To reduce regulatory burdens and streamline processes related to commercial space activities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 27, 2019 Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WICKER, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- portation DECEMBER 11, 2019 Reported by Mr. WICKER, without amendment A BILL To reduce regulatory burdens and streamline processes related to commercial space activities, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Space Frontier Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 919 RS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—STREAMLINING OVERSIGHT OF LAUNCH AND REENTRY ACTIVITIES Sec. 101. Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Sec. 102. Use of existing authorities. Sec. 103. Experimental permits. Sec. 104. Government-developed space technology. Sec. 105. Regulatory reform. Sec. 106. Secretary of Transportation oversight and coordination of commercial launch and reentry operations. Sec. 107. Study on joint use of spaceports. Sec. 108. Airspace integration report. TITLE II—STREAMLINING OVERSIGHT OF NONGOVERNMENTAL EARTH OBSERVATION ACTIVITIES Sec. 201. Nongovernmental Earth observation activities. Sec. 202. Radio-frequency mapping report. TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS Sec. 301. Promoting fairness and competitiveness for NASA partnership oppor- tunities. Sec. 302. Maintaining a national laboratory in space. Sec. 303. Presence in low-Earth orbit. Sec. 304. Continuation of the ISS. Sec. 305. United States policy on orbital debris. Sec. 306. Low-Earth orbit commercialization program. Sec. 307. Bureau of Space Commerce. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) ISS.—The term ‘‘ISS’’ means the Inter- 5 national Space Station. 6 (2) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na- 7 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 8 (3) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na- 9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 919 RS TITLE I—STREAMLINING OVER- 1 SIGHT OF LAUNCH AND RE- 2 ENTRY ACTIVITIES 3 SEC. 101. OFFICE OF COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPOR- 4 TATION. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 50921 of title 51, United 6 States Code, is amended— 7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF AP- 8 PROPRIATIONS.—’’ before ‘‘There’’ and indenting 9 appropriately; and 10 (2) by inserting before subsection (b), the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(a) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR COMMERCIAL 13 SPACE TRANSPORTATION.—The Assistant Secretary for 14 Commercial Space Transportation shall serve as the Asso- 15 ciate Administrator for Commercial Space Transpor- 16 tation.’’. 17 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 18 COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION.—Section 19 102(e)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 20 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 21 by striking ‘‘6’’ and inserting ‘‘7’’; and 22 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘an As- 23 sistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transpor- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 919 RS tation,’’ after ‘‘Assistant Secretary for Research and 1 Technology,’’. 2 SEC. 102. USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES. 3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 4 gress that the Secretary of Transportation should make 5 use of existing authorities, including waivers and safety 6 approvals, as appropriate, to protect the public, make 7 more efficient use of resources, reduce the regulatory bur- 8 den for an applicant for a commercial space launch or re- 9 entry license or experimental permit, and promote com- 10 mercial space launch and reentry. 11 (b) LICENSE APPLICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.— 12 Section 50905 of title 51, United States Code, is amend- 13 ed— 14 (1) in subsection (a)— 15 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 16 follows: 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 18 ‘‘(A) APPLICATIONS.—A person may apply 19 to the Secretary of Transportation for a license 20 or transfer of a license under this chapter in 21 the form and way the Secretary prescribes. 22 ‘‘(B) DECISIONS.—Consistent with the 23 public health and safety, safety of property, and 24 national security and foreign policy interests of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 919 RS the United States, the Secretary, not later than 1 the applicable deadline described in subpara- 2 graph (C), shall issue or transfer a license if 3 the Secretary decides in writing that the appli- 4 cant complies, and will continue to comply, with 5 this chapter and regulations prescribed under 6 this chapter. 7 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE DEADLINE.—The appli- 8 cable deadline described in this subparagraph 9 shall be— 10 ‘‘(i) for an applicant that was or is a 11 holder of any license under this chapter, 12 not later than 90 days after accepting an 13 application in accordance with criteria es- 14 tablished pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(E); 15 and 16 ‘‘(ii) for a new applicant, not later 17 than 180 days after accepting an applica- 18 tion in accordance with criteria established 19 pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(E). 20 ‘‘(D) NOTICE TO APPLICANTS.—The Sec- 21 retary shall inform the applicant of any pending 22 issue and action required to resolve the issue if 23 the Secretary has not made a decision not later 24 than— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 919 RS ‘‘(i) for an applicant described in sub- 1 paragraph (C)(i), 60 days after accepting 2 an application in accordance with criteria 3 established pursuant to subsection 4 (b)(2)(E); and 5 ‘‘(ii) for an applicant described in sub- 6 paragraph (C)(ii), 120 days after accepting 7 an application in accordance with criteria 8 established pursuant to subsection 9 (b)(2)(E). 10 ‘‘(E) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Sec- 11 retary shall transmit to the Committee on Com- 12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen- 13 ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 14 Technology of the House of Representatives a 15 written notice not later than 30 days after any 16 occurrence when the Secretary has not taken 17 action on a license application within an appli- 18 cable deadline established by this subsection.’’; 19 and 20 (B) in paragraph (2)— 21 (i) by inserting ‘‘PROCEDURES FOR 22 SAFETY APPROVALS.—’’ before ‘‘In car- 23 rying out’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 919 RS (ii) by inserting ‘‘software,’’ after 1 ‘‘services,’’; and 2 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: ‘‘Such safety approvals may be 4 issued simultaneously with a license under 5 this chapter.’’; and 6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(e) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use ex- 9 isting authorities, including waivers and safety ap- 10 provals, as appropriate, to make more efficient use 11 of resources, reduce the regulatory burden for an ap- 12 plicant under this section, and promote commercial 13 space launch and reentry. 