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The Under Secretary for Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce (in this subsection referred to as the "Under Secretary") shall conduct a comprehensive study of the revised "Procedures to Introduce Supercomputers" and the accompanying exchange of letters between the United States and Japan dated June 15, 1990 (commonly referred to as the “Supercomputer Agreement") to determine whether the goals and objectives of such Agreement have been met and to analyze the effects of such Agreement on United States and Japanese supercomputer manufacturers. Within 180 days after December 9, 1991, the Under Secretary shall submit a report to Congress containing the results of such study.

(2) Consultation

In conducting the comprehensive study under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall consult with approprite 2 Federal agencies and departments and with United States manufacturers of supercomputers and other appropriate private sector entities.

(d) Application of Buy American Act

This chapter does not affect the applicability of title III of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a-10d; 3 popularly known as the Buy American Act), as amended by the Buy American Act of 1988, to procurements by Federal agencies and departments undertaken as a part of the Program.

(Pub. L. 102-194, title II, § 208, Dec. 9, 1991, 105 Stat. 1603.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Trade Agreements Act of 1979, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), is Pub. L. 96-39, July 26, 1979, 93 Stat. 144, as amended. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see References in Text note set out under section 2501 of Title 19, Customs Duties, and Tables.

Title III of the Act of March 3, 1933, referred to in subsecs. (b)(1)(B) and (d), is title III of act Mar. 3, 1933, ch. 212, 47 Stat. 1520, as amended, popularly known as the Buy American Act, which enacted sections 10a, 10b, 10b-1, and 10c of Title 41, Public Contracts, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 10c of Title 41. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 10a of Title 41 and Tables. Section 10d, included within the reference to 41 U.S.C. 10a-10d, was enacted by act Oct. 29, 1949, ch. 787, title VI, § 633, 63 Stat. 1024, as amended, and was not part of title III of act Mar. 3, 1933.

The Buy American Act of 1988, referred to in subsecs. (b)(1)(B) and (d), is title VII of Pub. L. 100-418, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1545, which enacted section 10b-1 of Title 41, amended sections 2511 and 2515 of Title 19, Customs Duties, and sections 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d of Title 41, enacted provisions set out as notes under section 10a of Title 41, and amended provisions set out as notes under section 10c of Title 41. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1988 Amendment note set out under section 10a of Title 41 and Tables.

* So in original. Probably should be "appropriate". "See References in Text note below.

Continued Federal research and development.

(a) Roles of NASA and Department of

The Congress finds and declares the following:

(1) The continuous collection and utilization of land remote sensing data from space are of major benefit in studying and understanding human impacts on the global environment, in managing the Earth's natural resources, in carrying out national security functions, and in planning and conducting many other activities of scientific, economic, and social importance.

(2) The Federal Government's Landsat system established the United States as the world leader in land remote sensing technology.

(3) The national interest of the United States lies in maintaining international leadership in satellite land remote sensing and in broadly promoting the beneficial use of remote sensing data.

(4) The cost of Landsat data has impeded the use of such data for scientific purposes, such as for global environmental change research, as well as for other public sector applications.

(5) Given the importance of the Landsat program to the United States, urgent actions, including expedited procurement procedures, are required to ensure data continuity.

(6) Full commercialization of the Landsat program cannot be achieved within the foreseeable future, and thus should not serve as the near-term goal of national policy on land remote sensing; however, commercialization of land remote sensing should remain a longterm goal of United States policy.

(7) Despite the success and importance of the Landsat system, funding and organizational uncertainties over the past several years have placed its future in doubt and have jeopardized United States leadership in land remote sensing.

(8) Recognizing the importance of the Landsat program in helping to meet national and commercial objectives, the President approved, on February 11, 1992, a National Space Policy Directive which was developed by the National Space Council and commits the United States to ensuring the continuity of Landsat coverage into the 21st century.

