12 2 STA T .480 4 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 422 —O CT. 1 5, 2008 (1)alow-c o st s p ac emi ssio n wit h the p ur pose o f ren- d e zv ousin g with , attaching a trac k ing device, and character- izing the A pophis asteroid
and ( 2 ) a medium-sized space mission with the purpose of detecting near- E arth o bj ects e q ual to or greater than 1 40 meters in diameter .SEC.804 . ES TABLI S HM E N T OFP OLIC YW ITH R ESPECT TO THREATS POSE D BY NEAR - EARTH OB J ECTS. W ithin 2 y ears after the date of enactment of this Act, the D irector of the OSTP shall — (1) develop a policy for notifying F ederal agencies and relevant emergency response institutions of an impending near- Earth object threat, if near-term public safety is at risk; and (2) recommend a Federal agency or agencies to be respon- sible for— (A) protecting the U nited States from a near-Earth object that is e x pected to collide with Earth; and ( B ) implementing a deflection campaign, in consulta- tion with international bodies, should one be necessary. SEC. 80 5 . PLANETARY RADAR CAPABILITY. The Administrator shall maintain a planetary radar that is comparable to the capability provided through the Deep Space N etwork G oldstone facility of NASA. SEC. 80 6 . ARECIBO OBSER V ATORY. C ongress reiterates its support for the use of the Arecibo Observatory for NASA-funded near-Earth object-related activities. The Administrator, using funds authorized in section 101(a)(1)(B), shall ensure the availability of the Arecibo Observatory ’ s planetary radar to support these activities until the National Academies’ review of NASA’s approach for the survey and deflection of near- Earth objects, including a determination of the role of Arecibo, that was directed to be undertaken by the Fiscal Y ear 200 8 Omni- bus Appropriations Act, is completed. SEC. 80 7 . INTERNATIONAL RESO U RCES. I t is the sense of Congress that, since an estimated 2 5 ,000 asteroids of concern have yet to be discovered and monitored, the United States should seek to obtain commitments for cooperation from other nations with significant resources for contributing to a thorough and timely search for such objects and an identification of their characteristics. TI T LE I X—COM ME R CI A LI N ITIATI V E S SEC. 9 0 1 . SENSE OF CON G RESS. It is the sense of Congress that a healthy and robust commercial sector can make significant contributions to the successful conduct of NASA’s space exploration program. While some activities are inherently governmental in nature, there are many other activities, such as routine supply of water, fuel, and other consumables to low Earth orbit or to destinations beyond low Earth orbit, and provision of power or communications services to lunar outposts, that potentially could be carried out effectively and efficiently by 42USC17 7 95.Recom me nda-ti on s . D ead l ine. 42 USC 17794.
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