H.R. 9651: Space Ready 2.0 Act

This bill would let NASA run a pilot program to make improvements to infrastructure at one or more NASA centers using a mix of public and private funding. The goal is to support facilities and systems used by both NASA and commercial partners.

What the pilot program would allow

• The NASA Administrator could enter into agreements with commercial entities, and also with federal, state, or local public entities, to fund specific infrastructure projects at NASA centers.
• The bill defines common use infrastructure as infrastructure that benefits one or more NASA center users, such as roadways and commodity pipelines, and excludes infrastructure that only benefits NASA alone.
• Projects could include repairs, maintenance, upgrades, construction, modernization, expansion, demolition, and other work on NASA-owned infrastructure that supports commercial or joint activities.

How funding would work

• The bill would allow voluntary infrastructure contributions from commercial partners to help pay for specific capital repair, maintenance, and improvement projects.
• No contributions could be collected unless they are already allowed in advance by an appropriations law. The bill does not create new spending authority by itself.
• Private contributions placed into NASA’s Construction and Environmental Compliance and Restoration account would be subject to the same rules as appropriated funds.
• If a project ends with unused commercial funds, those funds would generally be returned to the contributor or could be redirected to another eligible project, depending on the contributor’s choice.

Rules for agreements and project management

• NASA would have to set a reasonable cost and schedule baseline for each project.
• NASA would be expected to finish projects within the planned cost and timeline limits as much as practical.
• The agency would be directed to use streamlined acquisition procedures as much as the law allows.
• Agreements would need to spell out who owns contributed funds, services, or equipment, and how they can be used or disposed of.
• Commercial partners could not recover the cost of their contribution through another agreement with the federal government.
• Agreements would need to address who pays if there are cost overruns or delays.

Other provisions

• NASA would not be allowed to refuse or delay other commercial agreements just because the parties could not agree on these infrastructure contributions.
• NASA could also make direct financial or in-kind contributions to related projects if it thought that would help support common-use infrastructure.
• NASA would need to consult with other public entities to avoid duplicate projects and to look for ways to increase capacity or capability for users.
• Improvements made with these funds would generally become U.S. government property, unless NASA decides otherwise.
• NASA would have to report to Congress within 180 days of enactment and then annually, and provide milestone updates at least every two years.

Duration

• The authority to collect voluntary contributions would end on December 31, 2031.
• The bill says that ending this authority would not affect existing agreements under current law or NASA’s ability to keep and use proceeds from those agreements.

Relevant Companies

• None found