Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2025

Sponsor: John W. Hickenlooper (Democratic-CO)November 20, 2025

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Creates a center to help protect scientific sky observations from satellite interference.

This bill would create a new center, established through a federal grant. Its purpose is to protect scientific observations of the sky from light and radio interference, mainly caused by satellites. This Center of Excellence for Dark and Quiet Skies would research ways to reduce this interference and develop voluntary guidelines for the satellite industry. It aims to help astronomers and scientists continue their federally funded work without disruption.

What Would Change

Today, there is no specific center established through a federal grant. This center would be dedicated to finding ways to reduce light and radio interference with scientific observations of the sky. If this bill becomes law, a Center of Excellence for Dark and Quiet Skies would be established through a federal grant. This center would receive $20,000,000 from the government's budget years 2026 through 2030. This money would pay for research and development of voluntary solutions to protect astronomical research.

Key Provisions

Creates a new Center of Excellence for Dark and Quiet Skies through a competitive grant.
Directs the Center to develop and share best practices and voluntary guidelines to reduce light and radio interference with scientific observations.
Requires the Center to conduct research on how to track, identify, and minimize interference with sky observations.
Sets aside $20,000,000 to pay for the Center's activities from the government's budget years 2026 through 2030.
Requires the Under Secretary to consult with federal agencies and private space companies when setting up the Center.
Ensures the Center's work coordinates with other federal research efforts to avoid repeating work.

View on Congress.gov

S 3247 · 119th Congress · November 20, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 10/10

Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2025

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity