US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

51 U.S.C. § 70501

Space shuttle follow-on

(a)

Policy Statement .—

In order to ensure continuous United States participation and leadership in the exploration and utilization of space and as an essential instrument of national security, it is the policy of the United States to maintain an uninterrupted capability for human space flight and operations—
(1)
in low-Earth orbit; and
(2)
beyond low-Earth orbit once the capabilities described in section 421(f) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017 become available.
(b)

Annual Report .—

The Administrator shall transmit an annual report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives describing the progress being made toward developing the Space Launch System and Orion and the estimated time before they will demonstrate crewed, orbital spaceflight.

Pub. L. 111–314, § 3124 Stat. 3430Pub. L. 115–10, title IV, § 417131 Stat. 35(, , ; , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised

Section

Source (U.S. Code)

Source (Statutes at Large)

70501(a)

42 U.S.C. 16761(a).

Pub. L. 109–155, title V, § 501(a), (b), Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2927.

70501(b)

42 U.S.C. 16761(b).

In subsection (b), the words “The Administrator shall transmit an annual report” are substituted for “Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [] and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall transmit a report” to eliminate obsolete language.

oIn subsection (b), the words “Committee on Science and Technology” are substituted for “Committee on Science” on authority of Rule X(1)() of the Rules of the House of Representatives, adopted by House Resolution No. 6 (110th Congress, ).

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 421(f) of Pub. L. 115–10section 20301 of this titleSection 421(f) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is , which is set out as a note under .

Amendments

Pub. L. 115–10, § 417(1)2017—Subsec. (a). , amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “It is the policy of the United States to possess the capability for human access to space on a continuous basis.”

Pub. L. 115–10, § 417(2)Subsec. (b). , substituted “Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives describing the progress being made toward developing the Space Launch System and Orion” for “Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate describing the progress being made toward developing the Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Crew Launch Vehicle”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Science and Technology of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, .

Transition

Pub. L. 110–422, title VI, § 613122 Stat. 4799

“(a)

Disposition of Shuttle-Related Assets.—

“(1)

In general .—

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [], the Administrator [of NASA] shall submit to Congress a plan describing the process for the disposition of the remaining Space Shuttle Orbiters and other Space Shuttle program-related hardware after the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet.
“(2)

Plan requirements .—

The plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall include a description of a process by which educational institutions, science museums, and other appropriate organizations may acquire, through loan or disposal by the Federal Government, Space Shuttle program hardware.
“(3)

Prohibition on disposition before completion of plan .—

The Administrator shall not dispose of any Space Shuttle program hardware before the plan required by paragraph (1) is submitted to Congress.
“(b)

Space Shuttle Transition Liaison Office.—

“(1)

Establishment .—

The Administrator shall develop a plan and establish a Space Shuttle Transition Liaison Office within the Office of Human Capital Management of NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] to assist local communities affected by the termination of the Space Shuttle program in mitigating the negative impacts on such communities caused by such termination. The plan shall define the size of the affected local community that would receive assistance described in paragraph (2).
“(2)

Manner of assistance .—

In providing assistance under paragraph (1), the office established under such paragraph shall—
“(A)
offer nonfinancial, technical assistance to communities described in such paragraph to assist in the mitigation described in such paragraph; and
“(B)
serve as a clearinghouse to assist such communities in identifying services available from other Federal, State, and local agencies to assist in such mitigation.
“(3)

Termination of office .—

The office established under paragraph (1) shall terminate 2 years after the completion of the last Space Shuttle flight.
“(4)

Submission .—

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [], NASA shall provide a copy of the plan required by paragraph (1) to the Congress.”
, , , provided that:

Pub. L. 110–161, div. B, title III121 Stat. 1919

“The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall prepare a strategy for minimizing job losses when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration transitions from the Space Shuttle to a successor human-rated space transport vehicle. This strategy shall include: (1) specific initiatives that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has undertaken, or plans to undertake, to maximize the utilization of existing civil service and contractor workforces at each of the affected Centers; (2) efforts to equitably distribute tasks and workload between the Centers to mitigate the brunt of job losses being borne by only certain Centers; (3) new workload, tasks, initiatives, and missions being secured for the affected Centers; and (4) overall projections of future civil service and contractor workforce levels at the affected Centers. The Administrator shall transmit this strategy to Congress not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act []. The Administrator shall update and transmit to Congress this strategy not less than every six months thereafter until the successor human-rated space transport vehicle is fully operational.”
, , , provided that:

Pub. L. 109–155, title V, § 502119 Stat. 2928

“(a)

In General .—

The Administrator [of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration] shall, to the fullest extent possible consistent with a successful development program, use the personnel, capabilities, assets, and infrastructure of the Space Shuttle program in developing the Crew Exploration Vehicle, Crew Launch Vehicle, and a heavy-lift launch vehicle.
“(b)

Plan .—

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [], the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science [now Committee on Science, Space, and Technology] of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a plan describing how NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] will proceed with its human space flight programs, which, at a minimum, shall describe—
“(1)
how NASA will deploy personnel from, and use the facilities of, the Space Shuttle program to ensure that the Space Shuttle operates as safely as possible through its final flight and to ensure that personnel and facilities from the Space Shuttle program are used in NASA’s exploration programs in accordance with subsection (a);
“(2)
the planned number of flights the Space Shuttle will make before its retirement;
“(3)
the means, other than the Space Shuttle and the Crew Exploration Vehicle, including commercial vehicles, that may be used to ferry crew and cargo to and from the ISS [International Space Station];
“(4)
the intended purpose of lunar missions and the architecture for those missions; and
“(5)
the extent to which the Crew Exploration Vehicle will allow for the escape of the crew in an emergency.
“(c)

Personnel .—

The Administrator shall consult with other appropriate Federal agencies and with NASA contractors and employees to develop a transition plan for any Federal and contractor personnel engaged in the Space Shuttle program who can no longer be retained because of the retirement of the Space Shuttle. The plan shall include actions to assist Federal and contractor personnel in taking advantage of training, retraining, job placement and relocation programs, and any other actions that NASA will take to assist the employees. The plan shall also describe how the Administrator will ensure that NASA and its contractors will have an appropriate complement of employees to allow for the safest possible use of the Space Shuttle through its final flight. The Administrator shall transmit the plan to the Committee on Science [now Committee on Science, Space, and Technology] of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than .”
, , , provided that: