S 3658 — SAFE Orbit Act

3658 IntroducedEngrossed in Senate (IS)](ES)] <DOC> 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S.

3658 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 25, 2024 Mr.

Cornyn (for himself, Mr.

Peters, Ms.

Sinema, Mrs.

Blackburn, Mr.

Schmitt, Mr.

Kelly, and Mr.

Wicker) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation _______________________________________________________________________ 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.

(a) LocationDefinitions.-- of(1) Office.--SubsectionIn (a)general.--Section of50701 section 50702 of title 51, United States Code, is amended byto insertingread beforeas thefollows: end period the following:

``,``Sec. which, not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of the SAFE Orbit Act, shall organizationally reside within the Office of the Secretary of Commerce''.

(b)50701. Additional Functions of Office.--Subsection (c) of such section is amended-- (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``;

Definitions ``In this chapter:

``(1) Assistant secretary.--The term `Assistant Secretary' means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce.

``(2) Bureau.--The term `Bureau' means the Bureau of Space Commerce established under section 50702.

``(3) Orbital debris.--The term `orbital debris'-- ``(A) means-- ``(i) any human-made space object orbiting Earth that-- ``(I) no longer serves an intended purpose;

``(II) has reached the end of its mission;

or ``(III) is incapable of safe maneuver or operation;

and ``(ii) a rocket body and other hardware left in orbit as a result of normal launch and operational activities;

and ``(B) includes fragmentation debris produced by failure or collision of human-made space objects.

``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce.

``(5) Space object.--The term `space object' means any object launched into space or created in space robotically or by humans, including the component parts of such an object.

``(6) Space situational awareness.--The term `space situational awareness' means-- ``(A) the identification, characterization, tracking, and the predicted movement and behavior of space objects and orbital debris;

and ``(B) the understanding of the space operational environment.

``(7) Space traffic coordination.--The term `space traffic coordination' means the planning, assessment, and coordination of activities to enhance the safety, stability, and sustainability of operations in the space environment.''.

(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter of title 51, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 50701 and inserting the following:

``50701.

Definitions.''.

(b) Transition of Office to Bureau.--Subsection (a) of section of title 51, United States Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following:

``, which, not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall be elevated by the Secretary of Commerce from an office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to a bureau reporting directly to the Office of the Secretary of Commerce''.

(c) Additional Functions of Bureau.--Subsection (c) of such section is amended-- (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``;

(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting a``; semicolon;

and'';

(c)(d) 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 OfficeBureau 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;

(d)(e) Transition Report.--NotReport.-- (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Committeeappropriate oncommittees Commerce, Science, and Transportation of theCongress Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report that sets forth transition and continuity of operations plans for the functional and administrative transfer of the Office of Space Commerce from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to a bureau reporting to the Office of the Secretary of Commerce.

<all>(2) Goal.--The goal of transition and continuity of operations planning shall be to minimize the cost and administrative burden of establishing the Bureau of Space Commerce while maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the functions and responsibilities of the Bureau of Space Commerce, in accordance with this section and the amendments made by this section.

(3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means-- (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;