Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§18361 Sense of Congress on the Space Shuttle Program

Title 42 › CHAPTER 159 — SPACE EXPLORATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND SCIENCE › SUBCHAPTER V — SPACE SHUTTLE RETIREMENT AND TRANSITION › § 18361

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress says the Space Shuttle is a national asset because it can lift big payloads and bring them back, it has carried more than 355 people from 16 nations, and it has inspired people around the world. Congress also says retiring the Shuttle must build on that legacy. The United States must keep the skills and industry to make a follow-on Space Launch System mainly for missions beyond near‑Earth space, while still being able to handle some shuttle-like deliveries to low‑Earth orbit to support the ISS if needed.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §18361

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Findings

Congress makes the following findings:

(1)The Space Shuttle program represents a national asset consisting of critical skills and capabilities, including the ability to lift large payloads into space and return them to Earth.

(2)The Space Shuttle has carried more than 355 people from 16 nations into space.

(3)The Space Shuttle has projected the best of American values around the world, and Space Shuttle crews have sparked the imagination and dreams of the world’s youth and young at heart.

(b)Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1)it is essential that the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the transition to new human space flight capabilities be done in a manner that builds upon the legacy of this national asset; and

(2)it is imperative for the United States to retain the skills and the industrial capability to provide a follow-on Space Launch System that is primarily designed for missions beyond near-Earth space, while offering some potential for supplanting shuttle delivery capabilities to low-Earth orbit, particularly in support of ISS requirements, if necessary.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 18361

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110