CHAPTER 303 - CONTRACTING AND PROCUREMENT
Title 51 > CHAPTER 303
Sections (13)
“SECTION 1 SHORT TITLE.
“This Act may be cited as the ‘One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act’.
“SEC. 2 FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(“(a) Findings.— Congress makes the following findings: On July 16, 1969 , the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center carrying Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins. July 20, 2019 , marked the 50th anniversary of the date on which the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on the Moon and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on a celestial body off the Earth. The landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and humanity’s first off-world footprints are achievements unparalleled in history, a direct product of the work and perseverance of the more than 400,000 individuals who contributed to the development of the Apollo missions on the shoulders of centuries of science and engineering pioneers from all corners of the world. Among the thousands of individuals who have contributed to the achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (in this section referred to as ‘NASA’) are African-American women such as Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden, who made critical contributions to NASA space programs. Katherine Johnson worked at NASA for 35 years and calculated the trajectory of the Apollo 11 landing and the trajectories for the spaceflights of astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Katherine Johnson, together with many other individuals the work of whom often went unacknowledged, helped broaden the scope of space travel and charted new frontiers for humanity’s exploration of space. The landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft was made on behalf of all humankind, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were accompanied by messages of peace from the leaders of more than 70 countries. The lunar landing sites of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the robotic spacecraft that preceded the Apollo 11 mission, and the crewed and robotic spacecraft that followed, are of outstanding universal value to humanity. Such landing sites— are the first archaeological sites with human activity that are not on Earth; provide evidence of the first achievements of humankind in the realm of space travel and exploration; and contain artifacts and other evidence of human exploration activities that remain a potential source of cultural, historical, archaeological, anthropological, scientific, and engineering knowledge. On July 20, 2011 , NASA published the voluntary guidance entitled ‘NASA’s Recommendations to Space-Faring Entities: How to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts’. In March 2018, the Office of Science and Technology Policy published a report entitled ‘Protecting & Preserving Apollo Program Lunar Landing Sites & Artifacts’. Article one of the ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,’ commonly known as the ‘Outer Space Treaty,’ states ‘[o]uter space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.’ Article eight of the Outer Space Treaty states, ‘[a] State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over any personnel thereof, while in outer space or on a celestial body. Ownership of objects launched into outer space, including objects landed or constructed on a celestial body, and of their component parts, is not affected by their presence in outer space or on a celestial body or by their return to the Earth.’ Article nine of the Outer Space Treaty states, ‘[i]n the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the Treaty,’ and continues, ‘[i]f a State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by it or its nationals in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities of other States Parties in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, it shall undertake appropriate international consultations before proceeding with any such activity or experiment. A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, may request consultation concerning the activity or experiment.
(“(b) Sense of Congress.— It is the sense of Congress that— as commercial enterprises and more countries acquire the ability to land on the Moon, it is necessary to encourage the development of best practices to respect the principle of due regard and to limit harmful interference to the Apollo landing site artifacts in acknowledgment of the human effort and innovation they represent, as well as their archaeological, anthropological, historical, scientific, and engineering significance and value; and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should continue to develop best practices to respect the principle of due regard and limit harmful interference with historic Apollo lunar landing site artifacts.
“SEC. 3 BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO APOLLO HISTORIC LUNAR LANDING SITE ARTIFACTS.
(“(a) In General.— The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall— add the recommendations in subsection (b) as a condition or requirement to contracts, grants, agreements, partnerships or other arrangements pertaining to lunar activities carried out by, for, or in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; inform other relevant Federal agencies of the recommendations described in subsection (b); and encourage the use of best practices, consistent with the recommendations in subsection (b), by other relevant Federal agencies.
(“(b) Recommendations Described.— The recommendations described in this subsection are— ‘NASA’s Recommendations to Space-Faring Entities: How to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts’ issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on July 20, 2011 , and updated on October 28, 2011 ; and any successor recommendations, guidelines, best practices, or standards relating to the principle of due regard and the limitation of harmful interference with Apollo landing site artifacts issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(“(c) Exemption.— The Administrator may waive the conditions or requirements from subsection (a)(1) as it applies to an individual contract, grant, agreement, partnership or other arrangement pertaining to lunar activities carried out by, for, or in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration so long as— such waiver is accompanied by a finding from the Administrator that carrying out the obligation of subsection (a)(1) would be unduly prohibitive to an activity or activities of legitimate and significant historical, archaeological, anthropological, scientific, or engineering value; and the finding in paragraph (1) is provided to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 30 days prior to the waiver taking effect.”
