§16762. Transition

(a) In general

The Administrator shall, to the fullest extent possible consistent with a successful development program, use the personnel, capabilities, assets, and infrastructure of the Space Shuttle program in developing the Crew Exploration Vehicle, Crew Launch Vehicle, and a heavy-lift launch vehicle.

(b) Plan

Not later than 180 days after December 30, 2005, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a plan describing how NASA will proceed with its human space flight programs, which, at a minimum, shall describe-

(1) how NASA will deploy personnel from, and use the facilities of, the Space Shuttle program to ensure that the Space Shuttle operates as safely as possible through its final flight and to ensure that personnel and facilities from the Space Shuttle program are used in NASA's exploration programs in accordance with subsection (a);

(2) the planned number of flights the Space Shuttle will make before its retirement;

(3) the means, other than the Space Shuttle and the Crew Exploration Vehicle, including commercial vehicles, that may be used to ferry crew and cargo to and from the ISS;

(4) the intended purpose of lunar missions and the architecture for those missions; and

(5) the extent to which the Crew Exploration Vehicle will allow for the escape of the crew in an emergency.

(c) Personnel

The Administrator shall consult with other appropriate Federal agencies and with NASA contractors and employees to develop a transition plan for any Federal and contractor personnel engaged in the Space Shuttle program who can no longer be retained because of the retirement of the Space Shuttle. The plan shall include actions to assist Federal and contractor personnel in taking advantage of training, retraining, job placement and relocation programs, and any other actions that NASA will take to assist the employees. The plan shall also describe how the Administrator will ensure that NASA and its contractors will have an appropriate complement of employees to allow for the safest possible use of the Space Shuttle through its final flight. The Administrator shall transmit the plan to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than March 31, 2006.

( Pub. L. 109–155, title V, §502, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2928 .)

Change of Name

Committee on Science of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Science and Technology of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007.

Strategy for Minimizing Job Losses in Transition From Space Shuttle to Successor Human-Rated Space Transport Vehicle

Pub. L. 110–161, div. B, title III, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1919 , provided that: "The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall prepare a strategy for minimizing job losses when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration transitions from the Space Shuttle to a successor human-rated space transport vehicle. This strategy shall include: (1) specific initiatives that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has undertaken, or plans to undertake, to maximize the utilization of existing civil service and contractor workforces at each of the affected Centers; (2) efforts to equitably distribute tasks and workload between the Centers to mitigate the brunt of job losses being borne by only certain Centers; (3) new workload, tasks, initiatives, and missions being secured for the affected Centers; and (4) overall projections of future civil service and contractor workforce levels at the affected Centers. The Administrator shall transmit this strategy to Congress not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 26, 2007]. The Administrator shall update and transmit to Congress this strategy not less than every six months thereafter until the successor human-rated space transport vehicle is fully operational."