To establish the Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of Commerce to create a 15-member advisory committee focused on commercial space activities within 180 days. The committee would advise Congress and the Commerce Department on how to support and regulate the growing commercial space industry, including satellite operators, launch providers, and spacecraft manufacturers. The committee would exist for 10 years before automatically terminating.
Who Benefits and How
Commercial space companies benefit by gaining formal influence over federal space commerce policy through their industry representatives on the committee. Satellite operators, launch providers, and spacecraft manufacturers would have a direct channel to advise the government on regulations affecting their businesses, potentially leading to more industry-friendly policies on export controls, radio frequency spectrum access, and international treaty compliance. Space industry executives and academic experts would also benefit from opportunities to serve on the prestigious federal committee, receiving compensation for their service and enhancing their professional credentials.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Secretary of Commerce and the Office of Space Commerce bear the primary administrative burden of establishing and staffing the committee within 180 days, managing appointments, coordinating meetings, and supporting committee operations for 10 years. US taxpayers will fund the committee'''s operational costs, including member compensation, staff support, and administrative expenses. While the bill doesn'''t specify the budget, federal advisory committees typically cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars annually.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a 15-member Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee under the Department of Commerce within 180 days of enactment
- Committee members must have experience in space policy, engineering, science, legal, academic, or finance fields related to commercial space
- Members serve 4-year terms with a 2-year cooling-off period before they can serve again, ensuring rotation
- Committee advises on challenges facing the space industry including international obligations, export controls, radio frequency spectrum access, and harmful interference in space
- Committee reviews best practices for preventing harmful contamination of celestial bodies and Earth from extraterrestrial materials (planetary protection)
- The committee automatically terminates 10 years after establishment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a 15-member Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee under the Secretary of Commerce to advise on commercial space sector activities and provide recommendations to facilitate US commercial space industry growth.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create formal federal advisory structure to support commercial space sector growth and address regulatory, spectrum access, and international obligation challenges"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Commercial space companies (satellite operators, launch providers, space manufacturers)
- Office of Space Commerce (receives expert advice)
- Congress (receives recommendations on space commerce policy)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Secretary of Commerce (must establish and staff committee within 180 days)
- Federal government (administrative costs for committee operations over 10-year term)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Office of Space Commerce
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Office of Space Commerce
An individual who is a US national or a nongovernmental entity organized under US or State laws
A human-made object located in outer space (including Moon/celestial bodies) launched from Earth or manufactured/assembled in outer space for space operations, excluding internal articles, materials, and items for authorized object operations
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology