US HB3697

Secretary of Defense must conduct a study within one year on converting rural abandoned factories, space centers, and military bases into space-related manufacturing facilities and space complexes

Study to be conducted through the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation in consultation with the State Department's Office of Space Affairs and the Small Business Administration's Small Business Development Center

Required study elements include conversion costs by state, environmental concerns, local economic impacts, workforce skills needed, community college collaboration potential, and effects of artificial intelligence on workforce development

Study must address national security implications related to U.S. adversaries and Space Command, identify viable funding sources and private sector incentives, and include input from NASA partners on space manufacturing

"Abandoned" defined as out of use or underutilized for at least five years; "rural area" defined as locations outside cities with populations over 50,000 and their adjacent urbanized areas