SecBot SecBot

ASCEND Act

S. 1437 Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) Passed Senate
Bill text PDF
  1. Introduced Apr 10
  2. Committee Apr 10
  3. Passed Senate Dec 9
  4. Passed House Next
  5. To President Not yet
  6. Law Not yet
Where it stands
Passed Senate, Dec 9, 2025Next: House vote
322d ago Dec 10, 2025: Held at the desk.
Final votes
No roll callsNo recorded vote on this bill yet
Lobbying
1company, 6 filings
Subscribe to see spend
Member trades
0trades in the last 90 days
None in these companies
Who backs the bill and who pushes back Subscribe

Companies lobbying on this bill

1 company
Companies by sector
Technology & Software 1
Search all 1 companies, their asks and price moves Subscribe

Summary

Accessing Satellite Capabilities to Enable New Discoveries Act or the ASCEND Act

Full summary2 paragraphs

This bill provides statutory authority for the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Through the CSDA program, NASA acquires remote sensing data and imagery from commercial satellites to support its Earth science research. (Remote sensing generally refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth’s orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth’s surface.)

Under the bill, NASA may establish or modify end-use agreements to allow for broad use of data and imagery acquired under the program, including by individuals outside of NASA (e.g., other federal agencies). The terms of any data or imagery acquisition may not prevent the publication of such data or imagery for scientific purposes or the publication of information derived from it. To the extent practicable, NASA must acquire such data and imagery from U.S. vendors.

Library of Congress summary, Dec 9, 2025

Summary versions
  • Passed SenateDec 9, 2025

Official record from Congress.gov, the House Clerk and the Senate; lobbying from Lobbying Disclosure Act filings. Updated Oct 28, 2026.