[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 584

  To extend the commitment of the United States to the International 
  Space Station, to develop advanced space suits, and to enable human 
               space settlement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2019

Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To extend the commitment of the United States to the International 
  Space Station, to develop advanced space suits, and to enable human 
               space settlement, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Human Spaceflight Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969, marked the 
        first steps of a human being on the surface of another world, 
        representing a giant leap for all humanity and a significant 
        demonstration of the spaceflight capabilities of the United 
        States.
            (2) Section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18312(a)) 
        establishes for the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration the long-term goals of expanding human presence 
        in space and establishing a thriving space economy in low-Earth 
        orbit and beyond.
            (3) The 2017 National Security Strategy designates the 
        human exploration of the solar system as a strategic priority 
        for the United States.
            (4) Establishing and ensuring the sustainability of human 
        space exploration of the solar system, as called for in the 
        Space Policy Directive-1 entitled ``Reinvigorating America's 
        Human Space Exploration Program'' (82 Fed. Reg. 239 (December 
        11, 2017)) and the National Space Exploration Campaign Report 
        of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued in 
        September 2018, will require carrying out human exploration and 
        related extravehicular activities on the surface of other 
        celestial bodies in a safe and cost-effective manner.
            (5) The Johnson Space Center has decades of experience 
        working with international partners, other Federal agencies, 
        and partners in industry and academia to study, develop, and 
        carry out the human spaceflight priorities of the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration.
            (3) Johnson space center.--The term ``Johnson Space 
        Center'' means the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, 
        Texas.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HUMAN 
              PRESENCE CAPABILITY IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT.

    It is the policy of the United States to permanently establish a 
human presence capability in low-Earth orbit and that such capability 
shall--
            (1) maintain the global leadership of the United States and 
        relationships with partners and allies;
            (2) contribute to the general welfare of the United States; 
        and
            (3) be affordable so as not to preclude a robust portfolio 
        of other human space exploration activities.

SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

    (a) Continuation of International Space Station.--Section 501(a) of 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 
2010 (42 U.S.C. 18351(a)) is amended by striking ``2024'' and inserting 
``2030''.
    (b) Continued Operations and Maintenance of United States Segment 
of International Space Station.--Section 503(a) of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 18353(a)) is amended by striking ``2024'' and inserting 
``2030''.
    (c) Research Capacity Allocation and Integration of Research 
Payloads.--Section 504(d) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18354(d)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``2024'' and inserting ``2030''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), in the third sentence, by striking 
        ``2024'' and inserting ``2030''.
    (d) Maintaining Use Through at Least 2030.--Section 70907 of title 
51, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``2024'' and 
        inserting ``2030'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``2024'' and inserting 
        ``2030''; and
            (3) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``2024'' and 
        inserting ``2030''.
    (e) Transition Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives a strategy that--
            (1) describes the manner in which the Administration will 
        ensure a stepwise transition to an eventual successor platform 
        consistent with the ISS Transition Principles specified in the 
        International Space Station Transition Report issued pursuant 
        to section 50111(c)(2) of title 51, United States Code, on 
        March 30, 2018;
            (2) includes capability-driven milestones and timelines 
        leading to such a transition;
            (3) takes into account the importance of maintaining 
        workforce expertise, core capabilities, and continuity at the 
        centers of the Administration, including such centers that are 
        primarily focused on human spaceflight;
            (4) considers how any transition described in paragraph (1) 
        affects international and commercial partnerships;
            (5) presents opportunities for future engagement with--
                    (A) international partners;
                    (B) countries with growing spaceflight 
                capabilities, if such engagement is not precluded by 
                other provisions of law;
                    (C) the scientific community, including the 
                microgravity research community;
                    (D) the private sector; and
                    (E) other United States Government users; and
            (6) promotes the continued economic development of low-
        Earth orbit.

SEC. 6. ADVANCED SPACE SUITS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Space suits and associated extravehicular activity 
        technologies (in this section referred to as ``EVA 
        technologies'') are critical space exploration technologies.
            (2) 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.
            (3) 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.
            (4) 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.
    (b) Space Suits.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish a 
        program to develop space suits and associated EVA technologies.
            (2) Support for program.--The Director of the Johnson Space 
        Center shall support the program established under paragraph 
        (1).
            (3) Agreements with private entities.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Administrator may enter into one or more 
        agreements with one or more private entities, as the 
        Administrator considers appropriate.

SEC. 7. HUMAN SPACE FACILITIES IN AND BEYOND LOW-EARTH ORBIT.

    (a) Human Space Facility Defined.--In this section, the term 
``human space facility'' means a structure for use in or beyond low-
Earth orbit that supports, or has the potential to support, human life.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that human 
space facilities play a significant role in the long-term pursuit by 
the Administration of the exploration goals under section 202(a) of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 
(42 U.S.C. 18312(a)).
    (c) Report on Crewed and Uncrewed Human Space Facilities.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
        the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
        the House of Representatives a report on the potential 
        development of one or more human space facilities.
            (2) Contents.--With respect to the potential development of 
        each human space facility referred to in paragraph (1), the 
        report required under such paragraph shall include a 
        description of the following:
                    (A) The capacity of the human space facility to 
                advance, enable, or complement human exploration of the 
                solar system, including human exploration of the 
                atmosphere and the surface of celestial bodies.
                    (B) The role of the human space facility as a 
                staging, logistics, and operations hub in exploration 
                architecture.
                    (C) The capacity of the human space facility to 
                support the research, development, testing, validation, 
                operation, and launch of space exploration systems and 
                technologies.
                    (D) Opportunities and strategies for commercial 
                operation or public-private partnerships with respect 
                to the human space facility that protect taxpayer 
                interests and foster competition.
                    (E) The role of the human space facility in 
                encouraging further crewed and uncrewed exploration 
                investments.
                    (F) The manner in which the development and 
                maintenance of the International Space Station would 
                reduce the cost of, and time necessary for, the 
                development of the human space facility.

SEC. 8. ENABLING SPACE SETTLEMENT AS A NATIONAL GOAL.

    (a) Declaration of Policy and Purpose.--Section 20102 of title 51, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) as 
        subsections (e) through (i), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Exploration, Development, and Settlement of Space.--Congress 
declares that the expansion of permanent human presence beyond Earth in 
a manner that enables human space settlement and a thriving space 
economy will enhance the general welfare of the United States.'';
            (3) in subsection (e), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by 
        inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
            ``(11) The expansion of permanent human presence beyond 
        Earth in a way that enables human space settlement and a 
        thriving space economy.''; and
            (4) in subsection (i), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by 
        striking ``to (g)'' and inserting ``through (h)''.
    (b) Definition of Human Space Settlement.--Section 20103 of title 
51, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting ``and development'' 
        after ``exploration''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Human space settlement.--The term `human space 
        settlement' means a community in space or on a celestial body 
        in which humans live on a permanent basis and engage in 
        personal and commercial activity that enables growth over time, 
        with the goal of becoming economically and biologically self-
        sustaining as a part of a larger network of human space 
        settlements.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 808(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18387(a)) 
        is amended by striking ``section 102(g) of the National 
        Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2451(g))'' and 
        inserting ``section 20102(h) of title 51, United States Code''.
            (2) Title 51, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in section 20116, by striking ``section 
                20102(d)'' each place it appears and inserting 
                ``section 20102(e)''; and
                    (B) in section 71101, by striking ``section 
                20102(g)'' and inserting ``section 20102(h)''.

SEC. 9. REPORT ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RELATING TO LIFE-SUSTAINING 
              TECHNICAL SYSTEMS.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the 
research and development of the Administration relating to technical 
systems for the self-sufficient sustainment of life in and beyond low-
Earth orbit.
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