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1 1 (September 2, 2016)

handle is hein.crs/govcazq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. , riE S-' $. h ,i , mppm qq\ p\w -- , gmmw' go I MM 11LIANJILiM, Updated September 2, 2016 Space Exploration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the primary federal agency for civil space programs. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also operate civil satellites. The U.S. commercial space industry provides equipment and services to both the government and the private sector. Several federal agencies have regulatory and other roles in commercial space. NASA With a budget of $19.3 billion in FY2016, NASA develops and operates both manned and unmanned spacecraft. It also has programs in aeronautics research and education. In the 113 Congress, committees in both chambers developed NASA reauthorization bills. The House bill (H.R. 4412) passed the House in June 2014. The Senate bill (S. 1317) was reported by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in December 2014 but did not receive floor action. The most contentious issue for both bills was the authorization of appropriations, but both also contained numerous policy provisions about the scope, direction, and management of individual NASA programs. In the 114th Congress, the House has passed H.R. 810, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has ordered H.R. 2039 to be reported. Both bills are similar to H.R. 4412. The first session of the 114th Congress enacted appropriations legislation to fund NASA in FY2016. As usual, committee reports accompanying the House and Senate bills, as well as the explanatory statement accompanying the final omnibus bill (P.L. 114-113), gave substantial programmatic guidance to NASA as well as directing the allocation of funds. The second session is considering appropriations for FY2017. The President submitted his FY2017 budget on February 9, 2016. The House Committee on Appropriations has reported H.R. 5393. The Senate Committee on Appropriations has reported S. 2837. The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (P.L. 114-90), enacted in November 2015, addressed certain NASA human spaceflight programs, as well the federal regulation and oversight of commercial spaceflight and the legal regime for commercial asteroid mining. NASA's current efforts in human spaceflight include operation of the International Space Station (ISS), support for the commercial development of U.S. spacecraft to take astronauts to and from the ISS, and development of spacecraft for future human exploration beyond Earth orbit. International Space Station. The ISS, which orbits Earth at an altitude of 200 to 250 miles, is composed of crew living space, laboratories, remote manipulator systems, solar arrays to generate electricity, and other elements. Crews have occupied the ISS on four- to six-month rotations since November 2000. The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act extended the authority for continued U.S. use of the ISS through at least 2024. To encourage more widespread use of the ISS for research, the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-155) designated the U.S. portion of the ISS as a national laboratory. As directed by subsequent legislation, NASA has contracted with the nonprofit Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to manage the ISS national laboratory function. ISS research utilization and the nature of ISS research continue to be of congressional interest. NASA used to rely on the space shuttle to carry crews and cargo to and from the ISS. The space shuttle fleet was retired after the final flight of Atlantis in July 2011. Since then, ISS cargo has been carried by Russian, European, and Japanese spacecraft, and more recently, by two U.S. commercial providers Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences-under contract to NASA. In January 2016, NASA selected Sierra Nevada Corporation as a third commercial provider for ISS cargo transport. Since the end of the space shuttle program, ISS crews, including U.S. astronauts, have been carried exclusively by Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Commercial Crew. NASA is funding two U.S. companies Boeing and SpaceX-to develop a commercial capability to transport astronauts to and from the ISS and potentially other destinations in Earth orbit. The target date for the first crewed flight to the ISS is in 2017. Advocates argue that using commercial providers will reduce NASA's costs through competition and encourage development of a new commercial industry. Skeptics anticipate few non- NASA customers, doubt that the market can support more than one provider, and express concerns about astronaut safety. Congress and the Administration have often disagreed about the funding needs of the commercial crew program relative to NASA's development efforts for exploration beyond Earth orbit. Orion and the Space Launch System. As directed by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267), NASA is developing new spacecraft for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. These are the crew capsule Orion and a new rocket, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), to carry Orion into space. A first (unmanned) test flight of Orion, using an existing rocket, took place in December 2014. The first test flight of Orion on an SLS, again without K~:>

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