§ 16612. Reports

(a) National awareness campaign

(1) In general

The Administrator shall implement, beginning not later than May 1, 2006, a national awareness campaign through various media, including print, radio, television, and the Internet, to articulate missions, publicize recent accomplishments, and facilitate efforts to encourage young Americans to enter the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering to help maintain United States leadership in those fields.

(2) Reports

(A) Not later than April 1, 2006, the Administrator shall transmit a plan to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate describing the activities that will be undertaken as part of the national awareness campaign required by paragraph (1) and the expected cost of those activities. NASA may undertake activities as part of the national awareness campaign prior to the transmittal of the plan required by this subparagraph, but the plan shall include a description of any activities undertaken prior to the transmittal and the estimated cost of those activities.

(B) Not later than three years after December 30, 2005, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate an assessment of the impact of the national awareness campaign.

(b) Budget information

Not later than April 30, 2006, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing—

(1) the expected cost of the Crew Exploration Vehicle through fiscal year 2020, based on the public specifications for that development contract; and

(2) the expected budgets for each fiscal year through 2020 for human spaceflight, aeronautics, space science, and earth science—

(A) first assuming inflationary growth for the budget of NASA as a whole and including costs for the Crew Exploration Vehicle as projected under paragraph (1); and

(B) then assuming inflationary growth for the budget of NASA as a whole and including at least two cost estimates for the Crew Exploration Vehicle that are higher than those projected under paragraph (1), based on NASA’s past experience with cost increases for similar programs, along with a description of the reasons for selecting the cost estimates used for the calculations under this subparagraph and the confidence level for each of the cost estimates used in this section.

(1) Plan

The Administrator shall develop a plan, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, for updating NASA’s space communications architecture for both low-Earth orbital operations and deep space exploration so that it is capable of meeting NASA’s needs over the next 20 years. The plan shall include life-cycle cost estimates, milestones, estimated performance capabilities, and 5-year funding profiles. The plan shall also include an estimate of the amounts of any reimbursements NASA is likely to receive from other Federal agencies during the expected life of the upgrades described in the plan. At a minimum, the plan shall include a description of the following:

(A) Projected Deep Space Network requirements for the next 20 years, including those in support of human space exploration missions.

(B) Upgrades needed to support Deep Space Network requirements.

(D) Cost estimates and schedules for the upgrades described in subparagraph (B).

(E) Projected Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System requirements for the next 20 years, including those in support of other relevant Federal agencies.

(F) Cost and schedule estimates to maintain and upgrade the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to meet projected requirements.

(2) Consultations

The Administrator shall consult with other relevant Federal agencies in developing the plan under this subsection.

(3) Schedule

The Administrator shall transmit the plan under this subsection to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than February 17, 2007.

(d) Joint Dark Energy Mission

The Administrator and the Director of the Department of Energy Office of Science shall jointly transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, not later than July 15, 2006, a report on plans for a Joint Dark Energy Mission. The report shall include the amount of funds each agency intends to expend on the Joint Dark Energy Mission for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011, and any specific milestones for the development and launch of the Mission.

(e) Office of Science and Technology Policy

(1) Study

As part of ongoing efforts to coordinate research and development across the Federal agencies, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall conduct a study to determine—

(A) if any research and development programs of NASA are unnecessarily duplicating aspects of programs of other Federal agencies; and

(B) if any research and development programs of NASA are neglecting any topics of national interest that are related to the mission of NASA.

(2) Report

Not later than one year after December 30, 2005, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that—

(A) describes the results of the study under paragraph (1);

(B) lists the research and development programs of Federal agencies other than NASA that were reviewed as part of the study, which shall include any program supporting research and development in an area related to the programs of NASA, and the most recent budget figures for those programs of other agencies;

(C) recommends any changes to the research and development programs of NASA that should be made in response to the findings of the study required by paragraph (1); and

(D) describes mechanisms the Office of Science and Technology Policy will use to ensure adequate coordination between NASA and Federal agencies that operate related programs.

(3) Contract

The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy may contract with a nongovernmental entity to conduct the study required by paragraph (1).