Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act
What does the Space Commerce Advisory Committee Act do?
S 434 is a Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Gary C. Peters (D-MI). This bill creates a standing federal advisory committee inside the Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce to advise on nongovernmental space activities. The committee is required to be stood up within 180 days of enactment, will have 15 members drawn from the commercial space industry (with a general bar on federal employees), and is to advise the Secretary and Congress on U.S. commercial space competitiveness, export controls, radio-frequency spectrum, planetary protection best practices, and international obligations. The committee is set to terminate ten years after it is established. Creates a 15-member Commerce Department advisory committee on commercial space activities with a 180-day standup deadline and a 10-year sunset.
Did S 434 pass? Where it stands
As of August 24, 2026, S 434 has passed the Senate.
Status: Passed Senate
Latest vote: Senate Passed by unanimous consent on August 6, 2026
Outlook: Possible
Key provisions
- New Advisory Committee at Commerce
- Established by the Secretary of Commerce acting through the Office of Space Commerce
- Must be stood up within 180 days after enactment
- Sunsets 10 years after establishment
- Membership Rules
- 15 members appointed by the Secretary
- Drawn from space policy, engineering, technical, science, legal, academic, and finance fields
- Generally no federal employees; sole exception is special government employees already serving on other federal advisory committees
- Term limit: up to 4 years, with a 2-year cooling-off period afterward
- Advisory Scope
- Recommendations on facilitating a competitive, safe, sustainable, innovative U.S. commercial space sector
- Advise on export controls affecting commercial space, harmful interference in outer space, and access to radio-frequency spectrum
- Review best practices to avoid harmful contamination of the Moon and other celestial bodies
- Review best practices to avoid adverse changes in Earth's environment from extraterrestrial matter
Last updated August 12, 2026