Public Policy and Government Affairs

Biweekly Washington, D.C. Update for the Week Ending April 15, 2022

Written by: Elizabeth Anderson

This week in Washington: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules to strengthen investor protections in IPOs by SPACs; six candidate locations have been selected for USSF Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters; the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology authored a letter to President Biden expressing concern for his proposed rules regarding “commercial space accident investigation”; and the Colorado delegation prepares to fight the upcoming GAO ruling on SPACECOM’s HQ location.

37th Space Symposium

Thank you to those of you who participated in the virtual or in-person 37th Space Symposium, which took place last week, April 4 – 7, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For those who did not have an opportunity to attend, you can still access symposium content virtually on our Space Symposium 365 platform here.

The 38th Space Symposium will take place April 17-20, 2023 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mark your calendars!

US Space Policy Updates

  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules to strengthen investor protections in IPOs by SPACs (SEC, March 30)
  • Six candidate locations have been selected for USSF Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters (Space Force, April 4)
  • The Artemis I wet dress rehearsal was delayed (NASA, April 4)
  • NASA awarded five universities $100,000 grants to spur competitive research (NASA, April 5)
  • The intelligence community is counting on relationships with academia and industry (Space News, April 5)
  • The Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology wrote a letter to President Biden expressing concern for his proposed rules regarding “commercial space accident investigation” (U.S. House of Representatives, April 6)
  • The Space National Guard may no longer be established (Space News, April 11)
  • DIA report finds that Chinese and Russian satellite usage increased by 70% in two years (Via Satellite, April 13)
  • The Defense Innovation Unit is looking to prototype “commercial refueling services” in GEO (Breaking Defense, April 13)
  • NASA released its first Equity Action Plan (NASA, April 14)
  • NASA scrubbed its third fueling attempt of the SLS rocket (CBS News, April 14)
  • GAO ruling impending, Colorado delegation ready to fight SPACECOM move (Breaking Defense, April 14)

International Space Policy Updates

  • France has shut down Starlink’s spectrum license (Conseil d’État, April 5)
  • China has opened a new small sat manufacturing facility (Space News, April 6)
  • The US Space Force and its allies are working to establish space norms of behavior and rules (Space News, April 6)
  • The European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned Arianespace to launch an Earth observation satellite using the Vega-C in an attempt to reinstall confidence in Arianespace rockets (Arianespace, April 7)
  • South Korea will launch its first spy satellite on SpaceX rocket in 2023 (Korea Herald, April 10)
  • India and the US reaffirm their commitment to STM via a bilateral agreement (Department of Defense, April 11)
  • The European Space Agency cut ties with Russia on lunar missions, further distancing itself following the Russian invasion of Ukraine (The National, April 14)
  • China’s Shenzhou-13 astronauts will return home after 181 days in orbit, a number which nearly doubled the previous record of 92 days (Space News, April 14)

Space Industry Updates

  • Blue Origin’s NASA-contracted Orbital Reef completed its system requirements review (Blue Origin, April 5)
  • Amazon selected the Vulcan rocket for 38 Project Kuiper satellite launches (ULA Launch, April 5)
  • 24 top space industry executives signed a “Space Workforce 2030” diversity, equity, and inclusion pledge (Gazette, April 7)
  • The first all-private astronaut crew docked at the ISS (Space.com, April 9)
  • Aerojet Rocketdyne received its largest RL10 Engine order from United Launch Alliance (ULA) (Yahoo Finance, April 11)
  • Astra announced it will provide LeoStella with electric propulsion systems (Astra, April 12)
  • SpaceX’s AX-1 mission docked with the International Space Station in the first private human spaceflight mission to the ISS (SpaceX, April 14)

Space Leader Spotlight

Lieutenant General Nina Armagno

Lt. Gen. Armagno currently serves as Director of Staff, Space Force Headquarters. A key player in affairs at the Pentagon, Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno’s role is to manage policy, plans, procedures, and cross functional issues for Space Force. Before her transition to Space Force, Lt. Gen. Armagno spent 32 years in the U.S. Air Force where she achieved the rank of Major General. She is the only person to have commanded both launch wings in the United States Air Force, and she is the first woman General Officer commissioned in the United States Space Force.

Before entering the ranks of the Air Force as a Missile Warning Crew Commander, Lt. Gen. Armagno completed her B.S. degree at the U.S. Air Force Academy and obtained a Masters in Education Administration and Management from Chapman University. Lt. Gen. Armagno has also completed programs at the National War College, Georgetown, and Harvard. She has served in a variety of key roles such from Instructor and Flight Commander at Vandenberg AFB to Military Assistant for Space and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Systems to the Director, and Director of Space Programs at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, both in Washington D.C.

Lt. Gen. Armagno is the recipient of many awards, notably the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and is also a Member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

Reading Corner

Space News | News from the 37th Space Symposium

The Space News editorial team produced a digital edition of their four show dailies, nightly email newsletter, and all-day web coverage of the 37th Space Symposium in Colorado.

Fun Fact

Axiom private astronaut Eytan Stibbe will celebrate Passover in space today, although he will not drink four cups of wine per tradition. Alcohol is prohibited aboard the International Space Station because of the possible damage it could do to technology.

(Space.com)


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