§1484a Articles returned from space not to be construed as importation

Summary

Things that come back from space are not treated as imports and do not need a customs entry if three rules are met. The items must have been launched from the customs territory of the United States on a spacecraft run or controlled by U.S. persons and owned entirely or mostly by U.S. persons or by the U.S.; they must have been kept or used only on that spacecraft (or another spacecraft that meets the same ownership/control rule); and they must come back directly to the customs territory aboard such a spacecraft.