Conference 7.286::space

906.0. "National Aerospace Act" by MTWAIN::KLAES (Keep Looking Up) Wed May 18 1994 17:28

Article: 2155
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
From: [email protected] (Rich Kolker)
Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 22:05:28 GMT
Subject: National Aerospace Act
 
For general discussion, an outline for a proposed National Aerospace
Act, that would replace the National Aeronautics and Space Act of
1958, the law that created NASA and under which our civilian space and
aviation activities operate today.  I'm sure the 1958 act (as amended)
is available by anonymous ftp from somewhere, but if enough people ask, 
I'll post that too. 
 
The proposal is the product of the space policy SIG of the Houston/Clear 
Lake chapter of NSS and will be the subject of discussion at the upcoming 
ISDC.  It was originally presented at the Reinventing NASA conference 
sponsored by NSS this spring in Washington, DC. 
 
++rich
 
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National Aerospace Act of 1994
 
Layout of Act

Title 
1.      Short Title, Declaration of Policy, and Definitions
2.      NASA Created
3.      SOAA Created
4.      CSA Created
5.      SPAR Created
6.      Quasi-Govt. Agency formation defined
7.      Miscellaneous
 
Title I - Short Title, Declaration of Policy, and Definitions
 
AN ACT To provide for research into problems of flight within and outside
 the earth's atmosphere, research into the problems of living and working 
 in space, the private, commercial development and human settlement of
  space, and for other purposes.
 
This Act may be cited as the "National Aerospace Act of 1994."
 
The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be 
conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more of  the following 
objectives:   

(1)  The private, commercial development of space and its natural resources.   
(2)  The human settlement of space and celestial bodies therein.   
(3)  The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the
atmosphere and space. 
(4)  The improvement of the cost of operation,
usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of
aeronautical and space vehicles; 
(5)  The development of vehicles
capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living
organisms through space; 
(6)  The establishment of long-range studies
of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for,
and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and
space activities for peaceful, commercial, and scientific purposes;
(7)  The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in
aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application
thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the
atmosphere; 
 
 
Title II - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
 
One of the primary functions of a government civil space program lays in 
the area of research and development.  When the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration was first created in 1958, it was envisioned as an 
agency primarily devoted to research and development.  Because of that, the 
R&D agency envisioned in the bill will retain the name NASA.  It's function 
will be research and development into the problems of space flight, as well 
as that into the problems of living and working in space.  It will 
accomplish this goal by designing, building, and testing prototype 
hardware, as well as conducting research projects which might lead to 
technological breakthroughs useful for it's primary mission.  Also a 
certain portion of NASA's budget would be used as grants to fund research 
and development by private industry, universities, and other entities as 
authorized by the Congress.  NASA would focus on developing space related 
technologies which could be put to use by private industries, including 
cheaper means of deploying people and material to space, as well as
those which may be of use to other government agencies, including the 
operations and exploration agencies described elsewhere in the bill. 
 
Much of the internal structure of NASA (i.e., the roles of the
administrator and deputy administrator) should be retained, except 
that civil service laws should not apply to employees of NASA due to the 
unique nature of their work.  Those laws did not apply during the original 
NASA's most successful years of the Apollo program, but since have proven 
to be an impediment to the agency and a cause of it's bureaucratization. 
 
Besides the duties allocated to the administrator in the original act, 
such as hiring and firing personnel, setting their compensation, overseeing 
the agency's projects, etc, the administrator should also be charged with 
the task of entering into profit making arrangements or ventures with any 
person, firm, association, corporation, educational institution, etc which 
would include the licensing of government owned patents for the purpose of 
accruing royalties, the providing of goods and services for a fee or in 
kind payments, the leasing of administration owned property or equipment, 
and the loan of administration employees for a fixed period of time.  
Profits from such ventures shall be used for NASA projects, except for 
twenty five percent which would be returned to the United States treasury.
 
 
The administrator shall also be authorized to conduct cost saving and other 
budgetary measures, including;

       Cash incentives to managers and employees to be paid out of cost 
       savings.  NASA will be allowed to keep seventy five percent of all 
       cost savings to use to fund other authorized R&D projects or 
       overhead, the other twenty five percent going back to the treasury.
       The transfer of ten percent of the year's portion of appropriated 
       funds from one Congressionally authorized R&D project to another 
       or to pay overhead or from overhead to authorized projects.  Such 
       transfers would not go to any project not authorized by the Congress.
 
