Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), chairman of the U.S. House Space Subcommittee, has introduced a bill that calls NASA to further coordinate with commercial partners in issues about space, SpaceNews reported Friday.The proposed legislation called NASA Authorization Act of 2018 will allot nearly $21 million for the space agency in 2018 and a similar value in 2019.
The bill calls NASA to leverage commercial offerings for future missions in deep exploration, as well as encourages the U.S. to promote the development of private sector remote sensing capabilities and analysis to meet the demand for medium-resolution land remote sensing data in the long run.
Other topics included in the proposal are funding for the International Space Station and NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope.
The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology will review the bill on April 17.
