WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed a bill that might direct NASA to create an orbital debris remediation program, sending it on to the House for the second time.
The Senate passed by unanimous consent Oct. 31 S. 447, the Orbital Sustainability, or ORBITS, Act of 2023. The bill previously passed the Senate Commerce Committee in July.
The central a part of the bill would direct NASA to determine an lively debris removal program. Tnat includes creating “an illustration project to make competitive awards for the research, development, and demonstration of technologies resulting in the remediation of chosen orbital debris.” It could also require NASA to enter right into a partnership to fly an illustration mission to remove debris.
The debris that could possibly be removed by those demonstrations would come from a listing developed by the Department of Commerce to discover debris “to enhance the protection and sustainability of orbiting satellites and on-orbit activities.” The Department would also lead work on best practices for space traffic coordination. The bill directs the National Space Council to steer an update of the federal government’s Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices.
“The ORBITS Act will jumpstart the technology development needed to remove probably the most dangerous space junk before it knocks out a scientific satellite, threatens a NASA mission, or falls to the bottom and hurts someone,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, in a press release.
It’s the second time the Senate has passed a version of the ORBITS Act. An identical bill also passed the Senate by unanimous consent in late 2022, but was not taken up by the House.
The Senate also passed by unanimous consent S. 1648, the Launch Communications Act. The bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to streamline access to spectrum for industrial launches and reentries. The FCC adopted rules at a Sept. 21 commission meeting that provided latest access to spectrum for industrial launches.
“We will’t let space junk and red tape stifle American innovations which are lifting us to latest frontiers in space. Our bills will help our country maintain space leadership,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who sponsored the ORBITS Act and co-sponsored the Launch Communications Act, said in a press release.