Within one year of the implementation of the act, the administrator of 
NASA will submit to the Congress a list of all research and development 
projects being undertaken by NASA, as well as a list of proposed R&D 
projects, including those being undertaken by private, outside entities 
which NASA proposed to finance, with plans for their implementation and 
completion, including the duration of such projects and their costs.  At 
that time, the Congress shall authorize each project for the period of 
time and cost as submitted by NASA and as agreed to and amended by the 
Congress, and shall appropriate the full cost of each project at the cost 
agreed to and amended.  After one year, NASA will be able to propose funding 
for new projects in the same manner in it's budget request.
 
 
Each year, the administrator will issue a report to the Congress and the 
White House detailing the progress made by the various R&D projects NASA 
has been authorized to undertake.  At this time the administrator will 
make any recommendations concerning any ongoing project, including 
termination or additional funding or cuts in funding above and beyond 
the transfer of funds limit as described in section (4).  The Congress 
must include implementation of such recommendations in it's yearly 
authorization bill for them to be put into effect.     
 
Non space activities authorized in amendments to the 1958 act for NASA, 
such as R&D into electric cars and fuel efficient engines, will be 
transferred to the R&D arms of the appropriate departments and agencies.
 
Non R&D activities authorized in the 1958 act for NASA will be transferred 
to the other agencies created in the new act as appropriate.         
 
 
Title III - Space Operations Agency of America (SOAA)
 
Role
Operation and maintenance of vehicles, operational stations and fixed bases 
designed for operational use by the various departments and agencies of the 
government of the United States of America.
The agency is "dual sided" with a classified and non-classified sector 
which will, wherever possible, not be combined.  Where this is not possible, 
such as launch facilities, "staging areas" will remain at each launch 
facility to allow the handling of sensitive cargoes.  The staging areas 
will be classified as U.S. Military Facilities for the purposes of law and 
administration.
 
Facilities
Operational headquarters will be at the launch facilities now known as 
Patrick Air Force Base, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space 
Center.  The facilities will be combined and be known as the John F. Kennedy 
Space Port, with Patrick Air Force Base remaining as the classified staging 
area.

Other major sites will be White Sands Space Port (currently White Sands 
Missile Range), Vandenberg Space Port (currently Vandenberg AFB) and 
Johnson Space Control Center (currently Johnson Space Center).  Also all 
government facilities such as the military control center at Onizuka AFB, 
the TDRS control center, the Deep Space Tracking network and all space 
related facilities located on U.S. territories of the U.S. Navy and U.S. 
Air Force, the unified Space Command, and all U.S. Army space facilities 
except those narrowly related to ballistic missile defense.  Any 
extraterrestrial facility built and operated by the U.S. government not 
classified as a National Research Laboratory.  On a shared basis, some 
facilities at other locations such as space training facilities at Marshall 
Space Flight Center.
 
 
Vehicles
The agency operates all civilian and military government-owned
non-research satellites including but not limited to: national
weather satellites, national verification satellites, government
communications networks including but not limited to the Navy
FltSatCom system, USAF DSCS and Milstar systems and the Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite system, Global Positioning system (GPS).
The agency operates all government owned crewed space vehicles
(with the exception of research and development vehicles operated
by NASA) including but not limited to the Space Shuttle system and
any replacements.  A space vehicle is defined for the purpose of
this act as a vehicle capable of flight above 100 kilometers.  For
the purpose of administration and law, all government crewed
vehicles will be considered U.S.S. vessels. The agency provides
services to other agencies as needed (for example the Deep Space
Net to SPAR, and launch services to NASA) and on a fee basis to
non-government users. 
 
Staffing Model
Uniformed non-military service similar to NIH or NOAA.  An
administrative head chosen by the President and confirmed by the
senate will oversee appropriate heads of facilities.  The personnel
will be non-civil service with the division between "enlisted" and
"commissioned" jobs being achieved through appropriate staffing
models. Initial staffing will be drawn from the various agencies
collocated by this act.  Ongoing staffing will be achieved through
recruitment, cooperative ventures with universities and eventually
an Academy-type structure. 
 
 
Title IV - Civil Space Administration
 
Justification
 
If the space frontier is to be used as all frontiers have
throughout U.S. and world history, then a structure of law and regulation 
will be required so that individuals and businesses operating in the space 
frontier can be assured their rights, both civil and commercial will be 
upheld. 
 
Although space is unlimited, useful bands of it (such as low earth orbit 
and particularly geostationary orbit at this time) are from time to time 
limited, and therefore a means for regulating those bands for the safety 
and effective use of all should exist.  In addition, the space frontier 
borders on national and international airspace, and the use of that 
airspace is required in order to travel to space, and therefore a means 
of interaction and operation with the national and international air 
regulatory agencies is necessary.
 
As use of the space frontier becomes more routine, the number of spacecraft 
and crew will grow.  It is required for the safety and benefit of all that 
a means of certifying commercial spacecraft and space pilots and crew be 
established.
 
International treaty establishes the relationship between U.S. flag air 
carriers and U.S. citizens and similar bodies around the world.  These 
treaties cover liability and loss, emergency and routine use of airspace 
and landing facilities, international traffic control issues and many 
other areas that make international air commerce possible.  A similar 
structure of treaty and international law is required in the space arena 
if it is to be similarly developed.
 
 
Structure
 
A Civil Space Administration (CSA) shall be established to provide the 
regulatory framework under which the United States and United States 
citizens may operate in the space frontier.  Responsibilities of CSA 
shall include:
 
Establishment of a means of certification of commercial and privately 
owned spacecraft.  Modeled on current regulation of aircraft certification, 
spacecraft would be certified as a "type" with each spacecraft of that 
type required to meet type specification, but not be separately certified.  
Description of what constitutes a change in type or modification of type 
for spacecraft.  Regular inspections required for each spacecraft on a 
chronological or "time on airframe" basis.  Safety requirements for 
spacecraft in commercial service; in passenger service; in private use.  
Training and certification of instructors and inspectors.
 
Establishment of a means of certification of spacemen (pilots and crew) 
of commercial and privately operated spacecraft.  Basic certification 
requirements and type ratings.  Health requirements for operating 
spacecraft in commercial service; privately.  Requirements for maintaining 
currency in type, overall currency to fly spacecraft.  A means of 
certifying instructors and inspectors of spacemen.  Basic certification and 
type ratings for spacecraft mechanics and a means for certifying their 
instructors and inspectors.
 
Establishment of a space traffic control system covering (initially) from 
the upper boundary of U.S. air traffic control to 50,000 km (just beyond 
GEO).  Creation of a body of space traffic regulations including separation 
of spacecraft, launch windows, standards for rendezvous, docking, deployment 
and retrieval of payloads.  Responsible for tracking and maintaining 
collision avoidance with space debris.  Interface and hand-off procedures 
with the U.S. and international air traffic control.  Responsible for the 
creation of aids to navigation and "spaceways" as appropriate.
 
Establishment of a body of national, and negotiation toward a body
of international, laws and regulations on liability in space and in 
connection to commercial and private spacecraft.  Regulation of liability 
to individuals, companies and insurance carriers.
 
Establishment of a national interface to any international bodies dealing 
with the legal regulation and framework of operations with spacecraft, or 
in the space frontier.
 
 
Title V - Stellar and Planetary Agency for Research (SPAR)
 
Justification
 
Under the new act, scientific research is still considered an
important part of our activities in space.  These activities are currently 
split between NASA and numerous other government  agencies.  This act will 
simplify this structure by collecting these activities into a single agency 
that will coordinate and sponsor scientific research aimed at celestial 
bodies. 
 
Structure
 
A new agency, the Stellar and Planetary Agency for Research (SPAR) 
shall be established to coordinate and sponsor scientific research 
aimed at studying astronomical and planetary objects.  This agency 
shall be responsible for the development and operation of space probes 
that do not study the earth directly.  The primary purpose of such probes
is to collect scientific information on the solar system, other stars, 
and galaxies.
 
