PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 15, 2023
Seeing Objects at Altitude Regularly Act or the SOAR Act
This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a rulemaking committee and propose rules on the continuous tracking of high altitude balloons (i.e., manned or unmanned free balloons operating at least 10,000 feet above sea level).
Specifically, the committee must develop findings and recommendations regarding a standard requiring high altitude balloons to be equipped with a system for continuous aircraft tracking and transmit, at a minimum, the altitude, location, and identity of the balloon in a manner that is accessible to air traffic controllers, aircraft, and other users of the U.S. national airspace system (NAS).
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Further, the FAA must, in accordance with the recommendations of the committee, issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to require a continuous aircraft tracking and transmission system for high altitude balloons and coordinate with foreign authorities to develop such standards for any balloons operating outside of NAS.
If the FAA does not issue a notice of proposed rulemaking within two years of the bill's enactment, the bill prescribes certain interim standards for the operation of high altitude balloons, which stay in place until the FAA issues a notice of proposed rulemaking.
People & committees
Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] · D–AZ
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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