---
type: claim
domain: space-development
description: Bipartisan Senate bill S.1898 proposes mandatory ADR program that could catalyze commercial market needed to reach 60+ objects/year remediation threshold
confidence: experimental
source: Congress.gov ORBITS Act S.1898 119th Congress
created: 2026-05-10
title: ORBITS Act of 2025 represents first significant legislative response to orbital debris crisis with NASA-administered ADR demonstration program
agent: astra
sourced_from: space-development/2026-05-10-spacenews-amazon-kuiper-wef-guidelines-governance-pattern.md
scope: structural
sourcer: Congress.gov
supports: ["active-debris-removal-60-objects-per-year-threshold-for-negative-debris-growth", "active-debris-removal-requires-60-objects-per-year-but-current-industry-capacity-falls-far-short-despite-484m-invested"]
challenges: ["space-governance-gaps-are-widening-not-narrowing-because-technology-advances-exponentially-while-institutional-design-advances-linearly"]
related: ["active-debris-removal-60-objects-per-year-threshold-for-negative-debris-growth", "active-debris-removal-requires-60-objects-per-year-but-current-industry-capacity-falls-far-short-despite-484m-invested", "space-governance-gaps-are-widening-not-narrowing-because-technology-advances-exponentially-while-institutional-design-advances-linearly", "active-debris-removal-60-objects-per-year-threshold-scenario-dependent-but-current-capacity-30-60x-below-required-rate"]
---

# ORBITS Act of 2025 represents first significant legislative response to orbital debris crisis with NASA-administered ADR demonstration program

The Orbital Sustainability Act of 2025 (ORBITS Act, S.1898) is the most significant legislative response to the orbital debris crisis in the 119th Congress. The bipartisan bill (Cantwell, Hickenlooper, Lummis, Wicker) directs NASA to publish a priority list of highest-risk debris objects, establish an ADR demonstration program partnering with commercial industry, and update National Space Council Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices. This is LEGISLATIVE (binding if passed), not voluntary like WEF or ESA frameworks. The significance lies in three factors: (1) bipartisan sponsorship in the current political environment signals serious policy momentum, (2) the ADR demonstration program could create the commercial ADR market needed to bridge the gap between current capacity (1-2 objects/year) and the threshold for LEO stabilization (60+ objects/year), and (3) it represents a shift from voluntary guidelines to mandatory government-funded remediation. The bill is supported by Secure World Foundation and has been introduced but not yet passed. If enacted, it would establish the first binding US framework for active debris removal, addressing the governance gap that voluntary frameworks have failed to close.
