[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6385 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6385
To promote space situational awareness and space traffic coordination
and to modify the functions and leadership of the Office of Space
Commerce, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 2023
Mr. Kean of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote space situational awareness and space traffic coordination
and to modify the functions and leadership of the Office of Space
Commerce, 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 ``Situational Awareness of Flying
Elements in Orbit Act of 2023'' or the ``SAFE Orbit Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND SPACE TRAFFIC COORDINATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall facilitate safe
operations in space and encourage the development of commercial space
capabilities by acquiring and disseminating unclassified data,
analytics, information, and services on space activities.
(b) Immunity.--The United States, any agencies and
instrumentalities thereof, and any individuals, firms, corporations,
and other persons acting for the United States, including non-
governmental entities, shall be immune from any suit in any court for
any cause of action arising from the provision or receipt of space
situational awareness services or information, whether or not provided
in accordance with this section, or any related action or omission.
(c) Acquisition of Data.--The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Space Commerce (established under section 50702(b) of title 51, United
States Code, as amended by section 3) is authorized to acquire--
(1) data, analytics, information, and services, including
with respect to--
(A) location tracking data;
(B) positional and orbit determination information;
and
(C) conjunction data messages; and
(2) such other data, analytics, information, and services
as the Secretary of Commerce determines necessary to avoid
collisions of space objects.
(d) Database on Satellite Location and Behavior.--The Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce shall provide access for the
public, at no charge, a fully updated, unclassified database of
information concerning space objects and behavior that includes--
(1) the data and information acquired under subsection (c),
except to the extent that such data or information is
classified or a trade secret (as defined in section 1839 of
title 18, United States Code); and
(2) the provision of basic space situational awareness
services and space traffic coordination based on the data
referred to in paragraph (1), including basic analytics,
tracking calculations, and conjunction data messages.
(e) Basic Space Situational Awareness Services.--The Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce--
(1) shall provide to satellite operators, at no charge,
basic space situational awareness services, including the data,
analytics, information, and services described in subsection
(c);
(2) in carrying out paragraph (1), may not compete with
private sector advanced space situational awareness products,
to the maximum extent practicable; and
(3) not less frequently than every 3 years, shall review
the basic space situational awareness services described in
paragraph (1) to ensure that such services provided by the
Federal Government do not compete with advanced space
situational services offered by the private sector.
(f) Requirements for Data Acquisition and Dissemination.--In
acquiring data, analytics, information, and services under subsection
(c) and disseminating data, analytics, information, and services under
subsections (d) and (e), the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space
Commerce shall--
(1) leverage commercial capabilities to the maximum extent
practicable;
(2) prioritize the acquisition of data, analytics,
information, and services from commercial industry located in
or licensed in the United States to supplement data collected
by United States Government agencies, including the Department
of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration;
(3) appropriately protect proprietary data, information,
and systems of firms located in the United States, including by
using appropriate infrastructure and cybersecurity measures;
(4) facilitate the development of standardization and
consistency in data reporting, in collaboration with satellite
owners and operators, commercial space situational awareness
data and service providers, the academic community, and
nonprofit organizations; and
(5) encourage foreign governments to participate in
unclassified data sharing arrangements for space situational
awareness and space traffic coordination.
(g) Other Transaction Authority.--In carrying out the activities
required by this section, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter into
such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions
as may be necessary.
(h) Space Object Defined.--In this section, the term ``space
object'' means any object launched into space, or created in space,
robotically or by humans, including an object's component parts.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO OFFICE OF SPACE COMMERCE.
(a) Location of Office.--Subsection (a) of section 50702 of title
51, United States Code, is amended by inserting before the end period
the following: ``, which, not later than 5 years after the date of the
enactment of the SAFE Orbit Act of 2023, shall transition to a
principal physical location within the Office of the Secretary of
Commerce''.
(b) Additional Functions of Office.--Subsection (c) of such section
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) to perform space situational awareness and space
traffic management duties pursuant to the SAFE Orbit Act of
2023.''.
(c) Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended
to read as follows:
``(b) Assistant Secretary.--The Office shall be headed by the
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce, who shall--
``(1) be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate;
``(2) report directly to the Secretary of Commerce; and
``(3) have a rate of pay that is equal to the rate payable
for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of
title 5.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Section 50702(d) of title 51, United States
Code, is amended--
(i) in the subsection heading, by striking
``Director'' and inserting ``Assistant
Secretary''; and
(ii) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
by striking ``Director'' and inserting
``Assistant Secretary''.
(B) Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``Assistant Secretaries of Commerce
(11)'' and inserting ``Assistant Secretaries of
Commerce (12)''.
(3) References.--On and after the date of the enactment of
this Act, any reference in any law or regulation to the
Director of the Office of Space Commerce shall be deemed to be
a reference to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space
Commerce.
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