Sec. 1606. Commercial space situational awareness capabilities
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/bill/116/hr/2500/eh/section-1606A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: The Secretary of the Air Force is responsible for developing the hardware and software systems to provide space situational awareness data to the Commander of the United States Strategic Command to meet warfighter requirements. There have been significant delays and cost increases in the program of record that underpin space situational awareness. The Secretary terminated the Joint Space Operations Center Mission Center and decided to operationally accept the Joint Space Operations Center Mission Center Increment 2 despite the fact that only three of 12 planned capabilities in Joint Space Operations Center Mission Center Increment 2 were accepted for use in operations.
Multiple commercial vendors have the current capability to detect, maintain custody of, and provide analytical products that can address the warfighter space situational awareness requirements that were not filled in the Joint Space Operations Center Mission Center and that have been impacted by significant delays in the program of record. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Space Development Agency shall procure commercial space situational awareness services by awarding at least two contracts for such services.
Of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2020 for the enterprise space battle management command and control, not more than 75 percent may be obligated or expended until the date on which the Secretary of Defense, without delegation, certifies to the congressional committees that the Secretary has awarded the contracts under subsection (b). Not later than January 31, 2020, the Director of the Space Development Agency, in coordination with the Secretary of the Air Force, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on using commercial space situational awareness services to fill the space situational awareness requirements that were not filled in the Joint Space Operations Center Mission Center.
The report shall include the following: A description of current domestic commercial capabilities to detect and track space objects in low earth orbit below the 10 centimeter threshold of legacy systems. A description of current domestic best-in-breed commercial capabilities that can meet such requirements. Estimates of the timelines, milestones, and funding requirements to procure a near-term solution to meet such requirements until the development programs of the Air Force are projected to be operationally fielded.
In this section, the term commercial space situational awareness services means commercial space situational awareness processing software and data to address warfighter requirements and fill gaps in current space situational capabilities of the Air Force.