DOE and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act
H.R. 1368 establishes a formal framework for coordinated research and development (R&D) between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Under the bill, the Secretary of Energy and the NASA Administrator may jointly pursue cross-cutting R&D efforts aligned with their missions, including potentially competitive awards. The act directs the agencies to use memoranda of understanding and interagency agreements to coordinate activities, pursue collaborative work across a set of defined focus areas, improve data handling for large space/aeronautical datasets, and promote data sharing among DOE, NASA, national laboratories, and other entities. It also requires merit-based selection for awards, allows reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements, and obligates a two-year progress report to Congress detailing activities, outcomes, and future directions. The measure emphasizes alignment with existing research security requirements.
Key Points
- 1Creates a framework for cross-cutting, collaborative R&D between DOE and NASA, with the possibility of competitive awards to carry out these activities.
- 2Requires formal coordination through memoranda of understanding and other interagency agreements between DOE and NASA.
- 3Defines focus areas for collaboration, including propulsion systems (including nuclear options), advanced modeling and data science, fundamental physics/astrophysics/cosmology, earth/environmental sciences, quantum information sciences, radiation health effects, space-based solar energy transmission, and other mutually important research areas.
- 4Enables data management and collaboration, including handling large voluntary datasets on space/aeronautical information on high-performance computing systems, and promotes access to and secure transfer of data and infrastructure across agencies and laboratories.
- 5Establishes merit-based, competitive processes for awards, authorizes reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements, and requires a two-year report to Congress detailing coordination activities, capabilities expanded, achievements, future areas, and ongoing collaboration, while ensuring compliance with existing research security laws.