Sec. 1602. Establishment of Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve
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Chapter 963 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting before section 9532 the following new section: The Secretary may carry out a program to be known as the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program. Under the program, the Secretary may include in a contract for the procurement of space products or services one or more provisions under which a qualified contractor agrees to provide additional space products or services to the Department of Defense on an as-needed basis under circumstances determined by the Secretary.
In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary— shall ensure that each contract under, and qualified contractor participating in, the program complies with applicable security measures, including any security measures required under the National Industrial Security program (or any successor to such program); and may establish and implement such additional security measures as the Secretary determines appropriate to protect the national security interests of the United States.
In determining the quantity of business to be received under a space product or services contract pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary may use as a factor the relative amount of space product or service committed to the program under subsection
(a)by the qualified contractor involved. In this section: The term citizen of the United States means— an individual who is a citizen of the United States; a partnership each of whose partners is an individual who is a citizen of the United States; or a corporation or association organized under the laws of the United States or a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States. The term qualified contractor means a contractor that is a citizen of the United States. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Defense. The term space products or services means commercial products and commercial services (as those terms are defined in section 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation) and noncommercial products and noncommercial services offered by commercial companies that operate to, through, or from space, including any required terrestrial ground, support, and network systems and associated services that can be used to support military functions and missions. . The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of the Air Force, shall seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center or university-affiliated research center to conduct a study on— the availability and adequacy of commercial insurance to protect the financial interests of contractors providing support services to space-related operations and activities of the Department of Defense, taking into account the risks that may be anticipated to arise from such support; the adequacy of any existing authorities under Federal law that would enable the Federal Government to protect such interests in the event commercial space insurance is not available or not available on reasonable terms; and potential options for Government-provided insurance similar to existing aviation and maritime insurance programs under titles 49 and 46 of the United States Code, respectively. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1).