news release entitled "Productivity and Costs.'

(e) Independence of pricing and manifesting. The standard flight price for a shared flight payload as computed from 1214.103(g) will be independent from the actual payload manifest for a specific shared flight.

(f) Allocation of services. (1) Customers contracting for a dedicated flight are eligible for the full standard services, as defined in §1214.115, available on the flight.

(2) Customers contracting for a standard shared flight meeting the criteria of §1214.117 are eligible for a portion of the standard services, as defined in § 1214.115, available on the flight. The basis of apportionment will be determined by NASA and will be a function of the payload load factor.

(g) Computation of prices. (1) The Shuttle standard flight price for a dedicated flight is the dedicated flight price as defined in § 1214.102(c).

(2) The Shuttle standard flight price for a standard shared flight is the product of the payload's charge factor and the dedicated flight price as defined in § 1214.102(c).

(3) The computed charge factor for a payload is defined as:

Load Factor 0.75

If the computed charge factor exceeds 1.0, the charge factor will be 1.0. If the computed charge factor is less than 0.067, the charge factor will be 0.067.

(1) Payload length is as defined in § 1214.102(j);

(ii) Payload weight is as defined in § 1214.102(k);

(iii) For those payloads for which NASA has reviewed and accepted a NASA Form 1628 (Request for Flight Assignment) and received earnest money (if required) prior to (insert date of publication in FEDERAL REGISTER), the Shuttle lift capability for a shared flight, standard launch will be 29,478 kg. For all other payloads, the lift capability for a shared flight, standard launch will be 21,542 kg.

(h) Payment schedule—(1) Earnest money. Earnest money in the amount of $100,000 per payload will be paid to NASA by the customer. The earnest money will be paid at the time of submission of a NASA Form 1628, and will be applied to the first payment made by the customer toward the standard flight price, or will be retained by NASA unless NASA determines that the payload does not meet the eligibility criteria referenced in § 1214.101.

(2) Payment schedule for standard services. (i) Payment for standard services will be made in accordance with the following schedule:

(B) A customer's requested rescheduling of a payload such that it will be launched at an earlier date; or

(C) Rescheduling of a payload postponed at the request of the customer or caused by the customer.

(iii) If the time from a customer's request for initial scheduling or rescheduling of a payload is less than 1 year from the launch date being requested, and NASA can accommodate the request, NASA may also charge the customer any estimated additional cost of providing standard services on such a shortened schedule.

(iv) Normally no charges for standard services will be made after the flight, except for a final adjustment for escalation.

(i) Late payment fees. Customers who do not meet the payment schedule defined in § 1214.103(h) will be subject to a late payment fee established by NASA in the launch agreement.

§ 1214.104 Reimbursement for optional services.

(a) Pricing basis. To the extent practical, optional services will be provided on a fixed-price or fixed-rate basis. If this is not practical, the price will be on a governmental cost basis; i.e., the actual cost or in certain cases the estimated actual costs.

(b) Escalation of payments. All payments for optional services subject to escalation will be escalated in accordance with the provisions of § 1214.103(d).

(c) Schedules of payments. NASA will establish payment schedules for optional services and will incorporate those schedules in the launch agreement at the time a particular optional service is agreed to between the customer and NASA.

(d) Late payment fees. Customers who do not make payments by the due dates defined by NASA will be subject to a late payment fee established by NASA in the launch agreement.

§ 1214.105 Apportionment and/or signment of services.

(b) Integration of apportioned/assigned payload elements within the payload is the responsibility of the customer. Any NASA assistance in such integration will be provided as an optional service.

(c) Customers intending to apportion and/or assign services will so designate at the time the launch agreement is signed.

§ 1214.106 Minor delays.

NASA will attempt to accommodate customer requested minor launch delays. Such delays will normally be requested just prior to launch. Except for potential optional service charges, delays up to 72 hours can normally be accommodated at no charge. This 72hour period is shared by all customers on a particular flight. The basis of proration will be established in the launch agreement. Delays beyond 72 hours will require NASA's approval and will result in an additional charge as established in the launch agreement.

as

(a) Subject to NASA approval, a customer may apportion and/or assign Shuttle services to third parties within the payload. No apportionment and/or assignment of Shuttle services may take place outside the payload.

(c) If at any point, a customer postponement results in a launch date

more than 12 months later than the original scheduled launch date, the standard flight price for the customer's payload may be adjusted by NASA to reflect any new standard flight price applicable at the time of the postponed launch, if such new price is higher than the originally contracted price.

(d) The payment schedule for postponed flights will be as defined in § 1214.103(h)(2).

(e) Customers postponing the flight of a payload may also be subject to new or additional charges for optional services.

(2) The termination fee for shared flights will be the sum of all payments previously paid or due for the standard flight price, as defined in § 1214.103(h)(2), at the time of termination.

(b) NASA may establish, in the launch agreement, certain conditions under which the customer may terminate a payload launch with reduced termination fees if NASA delays the launch of the customer's payload for an extended period.

(c) Customers terminating the flight of a payload may also be subject to new or additional charges for optional services.

§ 1214.109 Scheduling.

(a) Establishment of a launch date. (1) NASA will assign a tentative launch date for a payload only after NASA's receipt, review and acceptance of a customer-submitted NASA Form 1628 requesting flight assignment and NASA's receipt of the customer's earnest money.

(2) NASA's confirmation of a particular launch date will be at the time a launch services agreement is signed, normally not later than 36 months prior to the desired launch date.

(b) NASA changes to launch date. NASA will attempt to maintain the customer's launch date as long as the customer's obligations, as established by NASA, are met. However, NASA may revise the launch date under those circumstances contained in the launch agreement. If practical, NASA launch date changes will be in consultation with the customer; however, NASA reserves the unilateral right to make decisions with regard to launch schedules.

(c) Payload delivery. NASA, in consultation with the customer, will establish a date for payload delivery to the launch site.

(d) Reflight scheduling. NASA will attempt to schedule a payload reflight at the earliest opportunity, but normally no earlier than 14 months after a determination is made that a customer is entitled to, and in fact requests a reflight.

§ 1214.110 Reflight.

(a) NASA will provide a reflight of a customer's payload under conditions defined in the launch agreement. The standard flight price for reflights will be based on NASA's marginal cost as defined in §1214.102(f). Reflights only apply to dedicated flights and those shared-flight payloads that can be accommodated on a standard launch as defined in § 1214.117.

(b) Reflights as defined in this §1214.110 apply only to the same payload involved in the launch that necessitated the reflight, or to an essentially identical payload with essentially identical integration and flight operations requirements.

§ 1214.111 Rendezvous services.

(a) A rendezvous mission involves the rendezvous of the Space Shuttle orbiter with an orbiting spacecraft for one or more of the following purposes:

(1) Retrieval and return to Earth of the orbiting spacecraft (or part thereof), including a spacecraft deployed earlier on the same Space Shuttle flight.

(2) Exchange of a spacecraft (or part thereof) delivered to orbit on a particular Space Shuttle mission for an already orbiting spacecraft (or part thereof) and return of already orbiting spacecraft to Earth.

(3) Revisit of an orbiting spacecraft for purposes such as resupply, repair, reboost or inspection.

(b) Mission operational requirements and associated optional service charges and conditions for both dedicated and shared flight rendezvous services will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

§ 1214.112 Patent, data and information matters.

(a) Patent and data rights. NASA will not acquire rights to inventions, patents or proprietary data which may be used in, or arise from, activities for which a customer has reimbursed NASA under the policies set forth herein. However, in certain instances in which the NASA Administrator has determined that activities may have a significant impact on the public health, safety or welfare, NASA may obtain assurances from the customer that the results will be made available to the public on terms and conditions reasonable under the circumstances.

(b) Information. All customers will be required to furnish NASA with sufficient information to ensure Shuttle safety and NASA's and the U.S. Government's continued compliance with law, published policy and the U.S. Government's obligations.

§ 1214.113 Allocation of risk.

The U.S. Government will assume no risk for damages to the customer resulting from certain activities conducted under the launch agreement or to third parties resulting from launch related activities or on-orbit operations. The customer will be required to agree to be bound by a cross-waiver

of liability among the customer, other customers, related entities and NASA for all activities under the launch agreement. The customer will also be required to purchase third-party liability insurance covering launch and onorbit operations in an amount deemed appropriate by NASA.

§ 1214.114 Provision of services.

NASA will provide, solely at its discretion, services to the extent consistent with U.S. obligations, law, policy and capability.

§ 1214.115 Standard services.

Standard services for the Space Shuttle are generically defined in NASA document NSTS 07700, Volume XIV. The standard services to be provided for a specific payload will be agreed to between NASA and the customer in the launch agreement and associated payload integration documentation. Typical standard services include the following for each customer.

(a) A standard launch that meets the criteria established in § 1214.117.

(b) Transportation of the customer's payload in the orbiter cargo bay in a location selected by NASA.

(c) One day of single-shift, on-orbit mission operations.

(d) A five-person flight crew: commander, pilot and three mission specialists.

(e) Orbiter flight planning services.

(f) One day of transmission of payload data to compatible receiving stations via an Independent Payload Data Stream. (Subject to availability, NASA may make excess orbiter instrumentation downlink capability available to payloads at no additional charge.)

(g) Deployment of a free flyer, provided the payload meets all the conditions stated in § 1214.118.

(h) NASA support of selected payload design reviews.

(i) Prelaunch payload installation, verification and orbiter compatibility testing.

(j) NASA payload safety reviews.

§ 1214.116 Typical optional services.

Typical optional services that may be provided by NASA include the following, and will be further defined and

limited in payload integration documentation agreed upon by NASA and the customer.

(a) Use of Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) capability or other mission kits to extend basic orbiter capability.

(b) Extravehicular activity (EVA) services.

(c) Transportation to orbit of all or a part of the customer's payload in other than the orbiter cargo bay.

(d) Unique payload/orbiter integration and test.

(e) Payload mission planning services, other than for launch, deployment and entry phases.

(f) Additional time on orbit. (g) Payload data processing.

(h) Flight of payload specialists.

(i) Transmission of payload data via an Independent Payload Data Stream during additional time on orbit.

(j) Transmission of payload data via a Direct Data Stream.

§ 1214.117 Launch and orbit parameters for a standard launch.

To qualify for the standard flight price, all payloads must meet the following launch criteria:

(a) For dedicated flights:

(1) Launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) into the customer's choice of two standard mission orbits: 160 NM circular orbit, 28.5° inclination (nominal), or 160 NM circular orbit, 57° inclination (nominal).

(2) Launch on a date selected by NASA within the scheduling constraints specified in the launch agreement.

(3) Launch at a time, selected by NASA, from a launch window of not less than 1 hour (a more restrictive launch window may be provided as an optional service).

(b) For shared flights from KSC to the standard mission orbit of 160 NM circular orbit, 28.5° inclination (nominal):

(1) Launch on a date selected by NASA within the scheduling constraints specified in the launch agreement.

(2) Launch at any time of day, selected by NASA.

To qualify for the standard flight price, deployable payloads must meet certain criteria in terms of time of day of launch, and other factors. These criteria will be specified in the launch agreement and associated payload integration documentation.

§ 1214.119 Spacelab payloads.

(a) Special provisions. This §1214.119 establishes the special provisions for Spacelab services provided to Space Shuttle customers. Where designated, provisions of this §1214.119 supersede those of other portions of this document. The following five types of Spacelab flights are available to accommodate payload requirements:

(1) Dedicated-Shuttle Spacelab flight (Ref. § 1214.119(d)(3)).

(2) Dedicated-pallet

§ 1214.119(d)(4)).

flight (Ref.

(2) Spacelab standard flight price. The price for standard services provided to Spacelab customers. If a customer elects not to use a portion of the standard services, the Spacelab standard flight price will not be affected. The Spacelab standard flight price is a pro rata share of:

(i) The dedicated flight price as defined in §1214.102(c);

(ii) The standard price for use of the selected Spacelab elements; and

(iii) For complete-pallet and sharedelement flights:

(A) The price for 6 extra days on orbit; and

(B) The price for 7 days of secondshift operation.

(c) Mandatory use of dedicated-Shuttle Spacelab flight. (1) The customer will be