National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Applied Sciences Advisory Committee (ASAC). This Committee functions in an advisory capacity to the Director, Earth Science Division, in the NASA Science Mission Directorate. The meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting, from the applied sciences community and other persons, scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a forthcoming meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the NASA International Space Station (ISS) Advisory Committee. The purpose of the meeting is to review all aspects related to the safety and operational readiness of the ISS, and to assess the possibilities for using the ISS for future space exploration.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement concerning environmentally sound products.

NASA hereby gives notice of its intent to grant an exclusive patent license in the United States to practice the invention described and claimed in U.S. Patent Number 7,621,670 entitled, ``Unbalanced- flow, Fluid-Mixing Plug with Metering Capabilities'', to APlus-QMC, LLC, having its principal place of business in McDonough, GA. The fields of use are unlimited. NASA has not yet made a determination to grant the requested license and may deny the requested license even if no objections are submitted within the comment period.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB) will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement for the Architect-Engineer Qualifications form (SF 330).

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Astrophysics Advisory Committee. This Committee reports to the Director, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. 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 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, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension to a previously approved information collection requirement concerning contract financing. A notice was published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2016. No comments were received.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC).

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Human Exploration and Operations Committee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Committee reports to the NAC.

NASA announces its annual invitation for public nominations for service on four new Federal advisory committees of NASA that advise NASA on science. The four new committees, formerly subcommittees of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee (NAC SC), have been established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), and will advise four divisions of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD). On December 2, 2016, NASA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing their establishment [Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. 232, pages 87082-87083]. U.S. citizens may submit self-nominations for consideration to fill vacancies on these four new committees. There will be member vacancies from time to time throughout the year, and NASA will consider self- nominations to fill such intermittent vacancies. Nominees will only be contacted should a vacancy be available and it is judged that their area(s) of expertise is appropriate for that specific vacancy. NASA is committed to selecting members to serve on these committees based on their individual expertise, knowledge, experience, current/past contributions to the relevant subject area and overall diversity of the committee. All member appointments are non-compensated. However, NASA does cover travel and per diem expenses for all member appointments.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Institutional Committee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This committee reports to the NAC.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Ad Hoc Big Data Task Force. This task force reports to the NASA Advisory Council's Science Committee. The meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting and discussing, from the scientific community and other persons, scientific and technical information relevant to big data.

NASA hereby gives notice of its intent to grant an exclusive patent license in the United States to practice the invention described and claimed in U.S. Patent Number 7,867,589 entitled ``Hybrid Cryogenic Tank Construction and Method of Manufacture thereof;'' U.S. Patent Number 7,641,949 entitled ``Pressure Vessel with Improved Impact resistance and Method of making the same;'' U.S. Patent Number 8,561,829 entitled ``Composite Pressure Vessel including Crack Arresting Barrier;'' U.S. Patent Number 8,297,468 entitled ``Fuel Tank for Liquefied Natural Gas'' and U.S. Patent Number 6,953,129 entitled ``Pressure Vessel with Impact and Fire Resistant and Method of making same'' to Cimarron Composites, having its principal place of business in Huntsville, Alabama (USA). The fields of use may be limited to design and manufacturing of composite tanks and pressure vessels for aerospace and other commercial applications.

DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a proposed rule (FAR Case 2016-005) on November 29, 2016, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. This rule clarifies that agency acquisition personnel are permitted and encouraged to engage in responsible and constructive exchanges with industry, so long as those exchanges are consistent with existing law and regulation and do not promote an unfair competitive advantage to particular firms. The deadline for submitting comments is being extended from January 30, 2017 to March 2, 2017 to provide additional time for interested parties to provide comments on the FAR case.

This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-95, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-95, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory clarifications made by the Small Business Administration regarding the 8(a) program.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 to raise the simplified acquisition threshold for special emergency procurement authority.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-95. 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.