51 U.S.C. § 50922
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 105-303, which was approved Oct. 28, 1998. The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, referred to in subsecs. (c) and (d), is Pub. L. 108-492, Dec. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 3974, which was approved Dec. 23, 2004. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2004 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables.
AMENDMENTS2010-Pub. L. 111-314, §4(d)(2), (3)(V), successively renumbered section 70120 of title 49 and section 70120 of this title as this section.Subsec. (c)(2)(B). Pub. L. 111-314, §4(d)(5)(U), substituted "section 50902" for "section 70102".2004-Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 108-492 added subsecs. (c) and (d).
- State
- "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and a territory or possession of the United States.
- crew
- "crew" means any employee of a licensee or transferee, or of a contractor or subcontractor of a licensee or transferee, who performs activities in the course of that employment directly relating to the launch, reentry, or other operation of or in a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle that carries human beings.
- launch site
- "launch site" means the location on Earth from which a launch takes place (as defined in a license the Secretary issues or transfers under this chapter) and necessary facilities at that location.
- launch vehicle
- "launch vehicle" means-(A) a vehicle built to operate in, or place a payload or human beings in, outer space; and(B) a suborbital rocket.
- launch
- "launch" means to place or try to place a launch vehicle or reentry vehicle and any payload or human being from Earth-(A) in a suborbital trajectory;(B) in Earth orbit in outer space; or(C) otherwise in outer space,including activities involved in the preparation of a launch vehicle or payload for launch, when those activities take place at a launch site in the United States.
- reentry
- "reenter" and "reentry" mean to return or attempt to return, purposefully, a reentry vehicle and its payload or human beings, if any, from Earth orbit or from outer space to Earth.
- reenter
- "reenter" and "reentry" mean to return or attempt to return, purposefully, a reentry vehicle and its payload or human beings, if any, from Earth orbit or from outer space to Earth.
- reentry site
- "reentry site" means the location on Earth to which a reentry vehicle is intended to return (as defined in a license the Secretary issues or transfers under this chapter).
- reentry vehicle
- "reentry vehicle" means a vehicle designed to return from Earth orbit or outer space to Earth, or a reusable launch vehicle designed to return from Earth orbit or outer space to Earth, substantially intact.