§20147 Recovery and Disposition Authority

Summary

The Administrator may take control of a crewmember’s remains and order autopsies or other medical or scientific tests after an accident that kills someone on an Administration human space flight vehicle. Each crewmember must give the Administrator their wishes about how their remains should be handled, and the Administrator must follow those wishes as much as possible. Taking control of remains must not be used to interfere with any federal investigation of the accident. An Administration human space flight vehicle is a space vehicle meant to carry people into outer space that is either owned by the Administration or owned by a contractor or cooperating party and used on a mission with the Administration. A crewmember is an astronaut or any person assigned to that vehicle.