Bill · S. 3247· Senate(119-S-3247)
Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2025
- Introduced
- 11/20/2025
- Last activity
- 11/20/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Sponsored by
- John Hickenlooper
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2025 aims to establish a Center of Excellence for Dark and Quiet Skies. This Center is intended to increase collaboration between Federal agencies and the private sector to protect federally funded scientific research. The focus is on researching and deploying voluntary techniques to mitigate interference with sky and celestial observations. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology will award a grant to an eligible entity to operate this Center. The Center will work to address issues related to satellite interference with optical and radio observations.
Yes· 3 of 7
Does this put more money into scientific research?+5
The bill authorizes $20,000,000 to fund research aimed at mitigating satellite interference with astronomical observations.
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?+3
The bill seeks to protect the integrity of the night sky and celestial observations from satellite interference.
Would Native Americans be better off under this?+2
The bill includes Native entities as eligible organizations to receive grants for the Center.
The opposite
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-1
The bill authorizes $20,000,000 in new federal spending for the Center of Excellence.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Protection of Scientific Research: The bill aims to protect the integrity of federally funded scientific research that observes the sky and celestial bodies (Section 2).
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Development of Best Practices: The Center will work with the satellite industry and astronomical community to create best practices to limit optical and radio interference (Section 3(b)(2)(A)).
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Mitigation of Satellite Interference: The Center is tasked with developing methods to reduce the optical impact of satellites on observations and the radio frequency impact of satellites on radio observations (Section 3(b)(2)(C)(i) and (ii)).
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Technological Innovation: The Center will assess methods and techniques that astronomers can use to avoid receiving interference from satellite activity, such as hardware-related technological innovations (Section 3(b)(2)(C)(v)).
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Public Access to Research: Results from the Center's transdisciplinary research will be published in a publicly accessible repository (Section 3(b)(2)(D)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Financial Sustainability Requirement: Entities applying for the grant must demonstrate a plan to financially sustain the Center's activities after the grant period ends, which may include providing matching funds (Section 3(c)(2)(A)).
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Risk of Termination: The Under Secretary has the authority to terminate the Center if it is determined to be underperforming (Section 3(e)(2)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Native Americans+2Good For Students+2Good For Business Owners+1
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding+5
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Environmental Protections+3
- Economy And Finance
- Increases Job Creation+2Improves Small Business Support+1Reduces Government Spending-1
- 11/20/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Mike CrapoRepublican · Idaho