51 U.S.C. § 71101 — Reaffirmation of policy

Page 183 TITLE 51—NATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL SPACE PROGRAMS § 71101 with a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units from the Sun. ‘‘(d) NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY.— ‘‘(1) SURVEY PROGRAM.—The Administrator [of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration] shall plan, develop, and implement a Near-Earth Ob- ject Survey program to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize the physical characteristics of near- Earth objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in diameter in order to assess the threat of such near- Earth objects to the Earth. It shall be the goal of the Survey program to achieve 90 percent completion of its near-Earth object catalogue (based on statis- tically predicted populations of near-Earth objects) within 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 30, 2005]. ‘‘(2) [Amended former section 2451 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.] ‘‘(3) FIFTH-YEAR REPORT.—The Administrator shall transmit to the Congress, not later than February 28 of the fifth year after the date of enactment of this Act, a report that provides the following: ‘‘(A) A summary of all activities taken pursuant to paragraph (1) since the date of enactment of this Act. ‘‘(B) A summary of expenditures for all activities pursuant to paragraph (1) since the date of enact- ment of this Act. ‘‘(4) INITIAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall transmit to Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act an initial report that provides the following: ‘‘(A) An analysis of possible alternatives that NASA may employ to carry out the Survey pro- gram, including ground-based and space-based al- ternatives with technical descriptions. ‘‘(B) A recommended option and proposed budget to carry out the Survey program pursuant to the recommended option. ‘‘(C) Analysis of possible alternatives that NASA could employ to divert an object on a likely colli- sion course with Earth. ‘‘(e) PROGRAM REPORT.—The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep- resentatives, not later than 1 year after the date of en- actment of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 [Mar. 21, 2017], an initial report that provides— ‘‘(1) recommendations for carrying out the Survey program and an associated proposed budget; ‘‘(2) an analysis of possible options that the Admin- istration could employ to divert an object on a likely collision course with Earth; and ‘‘(3) a description of the status of efforts to coordi- nate and cooperate with other countries to discover hazardous asteroids and comets, plan a mitigation strategy, and implement that strategy in the event of the discovery of an object on a likely collision course with Earth. ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2022 [Aug. 9, 2022] and annually thereafter through 90-per- cent completion of the catalogue required by sub- section (d)(1), the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a re- port that includes the following: ‘‘(1) A summary of all activities carried out by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office established under section 10825 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2022 [Pub. L. 117–167, set out above] since the date of enactment of that Act. ‘‘(2) A description of the progress with respect to the design, development, and launch of the space- based infrared survey telescope required by section 10825(c) of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad- ministration Authorization Act of 2022. ‘‘(3) An assessment of the progress toward meeting the requirements under subsection (d)(1). ‘‘(4) A description of the status of efforts to coordi- nate and cooperate with other countries to detect hazardous asteroids and comets, plan a mitigation strategy, and implement that strategy in the event of the discovery of an object on a likely collision course with Earth. ‘‘(5) A summary of expenditures for all activities carried out by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office since the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2022[.] ‘‘(g) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator, in collabora- tion with other relevant Federal agencies, shall carry out a technical and scientific assessment of the capa- bilities and resources— ‘‘(1) to accelerate the survey described in sub- section (d); and ‘‘(2) to expand the Administration’s Near-Earth Ob- ject Program to include the detection, tracking, cataloguing, and characterization of potentially haz- ardous near-Earth objects less than 140 meters in di- ameter. ‘‘(h) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017, the Administrator shall transmit the results of the assessment under subsection (g) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen- ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- nology of the House of Representatives.’’ § 71101. Reaffirmation of policy Congress reaffirms the policy set forth in sec- tion 20102(g) of this title (relating to surveying near-Earth asteroids and comets). (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3439.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 71101 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17791(a). Pub. L. 110–422, title VIII, § 801(a), Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4803. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FINDINGS Pub. L. 110–422, title VIII, § 802, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4803, provided that: ‘‘Congress makes the following findings: ‘‘(1) Near-Earth objects pose a serious and credible threat to humankind, as many scientists believe that a major asteroid or comet was responsible for the mass extinction of the majority of the Earth’s spe- cies, including the dinosaurs, nearly 65,000,000 years ago. ‘‘(2) Several such near-Earth objects have only been discovered within days of the objects’ closest ap- proach to Earth and recent discoveries of such large objects indicate that many large near-Earth objects remain undiscovered. ‘‘(3) Asteroid and comet collisions rank as one of the most costly natural disasters that can occur. ‘‘(4) The time needed to eliminate or mitigate the threat of a collision of a potentially hazardous near- Earth object with Earth is measured in decades. ‘‘(5) Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, asteroids and comets can provide adequate collision informa- tion, enabling the United States to include both as- teroid-collision and comet-collision disaster recovery and disaster avoidance in its public-safety structure. ‘‘(6) Basic information is needed for technical and policy decisionmaking for the United States to create Page 184 TITLE 51—NATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL SPACE PROGRAMS § 71102 1 So in original. The comma probably should be preceded by ‘‘to’’. a comprehensive program in order to be ready to eliminate and mitigate the serious and credible threats to humankind posed by potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids and comets. ‘‘(7) As a first step to eliminate and to mitigate the risk of such collisions, situation and decision anal- ysis processes, as well as procedures and system re- sources, must be in place well before a collision threat becomes known.’’ § 71102. Requests for information The Administrator shall issue requests for in- formation on— (1) a low-cost space mission with the purpose of rendezvousing with, attaching a tracking device,1 and characterizing the Apophis aster- oid; and (2) a medium-sized space mission with the purpose of detecting near-Earth objects equal to or greater than 140 meters in diameter. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3439.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 71102 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17793. Pub. L. 110–422, title VIII, § 803, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4803. § 71103. Developing policy and recommending re- sponsible Federal agency Within 2 years after October 15, 2008, the Di- rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— (1) develop a policy for notifying Federal agencies and relevant emergency response in- stitutions of an impending near-Earth object threat, if near-term public safety is at risk; and (2) recommend a Federal agency or agencies to be responsible for— (A) protecting the United States from a near-Earth object that is expected to collide with Earth; and (B) implementing a deflection campaign, in consultation with international bodies, should one be necessary. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3439.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 71103 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17794. Pub. L. 110–422, title VIII, § 804, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4804. In the matter before paragraph (1), the date ‘‘October 15, 2008’’ is substituted for ‘‘the date of enactment of this Act’’ to reflect the date of enactment of the Na- tional Aeronautics and Space Administration Author- ization Act of 2008. § 71104. Planetary radar The Administrator shall maintain a planetary radar that is comparable to the capability pro- vided through the Deep Space Network Goldstone facility of the Administration. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3439.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 71104 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17795. Pub. L. 110–422, title VIII, § 805, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4804. CHAPTER 713—COOPERATION FOR SAFETY AMONG SPACEFARING NATIONS Sec. 71301. Common docking system standard to enable rescue. 71302. Information sharing to avoid physical or radio-frequency interference. § 71301. Common docking system standard to en- able rescue In order to maximize the ability to rescue as- tronauts whose space vehicles have become dis- abled, the Administrator shall enter into discus- sions with the appropriate representatives of spacefaring nations who have or plan to have crew transportation systems capable of orbital flight or flight beyond low Earth orbit for the purpose of agreeing on a common docking sys- tem standard. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3439.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 71301 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17734. Pub. L. 110–422, title IV, § 407, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4790. § 71302. Information sharing to avoid physical or radio-frequency interference The Administrator shall, in consultation with other agencies of the Federal Government as the Administrator considers appropriate, initiate discussions with the appropriate representatives of spacefaring nations to determine an appro- priate frame-work under which information in- tended to promote safe access into outer space, operations in outer space, and return from outer space to Earth free from physical or radio-fre- quency interference can be shared among the nations. (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3440.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 71302 .......... 42 U.S.C. 17821(b). Pub. L. 110–422, title XI, § 1102(b), Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4808. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FINDING Pub. L. 110–422, title XI, § 1102(a), Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4808, provided that: ‘‘Congress finds that as more countries acquire the capability for launching payloads into outer space, there is an increasing need for a framework under which information intended to pro- mote safe access into outer space, operations in outer space, and return from outer space to Earth free from physical or radio-frequency interference can be shared among those countries.’’