1.This Act may be cited as the
NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative
Coin Act
.
2.The Congress finds that—
(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 has 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 that—
(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 3 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 (also known as Early Bird 1), the first commercial
satellite (communications), into geostationary orbit;
(H)on June 3 through 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 May 31, 1971, the United States launched
Mariner 9, the first mission to orbit another planet (Mars) beginning November
13, 1971;
(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, 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; and
(N)on July 23, 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)on February 17, 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 of the
Moon, telling the millions of listeners that it was one small step for a
man, one giant leap for mankind
, and 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 The Planet
Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. Jul. 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace for All
Mankind.
;
(14)on April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space
Telescope was launched into space aboard the STS–31 mission of the Space
Shuttle Discovery, and since then, the Hubble has revolutionized astronomy,
while expanding our knowledge of the universe and inspiring millions of
scientists, students, and members of the public with its unprecedented deep and
clear images of space;
(15)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, DC, to sign agreements to establish the
framework for cooperation among the partners on the design, development,
operation, and utilization of the Space Station;
(16)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 1, the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the
Space Shuttle Columbia;
(17)the success of the United States space
exploration program in the 20th Century augurs well for its continued
leadership in the 21st Century, such leadership being attributable to the
remarkable and indispensable partnership between the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration and its 10 space and research centers, including—
(A)from small spacecraft to supercomputers,
science missions and payloads to thermal protection systems, information
technology to aerospace, the Ames Research Center in California's Silicon
Valley, which provides products, technologies, and services that enable NASA
missions and expand human knowledge.
(B)the Dryden Flight Research Center, the
leading center for innovative flight research;
(C)the Glenn Research Center, which develops
power, propulsion, and communication technologies for space flight systems and
aeronautics research;
(D)the Goddard Space Flight Center, which
specializes in research to expand knowledge on the Earth and its environment,
the solar system, and the universe through observations from space;
(E)the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the leading
center for robotic exploration of the Solar System;
(F)the Johnson Space Center, which manages the
development, testing, production, and delivery of all United States human
spacecraft and all human spacecraft-related functions;
(G)the Kennedy Space Center, the gateway to
the Universe and world leader in preparing and launching missions around the
Earth and beyond;
(H)the Langley Research Center, which
continues to forge new frontiers in aviation and space research for aerospace,
atmospheric sciences, and technology commercialization to improve the way the
world lives;
(I)the Marshall Space Flight Center, a world
leader in developing space transportation and propulsion systems that
accelerate exploration and scientific discovery, including the Michoud Assembly
Facility, which has been a world-class facility since 1961 for fabrication of
large space structures, including the Saturn V and the Space Shuttle External
Tank, and which will have a critical role in the Constellation program,
including manufacturing major pieces of the Orion crew capsule, the Ares I
upper stage, and the Ares V core stage; and
(J)the Stennis Space Center, which is
responsible for rocket propulsion testing and for partnering with industry to
develop and implement remote sensing technology;
(18)the United States should pay tribute to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and to its successful
partnerships with the space and research centers, by minting and issuing a
commemorative silver dollar coin; and
(19)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 any National
Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel who lose their lives as a result
of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties, and for other
worthy and important purposes.
3.
(a)In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of
the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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 4(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 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.
(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 the
contributions of the research and space centers, 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 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)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including
section 7(d), the Secretary—
(1)may accept orders
for the coins authorized under this Act during the period beginning on January
1, 2008 and ending on December 31, 2008; and
(2)may mint and
issue such coins required to fulfill such orders during the period beginning on
January 1, 2008 and ending on December 31, 2009.
(d)Exception to
program limitationNotwithstanding any other provision of law,
the minting or issuance of coins under this Act in 2009 does not—
(1)preclude the
Secretary from including a surcharge on the issuance of any other commemorative
coin minted or issued in 2009; and
(2)be counted
against the annual 2 commemorative coin program minting and issuance limitation
under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code.
(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 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.
(3)A surcharge of $1 per coin for any bronze
duplicate minted under section 8.
(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
purpose of providing need-based financial assistance to the families of NASA
personnel who lose their lives 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), ½ 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 through college through the
promotion of innovative educational programs.
(B)The Challenger Center for Space Science
Education, for the purposes of creating positive learning experiences using
space science as a theme that raise student expectations of success, fostering
a long-term interest in mathematics, science, and technology, and motivating
students to pursue careers in these fields.
(3)The remainder of the amounts available for
distribution after the payments under paragraphs (1) and (2), to the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation, maintenance, and display
of space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum (including the Steven
F. Udvar-Hazy Center).
(c)The NASA Family Assistance Fund, the Dr.
Ronald E. McNair Educational Science Literacy Foundation, the Challenger Center
for Space Science Education, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
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).
(d)Notwithstanding subsection (a), no
surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any
coin during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the issuance
of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin programs issued
during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative coin program issuance
limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31,
United States Code (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). The
Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.
8.The Secretary may strike and sell bronze
duplicates of the $50 gold coins authorized under this Act, at a price
determined by the Secretary to be appropriate. Such duplicates shall not be
considered to be United States coins and shall not be legal tender.
Passed the Senate
June 19, 2008.
Secretary