[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6219 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6219
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 24, 2024
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration to establish a program to identify, evaluate, acquire,
and disseminate commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery in
order to satisfy the scientific, operational, and educational
requirements of the Administration, 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 ``Accessing Satellite Data to Enable
New Discoveries Act'' or the ``ASCEND Act''.
SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL SATELLITE DATA.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Section 60501 of title 51, United States Code, states
that the goal for the Earth Science program of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to in this
section as ``NASA'') shall be to pursue a program of Earth
observations, research, and applications activities to better
understand the Earth, how it supports life, and how human
activities affect its ability to do so in the future.
(2) Section 50115 of title 51, United States Code, states
that the Administrator of NASA shall, to the extent possible
and while satisfying the scientific or educational requirements
of NASA, and where appropriate, of other Federal agencies and
scientific researchers, acquire, where cost effective, space-
based and airborne commercial Earth remote sensing data,
services, distribution, and applications from a commercial
provider.
(3) The Administrator of NASA established the Commercial
SmallSat Data Acquisition Pilot Program in 2019 to identify,
validate, and acquire from commercial sources data that support
the Earth science research and application goals.
(4) The Administrator of NASA has--
(A) determined that the pilot program described in
paragraph (3) has been a success, as described in the
final evaluation entitled ``Commercial SmallSat Data
Acquisition Program Pilot Evaluation Report'' issued in
2020;
(B) established a formal process for evaluating and
onboarding new commercial vendors in such pilot
program;
(C) increased the number of commercial vendors and
commercial data products available through such pilot
program; and
(D) expanded procurement arrangements with
commercial vendors to broaden user access to provide
commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery to
federally funded researchers.
(b) Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 603 of title 51, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 60307. Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program
``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish within the
Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate a program to
acquire and disseminate cost-effective and appropriate commercial Earth
remote sensing data and imagery in order to satisfy the scientific,
operational, and educational requirements of the Administration, and
where appropriate, of other Federal agencies and scientific researchers
to augment or complement the suite of Earth observations acquired by
the Administration, other United States Government agencies, and
international partners.
``(b) Data Publication and Transparency.--The terms and conditions
of commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery acquisitions under
the program described in subsection (a) shall not prevent--
``(1) the publication of commercial data or imagery for
scientific purposes; or
``(2) the publication of information that is derived from,
incorporates, or enhances the original commercial data or
imagery of a vendor.
``(c) Authorization.--In carrying out the program under this
section, the Administrator may--
``(1) procure commercial Earth remote sensing data and
imagery from commercial vendors to advance scientific research
and applications in accordance with subsection (a); and
``(2) establish or modify end-use license terms and
conditions to allow for the widest-possible use of procured
commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery by individuals
other than NASA-funded users, consistent with the goals of the
program.
``(d) United States Vendors.--Commercial Earth remote sensing data
and imagery referred to in subsections (a) and (c) shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, be procured from United States vendors.(e)
Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this section and annually thereafter, 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 that includes the following information
regarding the agreements, vendors, license terms, and uses of
commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery under this section:
``(1)(A) In the case of the initial report, a list of all
agreements that are providing commercial Earth remote sensing
data and imagery to NASA as of the date of the report.
``(B) For each subsequent report, a list of all agreements
that have provided commercial Earth remote sensing data and
imagery to NASA during the reporting period.
``(2) A description of the end-use license terms and
conditions for each such vendor.
``(3) A description of the manner in which each such
agreement is advancing scientific research and applications,
including priorities recommended by the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine decadal surveys.
``(4) Information specifying whether the Administrator has
entered into an agreement with a commercial vendor or a Federal
agency that permits the use of data and imagery by Federal
Government employees, contractors, or non-Federal users.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents for chapter
603 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
``60307. Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program.''.
Passed the House of Representatives September 23, 2024.
Attest:
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,
Clerk.