[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6455 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
Calendar No. 885
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6455
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 16, 2008
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative
Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration began
operation on October 1, 1958, with about 8,000 employees and an
annual budget of $100,000,000;
(2) over the next 50 years, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration has been involved in many defining events
which have shaped the course of human history and demonstrated
to the world the character of the people of the United States;
(3) among the many firsts by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration are that--
(A) on December 6, 1958, the United States launched
Pioneer 3, the first United States satellite to ascend
to an altitude of 63,580 miles;
(B) on March 3, 1959, the United States sent
Pioneer 4 to the Moon, successfully making the first
United States lunar flyby;
(C) on April 1, 1960, the United States launched
TIROS 1, the first successful meteorological satellite,
observing Earth's weather;
(D) on May 5, 1961, Freedom 7, carrying Astronaut
Alan B. Shepard, Jr., was the first American space
flight involving human beings;
(E) on February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the
first American to circle the Earth, making 3 orbits in
his Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft;
(F) on December 14, 1962, Mariner 2 became the
first spacecraft to commit a successful planetary flyby
(Venus);
(G) on April 6, 1965, the United States launched
Intelsat I (also known as Early Bird 1), the first
commercial satellite (communications), into
geostationary orbit;
(H) on June 3 through 7, 1965, the second piloted
Gemini mission, Gemini IV, stayed aloft for 4 days, and
astronaut Edward H. White II performed the first EVA or
``spacewalk'' by an American;
(I) on June 2, 1966, Surveyor 1 became the first
American spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon;
(J) on May 31, 1971, the United States launched
Mariner 9, the first mission to orbit another planet
(Mars) beginning November 13, 1971;
(K) on April 12, 1981, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration launched the Space Shuttle
Columbia on the first flight of the Space
Transportation System (STS-1);
(L) on June 18, 1983, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration launched Space Shuttle Challenger
(STS-7) carrying 3 mission specialists, including Sally
K. Ride, the first woman astronaut;
(M) in another historic mission, 2 months later,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
launched STS-8 carrying the first black American
astronaut, Guion S. Bluford; and
(N) on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia's
26th flight was led by Air Force Col. Eileen Collins,
the first woman to command a Shuttle mission;
(4) on April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration unveiled the Mercury astronaut corps, 7 men with
``the right stuff'': John H. Glenn, Jr., Walter M. Schirra,
Jr., Alan B. Shepard, Jr., M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon
Cooper, Virgil I. ``Gus'' Grissom, and Donald K. ``Deke''
Slayton;
(5) on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy, reflecting
the highest aspirations of the American people, proclaimed: ``I
believe this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this
period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in
the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so
difficult or expensive to accomplish.'';
(6) on September 19, 1961, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration announced that the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration center dedicated to human space flight
would be built in Houston, Texas;
(7) on February 17, 1973, the Manned Spacecraft Center in
Houston was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center;
(8) on December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 took off atop a Saturn V
booster from the Kennedy Space Center for a historic mission to
orbit the Moon;
(9) as Apollo 8 traveled outward, the crew focused a
portable television camera on Earth and for the first time
humanity saw its home from afar, a tiny, lovely, and fragile
``blue marble'' hanging in the blackness of space;
(10) this transmission and viewing of Earth from a distance
was an enormously significant accomplishment and united the
Nation at a time when American society was in crisis over
Vietnam, race relations, urban problems, and a host of other
difficulties;
(11) on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A.
Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin made the first lunar landing
mission while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the Apollo
command module;
(12) Armstrong set foot on the surface of the Moon, telling
the millions of listeners that it was ``one small step for a
man, one giant leap for mankind'', and Aldrin soon followed and
planted an American flag, but omitted claiming the land for the
United States, as had routinely been done during European
exploration of the Americas;
(13) the 2 Moon walkers left behind an American flag and a
plaque bearing the inscription: ``Here Men From The Planet
Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. Jul. 1969 A.D. We Came in
Peace for All Mankind.'';
(14) on April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was
launched into space aboard the STS-31 mission of the Space
Shuttle Discovery, and since then, the Hubble has
revolutionized astronomy, while expanding our knowledge of the
universe and inspiring millions of scientists, students, and
members of the public with its unprecedented deep and clear
images of space;
(15) on July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars
and on January 29, 1998, an International Space Station
agreement among 15 countries met in Washington, DC, to sign
agreements to establish the framework for cooperation among the
partners on the design, development, operation, and utilization
of the Space Station;
(16) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
stunning achievements over the last 50 years have been won for
all mankind at great cost and sacrifice; in the quest to
explore the universe, many National Aeronautics and Space
Administration employees have lost their lives, including the
crews of Apollo 1, the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the Space
Shuttle Columbia;
(17) the success of the United States space exploration
program in the 20th Century augurs well for its continued
leadership in the 21st Century, such leadership being
attributable to the remarkable and indispensable partnership
between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and
its 10 space and research centers, including--
(A) from small spacecraft to supercomputers,
science missions and payloads to thermal protection
systems, information technology to aerospace, the Ames
Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, which
provides products, technologies, and services that
enable NASA missions and expand human knowledge;
(B) the Dryden Flight Research Center, the leading
center for innovative flight research;
(C) the Glenn Research Center, which develops
power, propulsion, and communication technologies for
space flight systems and aeronautics research;
(D) the Goddard Space Flight Center, which
specializes in research to expand knowledge on the
Earth and its environment, the solar system, and the
universe through observations from space;
(E) the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the leading
center for robotic exploration of the Solar System;
(F) the Johnson Space Center, which manages the
development, testing, production, and delivery of all
United States human spacecraft and all human
spacecraft-related functions;
(G) the Kennedy Space Center, the gateway to the
Universe and world leader in preparing and launching
missions around the Earth and beyond;
(H) the Langley Research Center, which continues to
forge new frontiers in aviation and space research for
aerospace, atmospheric sciences, and technology
commercialization to improve the way the world lives;
(I) the Marshall Space Flight Center, a world
leader in developing space transportation and
propulsion systems that accelerate exploration and
scientific discovery, including the Michoud Assembly
Facility, which has been a world-class facility since
1961 for fabrication of large space structures,
including the Saturn V and the Space Shuttle External
Tank, and which will have a critical role in the
Constellation program, including manufacturing major
pieces of the Orion crew capsule, the Ares I upper
stage, and the Ares V core stage; and
(J) the Stennis Space Center, which is responsible
for rocket propulsion testing and for partnering with
industry to develop and implement remote sensing
technology;
(18) the United States should pay tribute to the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, and to its successful
partnerships with the space and research centers, by minting
and issuing a commemorative silver dollar coin; and
(19) the surcharge proceeds from the sale of a
commemorative coin would generate valuable funding for the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Families
Assistance Fund, for the purposes of providing need-based
financial assistance to the families of any National
Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel who lose their
lives as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of
their official duties, and for other worthy and important
purposes.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the following coins:
(1) $50 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $50 gold coins,
which shall--
(A) weigh 33.931 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 32.7 millimeters; and
(C) contain 1 troy ounce of fine gold.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 300,000 $1 coins of
each of the 9 designs specified in section 4(a)(3)(B), which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent
copper.
(b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
(c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered
to be numismatic items.
(d) Mintage Level Limit.--Notwithstanding the mintage level limit
described under section 5112(m)(2)(A)(ii) of title 31, United States
Code, the Secretary may mint and issue not more than 300,000 of each of
the 9 $1 coins authorized to be minted under this Act.
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) Design Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this
Act shall be emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and
unparalleled achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
(2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted
under this Act, there shall be--
(A) a designation of the value of the coin;
(B) an inscription of the year ``2008''; and
(C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God
We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E
Pluribus Unum'', and such other inscriptions as the
Secretary may determine to be appropriate for the
designs of the coins.
(3) Coin images.--
(A) $50 coins.--
(i) Obverse.--The obverse of the $50 coins
issued under this Act shall bear an image of
the sun.
(ii) Reverse.--The reverse of the $50 coins
issued under this Act shall bear a design
emblematic of the sacrifice of the United
States astronauts who lost their lives in the
line of duty over the course of the space
program.
(iii) High relief.--The design and
inscriptions on the obverse and reverse of the
$50 coins issued under this Act shall be in
high relief.
(B) $1 coins.--
(i) Obverse.--The obverse of the $1 coins
issued under this Act shall bear 9 different
designs, each of which shall consist of an
image of 1 of the 9 planets of the solar
system, including Earth.
(ii) Reverse.--The reverse of the $1 coins
issued under this Act shall bear different
designs, each of which shall be emblematic of
the contributions of the research and space
centers, subject to the following requirements:
(I) Earth coin.--The reverse of the
$1 coins issued under this Act which
bear an image of the Earth on the
obverse shall bear images emblematic
of, and honoring, the discoveries and
missions of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, the Mercury,
Gemini, and Space Shuttle missions and
other manned Earth-orbiting missions,
and the Apollo missions to the Moon.
(II) Jupiter coin.--The reverse of
the $1 coins issued under this Act
which bear an image of the planet
Jupiter on the obverse shall include a
scientifically accurate depiction of
the Galilean moon Europa and depict
both a past and future mission to
Europa.
