Sec. 217. Commercial crew transportation development independent review
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/bill/113/hr/2616/ih/section-217·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The congressionally established Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel
(ASAP)shall conduct a review to determine whether NASA has— adequate assurance that the requirements, standards, and processes for commercial transportation systems developed with NASA funding are held to the same safety standards as Government human spaceflight missions; and developed a procedure to provide independent assurance of flight safety and flight readiness before the authorization of United States Government personnel to participate as crew onboard any commercial space transportation system. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing— the Panel’s assessment of NASA’s certification strategy, specifications, and guidance; the Panel’s view of the mandatory safety requirements that must be met; and the steps NASA and the commercial space industry need to take to ensure that commercial crew transportation and rescue vehicles have requirements, standards, and processes equivalent to those of NASA. The Administrator may not enter into any financially binding contract with a commercial space transportation services provider for crew transportation services until 30 days after the Committees’ receipt of the report under subsection (b). The Administrator may not enter into any financially binding contract with a commercial space transportation services provider for crew transportation services until— the Administrator has transmitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a certification that— the provider with which a contract is planned has demonstrated the safety and reliability of its systems for crew transportation and crew rescue to be equivalent to NASA-promulgated safety and reliability policies, procedures, and standards for human spaceflight; and successful flight experience accrued has provided NASA with sufficient safety-related and reliability-related data and information to make an informed assessment about the flight readiness; and all indemnification and liability issues associated with the use of such systems by the United States Government have been addressed, and the Administrator has transmitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing the indemnification and liability provisions that are planned to be included in such contracts.