Title 51National and Commercial Space ProgramsRelease 119-73

§20161 Congressional declaration of purpose and policy

Title 51 › Subtitle Subtitle II— - General Program and Policy Provisions › Chapter CHAPTER 201— - NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE PROGRAM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - UPPER ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH › § 20161

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Require the Administration to start and run a program of research, technology, and monitoring to understand and protect the upper atmosphere’s chemistry and physics. Congress wants the work begun immediately.

Full Legal Text

Title 51, §20161

National and Commercial Space Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The purpose of this subchapter is to authorize and direct the Administration to develop and carry out a comprehensive program of research, technology, and monitoring of the phenomena of the upper atmosphere so as to provide for an understanding of and to maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
(b)Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States to undertake an immediate and appropriate research, technology, and monitoring program that will provide for understanding the physics and chemistry of the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 2016142 U.S.C. 2481.Pub. L. 85–568, title IV, § 401, as added Pub. L. 94–39, § 8, June 19, 1975, 89 Stat. 222.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

51 U.S.C. § 20161

Title 51National and Commercial Space Programs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73