President Trump signed into law the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, critical defense legislation that included a proposal from Senator Hatch to enhance Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory.
The legislation, introduced by Senator Hatch in February, will convey a parcel of land in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest to the Utah State University Research Foundation for educational purposes. Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratories (SDL), NASA, and other organizations have been using the land since 1966. That proposal can be found in the text of the defense bill on page 646.
“As the nation renews critical focus on what lies beyond our Earth, I’m pleased the President has signed my bill that will further solidify Utah’s role in human space exploration into law,” said Hatch. “There’s no sense in hampering the SDL’s mission with needless bureaucratic burdens.This bill will allow Utah State to focus federal resources on the lands that matter most, while encouraging research on human space exploration.”
“For decades, Utah State University and the Space Dynamics Laboratory have conducted important research in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest that has enabled scientists to better answer questions about our world,” said Scott Hinton, Utah State University Research Foundation President, when the bill was introduced in February. “This legislation will help ensure that imperative research conducted for the benefit of society continues in to the future, both here on Earth and in space.”
