LIFTS Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2780 To establish a training facility to support functions and activities relating to the licensing of commercial space launch and reentry activities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Mrs. HYDE-SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish a training facility to support functions and activities relating to the licensing of commercial space launch and reentry 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Licensing Innovations 4 and Future Technologies in Space Act’’ or the ‘‘LIFTS 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2780.IS S2780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2780 IS SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL SPACE LICENSING TRAINING FACIL- 1 ITY. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation, 3 in collaboration with the Administrator of the Federal 4 Aviation Administration, the Administrator of the Na- 5 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Sec- 6 retary of Commerce, shall establish a facility (referred to 7 in this section as the ‘‘training facility’’) at which Federal 8 employees may receive training on functions and activities 9 relating to the licensing of commercial space launch and 10 reentry activities. 11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The training facility shall— 12 (1) provide initial and recurrent training relat- 13 ing to the requirements set forth in section 50905 14 of title 51, United States Code, and any relevant 15 regulations promulgated under that section; 16 (2) coordinate with institutions of higher edu- 17 cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Edu- 18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to develop 19 curricula; and 20 (3) coordinate with industry partners to ensure 21 that training facility curricula incorporates new and 22 emerging spaceflight technology, including automatic 23 flight termination systems and reusable launch vehi- 24 cles. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2780.IS S2780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2780 IS (c) SELECTION OF LOCATION.—The training facility 1 shall be located at a current center of the National Aero- 2 nautics and Space Administration that— 3 (1) has expertise relating to the design and 4 testing of space propulsion systems; 5 (2) is capable of conducting a wide range of 6 testing capabilities, including large thrust-level at- 7 mospheric and altitude engines and engine systems 8 test capabilities; 9 (3) has a commercial space industry presence; 10 (4) has sufficient restricted airspace to conduct 11 any necessary testing or field demonstration; and 12 (5) has readily available buildings, facilities, 13 and other resources to minimize the need for the 14 construction of new facilities. 15 (d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 18 retary of Transportation shall develop, and submit 19 to the appropriate committees of Congress, an im- 20 plementation plan with respect to the establishment 21 of the training facility. 22 (2) EMPLOYEE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE AS- 23 SESSMENT.—In developing the implementation plan 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2780.IS S2780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2780 IS under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Transpor- 1 tation shall— 2 (A) in collaboration with such organiza- 3 tions as the Secretary considers appropriate, 4 develop and carry out an employee skills and 5 knowledge assessment for employees of the Of- 6 fice of Commercial Space Transportation, and 7 (B) use the results of the assessment to in- 8 form the development of the implementation 9 plan. 10 (3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 12 of Transportation shall brief the appropriate com- 13 mittees of Congress on progress toward completion 14 of the implementation plan under paragraph (1). 15 (e) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE- 16 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit- 17 tees of Congress’’ means— 18 (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 19 Transportation of the Senate; and 20 (2) the Committee on Science, Space, and 21 Technology and the Committee on Transportation 22 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2780.IS S2780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS