This bill would create a Center of Excellence for Dark and Quiet Skies. The Department of Commerce, through the Under Secretary for Standards and Technology, would competitively award a grant to an eligible entity to establish and run the Center. The Center would research, develop, test, and share voluntary ways to reduce optical and radio interference from satellites and other space activities that affect federally funded astronomy and radio science. The Center would work with industry, observatories, Native entities, federal agencies, and others, publish research results in a public repository (with protections for confidential information), and run for up to 5 years subject to funding and performance reviews.
The bill authorizes $20,000,000 to be appropriated for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the Center’s activities, subject to availability of appropriations. The Center may operate for up to 5 years. Grant applicants are to show plans for financial sustainability and may include matching funds. The Under Secretary may terminate the Center for underperformance. The Under Secretary is not required to use funds that were appropriated for other Department of Commerce purposes.
Proponents want a coordinated, transdisciplinary center to increase collaboration between federal agencies, the satellite industry, observatories, Native entities, and researchers. They support developing and sharing voluntary, evidence-based best practices, testing and modeling methods to measure and reduce optical and radio impacts, and publishing findings to protect federally funded astronomical and radio science.
No publicly available information.