# Understanding the ASCEND Act

NASA wants to buy satellite pictures and data from private companies instead of always collecting everything themselves. The ASCEND Act makes this official policy and sets up a formal program to do it. Right now, NASA has been testing this approach with a pilot program since 2019, and it's worked well enough that Congress wants to make it permanent and expand it.

Here's what this means in practical terms: instead of NASA building and launching all its own Earth-observation satellites, it can purchase images and data from commercial satellite companies that already exist. These companies take pictures of Earth for weather forecasting, agriculture, disaster response, and other purposes. By buying from them, NASA gets more data faster and at lower cost, while also supporting American space companies. Scientists who work with NASA or other government agencies would get access to this commercial satellite data to study climate change, natural disasters, urban development, and other Earth science questions.

The bill includes some important protections. First, NASA has to buy from American companies whenever possible. Second, the data NASA purchases can't be locked away—scientists need to be able to publish their findings and share information derived from the satellite images. This ensures the public benefits from the research. Third, NASA has to report annually to Congress about which companies it's working with, what the licensing agreements say, and how the data is being used for science. The bill also tries to make the licensing terms as open as possible so that not just NASA-funded researchers, but other government employees and even outside scientists can use the data.

Essentially, this bill lets NASA tap into the growing commercial satellite industry to get better Earth observation data while keeping costs down and making sure the scientific community can actually use what's purchased.

ASCEND Act

Hurd, Jeff

Accessing Satellite Capabilities to Enable New Discoveries Act or the ASCEND ActThis 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. &nbsp;