§18382 Suborbital research activities

Summary

The NASA Administrator must pick an official in the Science Mission Directorate to run all suborbital research. That person must make short- and long-term plans to keep, renew, and grow suborbital facilities, track progress, and connect suborbital work to workforce training so its value is kept for the directorate, NASA, and the Nation. The Administrator must also create a Suborbital Research Program that uses sounding rockets, aircraft, high-altitude balloons, suborbital reusable launch vehicles, and commercial launch vehicles to advance science and train undergraduates, graduate students, and post‑doctoral researchers in systems engineering and integration. The program should fold existing suborbital work into orbital missions when appropriate. Each year the Administrator must report to the relevant Congressional committees on how many and what types of suborbital missions were done and how many undergraduate and graduate students participated. Congress may provide whatever funds are needed to carry out the program.