Sec. 309. American space competitiveness
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It is the sense of Congress that section 50904 of title 51, United States Code, provides the Secretary of Transportation with the authorities necessary to meet the obligations of the United States under the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, done at Washington, London, and Moscow on January 27, 1967, commonly known as the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transportation shall issue such regulations as are necessary to provide for an enhanced review and determination process for payloads and associated activities after deployment pursuant to a license issued under chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code.
Such process shall provide for the following: The Assistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transportation shall act as the final issuer of a launch or reentry license. Review and determination by the Assistant Secretary, with enhanced appropriate coordination with and participation by the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, NASA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other Federal agencies, consistent with applicable law.
Evaluation of disclosures from a payload owner or operator sufficient to determine if review and determination is necessary for a specific payload or payload class, and if review and determination is found necessary— approval or denial of the planned activities associated with the deployed payload within 60 days after submission by the payload owner or operator, with approval deemed if the Assistant Secretary does not reach a decision before the end of such period; establishment of specific conditions, if necessary, that ensure the deployment of the payload and associated activities— are consistent with the international treaty obligations of the United States; do not harm the national security interests of the United States; do not result in harmful interference with approved and operating payloads and associated activities; and do not harm historic artifacts; provision to the payload owner or operator of a clearly articulated rationale, in any case in which the Assistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transportation denies or intends to deny a launch or reentry license application due to the nature of the deployed payload and associated activities, that— shall not prejudice the Assistant Secretary in a subsequent review of the submission with remedies addressing the rationale; and allows the applicant to access all relevant classified information for which the applicant or its assignees have the required security clearance; a requirement that the payload owner or operator— inform the Assistant Secretary of any material changes to the payload or any associated activities prior to launch; and report to the Assistant Secretary any material anomalies or departures from the submitted plan during the course of operations; and penalties for noncompliance with any conditions set forth in a license issued for the deployment of the payload and associated activities, which may include— a maximum civil penalty of $1,000,000, that shall be adjudicated in district courts of the United States; and the forfeiture of any current, or denial of future, launch or reentry licenses by or involving the payload owner or operator.
The following payloads, or classes of payload, and associated activities are exempt from any regulations issued pursuant to this subsection: An activity subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission under the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. ) or by the Secretary of Commerce under chapter 601 of title 51, United States Code. A mission conducted for or with 1 or more Federal agencies, and determined to be subject to sufficient supervision by the enhanced interagency review process established under paragraph (2)(B).
Chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code, is amended— by adding at the end the following new section: No vehicle design or mission holding a permit or license under this chapter for purposes of space transportation shall be subject to any regulations promulgated by the Federal Aviation Administration for purposes of regulating non-space transportation vehicles. ; and in the analysis for such chapter, by adding at the end the following new item: 50924. Exemption from non-space transportation vehicle regulations. .
Chapter 505 of title 51, United States Code, is amended— by adding at the end the following new section: The Assistant Secretary for Commercial Space Transportation shall establish a prize for certain space-related activities carried out by a United States-owned commercial entity for activities under a license to operate space transportation under chapter 509 of this title. The activities for which an entity is eligible to receive a prize under this subsection shall include the following:
Operation of space stations beyond low-Earth orbit housing space flight participants or scientific experiments. Lunar missions. Asteroid missions. Mars missions. Debris clean up and salvage. Point-to-point missions on Earth. The Assistant Secretary shall promulgate the requirements for qualification for a prize under this subsection, and the amount of such prize in relation to the activity accomplished. ; and in the analysis for such chapter, by adding at the end the following new item: 50507.
Prize for commercial space activities. . Section 50914 of title 51, United States Code, is amended— in subsection (a)(1)— the matter preceding subparagraph
(A)by inserting and property after obtain liability ; and in subparagraph (B)— by inserting , State, or municipal government after United States Government ; and by striking Government property and inserting United States Government, State, or municipal property, as applicable, ; and by striking subsection
(e)and inserting the following: The Secretary of Transportation shall establish requirements consistent with this chapter for proof of financial responsibility and other assurances necessary to protect Federal, State, and municipal governments and their executive agencies and personnel from liability, death, bodily injury, or property damage or loss as a result of a launch site or reentry site or a reentry involving a facility or personnel of a Federal, State, or municipal government. The Secretary may not relieve a Federal, State, or municipal government of liability under this subsection for death, bodily injury, or property damage or loss resulting from the willful misconduct of the Federal, State, or municipal government or its agents. . Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: For purposes of section 38, the space payload credit determined under this section for the taxable year is an amount equal to 10 percent of the sum of the insured value of all payloads of the taxpayer launched by a domestic launch provider, or on a launch vehicle that meets the requirements of the Buy American Act ( 41 U.S.C. 8301 et seq. ), during the taxable year. The term domestic launch provider means a domestic C corporation or partnership in the trade or business of providing launch services for space transportation pursuant to a license or permit under chapter 509 of title 51, United States Code, to conduct launch activities. A space flight vehicle shall be treated as launched if the ignition of a main engine occurs on a launch pad, a spaceport runway, or when released from an airborne platform. . Subsection
(b)of section 38 of such Code is amended by striking plus at the end of paragraph (35), by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(36)and inserting , plus , and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: the space payload credit determined under section 45S(a). . The table of sections for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item: Sec. 45S. Space payloads launched by domestic launch providers. . The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. Prior to any decision by the United States Trade Representative to lift a restriction on a commercial company utilizing an Indian launch vehicle, the United States Trade Representative shall— notify the Comptroller General of the United States of the intent to lift such restriction; and allow for a public 30-day comment period, beginning not earlier than the date of the submission of the study under paragraph (2), on the proposed decision and the results of such study. Not later than 30 days after receiving a notification under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress and the United States Trade Representative a study on the ramifications of lifting such restriction on the domestic launch industry. The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a program to make loan guarantees to eligible entities to carry out eligible activities. The objectives of the program established under paragraph
(1)are— to promote the creation of jobs in the United States space sector, including in manufacturing, operations, and construction; and to encourage startup companies. The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense, shall develop a list of activities that may qualify for a loan guarantee under this subsection. In developing the list of activities under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider the following: Manufacturing— satellites; space transportation vehicles; and habitats. Hardware necessary for operations of satellites and other space vehicles, such as control centers and other ground stations. Construction of, upgrades to, and maintenance of infrastructure necessary to support the space industry. Technology research and development activities determined by the Secretary to have the potential to advance the state of space-related technology in the United States. The term eligible entity means— a commercial entity that is domestically owned or a domestic subsidiary; or an FAA-licensed spaceport. The Secretary shall ensure that any guarantee made pursuant to this subsection is made in accordance with the same or substantially similar terms and conditions as contained in section 1702 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 16512 ). It is the sense of Congress that— commercial space launch services have expanded over the past several years and are expected to continue growing, to the benefit of national security and civil space interests; and commercial space launch services will require assured access to the appropriate electromagnetic spectrum for their launch-related mission requirements. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, in order to streamline the process for obtaining any necessary authorization to use electromagnetic spectrum for commercial space launch activities and thereby ensure certainty of access to the spectrum required for a robust and active commercial space launch services sector, shall take such actions as are necessary to— ensure that the process for obtaining such an authorization (including the application process and the process for coordination between the Commission and the Assistant Secretary and coordination between commercial space launch companies and other users of the spectrum) is standardized and clearly defined; minimize the number and complexity of such authorizations required per launch mission, to the extent practicable; and allocate electromagnetic spectrum for commercial space launch activities on a co-primary, interference-protected basis.
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