5-10-05, House Agreed to Bill by Voice Vote
Referred to Senate

May 11, 2005

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

To authorize the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish an awards program in honor of Charles `Pete' Conrad, astronaut and space scientist, for recognizing the discoveries made by amateur astronomers of asteroids with near-Earth orbit trajectories.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Charles `Pete' Conrad Astronomy Awards Act'.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Act--

(1) the term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;

(2) the term `amateur astronomer' means an individual whose employer does not provide any funding, payment, or compensation to the individual for the observation of asteroids and other celestial bodies, and does not include any individual employed as a professional astronomer;

(3) the term `Minor Planet Center' means the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory;

(4) the term `near-Earth asteroid' means an asteroid with a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units from the Sun; and

(5) the term `Program' means the Charles `Pete' Conrad Astronomy Awards Program established under section 3.

SEC. 3. PETE CONRAD ASTRONOMY AWARD PROGRAM.

(a) In General- The Administrator shall establish the Charles `Pete' Conrad Astronomy Awards Program.

(b) Awards- The Administrator shall make awards under the Program based on the recommendations of the Minor Planet Center.

(c) Award Categories- The Administrator shall make one annual award, unless there are no eligible discoveries or contributions, for each of the following categories:

(1) The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who in the preceding calendar year discovered the intrinsically brightest near-Earth asteroid among the near-Earth asteroids that were discovered during that year by amateur astronomers or groups of amateur astronomers.

(2) The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who made the greatest contribution to the Minor Planet Center's mission of cataloguing near-Earth asteroids during the preceding year.

(d) Award Amount- An award under the Program shall be in the amount of $3,000.

(e) Guidelines- (1) No individual who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States at the time of his discovery or contribution may receive an award under this Act.

(2) The decisions of the Administrator in making awards under this Act are final.

(f) Authorization of Appropriations- From sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives May 10, 2005.

Attest:

JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.

END