Sec. 1602. Foreign space activities

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Chapter 135 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 911(a) of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: Except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense may not enter into a contract for satellite services with a foreign entity if the Secretary reasonably believes that— the foreign entity is an entity in which the government of a covered foreign country has an ownership interest that enables that government to affect satellite operations; or the foreign entity plans to or is expected to provide launch or other satellite services under the contract from a covered foreign country. The prohibition in subsection

(a)shall not apply to a contract if— the Secretary determines it is in the national security of the United States to enter into such contract; and not later than 7 days before entering into such contract, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, submits to the congressional defense committees a national security assessment for such contract that includes the following: The projected period of performance (including any period covered by options to extend the contract), the financial terms, and a description of the services to be provided under the contract. To the extent practicable, a description of the ownership interest that a covered foreign country has in the foreign entity providing satellite services to the Department of Defense under the contract and the launch or other satellite services that will be provided in a covered foreign country under the contract. A justification for entering into a contract with such foreign entity and a description of the actions necessary to eliminate the need to enter into such a contract with such foreign entity in the future. A risk assessment of entering into a contract with such foreign entity, including an assessment of mission assurance and security of information and a description of any measures necessary to mitigate risks found by such risk assessment. The Secretary of Defense may only delegate the authority under subsection

(b)to enter into a contract subject to the prohibition under subsection

(a)to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, or the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and such authority may not be further delegated. Each assessment under subsection

(b)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. In this section, the term covered foreign country means a country described in section 1261(c)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 ( Public Law 112–239 ; 126 Stat. 2019). . The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter, as amended by section 911(b) of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following item: 2279. Foreign commercial satellite services. . The President may not authorize or permit the construction of a global navigation satellite system ground monitoring station directly or indirectly controlled by a foreign government (including a ground monitoring station owned, operated, or controlled on behalf of a foreign government) in the territory of the United States unless the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence jointly certify to the appropriate congressional committees that such ground monitoring station will not possess the capability or potential to be used for the purpose of gathering intelligence in the United States or improving any foreign weapon system. Each certification under subparagraph

(A)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. The Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence may jointly waive the certification requirement in paragraph

(1)for a ground monitoring station if— the Secretary and the Director jointly determine that the waiver is in the vital interests of the national security of the United States; and the Secretary and the Director ensure that— all data collected or transmitted from ground monitoring stations covered by the waiver are not encrypted; all persons involved in the construction, operation, and maintenance of such ground monitoring stations are United States persons; such ground monitoring stations are not located in geographic proximity to sensitive United States national security sites; the United States approves all equipment to be located at such ground monitoring stations; appropriate actions are taken to ensure that any such ground monitoring stations do not pose a cyber espionage or other threat, including intelligence or counterintelligence, to the national security of the United States; and any improvements to such ground monitoring stations do not reduce or compete with the advantages of Global Positioning System technology for users. For each waiver under paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing— the reason why it is not possible to provide the certification under paragraph

(1)for the ground monitoring stations covered by such waiver; an assessment of the impact of the exercise of authority under paragraph

(2)with respect to such ground monitoring stations on the national security of the United States; a description of the means to be used to mitigate any such impact to the United States for the duration that such ground monitoring stations are operated in the territory of the United States; and any other information in connection with the waiver that the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of State, consider appropriate. Not later than 30 days before the exercise of the authority to waive under paragraph

(2)the certification requirement under paragraph

(1)for a ground monitoring station, the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly provide to the appropriate congressional committees notice of the exercise of such authority and the report required under paragraph

(3)with respect to such ground monitoring station. In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and the Committee on Armed Services, the committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. Effective on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act, paragraphs

(1)through

(5)are repealed.

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Pub. L. 112-239
126 Stat. 2019

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Sec. 1602

Foreign space activities

Pub. L.Pub. L. 112-239

Stat.126 Stat. 2019

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