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Congressional Daily Record
This section is about changes proposed to a bill or resolution. It mentions committees such as Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, members such as John Wright Hickenlooper.
Issued
July 14, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSA 6680. Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Lujan) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle A of title XV, add the following:
SEC. 1510A. REPORT ON SAFE ORBITAL TRAJECTORY OPTIONS FROM
INLAND AND NONTRADITIONAL LAUNCH SITES.
(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense, in consultation with the Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration and the Administrator of
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall submit
to the congressional defense committees, 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 on safe orbital launch trajectory
options from inland and nontraditional launch sites.
(b) Elements.—The report required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) An assessment of the flight safety requirements
necessary to permit overland launch trajectories for both
expendable and partially or fully reusable launch systems to
the various inclinations and orbital regimes, including Low-
Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO), Geostationary
Orbit (GEO), and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO).
(2) Public safety and debris-risk modeling for prospective
full-cycle launch and reentry operations, including economic
and environmental impacts.
(3) An evaluation of the types of full-cycle launch and
reentry vehicles suitable for inland and nontraditional
sites, explicitly addressing the infrastructure required to
support vertical launch capabilities and distinguishing among
expendable, partially reusable, and fully reusable launch
systems.
(4) A cost estimate for the infrastructure and operational
needs associated with activating and using individual inland
and nontraditional launch sites, considering both existing
commercial spaceport infrastructure and potential new sites.
(5) A cost-benefit analysis weighing the national security
resilience benefits of expanded launch infrastructure with
the substantial investments required to support heavy-lift
launch vehicles.
(6) An analysis of the manner in which such alternative
launch options will inform future operational and capability
requirements for national security launch providers.
(7) A framework for integrating nontraditional and inland
ranges into the national launch enterprise through Federal
range services, dynamic airspace management, and flexible
deployment capabilities.
(8) The assumptions and conditions on which the report is
based and an assessment of their viability.
(c) Form.—The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified
annex.