(9) Because Landsat data are particularly important for national security purposes and global environmental change research, management responsibilities for the program should be transferred from the Department of Commerce to an integrated program management involving the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

(10) Regardless of management responsibilities for the Landsat program, the Nation's broad civilian, national security, commercial, and foreign policy interests in remote sensing will best be served by ensuring that Landsat remains an unclassified program that operates according to the principles of open skies and nondiscriminatory access.

(11) Technological advances aimed at reducing the size and weight of satellite systems hold the potential for dramatic reductions in the cost, and substantial improvements in the capabilities, of future land remote sensing systems, but such technological advances have not been demonstrated for land remote sensing and therefore cannot be relied upon as the sole means of achieving data continuity for the Landsat program.

(12) A technology demonstration program involving advanced remote sensing technologies could serve a vital role in determining the design of a follow-on spacecraft to Landsat 7, while also helping to determine whether such a spacecraft should be funded by the United States Government, by the private sector, or by an international consortium.

(13) To maximize the value of the Landsat program to the American public, unenhanced Landsat 4 through 6 data should be made available, at a minimum, to United States Government agencies, to global environmental change researchers, and to other researchers who are financially supported by the United States Government, at the cost of fulfilling user requests, and unenhanced Landsat

7 data should be made available to all users at the cost of fulfilling user requests.

(14) To stimulate development of the commercial market for unenhanced data and value-added services, the United States Government should adopt a data policy for Landsat 7 which allows competition within the private sector for distribution of unenhanced data and value-added services.

(15) Development of the remote sensing market and the provision of commercial value-added services based on remote sensing data should remain exclusively the function of the private sector.

(16) It is in the best interest of the United States to maintain a permanent, comprehensive Government archive of global Landsat and other land remote sensing data for longterm monitoring and study of the changing global environment.

(Pub. L. 102-555, § 2, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4163.)

SHORT TITLE

Section 1 of Pub. L. 102-555 provided that: "This Act [enacting this chapter and repealing chapter 68 (§ 4201 et seq.) of this title] may be cited as the 'Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992'."

§ 5602. Definitions

In this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

(2) The term "cost of fulfilling user requests" means the incremental costs associated with providing product generation, reproduction, and distribution of unenhanced data in response to user requests and shall not include any acquisition, amortization, or depreciation of capital assets originally paid for by the United States Government or other costs not specifically attributable to fulfilling user requests.

(3) The term "data continuity" means the continued acquisition and availability of unenhanced data which are, from the point of view of the user

(A) sufficiently consistent (in terms of acquisition geometry, coverage characteristics, and spectral characteristics) with previous Landsat data to allow comparisons for global and regional change detection and characterization; and

(B) compatible with such data and with methods used to receive and process such data.

(4) The term "data preprocessing" may include

(A) rectification of system and sensor distortions in land remote sensing data as it is received directly from the satellite in preparation for delivery to a user;

(B) registration of such data with respect to features of the Earth; and

(C) calibration of spectral response with respect to such data, but does not include conclusions, manipulations, or calculations derived from such data, or a combination of such data with other data.

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(5) The term "land remote sensing" means the collection of data which can be processed into imagery of surface features of the Earth from an unclassified satellite or satellites, other than an operational United States Government weather satellite.

(6) The term "Landsat Program Management" means the integrated program management structure

(A) established by, and responsible to, the Administrator and the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 5611(a) of this title; and

(B) consisting of appropriate officers and employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense, and any other United States Government agencies the President designates as responsible for the Landsat program.

(7) The term "Landsat system" means Landsats 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and any follow-on land remote sensing system operated and owned by the United States Government, along with any related ground equipment, systems, and facilities owned by the United States Government.

(8) The term "Landsat 6 contractor" means the private sector entity which was awarded the contract for spacecraft construction, operations, and data marketing rights for the Landsat 6 spacecraft.

(9) The term "Landsat 7" means the followon satellite to Landsat 6.

(10) The term "National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive" means the archive established by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the archival responsibilities defined in section 5652 of this title.

(11) The term "noncommercial purposes" refers to those activities undertaken by individuals or entities on the condition, upon receipt of unenhanced data, that—

(A) such data shall not be used in connection with any bid for a commercial contract, development of a commercial product, or any other non-United States Government activity that is expected, or has the potential, to be profitmaking;

(B) the results of such activities are disclosed in a timely and complete fashion in the open technical literature or other method of public release, except when such disclosure by the United States Government or its contractors would adversely affect the national security or foreign policy of the United States or violate a provision of law or regulation; and

(C) such data shall not be distributed in competition with unenhanced data provided by the Landsat 6 contractor.

(12) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce.

(13) The term "unenhanced data" means land remote sensing signals or imagery products that are unprocessed or subject only to data preprocessing.

(14) The term "United States Government and its affiliated users" means

(A) United States Government agencies;

(B) researchers involved with the United States Global Change Research Program and its international counterpart programs; and

(C) other researchers and international entities that have signed with the United States Government a cooperative agreement involving the use of Landsat data for noncommercial purposes.

(Pub. L. 102-555, § 3, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4164.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original "this Act", meaning Pub. L. 102-555, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4163, which is classified generally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5601 of this title and Tables.

SUBCHAPTER I-LANDSAT

SUBCHAPTER REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This subchapter is referred to in section 5652 of this title.

§ 5611. Landsat Program Management (a) Establishment

The Administrator and the Secretary of Defense shall be responsible for management of the Landsat program. Such responsibility shall be carried out by establishing an integrated program management structure for the Landsat system.

(b) Management plan

The Administrator, the Secretary of Defense, and any other United States Government official the President designates as responsible for part of the Landsat program, shall establish, through a management plan, the roles, responsibilities, and funding expectations for the Landsat Program1 of the appropriate United States Government agencies. The management plan shall

(1) specify that the fundamental goal of the Landsat Program Management is the continuity of unenhanced Landsat data through the acquisition and operation of a Landsat 7 satellite as quickly as practicable which is, at a minimum, functionally equivalent to the Landsat 6 satellite, with the addition of a tracking and data relay satellite communications capability;

(2) include a baseline funding profile that(A) is mutually acceptable to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense for the period covering the development and operation of Landsat 7; and

(B) provides for total funding responsibility of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense, respectively, to be approximately equal to the funding responsibility of the other as spread across the development and operational life of Landsat 7;

(3) specify that any improvements over the Landsat 6 functional equivalent capability for

'So in original. Probably should not be capitalized.

Landsat 7 will be funded by a specific sponsoring agency or agencies, in a manner agreed to by the Landsat Program Management, if the required funding exceeds the baseline funding profile required by paragraph (2), and that additional improvements will be sought only if the improvements will not jeopardize data continuity; and

(4) provide for a technology demonstration program whose objective shall be the demonstration of advanced land remote sensing technologies that may potentially yield a system which is less expensive to build and operate, and more responsive to data users, than is the current Landsat system.

(c) Responsibilities

The Landsat Program Management shall be responsible for

(1) Landsat 7 procurement, launch, and operations;

(2) ensuring that the operation of the Landsat system is responsive to the broad interests of the civilian, national security, commercial, and foreign users of the Landsat system;

(3) ensuring that all unenhanced Landsat data remain unclassified and that, except as provided in section 5656(a) and (b) of this title, no restrictions are placed on the availability of unenhanced data;

(4) ensuring that land remote sensing data of high priority locations will be acquired by the Landsat 7 system as required to meet the needs of the United States Global Change Research Program, as established in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 [15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq.], and to meet the needs of national security users;

(5) Landsat data responsibilities pursuant to this chapter;

(6) oversight of Landsat contracts entered into under sections 5612 and 5613 of this title; (7) coordination of a technology demonstration program, pursuant to section 5633 of this title; and

(8) ensuring that copies of data acquired by the Landsat system are provided to the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive.

