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Title 51 — National and Commercial Space ProgramsRelease 119-73

§50506 Commercial Space Achievement Award

Title 51 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Programs Targeting Commercial Opportunities › Chapter CHAPTER 505— - COMMERCIAL SPACE COMPETITIVENESS › § 50506

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a Commercial Space Achievement Award that is a medal. The Secretary of Commerce decides the medal’s design and materials. The Secretary must periodically give the award to people or to companies, company divisions, or subsidiaries mainly involved in commercial space work that best meet three tests: at least half of their space revenue comes from non‑U.S. government sources; their work has helped the U.S. economy and U.S. industry abroad (measured by economic size and technical quality); and they have moved space technology or applications forward for commercial use. No one or any company may get the award more than once every 5 years. The Secretary may raise and accept public or private money only to pay cash prizes. That money can be used only for cash prizes, and the Secretary must publish a list showing who gave the funds.

Full Legal Text

Title 51, §50506

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

(a)There is established a Commercial Space Achievement Award. The award shall consist of a medal, which shall be of such design and materials and bear such inscriptions as determined by the Secretary of Commerce. A cash prize may also be awarded if funding for the prize is available under subsection (d).
(b)The Secretary of Commerce shall periodically make awards under this section to individuals, corporations, corporate divisions, or corporate subsidiaries substantially engaged in commercial space activities that in the opinion of the Secretary of Commerce best meet the following criteria:
(1)For corporate entities, at least half of the revenues from the space-related activities of the corporation, division, or subsidiary is derived from sources other than the United States Government.
(2)The activities and achievements of the individual, corporation, division, or subsidiary have substantially contributed to the United States gross national product and the stature of United States industry in international markets, with due consideration for both the economic magnitude and the technical quality of the activities and achievements.
(3)The individual, corporation, division, or subsidiary has substantially advanced space technology and space applications directly related to commercial space activities.
(c)No individual or corporate entity may receive an award under this section more than once every 5 years.
(d)The Secretary of Commerce may seek and accept gifts of money from public and private sources for the purpose of making cash prize awards under this section. Such money may be used only for that purpose, and only such money may be used for that purpose. The Secretary of Commerce shall make publicly available an itemized list of the sources of such funding.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5050615 U.S.C. 5808.Pub. L. 102–588, title V, § 510, Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5129. In subsection (b), in the matter before paragraph (1), the words “The Secretary of Commerce shall periodically make awards” are substituted for “The Secretary of Commerce shall periodically make, and the Chairman of the National Space Council shall present, awards” to eliminate obsolete language. The reference to the Chairman of the National Space Council is obsolete because the National Space Council (established by section 501 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989 (Public Law 100–685, 102 Stat. 4102)) has not functioned or been staffed since 1993.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

51 U.S.C. § 50506

Title 51 — National and Commercial Space Programs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73