§ 30301 Guaranteed customer base
No amount appropriated to the Administration may be used to fund grants, contracts, or other agreements with an expected duration of more than one year, when a primary effect of the grant, contract, or agreement is to provide a guaranteed customer base for or establish an anchor tenancy in new commercial space hardware or services unless an appropriations Act specifies the new commercial space hardware or services to be developed or used, or the grant, contract, or agreement is otherwise identified in such Act. ( Pub. L. 111–314, § 3 , Dec. 18, 2010 , 124 Stat. 3363 .)
§ 30302 Quality assurance personnel
(a) Exclusion of Administration Personnel.— A person providing articles to the Administration under a contract entered into after December 9, 1991 , may not exclude Administration quality assurance personnel from work sites except as provided in a contract provision that has been submitted to Congress as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Contract Provisions.— The Administration shall not enter into any contract which permits the exclusion of Administration quality assurance personnel from work sites unless the Administrator has submitted a copy of the provision permitting such exclusion to Congress at least 60 days before entering into the contract.
§ 30303 Tracking and data relay satellite services
(a) Contracts.— The Administration is authorized, when so provided in an appropriation Act, to enter into and to maintain a contract for tracking and data relay satellite services. Such services shall be furnished to the Administration in accordance with applicable authorization and appropriations Acts. The Government shall incur no costs under such contract prior to the furnishing of such services except that the contract may provide for the payment for contingent liability of the Government which may accrue in the event the Government should decide for its convenience to terminate the contract before the end of the period of the contract. Facilities which may be required in the performance of the contract may be constructed on Government-owned lands if there is included in the contract a provision under which the Government may acquire title to the facilities, under terms and conditions agreed upon in the contract, upon termination of the contract.
(b) Reports to Congress.— The Administrator shall in January of each year report to the Committee on Science and Technology and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate the projected aggregate contingent liability of the Government under termination provisions of any contract authorized in this section through the next fiscal year. The authority of the Administration to enter into and to maintain the contract authorized hereunder shall remain in effect unless repealed by legislation enacted by Congress.
§ 30304 Award of contracts to small businesses and disadvantaged individuals
The Administrator shall annually establish a goal of at least 8 percent of the total value of prime and subcontracts awarded in support of authorized programs, including the space station by the time operational status is obtained, which funds will be made available to small business concerns or other organizations owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (within the meaning of paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 8(a) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(a) )), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are part B institutions (as defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1061(2) )), Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in section 502(a)(5) of that Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5) )), Tribal Colleges or Universities (as defined in section 316(b)(3) of that Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3) )), Alaska Native-serving institutions (as defined in section 317(b)(2) of that Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)(2) )), Native Hawaiian-serving institutions (as defined in section 317(b)(4) of that Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)(4) )), and minority educational institutions (as defined by the Secretary of Education pursuant to the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.)). ( Pub. L. 111–314, § 3 , Dec. 18, 2010 , 124 Stat. 3364 .)
§ 30305 Outreach program
(a) Establishment.— The Administration shall competitively select an organization to partner with Administration centers, aerospace contractors, and academic institutions to carry out a program to help promote the competitiveness of small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses in communities across the United States through enhanced insight into the technologies of the Administration’s space and aeronautics programs. The program shall support the mission of the Administration’s Innovative Partnerships Program with its emphasis on joint partnerships with industry, academia, government agencies, and national laboratories.
(b) Program Structure.— In carrying out the program described in subsection (a), the organization shall support the mission of the Administration’s Innovative Partnerships Program by undertaking the following activities: Facilitating the enhanced insight of the private sector into the Administration’s technologies in order to increase the competitiveness of the private sector in producing viable commercial products. Creating a network of academic institutions, aerospace contractors, and Administration centers that will commit to donating appropriate technical assistance to small businesses, giving preference to socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, and HUBZone small business concerns. This paragraph shall not apply to any contracting actions entered into or taken by the Administration. Creating a network of economic development organizations to increase the awareness and enhance the effectiveness of the program nationwide.
