Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act

119 S434 RS: Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act U.S. Senate 2025-10-21 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II Calendar No. 198 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 434 [Report No. 119–87] IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 5, 2025 Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Wicker ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation October 21, 2025 Reported by Mr. Cruz , with an amendment Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic A BILL To establish the Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Office of Space Commerce. (2) Space object The term space object — (A) means— (i) a human-made object located in outer space, including on the Moon or other celestial bodies, with or without human occupants, that was launched from Earth, such as a satellite or a spacecraft, including component parts of the object; and (ii) all items carried on such object that are intended for use in outer space outside of, and independent of, the operation of such object; (B) includes any human-made object that is— (i) manufactured or assembled in outer space; and (ii) intended for operations in outer space other than, and independent of, the operations of such object in which the manufacturing or assembly occurred; and (C) does not include— (i) an article aboard a space object that is only intended for use inside the space object; (ii) an article manufactured or processed in outer space that is a material; or (iii) an article intended for use outside a space object as part of the authorized operations of the space object. (3) State The term State means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. (4) United States entity The term United States entity means— (A) an individual who is a national of the United States (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a) )); and (B) a nongovernmental entity organized or existing under, and subject to, the laws of the United States or a State. 3. Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee (a) Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as the Committee ). (b) Membership (1) In general The Committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary. (2) Qualifications (A) In general The Committee shall be composed of representatives from a variety of space policy, engineering, technical, science, legal, and finance fields who have significant experience in the commercial space industry. (B) Limitation (i) In general Except as provided in clause (i), the Secretary may not appoint as a member of the Committee any employee or official of the Federal Government. (ii) Exception The Secretary may appoint as a member of the Committee a special government employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18, United States Code) who serves on 1 or more other Federal advisory committees. (3) Term Each individual appointed as a member of the Committee— (A) shall be appointed for a term of 4 years; and (B) during the 2-year period beginning on the date on which such term ends, may not serve as a member of the Committee. (c) Duties The duties of the Committee shall be— (1) to advise on the status and recent developments of nongovernmental space activities; (2) to provide to the Secretary and Congress recommendations on the manner in which the United States may facilitate and promote a robust and innovative commercial sector that is investing in, developing, and operating space objects; (3) to identify any challenge faced by the United States commercial sector relating to— (A) international obligations of the United States relevant to commercial space sector activities in outer space; (B) export controls that affect the commercial space sector; (C) harmful interference with commercial space sector activities in outer space; and (D) access to adequate, predictable, and reliable radio frequency spectrum; (4) to review existing best practices for United States entities to avoid— (A) the harmful contamination of the Moon and other celestial bodies; and (B) adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter; and (5) to provide information, advice, and recommendations on matters relating to— (A) United States commercial space sector activities in outer space; and (B) other commercial space sector activities, as the Committee considers necessary. (d) Termination The Committee shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date on which the Committee is established. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Office of Space Commerce. (2) State The term State means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. (3) United States entity The term United States entity means— (A) an individual who is a national of the United States (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a) )); and (B) a nongovernmental entity organized or existing under, and subject to, the laws of the United States or a State. 3. Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee (a) Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as the Committee ). (b) Membership (1) In general The Committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary. (2) Qualifications (A) In general The Committee shall be composed of representatives from a variety of space policy, engineering, technical, science, legal, academic, and finance fields who have significant experience in the commercial space industry, which may include previous Government experience. (B) Limitation (i) In general Except as provided in clause (i), the Secretary may not appoint as a member of the Committee any employee or official of the Federal Government. (ii) Exception The Secretary may appoint as a member of the Committee a special government employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18, United States Code) who serves on 1 or more other Federal advisory committees. (3) Term Each individual appointed as a member of the Committee— (A) shall be appointed for a term of not more than 4 years; and (B) during the 2-year period beginning on the date on which such term ends, may not serve as a member of the Committee. (c) Duties The duties of the Committee shall be— (1) to advise on the status and recent developments of nongovernmental space activities; (2) to provide to the Secretary and Congress recommendations on the manner in which the United States may facilitate and promote a safe, sustainable, robust, competitive, and innovative commercial sector that is investing in, developing, and conducting space activities within the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, including through the development and implementation of any regulatory framework applicable to the commercial space industry; (3) to identify, and provide recommendations in response to, any challenge faced by the United States commercial sector relating to— (A) the application of international obligations of the United States relevant to commercial space sector activities in outer space; (B) export controls that affect the commercial space sector; (C) harmful interference with commercial space sector activities in outer space; and (D) access to adequate, predictable, and reliable radio frequency spectrum; (4) to review existing best practices for United States entities to avoid— (A) the harmful contamination of the Moon and other celestial bodies; and (B) adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter; and (5) to provide information, advice, and recommendations on matters relating to— (A) United States commercial space sector activities in outer space; and (B) other commercial space sector activities, as the Committee considers necessary. (d) Termination The Committee shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date on which the Committee is established. October 21, 2025 Reported with an amendment