51 U.S. Code § 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.)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
70702	42 U.S.C. 16842.	Pub. L. 109–155, title VIII, § 822, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2941.

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).