Senate passes orbit debris cleanup bill

The Senate passed legislation that would direct NASA to establish a program to remove orbital debris, but supporters of the bill will likely have to try again in the next Congress to enact it. The Senate passed by unanimous consent late Dec. 21 the Orbital Sustainability, or ORBITS, Act. The bill was introduced by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee, in September. The bill was co-sponsored by the ranking member of the subcommittee, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) along with the chair and ranking member of the full committee, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) More

(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 25)