51 U.S.C. § 60134: Preference for private…

Summary

Give private companies the first chance to build and run the next system after Landsat 7 if they can pay for and manage it and still meet the goals below without risking U.S. interests inside the country, in national security, or in relations with other countries. The U.S. government should not compete with those private developers. The goals are to provide a system that serves civilian, national security, business, and foreign-policy needs; keep the data continuous with the Landsat system; and add improvements (including ones from the technology demonstration program) that could make the system cheaper and more useful to data users than the Landsat system expected in the future.

Title 51, §60134

National and Commercial Space Programs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—

If a successor land remote sensing system to Landsat 7 can be funded and managed by the private sector while still achieving the goals stated in subsection (b) without jeopardizing the domestic, national security, and foreign policy interests of the United States, preference should be given to the development of such a system by the private sector without competition from the United States Government.

(b)Goals.—

The goals referred to in subsection (a) are—

(1)to encourage the development, launch, and operation of a land remote sensing system that adequately serves the civilian, national security, commercial, and foreign policy interests of the United States;

(2)to encourage the development, launch, and operation of a land remote sensing system that maintains data continuity with the Landsat system; and

(3)to incorporate system enhancements, including any such enhancements developed under the technology demonstration program under section 60133 of this title, which may potentially yield a system that is less expensive to build and operate, and more responsive to data users, than is the Landsat system otherwise projected to be in operation in the future.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 60134(a)15 U.S.C. 5641(c).Pub. L. 102–555, title IV, § 401(b), (c), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4176. 60134(b)15 U.S.C. 5641(b). In subsection (b), in the matter before paragraph (1), the words “In carrying out subsection (a), the Landsat Program Management shall consider the ability of each of the options to” are omitted as obsolete. The omitted words refer to section 401(a) of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5641(a)), which required, within 5 years after October 28, 1992, the Landsat Program Management, in consultation with representatives of appropriate United States Government agencies, to assess and report to Congress on options for a successor land remote sensing system to Landsat 7. In subsection (b)(3), the words “otherwise projected to be in operation in the future” are substituted for “projected to be in operation through the year 2000” to eliminate obsolete language.

§60134 Preference for Private Sector Land Remote Sensing System

Summary

Title 51, §60134

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Citations & Metadata