110 HR 2500 IH: NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-05-24
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act
.
2.The Congress finds as follows:
(1)The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration began operation on October 1, 1958, with about 8,000 employees
and an annual budget of $100,000,000.
(2)Over the next 50
years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory have been involved in many defining events which have shaped the
course of human history and demonstrated to the world the character of the
people of the United States.
(3)Among the many
firsts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are the
following:
(A)On December 6,
1958, the United States launched Pioneer 3, the first United States satellite
to ascend to an altitude of 63,580 miles.
(B)On March 3, 1959,
the United States sent Pioneer 4 to the Moon, successfully making the first
United States lunar flyby.
(C)On April 1, 1960,
the United States launched TIROS 1, the first successful meteorological
satellite, observing Earth’s weather.
(D)On May 5, 1961,
Freedom 7, carrying Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., was the first American
space flight involving human beings.
(E)On February 20,
1962, John Glenn became the first American to circle the Earth, making three
orbits in his Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft.
(F)On December 14,
1962, Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to commit a successful planetary
flyby (Venus).
(G)On April 6, 1965,
the United States launched Intelsat I, the first commercial satellite
(communications), into geostationary orbit.
(H)On June 3–7, 1965,
the second piloted Gemini mission, Gemini IV, stayed aloft for 4 days and
astronaut Edward H. White II performed the first EVA or spacewalk by an
American.
(I)On June 2, 1966,
Surveyor 1 became the first American spacecraft to soft-land on the
Moon.
(J)On November 13,
1971, the United States launched Mariner 9, the first mission to orbit another
planet (Mars).
(K)On April 12, 1981,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the Space Shuttle
Columbia on the first flight of the Space Transportation System (STS–1).
(L)On June 18–24,
1983, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched Space Shuttle
Challenger (STS–7) carrying 3 mission specialists, including Sally K. Ride, the
first woman astronaut.
(M)In another
historic mission, 2 months later the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration launched STS–8 carrying the first black American astronaut,
Guion S. Bluford.
(N)On July 22, 1999,
the Space Shuttle Columbia’s 26th flight was led by Air Force Col. Eileen
Collins, the first woman to command a Shuttle mission.
(4)On April 9, 1959,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration unveiled the Mercury
astronaut corps, 7 men with the right stuff
: John H. Glenn, Jr.,
Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Alan B. Shepard, Jr., M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon
Cooper, Virgil I. Gus
Grissom, and Donald K. Deke
Slayton.
(5)On May 25, 1961,
President John F. Kennedy, reflecting the highest aspirations of the American
people, proclaimed: I believe this Nation should commit itself to
achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be
more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of
space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.
(6)On September 19,
1961, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration center dedicated to human space
flight would be built in Houston, Texas.
(7)In 1973, the
Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Center.
(8)On December 21,
1968, Apollo 8 took off atop a Saturn V booster from the Kennedy Space Center
for a historic mission to orbit the Moon.
(9)As Apollo 8
traveled outward, the crew focused a portable television camera on Earth and
for the first time humanity saw its home from afar, a tiny, lovely, and fragile
blue marble
hanging in the blackness of space.
(10)This transmission
and viewing of Earth from a distance was an enormously significant
accomplishment and united the Nation at a time when American society was in
crisis over Vietnam, race relations, urban problems, and a host of other
difficulties.
(11)On July 20, 1969,
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin made the first lunar
landing mission while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the Apollo command
module.
(12)Armstrong set foot
on the surface, telling the millions of listeners that it was one small
step for man, one giant leap for mankind
; Aldrin soon followed and
planted an American flag, but omitted claiming the land for the United States
as had routinely been done during European exploration of the Americas.
(13)The 2 Moon
walkers left behind an American flag and a plaque bearing the inscription:
Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. Jul. 1969 A.D.
We came in Peace for All Mankind.
(14)On July 4, 1997,
the Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars and on January 29, 1998, an International
Space Station agreement among 15 countries met in Washington, D.C., to sign
agreements to establish the framework for cooperation among the partners on the
design, development, operation, and utilization of the Space Station.
(15)The National
Aeronautics and Space Administration’s stunning achievements over the last 50
years have been won for all mankind at great cost and sacrifice; in the quest
to explore the universe, many National Aeronautics and Space Administration
employees have lost their lives, including the crews of Apollo 6, the Space
Shuttle Challenger, and the Space Shuttle Columbia.
(16)The United States
should pay tribute to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory by minting and issuing a commemorative silver dollar
coin.
(17)The surcharge
proceeds from the sale of a commemorative coin would generate valuable funding
for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Families Assistance Fund
for the purposes of providing need-based financial assistance to the families
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel who die as a
result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.
3.
(a)In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of
the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the “Secretary”) shall mint and issue the following
coins:
(1)Not more than 50,000
$50 gold coins which shall—
(A)weigh 33.931 grams;
(B)have a diameter of 32.7 millimeters;
and
(C)contain 1 troy ounce of fine gold.
(2)Not more than 300,000
$1 coins of each of the 9 designs specified in section 3(a)(3)(B), which
shall—
(A)weigh 26.73 grams;
(B)have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C)contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent
copper.
(b)The coins minted under
this Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United
States Code.
(c)For purposes of section
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
(d)Notwithstanding the
mintage level limit described under section 5112(m)(2)(A)(ii) of title 31,
United States Code, the Secretary of the Treasury may mint and issue not more
than 300,000 of each of the 9 $1 coins authorized to be minted under this
Act.
4.
(a)
(1)The design of the
coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary
and unparalleled achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
(2)Designation and
inscriptionsOn each coin
minted under this Act there shall be—
(A)a designation of the value of the
coin;
(B)an inscription of the year
2008
; and
(C)inscriptions of the words
Liberty
, In God We Trust
, United States of
America
, and E Pluribus Unum
, and such other
inscriptions as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate for the designs
of the coins.
(3)
(A)
(i)The obverse of the $50 coins issued under
this Act shall bear an image of the sun.
(ii)The reverse of the $50 coins issued under
this Act shall bear a design emblematic of the sacrifice of the United States
astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty over the course of the
space program.
(iii)The design and
inscriptions on the obverse and reverse of the $50 coins issued under this Act
shall be in high relief.
(B)
(i)The obverse of the $1 coins issued under
this Act shall bear 9 different designs each of which shall consist of an image
of 1 of the 9 planets of the solar system, including Earth.
(ii)The reverse of the $1 coins issued under
this Act shall bear different designs each of which shall be emblematic of
discoveries and missions of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the planet
depicted on the obverse of the coin, subject to the following
requirements:
(I)The reverse of the $1
coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the Earth on the obverse
shall bear images emblematic of, and honoring, the discoveries and missions of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Mercury, Gemini and
Space Shuttle missions and other manned Earth-orbiting missions, and the Apollo
missions to the Moon.
(II)The reverse of the $1
coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the planet Jupiter on the
obverse shall include a scientifically accurate depiction of the Galilean moon
Europa and depict both a past and future mission to Europa.
(III)The reverse of the $1
coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the planet Saturn on the
obverse shall include a scientifically accurate depiction of the moon Titan and
depict both a past and a future mission to Titan.
(IV)Pluto (and
other dwarf planets) coinThe
reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act which bear an image of the planet
Pluto on the obverse shall include a design that is emblematic of telescopic
exploration of deep space by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
and the ongoing search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.
(4)Realistic and
scientifically accurate depictionsThe images for the designs of coins issued
under this Act shall be selected on the basis of the realism and scientific
accuracy of the images and on the extent to which the images are reminiscent of
the dramatic and beautiful artwork on coins of the so-called Golden Age
of Coinage
in the United States, at the beginning of the Twentieth
Century, with the participation of such noted sculptors and medallic artists as
James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Victor David Brenner, Adolph A.
Weinman, Charles E. Barber, and George T. Morgan.
(b)The design for the coins minted under this
Act shall be—
(1)selected by the Secretary after
consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the
Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2)reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory
Committee.
5.
(a)Coins minted under this
Act shall be issued in proof quality only.
(b)Only 1 facility of
the United States Mint may be used to strike any particular combination of
denomination and quality of the coins minted under this Act.
(c)The Secretary may
issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2008.
(d)Termination of
minting authorityNo coins
may be minted under this Act after December 31, 2008.
(e)Each gold coin minted under this Act may be issued only as
part of a complete set with 1 of each of the 9 $1 coins minted under this
Act.
6.
(a)The coins issued under
this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of—
(1)the face value of the coins;
(2)the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with
respect to such coins; and
(3)the cost of designing and issuing the coins
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses,
marketing, and shipping).
(b)
(1)The Secretary shall
accept prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance
of such coins.
(2)Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders
under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
(c)In addition to the issuance of coins under
this Act in such other methods of presentation as the Secretary of the Treasury
determines to be appropriate, the Secretary shall provide, as a sale option, a
presentation case which displays the $50 gold coin in the center surrounded by
the $1 silver coins in elliptical orbits. All such presentation cases shall
bear a plaque with appropriate inscriptions that include the names and dates of
the spacecraft missions on which United States astronauts lost their lives over
the course of the space program and the names of such astronauts.
7.
(a)All sales of coins
minted under this Act shall include a surcharge as follows:
(1)A surcharge of $50 per coin for the $50
coin.
(2)A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1
coin.
(b)Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31,
United States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of
coins issued under this Act shall be promptly distributed as follows:
(1)The first $4,000,000 available for
distribution under this section, to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the
purposes of providing need-based financial assistance to the families of NASA
personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their
official duties.
(2)Of amounts available for distribution after
the payment under paragraph (1), 1/2 of the next
$1,000,000 to each of the following:
(A)The Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational
(D.R.E.M.E.) Science Literacy Foundation for the purposes of improving and
strengthening the process of teaching and learning science, math, and
technology at all educational levels, elementary thru college through the
promotion of innovative educational programs.
(B)The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for
Excellence for the purposes of supporting the work of the Foundation in
building critical thinking skills, experiential teaching methods, science
literacy, and integrated approaches to learning and individual responsibility
in achieving excellence.
(3)The reminder of the amounts available for
distribution after the payments under paragraphs (1) and (2), to the Save
America’s Treasures at the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be used
for the preservation and display, at all appropriate sites, of vehicles flown
as part of the United States space program, particularly of surviving space
shuttle vehicles and artifacts, and of associated equipment.
(c)The NASA Family Assistance Fund, the Dr.
Ronald E. McNair Educational Science Literacy Foundation, the Dorothy Jemison
Foundation for Excellence, and the Save America’s Treasures at the National
Trust for Historic Preservation shall be subject to the audit requirements of
section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts
received under subsection (b).
8.The Secretary may
strike and sell bronze duplicates of the $50 gold coins authorized under this
Act, at a price the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Such duplicates
shall not be considered to be United States coins and shall not be legal
tender.