§18405 Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program

Summary

The National Academy of Sciences found suborbital science missions are vital for building the aerospace workforce for current and future space work. NASA’s Administrator must name a Space Technology Program staff member to run a Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program and make short- and long-term plans to keep and grow suborbital facilities. NASA must create the program to fund payloads for science, technology development, and education and to give them flights to microgravity and suborbital altitudes. It can fund engineering tests, proofs of concept, or education experiments on commercial reusable vehicles and should work with NASA mission directorates. Each year NASA must report to the proper Congressional committees on progress, including how many and what types of missions are planned. Congress authorized $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2013 to carry out the program.