S. 447 · 118th Congress

ORBITS Act of 2023

Introduced on Feb 15, 2023 by John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO). 5 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Latest action (Nov 6, 2023): Held at the desk.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Feb 15, 2023
Cosponsors
5
2 from the other party
Policy area
Science, Technology, Communications
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

A bill to establish a demonstration program for the active remediation of orbital debris and to require the development of uniform orbital debris standard practices in order to support a safe and sustainable orbital environment, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Advanced technology and technological innovations
  • Congressional oversight
  • Economic performance and conditions
  • Government information and archives
  • International scientific cooperation
  • Licensing and registrations
  • Radio spectrum allocation
  • Research and development
  • Scientific communication
  • Spacecraft and satellites
  • Technology assessment

Summary

The Congressional Research Service has not summarized this measure yet.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

John W. HickenlooperD-COSponsor

Democrats · 2

Independents · 1

Republicans · 2

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Feb 15, 2023Introduced in Senate
  2. Feb 15, 2023 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  3. Jul 27, 2023 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  4. Sep 12, 2023Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  5. Sep 12, 2023 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  6. Sep 12, 2023 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 206.
  7. Oct 31, 2023 · SenateMeasure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S5262-5266)
  8. Oct 31, 2023 · SenateThe committee amendment as amended agreed to by Unanimous Consent.
  9. Oct 31, 2023Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S5264-5266)
  10. Oct 31, 2023 · SenatePassed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S5264-5266)
  11. Nov 6, 2023 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  12. Nov 6, 2023 · HouseReceived in the House.
  13. Nov 6, 2023 · HouseHeld at the desk.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. SIERRA SPACE CORPORATION14 reports
    $1.1M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: SIERRA SPACE CORP$10.9M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  2. ASTROSCALE U.S., INC.5 reports
    $380K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: ASTROSCALE US INC$203.5K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  3. Aerospace Industries Association of America, Inc.5 reports
    $2.1M reported (all issues)
  4. SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP.5 reports
    $3.6M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP$6.6M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  5. LEOLABS, INC.4 reports
    $380K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: LEOLABS INCAI match · 100%
  6. AXIOM SPACE2 reports
    $370K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AXIOM SPACE INC$212.8M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  7. Maxar Intelligence (formerly known as Maxar Technologies Holdings Inc.)2 reports
    $410K reported (all issues)
  8. Maxar Technologies Holdings, Inc.2 reports
    $470K reported (all issues)
  9. Amazon.com Services LLC1 report
    $4.5M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC$285.9K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  10. Maxar Intelligence1 report
    $210K reported (all issues)
  11. UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO1 report
    $167.6K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HOSPITAL AUTHORITY$91.6K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 90%
  12. United Launch Alliance LLC1 report
    Federal contractor: UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE, L.L.CAI match · 100%
  13. VIASAT, INC.1 report
    $310K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: VIASAT INC$332.6M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%

Reports filed in 2023, 2024.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.