All space and ground based research activities aimed at celestial bodies 
currently performed or sponsored by NASA and numerous other agencies shall 
be transferred into the new agency, SPAR.  Other scientific efforts 
sponsored by NASA will be transferred to other existing agencies
 
For instance, research activities that study the Earth directly shall be 
transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  
Space life sciences activities shall be transferred to the National 
Institute of Health (NIH).
 
This agency shall not be responsible for manned exploration and settlement 
celestial bodies.  It may, however, establish research laboratories at 
existing outposts and settlements.  The purpose of such research 
laboratories must be to provide a better platform for research within the 
agencies current scope.  
 
The headquarters of SPAR shall not be collocated with any other agency 
site  All other agency sites shall be national laboratories.  All existing 
national laboratories whose primary function falls within the scope of 
this agency shall be transferred directly to this agency.  If an existing 
national laboratory whose primary function does not fall within the scope 
of this agency is currently performing activities that should be transferred 
to this agency, SPAR shall establish an office there.  Whenever possible, 
SPAR national laboratories shall be directly associated with a University. 
 
The small headquarters office shall:
1)      select appropriate projects for funding 
2)      monitor the progress of agency projects 
3)      act as a liaison to the executive and legislative branches of the 
U.S. government
4)      handle the administrative aspects of the agency.
 
All funding for research provided by the agency shall be in the form of 
grants to specific laboratories for specific research activities.  In order 
to prevent any conflict of interest, headquarters shall not be allowed to 
manage, develop, or propose any research project directly.
 
In order to ensure an appropriate balance between "small" and "big" 
science activities, Congress shall approve funding in a range of cost 
categories on an annual basis. To obtain a grant, a national laboratory 
must provide a proposal detailing the objectives, approach, schedule, 
risk, and cost of the activity to headquarters.  Proposals shall include 
this information for the development, data collection, and data analysis 
phases of the research activity.  All proposals shall be evaluated and 
ranked within their cost category.  A proposals shall receive funding if 
it is ranked within the budget of its cost category. Funding for the entire 
project shall be provided and accounted for at the time the grant is 
awarded.  Grants shall be awarded on an annual basis.  
 
Headquarters shall be responsible for performing an annual review of
all of its ongoing research activities.  The purpose of this review shall 
be to determine the status of the activity in terms of the proposal 
originally submitted.  This information shall be used in the agencies 
reports to the executive and legislative branches.  Activities showing 
progress inconsistent with the approved proposal shall be subject to 
termination.  In the case of termination, the remaining funding for the 
activity shall be returned to the agency.
 
Headquarters shall have several responsibilities in its U.S. Government 
liaison role.  First, it shall be responsible for proposing a budget for 
its general operations and for each of its research activities cost 
categories on an annual basis.  Second, it shall provide an annual
report on the status of each of its ongoing projects.  Third, it shall act 
as a general liaison, providing testimony whenever requested. 
 
National laboratories that become part of SPAR include a number of
existing facilities.  A specific example is the Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, associated with the California Institute of 
Technology.  Existing spacecraft that can be considered laboratories, such 
as the Hubble Space Telescope, shall also be transferred.
 
The primary function of these national laboratories shall be to develop 
and perform research activities.  Developing missions includes defining 
the objectives, developing a plan to achieve these objectives, creating 
a schedule for its completion, determining a cost, determining the risk 
(probability of failure to meet objectives within cost and schedule), 
and providing a proposal for a grant to headquarters.  Performing 
missions includes operating the spacecraft during the data collection 
phase of a research activity and analyzing the data after the mission 
is complete.
 
The agency shall not, through either headquarters or its national 
laboratories, develop or operate transportation or communication systems.  
Instead, it shall commercially procure these services from either SOAA or a 
private carrier. The agency shall not, through either headquarters or its 
national laboratories, develop any equipment that can be procured 
commercially.  This includes the spacecraft bus, spacecraft sensors, 
and ground control room equipment.  The cost of procuring these services 
and equipment should be included in all proposals for research activities.  
To prevent unfair competition, the agency shall not plan for or obtain 
"free" services or equipment from other government agencies.
 
