Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act

The Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act would direct the Secretary of Commerce, through the Office of Space Commerce, to establish a 15-member Commercial Space Activity Advisory Committee within 180 days of enactment. Members would be appointed for terms of up to four years, drawn from space policy, engineering, legal, academic, and finance backgrounds with significant commercial space industry experience; sitting federal employees generally could not serve, with a narrow exception for certain special government employees.

The committee's role would be advisory: it would make recommendations to the Secretary and Congress on fostering a safe, competitive commercial space sector, address challenges such as export controls, interference with commercial space activities, and access to radio spectrum, and review best practices for avoiding harmful contamination of the Moon and other celestial bodies. It would primarily affect the Department of Commerce and companies operating in the commercial space industry, who would gain a formal advisory channel to shape related policy and regulation. The committee would automatically terminate 10 years after its establishment.

The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent with an amendment on August 6, 2026, sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters. It now moves to the House of Representatives, which would need to pass it (potentially with further amendments) before it could go to the President for signature.

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