Sec. 1604. Liquid rocket engine development program
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/bill/113/hr/4435/pcs/section-1604·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense should develop a next-generation liquid rocket engine that— is made in the United States; meets the requirements of the national security space community; is developed by not later than 2019; is developed using full and open competition; and is available for purchase by all space launch providers of the United States. The Secretary of Defense shall develop a next-generation liquid rocket engine that enables the effective, efficient, and expedient transition from the use of non-allied space launch engines to a domestic alternative for national security space launches.
Of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act for fiscal year 2015 for research, development, test, and evaluation, Air Force, as specified in the funding table in section 4201, $220,000,000 shall be available for the Secretary of Defense to develop a next-generation liquid rocket engine. The Secretary shall coordinate with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to the extent practicable, to ensure that the rocket engine developed under subsection
(b)meets objectives that are common to both the national security space community and the space program of the United States. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes— a plan to carry out the development of the rocket engine under subsection (b), including an analysis of the benefits of using public-private partnerships; the requirements of the program to develop such rocket engine; and the estimated cost of such rocket engine. In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means the following: The congressional defense committees. The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.