14 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITING SAFETY APPROVALS.—The 15 Secretary shall expedite the processing of safety ap- 16 provals that would reduce risks to health or safety 17 during launch and reentry.’’. 18 (c) RESTRICTIONS ON LAUNCHES, OPERATIONS, AND 19 REENTRIES.—Section 50904 of title 51, United States 20 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(e) MULTIPLE SITES.—The Secretary may issue a 22 single license or permit for an operator to conduct launch 23 services and reentry services at multiple launch sites or 24 reentry sites.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 919 RS SEC. 103. EXPERIMENTAL PERMITS. 1 Section 50906 of title 51, United States Code, is 2 amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(j) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use ex- 5 isting authorities, including waivers and safety ap- 6 provals, as appropriate, to make more efficient use 7 of resources, reduce the regulatory burden for an ap- 8 plicant under this section, and promote commercial 9 space launch and reentry. 10 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITING SAFETY APPROVALS.—The 11 Secretary shall expedite the processing of safety ap- 12 provals that would reduce risks to health or safety 13 during launch and reentry.’’. 14 SEC. 104. GOVERNMENT-DEVELOPED SPACE TECHNOLOGY. 15 Section 50901(b)(2)(B) of title 51, United States 16 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and encouraging’’. 17 SEC. 105. REGULATORY REFORM. 18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions set forth in sec- 19 tion 50902 of title 51, United States Code, shall apply 20 to this section. 21 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the commercial 22 space launch regulatory environment has at times impeded 23 the United States commercial space launch sector in its 24 innovation of launch technologies, reusable launch and re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 919 RS entry vehicles, and other areas related to commercial 1 launches and reentries. 2 (c) REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL 3 SPACE LAUNCH ACTIVITIES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1, 5 2020, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue a 6 final rule to revise any regulations under chapter 7 509, United States Code, as the Secretary considers 8 necessary to meet the objective of this section. 9 (2) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of this section 10 is to establish, consistent with the purposes de- 11 scribed in section 50901(b) of title 51, United States 12 Code, a regulatory regime for commercial space 13 launch activities under chapter 509 that— 14 (A) creates, to the extent practicable, re- 15 quirements applicable both to expendable 16 launch and reentry vehicles and to reusable 17 launch and reentry vehicles; 18 (B) is neutral with regard to the specific 19 technology utilized in a launch, a reentry, or an 20 associated safety system; 21 (C) protects the health and safety of the 22 public; 23 (D) establishes clear, high-level perform- 24 ance requirements; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 919 RS (E) encourages voluntary, industry tech- 1 nical standards that complement the high-level 2 performance requirements established under 3 subparagraph (D); and 4 (F) facilitates and encourages appropriate 5 collaboration between the commercial space 6 launch and reentry sector and the Department 7 of Transportation with respect to the require- 8 ments under subparagraph (D) and the stand- 9 ards under subparagraph (E). 10 (d) CONSULTATION.—In revising the regulations 11 under subsection (c), the Secretary of Transportation shall 12 consult with the following: 13 (1) The Secretary of Defense. 14 (2) The Administrator of NASA. 15 (3) Such members of the commercial space 16 launch and reentry sector as the Secretary of Trans- 17 portation considers appropriate to ensure adequate 18 representation across industry. 19 (e) REPORT.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 22 of Transportation, in consultation with the persons 23 described in subsection (d), shall submit to the Com- 24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 919 RS the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 1 and Technology and the Committee on Transpor- 2 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent- 3 atives a report on the progress in carrying out this 4 section. 5 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 6 (A) milestones and a schedule to meet the 7 objective of this section; 8 (B) a description of any Federal agency re- 9 sources necessary to meet the objective of this 10 section; 11 (C) recommendations for legislation that 12 would expedite or improve the outcomes under 13 subsection (c); and 14 (D) a plan for ongoing consultation with 15 the persons described in subsection (d). 16 SEC. 106. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT 17 AND COORDINATION OF COMMERCIAL 18 LAUNCH AND REENTRY OPERATIONS. 19 (a) OVERSIGHT AND COORDINATION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor- 21 tation, in accordance with the findings under section 22 1617 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 23 Fiscal Year 2016 (51 U.S.C. 50918 note) and sub- 24 ject to section 50905(b)(2)(C) of title 51, United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S919.RS S919 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 919 RS States Code, shall take such action as may be nec- 1 essary to consolidate or modify the requirements 2 across Federal agencies identified in section 3 1617(c)(1)(A) of that Act into a single application 4 set that satisfies those requirements and expedites 5 the coordination of commercial launch and reentry 6 services. 7 (2) CHAPTER 509.— 8 (A) PURPOSES.—Section 50901(b)(3) of 9 title 51, United States Code, is amended by in- 10 serting ‘‘all’’ before ‘‘commercial launch and re- 11 entry operations’’. 12 (B) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 13 50903(b) of title 51, United States Code, is 14 amended— 15 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 16 and (2) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respec- 17 tively; and 18 (ii) by inserting before paragraph (3), 19 as redesignated, the following: 20 ‘‘(1) consistent with this chapter, authorize, li- 21 cense, and oversee the conduct of all commercial 22 launch and reentry operations, including any com- 23 mercial launch or commercial reentry at a Federal 24 range; 25 VerDate Sep [Text truncated for display. 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