Title 51, National and Commercial Space ProgramsRelease 119-110
§20305 National Academies Decadal Surveys
Title 51 › Subtitle II — General Program and Policy Provisions › CHAPTER 203 — RESPONSIBILITIES AND VISION › § 20305
Summary
Administrator must hire National Academies periodically to run decadal surveys that assess Earth and space science and aeronautics and set priorities for the next decade. Agreements must, when possible, add outside estimates of mission lifecycle costs and readiness, and committees must flag events (like cost growth or breakthroughs) prompting reexamination.
Full Legal Text
Title 51, §20305
National and Commercial Space Programs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)In General.—
The Administrator shall enter into agreements on a periodic basis with the National Academies for independent assessments, also known as decadal surveys, to take stock of the status and opportunities for Earth and space science discipline fields and Aeronautics research and to recommend priorities for research and programmatic areas over the next decade.
(b)Independent Cost Estimates.—
The agreements described in subsection (a) shall include independent estimates of the life cycle costs and technical readiness of missions assessed in the decadal surveys whenever possible.
(c)Reexamination.—
The Administrator shall request that each National Academies decadal survey committee identify any conditions or events, such as significant cost growth or scientific or technological advances, that would warrant the Administration asking the National Academies to reexamine the priorities that the decadal survey had established.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 2030542 U.S.C. 17823.Pub. L. 110–422, title XI, § 1104, Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4809.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Implementation of Decadal Survey’s Recommended Decision Rules Pub. L. 112–55, div. B, title III, Nov. 18, 2011, 125 Stat. 622, provided in part: “That NASA shall implement the recommendations of the most recent National Research Council planetary decadal survey and shall follow the decadal survey’s recommended decision rules regarding program implementation, including a strict adherence to the recommendation that NASA include in a balanced program a flagship class mission, which may be executed in cooperation with one or more international partners, if such mission can be appropriately de-scoped and all NASA costs for such mission can be accommodated within the overall funding levels appropriated by Congress”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
51 U.S.C. § 20305
Title 51, National and Commercial Space Programs
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110