Sec. 7. Advanced space suits
226 words·~1 min read·
/bill/117/hr/5250/ih/section-7A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: Space suits and associated extravehicular activity technologies (in this section referred to as EVA technologies ) are critical space exploration technologies. The civil service workforce of the Administration at the Johnson Space Center has unique capabilities to integrate, design, and validate space suits and associated EVA technologies. Maintaining a strong core competency in the design, development, manufacture, and operation of space suits and related technologies allows the Administration to be an informed purchaser of competitively awarded commercial space suits and associated EVA technologies.
The Administration should fully use the International Space Station by 2025 to test future space suits and associated EVA technologies to reduce risk and improve safety. The Administrator shall establish a program to develop next-generation space suits and associated EVA technologies. The Director of the Johnson Space Center shall support the program established under paragraph (1). The Administrator shall ensure that space suits developed and manufactured after the date of the enactment of this Act accommodate a wide range of sizes of astronauts so as to meet the needs of the diverse NASA astronaut corps.
In carrying out this subsection, the Administrator may— enter into 1 or more agreements with 1 or more industry-proven space suit design, development, and manufacturing suppliers; and leverage— prior and existing investments in advanced space suit technologies; and existing capabilities at NASA centers.