§70702 Establishment of Commission

Summary

The President must set up an independent, nonpartisan commission inside the executive branch to investigate certain space accidents. It covers loss of a space shuttle; loss of the International Space Station or its ability to operate; loss of any other orbital or suborbital human-carrying vehicle that is either owned by the federal government or used under a federal contract or Space Act Agreement to carry a government astronaut or a federally funded researcher; and loss of a crew member or passenger on those vehicles. The commission must be created within 7 days after such an incident. Government astronaut — term defined in section 50902. Space Act Agreement — an agreement the Administration makes under its other transactions authority in section 20113(e).