 
Title VI - Quasi-Government Entities
 
From time to time, the United States should form private/public 
partnerships to pursue commercial ventures in space where it is determined 
that the risks and/or costs involved are too high and/or the payback time 
to long for solely private entities alone to attempt.  These ventures are 
those the United States will deem necessary for the economic well being of 
the country, it's national security, or likely a combination of the two. 
Examples of such ventures would include lunar and asteroid mining, space 
tourism, or space manufacturing, or some other space related undertaking.
 
 
These ventures would be in the form of limited liability corporations 
and would not be under the direct control of any Federal agency or of the 
Congress.
 
The ventures will be governed by all applicable laws in the United States 
Code, except where specified in the establishing act.
 
The prospectus of each venture shall be written and published for public 
perusal before the final implementation of the establishing act and will 
form part of the act.
 
When the corporation is formed, Congress shall authorize a fixed amount of 
funds over a one to five1 year period for the purpose of purchasing stock 
of the corporation, thus providing it with a suitable amount of 
capitalization.  The funds can be provided either through direct 
appropriations, the floating of special government bonds, or by loan 
guarantees, or a combination of all three, or some other means which the 
Congress might devise.
 
Private investors, both individual and institutional, will be encouraged 
to invest in the corporation.  The incentives would include: 

       No capital gains tax accessed against the sale of corporation
securities within a ten to fifty2 year period. 
       Tax breaks for the purchase of corporation shares by small investors.
       The designation of space as an "enterprise zone." 
       Any dividends awarded by the corporation to have favorable tax
treatment for a ten to fifty2 year period. 
 
The purpose of the private/public quasi-government entity would be
clearly defined in the corporate charter.  The purpose would be limited to 
pursuing some space-related endeavor for profit. 
 
 
In no case should the entity be given any powers usually reserved for a 
government or government agency, including those of law enforcement or 
regulation.  This provision is necessary to restrict the entity to it's 
profit-making purpose and to prevent it from obstructing any potential 
competitors unfairly.
 
The board of directors would be elected by the stock holders, as with any 
other corporation, for a term of six years.  The President shall vote 
government owned shares, with the advise and consent of the Senate, for 
the purpose of electing directors.
 
The board of directors shall elect a Chief Operating Officer who will in 
turn hire and fire and fix the compensation of other company officers.  
The CEO will serve at the pleasure of the Board.
 
Sunset provisions by which the government's share in the quasi-government 
entity should be divested should be put into place.  It is recommended 
that the government's share be automatically divested in ten to 
fifty years2 after the formation of the company except if two thirds of 
both houses of Congress should agree that such divestment is not in the 
best interest of the government.  Provisions should be made for divestment 
before the time period is up, depending on the fiscal health of the entity, 
the financial needs of the government, and the state of the market or 
industry the entity was designed to create.  After divestment, the entity 
will become a solely private owned corporation.  The government may also be 
empowered to divest part of it's share of the company at any time at the 
approval of a simple majority of both houses of Congress.  Such a partial 
divestment of the company would be by means of outright sale, the awarding 
of shares as compensation of government employees, or the use of
shares as incentives for those on public assistance(for such things
as finding and keeping a job for a year, completing a course of
higher education, staying free of drug or alcohol abuse for five
years, etc.) 
 
Oversight by the Congress should be kept to a minimum and should only be 
for the purposes of making sure that the entity is (a) carrying out the 
terms of the corporate charter, (b) is in compliance with the laws of the 
United States and any treaties to which the United States is a signature 
of, and (c) that the operation of the entity is being conducted in a 
prudent and competent fashion.  Congress should be discouraged from 
changing the mission of the entity as defined in it's charter and from 
micromanaging it's operations for purely parochial or political purposes.  
The day to day operation of the company should be restricted to the CEO and 
the board of directors and not subject to a stockholders' vote.  Proposals 
to vote the government's share of the entity to change it's charter should 
only come about by a two thirds' vote of both houses of Congress.  
--------------------------------------------------------------
 
1. Period depending on the amount of capital to be raised.
2. Period depending on the size of the corporation and the scope of
its charter. 
--
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Rich Kolker                     ...the dream shall
14822 Hollydale Drive                     never die
Houston, TX 77062
[email protected]
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