(c) Report.— Not later than one year after October 15, 2008 , and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate describing the efforts and accomplishments of the program established under subsection (a) in support of the Administration’s Innovative Partnerships Program. As part of the report, the Administrator shall provide— data on the number of small businesses receiving assistance, jobs created and retained, and volunteer hours donated by the Administration, contractors, and academic institutions nationwide; an estimate of the total dollar value of the economic impact made by small businesses that received technical assistance through the program; and an accounting of the use of funds appropriated for the program.
§ 30306 Small business contracting
(a) Plan.— In consultation with the Small Business Administration, the Administrator shall develop a plan to maximize the number and amount of contracts awarded to small business concerns (within the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 )) and to meet established contracting goals for such concerns.
(b) Priority.— The Administrator shall establish as a priority meeting the contracting goals developed in conjunction with the Small Business Administration to maximize the amount of prime contracts, as measured in dollars, awarded in each fiscal year by the Administration to small business concerns (within the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 )).
§ 30307 Requirement for independent cost analysis
(a) Definition of Implementation.— In this section, the term “implementation” means all activity in the life cycle of a project after preliminary design, independent assessment of the preliminary design, and approval to proceed into implementation, including critical design, development, certification, launch, operations, disposal of assets, and, for technology programs, development, testing, analysis, and communication of the results.
(b) Requirement.— Before any funds may be obligated for implementation of a project that is projected to cost more than $250,000,000 in total project costs, the Administrator shall conduct and consider an independent life-cycle cost analysis of the project and shall report the results to Congress. In developing cost accounting and reporting standards for carrying out this section, the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with other laws, solicit the advice of experts outside of the Administration.
§ 30308 Cost effectiveness calculations
(a) Definitions.— In this section: The term “commercial provider” means any person providing space transportation services or other space-related activities, the primary control of which is held by persons other than a Federal, State, local, or foreign government. The term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(b) In General.— Except as otherwise required by law, in calculating the cost effectiveness of the cost of the Administration engaging in an activity as compared to a commercial provider, the Administrator shall compare the cost of the Administration engaging in the activity using full cost accounting principles with the price the commercial provider will charge for such activity.
§ 30309 Use of abandoned and underutilized buildings, grounds, and facilities
(a) Definition of Depressed Communities.— In this section, the term “depressed communities” means rural and urban communities that are relatively depressed, in terms of age of housing, extent of poverty, growth of per capita income, extent of unemployment, job lag, or surplus labor.
(b) In General.— In any case in which the Administrator considers the purchase, lease, or expansion of a facility to meet requirements of the Administration, the Administrator shall consider whether those requirements could be met by the use of one of the following: Abandoned or underutilized buildings, grounds, and facilities in depressed communities that can be converted to Administration usage at a reasonable cost, as determined by the Administrator. Any military installation that is closed or being closed, or any facility at such an installation. Any other facility or part of a facility that the Administrator determines to be— owned or leased by the United States for the use of another agency of the Federal Government; and considered by the head of the agency involved to be— excess to the needs of that agency; or underutilized by that agency.
§ 30310 Exception to alternative fuel procurement requirement
Section 526(a) 1 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ( 42 U.S.C. 17142(a) ) does not prohibit the Administration from entering into a contract to purchase a generally available fuel that is not an alternative or synthetic fuel or predominantly produced from a nonconventional petroleum source, if— the contract does not specifically require the contractor to provide an alternative or synthetic fuel or fuel from a nonconventional petroleum source; the purpose of the contract is not to obtain an alternative or synthetic fuel or fuel from a nonconventional petroleum source; and the contract does not provide incentives for a refinery upgrade or expansion to allow a refinery to use or increase its use of fuel from a nonconventional petroleum source. ( Pub. L. 111–314, § 3 , Dec. 18, 2010 , 124 Stat. 3366 .)