51 U.S.C. § 50910 — Preemption of scheduled launches or reentries

submitted 32 years ago by Pub. L. 103-272 to r/title-51-NATIONAL-AND-COMMERCIAL-SPACE-PROGRAMS · 235 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

The Secretary of Transportation must protect a licensed launch or reentry's promised access to government launch sites, except for urgent national need. If bumped, the licensee doesn't pay for the prevented launch, and only the Secretary of Defense or NASA Administrator can decide to bump it — then Congress must be told within 7 days.

(a) General. With the Secretary of Defense and the NASA Administrator's cooperation, the Secretary of Transportation must make sure a licensed launch or reentry isn't bumped from access to a government launch site, reentry site, or launch property — except for urgent national need — when the government already promised a launch or reentry date for that licensed activity. If a licensee or transferee is bumped this way, it doesn't have to pay the government for launch services or reentry-related services tied only to the scheduled launch or reentry that got bumped. (b) Imperative National Need Decisions. After consulting the Secretary of Transportation, only the Secretary of Defense or the NASA Administrator decides when urgent national need requires bumping a launch under (a). That decision can't be delegated to anyone else. (c) Reports. Working with the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Defense or the Administrator (whichever decided) must send Congress a report within 7 days of deciding to bump a launch. The report must explain the circumstances behind the decision and a schedule for promptly launching or reentering the bumped payload.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)General.—

With the cooperation of the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Secretary of Transportation shall act to ensure that a launch or reentry of a payload is not preempted from access to a United States Government launch site, reentry site, or launch property, except for imperative national need, when a launch date commitment or reentry date commitment from the Government has been obtained for a launch or reentry licensed under this chapter. A licensee or transferee preempted from access to a launch site, reentry site, or launch property does not have to pay the Government any amount for launch services, or services related to a reentry, attributable only to the scheduled launch or reentry prevented by the preemption.

(b)Imperative National Need Decisions.—

In consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Defense or the Administrator shall decide when an imperative national need requires preemption under subsection (a) of this section. That decision may not be delegated.

(c)Reports.—

In cooperation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Defense or the Administrator, as appropriate, shall submit to Congress not later than 7 days after a decision to preempt under subsection (a) of this section, a report that includes an explanation of the circumstances justifying the decision and a schedule for ensuring the prompt launching or reentry of a preempted payload.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1335, § 70109 of title 49; Pub. L. 105–303, title I, § 102(a)(9), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2849; renumbered § 70109 then § 50910 of title 51, Pub. L. 111–314, § 4(d)(2), (3)(J), Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3440, 3441.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1994Enacted · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 1335
1998Amended · Pub. L. 105-303 · 112 Stat. 2849
2010Amended · Pub. L. 111-314 · 124 Stat. 3440, 3441

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-272 on 1994-07-05.

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