NASA Open Source Agreement
{{infobox software license
| name = NASA Open Source Agreement
| image = NASA logo.svg
| caption = NASA logo
| author = NASA
| version = 1.3
| copyright = NASA
| date = ?
| OSI approved = Yes[https://opensource.org/licenses Licenses & Standards] Open Source Initiative
| Debian approved = No[http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/worldwind Debian package description] for NASA World Wind. Retrieved on January 8, 2016.
| Free Software = No{{cite web
|url=https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#NASA
|title=NASA Open Source Agreement
|work=Various Licenses and Comments about Them
|publisher=Free Software Foundation
|accessdate=June 17, 2009
}}
| copyleft = No
| linking = Yes?
| website = {{URL|https://opensource.gsfc.nasa.gov/nosa.php}}
}}
The NASA Open Source Agreement (NOSA) is an Open Source Initiative-approved software license. The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) releases some software (such as NASA World Wind and FRET) under this license.
Legislation and NASA policy
Publication of open source software fits in with Agency functions outlined under the National Aeronautics and Space Act, that is, to "provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof."{{cite web
|url=http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ogc/about/space_act1.html
|title=The National Aeronautics and Space Act
|accessdate=January 23, 2008
}}
The NOSA was a point of discussion for NASA's Open Source Summit in March 2011.{{cite web| url = http://www.nasa.gov/open/source/index.html| title = NASA - Open Source Summit 2011}}
Reception
NOSA 1.3 has been approved as an open source license by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).{{cite web |title=Licenses by Name |url=https://opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical |website=Open Source Initiative |publisher=Open Source Initiative |accessdate=June 28, 2018 |language=en}} The Free Software Foundation, however, raises issue with the following clause:
G. Each Contributor represents that its Modification is believed to be Contributor's original creation and does not violate any existing agreements, regulations, statutes or rules, and further that Contributor has sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this Agreement.
The FSF states that "free software development depends on combining code from third parties", and because of this requirement that changes must be "original creation" the license is not a free software license.
In 2018 a consensus study report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine acknowledged that uncertainties about the interpretation of the license served as "a barrier to contributing to NOSA-licensed software."{{cite book |title=Open Source Software Policy Options for NASA Earth and Space Sciences |date=2018 |publisher=The National Academies Press |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-309-48271-4 |chapter-url=https://www.nap.edu/read/25217/chapter/4#25 |chapter=2.4.2 Other Licenses and Compatibility}} {{doi|10.17226/25217}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://opensource.gsfc.nasa.gov/nosa.php Text of the NASA Open Source Software Agreement in various formats]
- [http://opensource.arc.nasa.gov/ Ames Research Center open source software]
- [http://opensource.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Goddard Spaceflight Center open source software]
- [https://worldwindcentral.com/wiki/index.php?title=NOSA&oldid=20178 NOSA explained (with examples)]