National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Section 104 of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. Section 104 requires that entities that operate any business on any premises owned or controlled by the United States be capable of accepting and dispensing $1 coins on and after January 1, 2008.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to adopt the interim rule published in the Federal Register at 71 FR 36935, June 28, 2006, as a final rule without change. This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Dominican RepublicCentral AmericaUnited States Free Trade Agreement with respect to El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Dominican RepublicCentral AmericaUnited States Free Trade Agreement with respect to the Dominican Republic. The rule also adds Bulgaria and Romania to the list of World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement countries.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to adopt the interim rule published in the Federal Register at 71 FR 38247 on July 5, 2006, as a final rule with changes. The final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide a single reference to acquisition flexibilities that may be used to facilitate and expedite acquisitions of supplies and services during emergency situations.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to address the acquisition of products and services for personal identity verification that comply with requirements in Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12, ``Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,'' and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) 201, ``Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors.''

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning reporting purchases from sources outside the United States. The clearance currently expires on November 30, 2007. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), NASA's NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR Part 1216, Subpart 1216.3), and Executive Order 12114, NASA has prepared and issued a Draft PEIS for the proposed Constellation Program to assist in the NASA decision making process. The Proposed Action is to continue preparations for and to implement the Constellation Program. The focus of the Constellation Program is the development of the flight systems and Earth-based ground infrastructure required to enable the United States to have continued access to space and to enable future human missions to the International Space Station, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The Constellation Program also would be responsible for developing and testing flight hardware, and performing mission operations once the infrastructure is sufficiently developed. The only alternative to the Proposed Action discussed in detail is the No Action Alternative where NASA would not continue preparations for nor implement the Constellation Program and therefore, would forego the opportunity for human exploration of space using U.S. space vehicles.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

This notice is issued in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 2451 (314)(d). The 2007 Beam Power Challenge is now scheduled and teams that wish to compete may now register. The NASA Centennial Challenges Program is a program of prize contests to stimulate innovation and competition in space exploration and ongoing NASA mission areas. The 2007 Beam Power Challenge is a prize contest designed to promote the development of new power distribution technologies. The 2007 Beam Power Challenge is being administered for NASA by the Spaceward Foundation. Their Web site is: https://www.spaceward.org. The Centennial Challenges Web site is https:// www.centennialchallenges.nasa.gov.

This notice is issued in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 2458c(b)(2)(B). Per statute, NASA is required to publish the amount of insurance required when a party to an agreement between the Administration and the party, made for the purpose of developing new technology for an experimental aerospace vehicle, has requested indemnification. For the demonstration launch of ATK's new suborbital ALV-X1 launch vehicle at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, carrying experimental aerospace vehicle payloads, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 2458c(d)(3), scheduled for the 1st quarter of Fiscal Year 2008, the Administrator has determined the maximum probable loss to be $15.4 million for Government property, $180,000 for 3rd party property, and $9 million for 3rd party personnel. As a condition for indemnification, analogous to that required by the Commercial Space Launch Act, ATK is required to carry insurance to cover the MPL. Per statute, conditional indemnification may only be provided upon ATK's successful passage of a NASA safety review, and certification of adequate insurance coverage.

This final rule amends NASA regulations by removing from NASA grant officers responsibility for submitting Individual Procurement Action Reports (NF 507) for all grant and cooperative agreement actions. This rule also removes the ``Individual Procurement Action Report (NASA Form 507)''.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning Subcontractor Payments. A request for public comments was published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 19187, April 17, 2007. No comments were received. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Small Business Administration's (SBA) final rule published on November 15, 2006 (71 FR 66434), entitled ``Small Business Size Regulations; Size for Purposes of Government-wide Acquisition Contracts, Multiple Award Schedule Contracts and Other Long-Term Contracts; 8(a) Business Development/Small Disadvantaged Business; Business Status Determinations.'' The purpose of the SBA rule is to improve the accuracy of small business size status reporting over the life of certain contracts.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-18. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov/.

This notice is issued to correct the annual recordkeeping burden published for Information Collection Number 9000-0090, Rights in Data and Copyrights, in the Federal Register at 72 FR 28687, May 22, 2007.

This notice is issued in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i). NASA hereby gives notice of its intent to grant an exclusive license worldwide to practice the inventions described and claimed in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,261,844, entitled ``Urine Preservative''; 6,133,036, entitled ``Preservation Of Liquid Biological Samples''; and 6,716,392, entitled ``Preservation Of Liquid Biological Samples'', to Antlers Plus LLC., having its principal place of business in Henley, Missouri. The fields of use may be limited to deer hunting. The patent rights in these inventions have been assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The prospective exclusive license will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Astrophysics Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Subcommittee reports to the Science Committee of the NAC. The Meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the scientific community and other persons scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

The inventions listed below assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have been filed in the United States Patent and Trademark office, and are available for licensing.

The invention listed below is assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the subject of a patent application that has been filed in the United States Patent and Trademark office, and is available for licensing.

The inventions listed below assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have been filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and are available for licensing.

The inventions listed below assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have been filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and are available for licensing.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning rights in data and copyrights. A request for public comments was published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 10178, on March 7, 2007. No comments were received. This OMB clearance expires on June 30, 2007. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Heliophysics Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Subcommittee reports to the Science Committee of the NAC. The Meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the scientific community and other persons scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to simplify procedures, clarify language, and eliminate obsolete requirements related to the management and disposition of Government property in the possession of contractors. FAR parts are amended to implement a policy that improves the management of Government property while fostering efficiency, flexibility, innovation and creativity by adopting property practices typically used in the commercial arena while continuing to protect the Government's interest. In addition, the rule simplifies requirements on contractors by reducing the number of FAR clauses from nineteen clauses to three overarching clauses. The final rule specifically impacts contracting officers, property administrators, and contractors responsible for the management of Government property.