§50907 — Title 51 National and Commercial Space Programs | U.S. Code

Summary

Licensees must let the Secretary of Transportation put a U.S. government officer, employee, or another person as an observer at places the licensee or its contractor uses. That includes launch and reentry sites, contractor production or assembly sites, non‑federal sites used for crew or astronaut training, and places where a payload is attached to a launch or reentry vehicle. The observer can watch activities when and how the Secretary thinks is reasonable to check license compliance or to carry out duties under sections 50904(c), 50905, and 50906. The licensee must cooperate with the observer. The Secretary may hire someone by contract to do this only if funds for it are provided in advance by an appropriation law.

Title 51, §50907

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

(a)A licensee under this chapter must allow the Secretary of Transportation to place an officer or employee of the United States Government or another individual as an observer at a launch site or reentry site the licensee uses, at a production facility or assembly site a contractor of the licensee uses to produce or assemble a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle, at a site not owned or operated by the Federal Government or a foreign government used for crew, government astronaut, or space flight participant training, or at a site at which a payload is integrated with a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle. The observer will monitor the activity of the licensee or contractor at the time and to the extent the Secretary considers reasonable to ensure compliance with the license or to carry out the duties of the Secretary under section 50904(c), 50905, and 50906 of this title. A licensee must cooperate with an observer carrying out this subsection.

(b)To the extent provided in advance in an appropriation law, the Secretary may make a contract with a person to carry out subsection (a) of this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 70106(a)49 App.:2613(a).Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–575, § 14, 98 Stat. 3060. 70106(b)49 App.:2613(b). In subsection (a), the word “duties” is substituted for “responsibilities” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–90 substituted “at a site not owned or operated by the Federal Government or a foreign government used for crew, government astronaut, or space flight participant training” for “at a site used for crew or space flight participant training”. 2010—Pub. L. 111–314, § 4(d)(2), (3)(G), successively renumbered section 70106 of title 49 and section 70106 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–314, § 4(d)(5)(I), substituted “section 50904(c), 50905, and 50906” for “section 70104(c), 70105, and 70105a”. 2004—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–492 inserted “at a site used for crew or space flight participant training,” after “assemble a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle,” and substituted “section 70104(c), 70105, and 70105a” for “section 70104(c)”. 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–303, in first sentence, inserted “or reentry site” after “observer at a launch site” and “or reentry vehicle” after “assemble a launch vehicle” and after “with a launch vehicle”.

§50907 Monitoring activities