SUBCHAPTER VI—OTHER PROGRAM AREAS

Part A—Space and Flight Support

§16781. Orbital debris

The Administrator, in conjunction with the heads of other Federal agencies, shall take steps to develop or acquire technologies that will enable NASA to decrease the risks associated with orbital debris.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §601, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2931.)

§16782. Secondary payload capability

(a) In general

In order to provide more routine and affordable access to space for a broad range of scientific payloads, the Administrator is encouraged to provide the capabilities to support secondary payload flight opportunities on United States launch vehicles, or free flyers, for satellites or scientific payloads weighing less than 500 kilograms.

(b) Feasibility study

The Administrator shall initiate a feasibility study for designating a National Free Flyer Launch Coordination Center as a means of coordinating, consolidating, and integrating secondary launch capabilities, launch opportunities, and payloads.

(c) Assessment

The feasibility study required by subsection (b) shall include an assessment of the feasibility of integrating a National Free Flyer Launch Coordination Center within the operations and facilities of an existing nonprofit organization such as the Inland Northwest Space Alliance in Missoula, Montana, or a similar entity, and shall include an assessment of the potential utilization of existing launch and launch support facilities and capabilities, including but not limited to those in the States of Montana and New Mexico and their respective contiguous States, and the State of Alaska, for the integration and launch of secondary payloads, including an assessment of the feasibility of establishing cooperative agreements among such facilities, existing or future commercial launch providers, payload developers, and the designated Coordination Center.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §602, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2931.)

Part B—Education

§16791. Program to expand distance learning in rural underserved areas

(a) In general

The Administrator shall develop or expand programs to extend science and space educational outreach to rural communities and schools through video conferencing, interpretive exhibits, teacher education, classroom presentations, and student field trips.

(b) Priorities

In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall give priority to existing programs, including Challenger Learning Centers—

(1) that utilize community-based partnerships in the field;

(2) that build and maintain video conference and exhibit capacity;

(3) that travel directly to rural communities and serve low-income populations; and

(4) with a special emphasis on increasing the number of women and minorities in the science and engineering professions.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §612, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2932.)

§16792. Charles "Pete" Conrad Astronomy Awards

(a) Short title

This section may be cited as the "Charles 'Pete' Conrad Astronomy Awards Act".

(b) Definitions

For the purposes of this section—

(1) the term "amateur astronomer" means an individual whose employer does not provide any funding, payment, or compensation to the individual for the observation of asteroids and other celestial bodies, and does not include any individual employed as a professional astronomer;

(2) the term "Minor Planet Center" means the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory;

(3) the term "near-Earth asteroid" means an asteroid with a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units from the Sun; and

(4) the term "Program" means the Charles "Pete" Conrad Astronomy Awards Program established under subsection (c).

(c) Pete Conrad Astronomy Award Program

(1) In general

The Administrator shall establish the Charles "Pete" Conrad Astronomy Awards Program.

(2) Awards

The Administrator shall make awards under the Program based on the recommendations of the Minor Planet Center.

(3) Award categories

The Administrator shall make one annual award, unless there are no eligible discoveries or contributions, for each of the following categories:

(A) The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who in the preceding calendar year discovered the intrinsically brightest near-Earth asteroid among the near-Earth asteroids that were discovered during that year by amateur astronomers or groups of amateur astronomers.

(B) The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who made the greatest contribution to the Minor Planet Center's mission of cataloguing near-Earth asteroids during the preceding year.

(4) Award amount

An award under the Program shall be in the amount of $3,000.

(5) Guidelines

(A) No individual who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States at the time of his discovery or contribution may receive an award under this section.

(B) The decisions of the Administrator in making awards under this section are final.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §613, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2932.)

§16793. Review of education programs

(a) In general

The Administrator shall enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a review and evaluation of NASA's precollege science, technology, and mathematics education program. The review and evaluation shall be documented in a report to the Administrator and shall include such recommendations as the National Research Council determines will improve the effectiveness of the program.

(b) Review

The review and evaluation under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the overall program in meeting its defined goals and objectives;

(2) an assessment of the quality and educational effectiveness of the major components of the program, including an evaluation of the adequacy of assessment metrics and data collection requirements available for determining the effectiveness of individual projects;

(3) an evaluation of the funding priorities in the program, including a review of the funding level and funding trend for each major component of the program and an assessment of whether the resources made available are consistent with meeting identified goals and priorities; and

(4) a determination of the extent and the effectiveness of coordination and collaboration between NASA and other Federal agencies that sponsor science, technology, and mathematics education activities.

(c) Report to Congress

Not later than 18 months 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 the results of the review and evaluation required under subsection (a).

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §614, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2933.)

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.

§16794. Equal access to NASA's education programs

(a) In general

The Administrator shall strive to ensure equal access for minority and economically disadvantaged students to NASA's education programs.

(b) Report

Not later than 1 year after December 30, 2005, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate describing the efforts by the Administrator to ensure equal access for minority and economically disadvantaged students under this section and the results of such efforts. As part of the report, the Administrator shall provide—

(1) data on minority participation in NASA's education programs, at a minimum in the following categories: elementary and secondary education, undergraduate education, and graduate education; and

(2) the total value of grants NASA made to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and to Hispanic Serving Institutions through education programs during the period covered by the report.

(c) Program

The Administrator shall establish the Dr. Mae C. Jemison Grant Program to work with Minority Serving Institutions to bring more women of color into the field of space and aeronautics.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §615, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2934.)

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.

§16795. Museums

The Administrator may provide grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, museums and planetariums to enable them to enhance programs related to space exploration, aeronautics, space science, earth science, or microgravity.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §616, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2934.)

§16796. Review of MUST program

Not later than 60 days after December 30, 2005, the Administrator shall transmit a report to Congress on the legal status of the Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology program. If the report concludes that the program is in compliance with the laws of the United States, NASA shall implement the program, as planned in the July 5, 2005, NASA Research Announcement.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §617, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2934.)

§16797. Continuation of certain education programs

From amounts appropriated to NASA for education programs, the Administrator shall ensure the continuation of the Space Grant Program, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, and, consistent with the results of the review under section 16793 of this title, the NASA Explorer School program, to motivate and develop the next generation of explorers.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §618, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2934.)

§16798. Implementation of previous recommendations

(a) GAO report

Not more than 180 days after December 30, 2005, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee of ¹ Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing action taken by NASA to implement the recommendations contained in the Government Accountability Office's Report No. 04–639.

(b) Compliance

To comply with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), the Administrator shall conduct compliance reviews of at least 2 grantees annually.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §619, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2935.)

References in Text

The Education Amendments of 1972, referred to in subsec. (b), is Pub. L. 92–318, June 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 235, as amended. Title IX of the Act, known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, is classified principally to chapter 38 (§1681 et seq.) of Title 20, Education. For complete classification of title IX to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1681 of Title 20 and Tables.

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.

¹ So in original. Probably should be "on".

Part C—Technology Transfer

§16811. Commercial technology transfer program

(a) In general

The Administrator shall execute a commercial technology transfer program with the goal of facilitating the exchange of services, products, and intellectual property between NASA and the private sector. This program shall place at least as much emphasis on encouraging the transfer of NASA technology to the private sector ("spinning out") as on encouraging use of private sector technology by NASA. This program shall be maintained in a manner that provides clear benefits for the agency, the domestic economy, and the research community.

(b) Program structure

In carrying out the program described in subsection (a), the Administrator shall provide program participants with at least 45 days notice of any proposed changes to the structure of NASA's technology transfer and commercialization organizations that is in effect as of December 30, 2005.

(Pub. L. 109–155, title VI, §621, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2935.)