USC-73 / Industrial capacity, capital and credit

Accept commercial contributions and provide space-launch infrastructure support

Enter support agreements and accept voluntary contributions of money, services and equipment from eligible U.S.-organized commercial-space entities for defense space-transportation infrastructure.

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Authority / instrument · USC-73

Commercial space and airlift

Industrial capacity, capital and credit

Statute & instrument

10 U.S.C. §2276

Authority holder

Secretary of Defense

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Not general corporate investment authority: contributions and expenditures are limited to the statutory infrastructure objectives.

Recorded executor

Responsible commercial-space or airlift contracting/agreement office; current assignment must be verified

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

10 U.S.C. §2276 — statutory holder and conditions

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.

RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.

Public fundingRules recordedCash contributions go to the Defense Cooperation Space Launch Account; obligation requires advance appropriations. Appropriated account money is available until expended. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.

Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.

EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Mission goalExpand production

Possible toolUSC-73 · Cooperation & exchanges

Legal basis10 U.S.C. §2276

Responsible rolesPlanning · funds · approval · execution

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense

Cooperation & exchanges

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory mechanism; current program implementation, open intake, funds and individual delegations were not verified in this statutory review.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

Added commercial requirements must be fully nonfederally funded before agreement execution; the required best-interest, noninterference and competition findings apply.
Contribution agreements must address ownership, use and disposition and prohibit recovering the contribution through another U.S. agreement.

Limits & exclusions

Not general corporate investment authority: contributions and expenditures are limited to the statutory infrastructure objectives.

Funding conditions

Cash contributions go to the Defense Cooperation Space Launch Account; obligation requires advance appropriations. Appropriated account money is available until expended.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

Sponsoring defense component and mission customer; current assignment must be verified

Resources

Sponsoring component budget owner and comptroller

Approval

Secretary of Defense; transaction-specific delegation must be verified
Office profile

Execution

Responsible commercial-space or airlift contracting/agreement office; current assignment must be verified

Partners & review

Participating eligible commercial entity; fiscal, security and legal reviewers

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Mission customer → responsible component program office → eligibility, fiscal and security review → authorized contracting or agreement official. This is an illustrative routing chain, not a verified delegation.

Actor and execution-role sources

10 U.S.C. §2276 — statutory holder and conditions

October 5 statutory review

Added in the October 5 statutory coverage review. The cited legal mechanism and its conditions were examined; a current implementing program, intake, funding balance and individual delegation were not verified.

Section coverage and review findings

Legal basis

10 U.S.C. §2276Official 2024 Code baseline; reviewed October 5, 2026 with targeted P.L. 119-60 amendment check. Not a complete current-law citator.

What this research establishes