; (2) this freedom is only to be limited when necessary to assure United States national security interests are met and to authorize and supervise nongovernmental space activities to assure such activities are carried out in conformity with the international obligations of the United States under the Outer Space Treaty; (3) to the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall interpret and fulfill its international obligations to minimize regulations and limitations on the freedom of United States nongovernmental entities to explore and use space; (4) to the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall take steps to protect the physical safety of space objects operated by the United States that do not involve limitations on the freedoms of nongovernmental entities of the United States; and (5) nongovernmental activities in outer space shall only be authorized and supervised in a transparent, timely, and predictable manner, with minimal costs and burdens placed on the entities authorized and supervised. (c) Purposes The purposes of this Act and the amendments made by this Act are— (1) to enhance the existing outer space authorization and supervision framework to provide greater transparency, greater efficiency, and less administrative burden for nongovernmental entities of the United States seeking to conduct space activities; and (2) to ensure that the United States remains the world leader in commercial space activities. (d) Definitions In this Act— (1) the term Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts and the Return of Space Objects means the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (signed at Washington, Moscow, and London on April 22, 1968, ratified by the United States on December 3, 1968; 19 UST 7570)