May 22, 2015

Castro Amendment to Include Nonprofits in NASA Study Passes the House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) authored a space research amendment that today unanimously passed the House of Representatives. The amendment allows nonprofits that are conducting research on space science to collaborate with NASA on the problem of orbital space debris. Orbital space debris is defunct, human-made objects that orbit the Earth and pose a collision threat to operational satellites and manned spacecraft. 

“The amount of manmade junk orbiting our planet has increased exponentially over the past four decades,” said Rep. Castro. “As the volume of debris around Earth grows, so too grows the risk of collisions with crucial U.S. commercial and defense assets in space. Texas-based nonprofits like the Southwest Research Institute and Universities Space Research Association do valuable, cutting-edge research on space science and orbital debris. My amendment gives these types of nonprofit organizations the opportunity to be at the table with NASA in its efforts to confront this urgent problem.” 

Rep. Castro’s amendment is part of the SPACE Act (H.R. 2262), legislation that seeks to bolster the commercial U.S. space industry. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 284-133. 

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