American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3610 To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for the authorization and supervision of nongovernmental space activities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 2, 2019 Mr. BABIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for the authorization and supervision of nongovernmental 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 ‘‘American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act of 5 2019’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is 7 as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings; policy; purposes. Sec. 3. Certification to operate space objects. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3610 IH Sec. 4. Permitting of space-based remote sensing systems. Sec. 5. Administrative provisions related to certification and permitting. Sec. 6. Technical and conforming amendments. Sec. 7. Office of Space Commerce. Sec. 8. Restriction on preventing launches and reentries of certified space ob- jects. Sec. 9. Report on registration of space objects. Sec. 10. Comptroller General report. SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY; PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The United States, through existing author- 3 ization and supervision mechanisms, satisfies and is 4 in conformity with its obligation under the Outer 5 Space Treaty to authorize and supervise nongovern- 6 mental space activities to assure such activities are 7 carried out in conformity with the international obli- 8 gations of the United States under the Outer Space 9 Treaty. 10 (2) The United States has a robust and innova- 11 tive private sector that is investing in, developing, 12 and placing into outer space, spacecraft and pay- 13 loads. 14 (3) Authorization and supervision mechanisms 15 as of the date of enactment of this Act could be im- 16 proved to relieve administrative burdens on new and 17 innovative nongovernmental space actors. 18 (4) It serves the national interest to address 19 misperceptions of legal uncertainty through the es- 20 tablishment of a general authorization and super- 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3610 IH vision certification authority for nongovernmental 1 outer space activities. 2 (5) The private exploration and use of outer 3 space by nongovernmental entities will further the 4 national security, foreign policy, and economic inter- 5 ests of the United States. 6 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 7 that— 8 (1) United States citizens and entities are free 9 to explore and use space, including the utilization of 10 outer space and resources contained therein, without 11 conditions or limitations; 12 (2) this freedom is only to be limited when nec- 13 essary to assure United States national security in- 14 terests are met and to authorize and supervise non- 15 governmental space activities to assure such activi- 16 ties are carried out in conformity with the inter- 17 national obligations of the United States under the 18 Outer Space Treaty; 19 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, the 20 Federal Government shall interpret and fulfill its 21 international obligations to minimize regulations and 22 limitations on the freedom of United States non- 23 governmental entities to explore and use space; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3610 IH (4) to the maximum extent practicable, the 1 Federal Government shall take steps to protect the 2 physical safety of space objects operated by the 3 United States that do not involve limitations on the 4 freedoms of nongovernmental entities of the United 5 States; and 6 (5) nongovernmental activities in outer space 7 shall only be authorized and supervised in a trans- 8 parent, timely, and predictable manner, with mini- 9 mal costs and burdens placed on the entities author- 10 ized and supervised. 11 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act and the 12 amendments made by this Act are— 13 (1) to enhance the existing outer space author- 14 ization and supervision framework to provide greater 15 transparency, greater efficiency, and less administra- 16 tive burden for nongovernmental entities of the 17 United States seeking to conduct space activities; 18 and 19 (2) to ensure that the United States remains 20 the world leader in commercial space activities. 21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 22 (1) the term ‘‘Agreement on the Rescue of As- 23 tronauts and the Return of Space Objects’’ means 24 the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3610 IH turn of Astronauts and the Return of Objects 1 Launched into Outer Space (signed at Washington, 2 Moscow, and London on April 22, 1968, ratified by 3 the United States on December 3, 1968; 19 UST 4 7570); 5 (2) the term ‘‘Convention on Registration of 6 Space Objects’’ means the Convention on Registra- 7 tion of Objects Launched into Outer Space (signed 8 at New York on January 14, 1975, ratified by the 9 United States on September 15, 1976; 28 UST 10 695); 11 (3) the term ‘‘covered treaties on outer space’’ 12 means— 13 (A) the Outer Space Treaty; 14 (B) the Agreement on the Rescue of Astro- 15 nauts and the Return of Space Objects; 16 (C) the Convention on Registration of 17 Space Objects; and 18 (D) the Liability Convention; 19 (4) the term ‘‘Liability Convention’’ means the 20 Convention on the International Liability for Dam- 21 age Caused by Space Objects (signed at Washington, 22 Moscow, and London on March 29, 1972, ratified by 23 the United States on October 9, 1973; 24 UST 24 2389); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3610 IH (5) the term ‘‘Outer Space Treaty’’ means the 1 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of 2 States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, 3 including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies 4 (signed at Washington, Moscow, and London on 5 January 27, 1967, ratified by the United States on 6 October 10, 1967; 18 UST 2410). 7 SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION TO OPERATE SPACE OBJECTS. 8 Title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding 9 at the end the following: 10 ‘‘Subtitle VIII—Authorization and 11 Supervision of Nongovernmen- 12 tal Space Activities 13 ‘‘CHAPTER 801—CERTIFICATION TO 14 OPERATE SPACE OBJECTS 15 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘80101. Definitions. ‘‘80102. Certification authority. ‘‘80103. Certification application and requirements. ‘‘80104. Mitigation of space debris. ‘‘80105. Continuing certification requirements. ‘‘80106. Certification transfer. ‘‘80107. Certification expiration and termination. ‘‘80108. Existing license or pending application for launch or reentry. ‘‘80109. Private Space Activity Advisory Committee. ‘‘80110. Exemptions. ‘‘80111. Protecting the interests of United States entity space objects. ‘‘§ 80101. Definitions 16 ‘‘In this subtitle: 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3610 IH ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 1 meaning given the term Executive agency in section 2 105 of title 5. 3 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT ON THE RESCUE OF ASTRO- 4 NAUTS AND THE RETURN OF SPACE OBJECTS.—The 5 term ‘Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts and 6 the Return of Space Objects’ means the Agreement 7 on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astro- 8 nauts and the Return of Objects Launched into 9 Outer Space (signed at Washington, Moscow, and 10 London on April 22, 1968, ratified by the United 11 States on December 3, 1968; 19 UST 7570). 12 ‘‘(3) CONVENTION ON REGISTRATION OF SPACE 13 OBJECTS.—The term ‘Convention on Registration of 14 Space Objects’ means the Convention on Registra- 15 tion of Objects Launched into Outer Space (signed 16 at New York on January 14, 1975, ratified by the 17 United States on September 15, 1976; 28 UST 18 695). 19 ‘‘(4) COVERED TREATIES ON OUTER SPACE.— 20 The term ‘covered treaties on outer space’ means— 21 ‘‘(A) the Outer Space Treaty; 22 ‘‘(B) the Agreement on the Rescue of As- 23 tronauts and the Return of Space Objects; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3610 IH ‘‘(C) the Convention on Registration of 1 Space Objects; and 2 ‘‘(D) the Liability Convention. 3 ‘‘(5) LIABILITY CONVENTION.—The term ‘Li- 4 ability Convention’ means the Convention on the 5 International Liability for Damage Caused by Space 6 Objects (signed at Washington, Moscow, and Lon- 7 don on March 29, 1972, ratified by the United 8 States on October 9, 1973; 24 UST 2389). 9 ‘‘(6) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—The 10 term ‘national of the United States’ has the meaning 11 given such term in section 101(a) of the Immigra- 12 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 13 ‘‘(7) OUTER SPACE TREATY.—The term ‘Outer 14 Space Treaty’ means the Treaty on Principles Gov- 15 erning the Activities of States in the Exploration 16 and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and 17 Other Celestial Bodies (signed at Washington, Mos- 18 cow, and London on January 27, 1967, ratified by 19 the United States on October 10, 1967; 18 UST 20 2410). 21 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 22 means, except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, 23 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Of- 24 fice of Space Commerce. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3610 IH ‘‘(9) SPACE-BASED REMOTE SENSING SYS- 1 TEM.—The term ‘space-based remote sensing sys- 2 tem’ means a space object in Earth orbit that is— 3 ‘‘(A) designed to image the Earth; or 4 ‘‘(B) capable of imaging a space object in 5 Earth orbit operated by the Federal Govern- 6 ment. 7 ‘‘(10) SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION.—The term 8 ‘space debris mitigation’ means efforts to— 9 ‘‘(A) prevent on-orbit break-ups; 10 ‘‘(B) remove spacecraft that have reached 11 the end of their mission operation from useful 12 densely populated orbit regions; and 13 ‘‘(C) limit the amount of debris released 14 during normal operations of a space object. 15 ‘‘(11) SPACE OBJECT.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘space ob- 17 ject’ means— 18 ‘‘(i) a human-made object located in 19 outer space, including on the Moon and 20 other celestial bodies, with or without 21 human occupants, that was launched from 22 Earth, such as a satellite or a spacecraft, 23 including component parts of the object; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3610 IH ‘‘(ii) all items carried on such object 1 that are intended for use in outer space 2 outside of, and independent of, the oper- 3 ation of such object. 4 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—Such term includes any 5 human-made object that is— 6 ‘‘(i) manufactured or assembled in 7 outer space; and 8 ‘‘(ii) intended for operations in outer 9 space outside of, and independent of, the 10 operations of such object in which the 11 manufacturing or assembly occurred. 12 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not 13 include— 14 ‘‘(i) an article on board a space object 15 that is only intended for use inside the 16 space object; 17 ‘‘(ii) an article manufactured or proc- 18 essed in outer space that is a material; or 19 ‘‘(iii) an article intended for use out- 20 side of a space object as part of the cer- 21 tified operations of the space object. 22 ‘‘(12) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 23 the several States of the United States, the District 24 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3610 IH United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 1 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 2 Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or 3 possession of the United States. 4 ‘‘(13) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United 5 States’ means the States, collectively. 6 ‘‘(14) UNITED STATES ENTITY.—The term 7 ‘United States entity’ means— 8 ‘‘(A) an individual who is a national of the 9 United States; or 10 ‘‘(B) a nongovernmental entity organized 11 or existing under, and subject to, the laws of 12 the United States or a State. 13 ‘‘§ 80102. Certification authority 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 15 date of enactment of the American Space Commerce Free 16 Enterprise Act of 2019, the Secretary shall begin issuing 17 certifications for the operation of a space object to any 18 United States entity who submits an application for a cer- 19 tification in satisfaction of the requirements of this chap- 20 ter. 21 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall, as the 22 Secretary considers necessary, consult with the heads of 23 other relevant agencies in carrying out the requirements 24 of this chapter, pursuant to section 80311. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3610.IH H3610 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3610 IH ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR OPERATION.— 1 Beginning on the date that is 1 year after the date of 2 enactment of the American Space Commerce Free Enter- 3 prise Act of 2019, a United States entity may not operate 4 a space object unless the entity holds a certification issued 5 under this chapter for the operation of such object or the 6 entity holds a valid payload approval for launch or reentry 7 under section 50904 as part of a license issued under 8 chapter 509, and that satisfies the requirements of section 9 80108(a). 10 ‘‘(d) FOREIGN ENTITIES PROHIBITED.—The Sec- 11 retary may not issue a certification under this chapter to 12 any person who is not a United States entity. 13 ‘‘(e) COVERAGE OF CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary 14 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, require o [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]