S. 1437 Passed the Senate Science, Technology, Communications

ASCEND Act

A bill to require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish a program to identify, evaluate, acquire, and disseminate commercial Earth remote sensing data and imagery in order to satisfy the scientific, operational, and educational requirements of the Administration, and for other purposes.

  1. Introduced
  2. Committee
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Passed House
  5. To President
  6. Became law
Sponsor Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] Introduced April 10, 2025 Cosponsors 1 (1 R) Latest action December 10, 2025

Summary

Accessing Satellite Capabilities to Enable New Discoveries Act or the ASCEND Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Through the CSDA program, NASA acquires remote sensing data and imagery from commercial satellites to support its Earth science research. (Remote sensing generally refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth’s orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth’s surface.)
Under the bill, NASA may establish or modify end-use agreements to allow for broad use of data and imagery acquired under the program, including by individuals outside of NASA (e.g., other federal agencies). The terms of any data or imagery acquisition may not prevent the publication of such data or imagery for scientific purposes or the publication of information derived from it. To the extent practicable, NASA must acquire such data and imagery from U.S. vendors.  

Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Congress.gov

Actions

  1. Dec 10, 2025 Held at the desk.
  2. Dec 10, 2025 Received in the House.
  3. Dec 10, 2025 Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  4. Dec 9, 2025 Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8581; text: CR S8581)
  5. Dec 9, 2025 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  6. Sep 29, 2025 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 173.
  7. Sep 29, 2025 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-68.
  8. Apr 30, 2025 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  9. Apr 10, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  10. Apr 10, 2025 Introduced in Senate

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