; (2) established in 1983, the Israel Space Agency (ISA) supports the growth of Israel’s space industry by supporting academic research, technological innovation, and educational activities; (3) the mutual interest of the United States and Israel in space exploration affords both nations an opportunity to leverage their unique abilities to advance scientific discovery; (4) in 1996, NASA and the ISA entered into their first agreement outlining areas of mutual cooperation, which remained in force until 2005; (5) since 1996, NASA and the ISA have successfully cooperated on many space programs supporting the Global Positioning System and research related to the sun, earth science, and the environment; (6) the bond between NASA and the ISA was permanently forged on February 1, 2003, with the loss of the crew of STS–107 including Israeli Astronaut Ilan Ramon; (7) the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 ( Public Law 113–296 ) designated Israel as a Major Strategic Partner of the United States