(III) Saturn coin.--The reverse of
the $1 coins issued under this Act
which bear an image of the planet
Saturn on the obverse shall include a
scientifically accurate depiction of
the moon Titan and depict both a past
and a future mission to Titan.
(IV) Pluto (and other dwarf
planets) coin.--The reverse of the $1
coins issued under this Act which bear
an image of the planet Pluto on the
obverse shall include a design that is
emblematic of telescopic exploration of
deep space by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration and the
ongoing search for Earth-like planets
orbiting other stars.
(4) Realistic and scientifically accurate depictions.--The
images for the designs of coins issued under this Act shall be
selected on the basis of the realism and scientific accuracy of
the images and on the extent to which the images are
reminiscent of the dramatic and beautiful artwork on coins of
the so-called ``Golden Age of Coinage'' in the United States,
at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, with the
participation of such noted sculptors and medallic artists as
James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Victor David
Brenner, Adolph A. Weinman, Charles E. Barber, and George T.
Morgan.
(b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act
shall be--
(1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee.
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued
in proof quality only.
(b) Mint Facility.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may
be used to strike any particular combination of denomination and
quality of the coins minted under this Act.
(c) Period for Issuance.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, including section 7(d), the Secretary--
(1) may accept orders for the coins authorized under this
Act during the period beginning on January 1, 2008 and ending
on December 31, 2008; and
(2) may mint and issue such coins required to fulfill such
orders during the period beginning on January 1, 2008 and
ending on December 31, 2009.
(d) Exception to Program Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the minting or issuance of coins under this Act in
2009 shall not--
(1) preclude the Secretary from including a surcharge on
the issuance of any other commemorative coin minted or issued
in 2009; and
(2) be counted against the annual 2 commemorative coin
program minting and issuance limitation under section
5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code.
(e) Issuance of Gold Coins.--Each gold coin minted under this Act
may be issued only as part of a complete set with 1 of each of the 9 $1
coins minted under this Act.
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.
(a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by
the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
(1) the face value of the coins;
(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect to
such coins; and
(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including
labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses,
marketing, and shipping).
(b) Prepaid Orders.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders
for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such
coins.
(2) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders
under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
(c) Presentation.--In addition to the issuance of coins under this
Act in such other methods of presentation as the Secretary determines
to be appropriate, the Secretary shall provide, as a sale option, a
presentation case which displays the $50 gold coin in the center,
surrounded by the $1 silver coins in elliptical orbits. All such
presentation cases shall bear a plaque with appropriate inscriptions
that include the names and dates of the spacecraft missions on which
United States astronauts lost their lives over the course of the space
program and the names of such astronauts.
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) In General.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall
include a surcharge as follows:
(1) A surcharge of $50 per coin for the $50 coin.
(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
(3) A surcharge of $1 per coin for any bronze duplicate
minted under section 8.
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United
States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of
coins issued under this Act shall be promptly distributed as follows:
(1) The first $4,000,000 available for distribution under
this section, to the NASA Family Assistance Fund, for the
purpose of providing need-based financial assistance to the
families of NASA personnel who lose their lives as a result of
injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.
(2) Of amounts available for distribution after the payment
under paragraph (1), \1/2\ of the next $1,000,000 to each of
the following:
(A) The Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational
(D.R.E.M.E.) Science Literacy Foundation for the
purposes of improving and strengthening the process of
teaching and learning science, math, and technology at
all educational levels, elementary through college
through the promotion of innovative educational
programs.
(B) The Challenger Center for Space Science
Education, for the purposes of creating positive
learning experiences using space science as a theme
that raise student expectations of success, fostering a
long-term interest in mathematics, science, and
technology, and motivating students to pursue careers
in these fields.
(3) The remainder of the amounts available for distribution
after the payments under paragraphs (1) and (2), to the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation,
maintenance, and display of space artifacts at the National Air
and Space Museum (including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center).
(c) Audits.--The NASA Family Assistance Fund, the Dr. Ronald E.
McNair Educational Science Literacy Foundation, the Challenger Center
for Space Science Education, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution shall be subject to the audit requirements of section
5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts
received under subsection (b).
(d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge may
be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any coin
during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the
issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin
programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative
coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31,
United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act). The Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.
SEC. 8. BRONZE DUPLICATES.
The Secretary may strike and sell bronze duplicates of the $50 gold
coins authorized under this Act, at a price determined by the Secretary
to be appropriate. Such duplicates shall not be considered to be United
States coins and shall not be legal tender.
Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.
By Robert F. Reeves,
Deputy Clerk.
Calendar No. 885
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6455
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 16, 2008
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar