Title 51, National and Commercial Space ProgramsRelease 119-110
§20161 Congressional Declaration of Purpose and Policy
Title 51 › Subtitle II — General Program and Policy Provisions › CHAPTER 201 — NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE PROGRAM › SUBCHAPTER IV — UPPER ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH › § 20161
Summary
Requires the Administration to create and run a broad research, technology, and monitoring program to understand and maintain the Earth's upper atmosphere's chemistry and physics, and says the United States must begin this work immediately.
Full Legal Text
Title 51, §20161
National and Commercial Space Programs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Purpose.—
The purpose of this subchapter is to authorize and direct the Administration to develop and carry out a comprehensive program of research, technology, and monitoring of the phenomena of the upper atmosphere so as to provide for an understanding of and to maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
(b)Policy.—
Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States to undertake an immediate and appropriate research, technology, and monitoring program that will provide for understanding the physics and chemistry of the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 2016142 U.S.C. 2481.Pub. L. 85–568, title IV, § 401, as added Pub. L. 94–39, § 8, June 19, 1975, 89 Stat. 222.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
51 U.S.C. § 20161
Title 51, National and Commercial Space Programs
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110