§70702. Establishment of Commission
(a) Establishment.-The President shall establish an independent, nonpartisan Commission within the executive branch to investigate any incident that results in the loss of-
(1) a space shuttle;
(2) the International Space Station or its operational viability;
(3) any other orbital or suborbital space vehicle carrying humans that is-
(A) owned by the Federal Government; or
(B) being used pursuant to a contract or Space Act Agreement with the Federal Government for carrying a government astronaut or a researcher funded by the Federal Government; or
(4) a crew member or passenger of any space vehicle described in this subsection.
(b) Deadline for Establishment.-The President shall establish a Commission within 7 days after an incident specified in subsection (a).
(c) Definitions.-In this section:
(1) Government astronaut.-The term "government astronaut" has the meaning given the term in section 50902.
(2) Space act agreement.-The term "Space Act Agreement" means an agreement entered into by the Administration pursuant to its other transactions authority under section 20113(e).
(
Pub. L. 111–314, §3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3432
;
Pub. L. 115–10, title VIII, §838, Mar. 21, 2017, 131 Stat. 71
.)
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2017-Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 115–10, §838(1), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (3) read as follows: "any other United States space vehicle carrying humans that is owned by the Federal Government or that is being used pursuant to a contract with the Federal Government; or".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–10, §838(2), added subsec. (c).