(d) Authority to contract

The Landsat Program Management may, subject to appropriations and only under the existing contract authority of the United States Government agencies that compose the Landsat Program Management, enter into contracts with the private sector for services such as, but not limited to, satellite operations and data preprocessing.

(e) Landsat advisory process

(1) Establishment

The Landsat Program Management shall seek impartial advice and comments regarding the status, effectiveness, and operation of the Landsat system, using existing advisory committees and other appropriate mechanisms. Such advice shall be sought from individuals who represent

(2) Reports

(B) includes

(i) a response to the public comments received pursuant to paragraph (1);

(ii) information on the volume of use, by category, of data from the Landsat system; and

(iii) any recommendations for policy or programmatic changes to improve the utility and operation of the Landsat system.

(Pub. L. 102-555, title I, § 101, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4166.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Global Change Research Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (c)(4), is Pub. L. 101-606, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3096, which is classified generally to chapter 56A (§ 2921 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2921 of this title and Tables.

LANDSAT REmote-Sensing SATELLITE PROGRAM Pub. L. 103-139, title VIII, § 8060, Nov. 11, 1993, 107 Stat. 1453, provided that: "During the current fiscal year and thereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of Defense is hereby authorized to develop and procure the LANDSAT 7 vehicle."

Similar provisions were contained in the following prior acts:

Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title II, § 243, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2360, as amended by Pub. L. 103-35, title II, § 202(a)(3), May 31, 1993, 107 Stat. 101.

Pub. L. 102-396, title IX, § 9082A, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1920.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 5602, 5614 of this title.

§ 5612. Procurement of Landsat 7

(a) Contract negotiations

The Landsat Program Management shall, subject to appropriations and only under the existing contract authority of the United States Government agencies that compose the Landsat Program Management, expeditiously contract with a United States private sector entity for the development and delivery of Landsat 7.

(b) Development and delivery consideration

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In negotiating a contract under this section for the development and delivery of Landsat 7, the Landsat Program Management shall—

(1) seek, as a fundamental objective, to have Landsat 7 operational by the expected end of the design life of Landsat 6;

(2) seek to ensure data continuity by the development and delivery of a satellite which is, at a minimum, functionally equivalent to the Landsat 6 satellite; and

(3) seek to incorporate in Landsat 7 any performance improvements required to meet United States Government needs that would not jeopardize data continuity.

(c) Notification of cost and schedule changes

The Landsat Program Management shall promptly notify the Congress of any significant deviations from the expected cost, delivery date, and launch date of Landsat 7, that are specified by the Landsat Program Management upon award of the contract under this section. (d) United States private sector entities

The Landsat Program Management shall, for purposes of this chapter, define the term "United States private sector entities", taking into account the location of operations, assets, personnel, and other such factors.

(Pub. L. 102-555, title I, § 102, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4168.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 5611 of this title.

§ 5613. Data policy for Landsat 4 through 6 (a) Contract negotiations

Within 30 days after October 28, 1992, the Landsat Program Management shall enter into negotiations with the Landsat 6 contractor to formalize an arrangement with respect to pricing, distribution, acquisition, archiving, and availability of unenhanced data for which the Landsat 6 contractor has responsibility under its contract. Such arrangement shall provide for a phased transition to a data policy consistent with the Landsat 7 data policy (developed pursuant to section 5615 of this title) by the date of initial operation of Landsat 7. Conditions of the phased arrangement should require that the Landsat 6 contractor adopt provisions so that by the final phase of the transition period

(1) such unenhanced data shall be provided, at a minimum, to the United States Government and its affiliated users at the cost of fulfilling user requests, on the condition that such unenhanced data are used solely for noncommercial purposes;

(2) instructional data sets, selected from the Landsat data archives, will be made available to educational institutions exclusively for noncommercial, educational purposes at the cost of fulfilling user requests;

(3) Landsat data users are able to acquire unenhanced data contained in the collective archives of foreign ground stations as easily and affordably as practicable;