H.R. 2600

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2600 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]

<DOC>

Calendar No. 344
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2600

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 24, 2026

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration to establish a program to identify, evaluate, acquire, 
and disseminate commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery in 
order to satisfy the scientific, operational, and educational 
requirements of the Administration, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Accessing Satellite Capabilities to 
Enable New Discoveries Act'' or the ``ASCEND Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL SATELLITE DATA.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Section 60501 of title 51, United States Code, states 
that the goal for the Earth Science program of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to in this 
section as ``NASA'') shall be to pursue a program of Earth 
observations, research, and applications activities to better 
understand the Earth, how it supports life, and how human 
activities affect its ability to do so in the future.
(2) Section 50115 of title 51, United States Code, states 
that the Administrator of NASA shall, to the extent possible 
and while satisfying the scientific or educational requirements 
of NASA, and where appropriate, of other Federal agencies and 
scientific researchers, acquire, where cost effective, space-
based and airborne commercial Earth remote sensing data, 
services, distribution, and applications from a commercial 
provider.
(3) The Administrator of NASA established the Commercial 
SmallSat Data Acquisition Pilot Program in 2019 to identify, 
validate, and acquire from commercial sources data that support 
the Earth science research and application goals.
(4) The Administrator of NASA has--
(A) determined that the pilot program described in 
paragraph (3) has been a success, as described in the 
final evaluation entitled ``Commercial SmallSat Data 
Acquisition Program Pilot Evaluation Report'' issued in 
2020;
(B) established a formal process for evaluating and 
onboarding new commercial vendors in such pilot 
program;
(C) increased the number of commercial vendors and 
commercial data products available through such pilot 
program; and
(D) expanded procurement arrangements with 
commercial vendors to broaden user access to provide 
commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery to 
federally funded researchers.
(b) Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 603 of title 51, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 60307. Commercial satellite data acquisition program
``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish within the 
Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate a program to 
acquire and disseminate cost-effective and appropriate commercial Earth 
remote sensing data and imagery in order to satisfy the scientific, 
operational, and educational requirements of the Administration, and 
where appropriate, of other Federal agencies and scientific researchers 
to augment or complement the suite of Earth observations acquired by 
the Administration, other United States Government agencies, and 
international partners.
``(b) Data Publication and Transparency.--The terms and conditions 
of commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery acquisitions under 
the program described in subsection (a) shall not prevent--
``(1) the publication of commercial data or imagery for 
scientific purposes; or
``(2) the publication of information that is derived from, 
incorporates, or enhances the original commercial data or 
imagery of a vendor.
``(c) Authorization.--In carrying out the program under this 
section, the Administrator may--
``(1) procure commercial Earth remote sensing data and 
imagery from commercial vendors to advance scientific research 
and applications in accordance with subsection (a); and
``(2) establish or modify end-use license terms and 
conditions to allow for the widest-possible use of procured 
commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery by individuals 
other than NASA-funded users, consistent with the goals of the 
program.
``(d) United States Vendors.--Commercial Earth remote sensing data 
and imagery referred to in subsections (a) and (c) shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable, be procured from United States vendors.
``(e) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives a report that includes the following 
information regarding the agreements, vendors, license terms, and uses 
of commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery under this section:
``(1)(A) In the case of the initial report, a list of all 
agreements that are providing commercial Earth remote sensing 
data and imagery to NASA as of the date of the report.
``(B) For each subsequent report, a list of all agreements 
that have provided commercial Earth remote sensing data and 
imagery to NASA during the reporting period.
``(2) A description of the end-use license terms and 
conditions for each such vendor.
``(3) A description of the manner in which each such 
agreement is advancing scientific research and applications, 
including priorities recommended by the National Academies of 
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine decadal surveys.
``(4) Information specifying whether the Administrator has 
entered into an agreement with a commercial vendor or a Federal 
agency that permits the use of data and imagery by Federal 
Government employees, contractors, or non-Federal users.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 
603 of title 51, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item:

``60307. Commercial satellite data acquisition program.''.

Passed the House of Representatives February 23, 2026.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.
Calendar No. 344

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 2600

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration to establish a program to identify, evaluate, acquire, 
and disseminate commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery in 
order to satisfy the scientific, operational, and educational 
requirements of the Administration, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

February 24, 2026

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar