International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on July 26, 2024
Written by: Molly Prochaska
This Week in Washington
- The Senate Appropriations Committee held a full committee markup of the FY25 CJS Appropriations Act. Read Space Foundation’s summary of the markup here.
- The U.S. Space Force announced the appointment of Air Marshal Paul Godfrey to Assistant Chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships.
- NASA announced plans to discontinue the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) due to rising costs and launch delays.
- NASA released its 2024 Civil Space Shortfall Ranking.
United States Space Policy Updates
- The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) is conducting an audit of the management of Human Landing System contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin. (X, July 15)
- NASA announced the retirement of Dr. Kurt “Spuds” Vogel, Associate Administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and named Clayton Turner as the acting Associate Administrator. (NASA, July 16)
- Dr. Vipin Narang, Acting Assistant Secretary for Space Policy at Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), announced that he will leave his position in the upcoming months. (Breaking Defense, July 16)
- The U.S. Space Force (USSF) released its “Space Force 101” document, which provides an overview of the service’s mission, organization, and key functions. (USSF, July 18, 2024)
- NASA announced plans to discontinue the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) due to rising costs and launch delays. (NASA, July 17)
- Hon. Frank Calvelli, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, established a new high-level office led by Claire Leon, Chief Space Systems Engineer, to streamline supervision of acquisition programs across the Space Systems Command (SSC), Space Development Agency (SDA), and Space Rapid Capabilities Office. (Breaking Defense, July 19)
- The Department of Defense (DoD) released its Arctic Strategy, emphasizing the Arctic’s significance for maintaining and enhancing space-based capabilities. (DOD, July 22)
- The core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida after being transported from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. (NASA, July 23)
- NASA released its 2024 Civil Space Shortfall Ranking, which includes an integrated ranked list of civil space shortfalls and separate rankings by stakeholder groups. (NASA, July 24)
- The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) held a full committee markup of the FY25 Commerce, Justice, and Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. The bill passed in a 26 – 3 vote, appropriating $25.4 billion to NASA, $11.2 billion to the CHIPS and Science Act, and $1.9 billion to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) weather satellites. Read Space Foundation’s summary of the markup here. (SAC, July 25)
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated an investigation into the SpaceX Falcon 9’s Starlink Group 9-3 mission following an upper stage rocket failure. The FAA found no public safety concerns and permitted SpaceX to resume flight operations while the investigation remains ongoing. (SpaceNews, July 26)
International Space Policy Updates
- USSF announced the appointment of Air Marshal Paul Godfrey from the UK’s Royal Air Force as Assistant Chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships to enhance international cooperation. (USSF, July 12)
- Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and NASA renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance space geodesy and geohazard research. (Space in Africa, July 15)
- The Italy-Africa Space Conference convened representatives from Italy and various African countries to further bilateral and multilateral dialogues on education and training, space applications for sustainability, and international partnerships. (Italian Government, July 15)
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi, CEO of the Saudi Space Agency, signed a collaborative framework agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia on space exploration and research. (NASA, July 16)
- NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and Dr. Young-bin Yoon, Administrator of the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), held their first bilateral meeting to discuss future opportunities for collaboration. (NASA, July 16)
- The European Space Agency (ESA) released its Space Environment Report, citing concerns about satellites remaining in congested orbits after their end of life, which increases collision risks. ESA noted that despite improvements in space debris mitigation measures, successful implementation remains insufficient for long-term sustainability. (ESA, July 19)
- The UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme provided funding to over 20 national space projects, totaling £33 million. (Gov.UK, July 22)
- ESA and the UK Space Agency announced plans to expand ESA’s presence in the U.K., including the creation of a potential quantum technologies laboratory and the expansion of in-orbit services development. (Gov.UK, July 23)
- China announced plans to partner with 50 countries on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), with 10 countries and over 20 research institutions currently as signatories. (SpaceNews, July 23)
- The Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) between the U.S. and the Australian government has entered into force, enabling the U.S. to launch space technology from Australia. (ASA, July 23)
- India increased the Department of Space’s budget by 4%, allocating ₹13,000 crores ($1.5 billion) to programs including human spaceflight, satellite development and launch, and commercial launch services. (Payload, July 24)
Space Industry Updates
- Planet secured a seven-figure contract to provide an international ministry of defense with maritime domain awareness (MDA) capabilities for monitoring and detecting vessels. (Planet, July 15)
- Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, stated that the company is collaborating with Thales and Airbus to develop a joint space-sector strategy. (Reuters, July 16)
- KBR acquired LinQuest under a $737 million contract to enhance its technical capabilities in the air and space domains. (KBR, July 16)
- Peter Schumacher is serving as interim CEO of Firefly following the departure of Bill Weber. (Firefly, July 17)
- USSF began an operational trial of L3Harris Technologies’ Consolidated Operations Data Archive (CODA) to provide a more comprehensive view of the space domain and support automated satellite tracking. Via Satellite, July 17)
- Astra announced its re-privatization, and the company is no longer listed on NASDAQ. (Astra, July 18)
- The DOD awarded modified contracts to United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX, increasing contract awards by $1.1 billion and $600 million, respectively, for phase 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. (DOD, July 19)
- SpaceX was awarded a $112.7 million firm-fixed-price contract by NASA, on behalf of NOAA, to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System-4 (JPSS-4) mission. (NASA, July 22)
- ABL Space Systems is investigating a residual pad fire that caused “irrecoverable damage” to RS1 following a pre-flight static fire test. (ABL, July 22)
- Angel Smith, a retired U.S. Marine and former staff member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the SmallSat Alliance (SSA). (PR Newswire, July 23)
- Raytheon signed a contract with Avio to advance the development of critical solid rocket motors for defense applications. (RTX, July 23)
Space Leader Spotlight
Katherine Johnson
This week’s space leader is Katherine Johnson (1918-2020), a pioneering mathematician whose groundbreaking work at NASA was instrumental during the Apollo missions.. Known as a “human computer,” Johnson was a trailblazer for women in STEM and played a crucial role in NASA’s success, including contributing to the Apollo 11 mission that first landed humans on the Moon.
Graduating summa cum laude from West Virginia State College in 1937 with a degree in mathematics and French, Johnson initially pursued a teaching career before joining the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Langley Laboratory in 1953.
As NACA transitioned to NASA in 1958, Johnson continued her work with the Space Task Group, where she focused on trajectory analysis for America’s first human spaceflight mission, Freedom 7, which launched in 1961. Johnson’s expertise extended to orbital and trajectory calculations for several key missions, including Friendship 7, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, the Space Shuttle Program, and the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (now known as Landsat). Notably, she was the first woman in the Flight Research Division to be credited as an author on a research report. Over the course of her career at NASA, she contributed to the publication of 26 research reports.
During her 33-years at NASA, Katherine Johnson received the NASA Lunar Orbiter Award and three NASA Special Achievement Awards before retiring in 1986. After retirement, she became a passionate advocate for STEM education, inspiring future generations of students. In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the field, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.
In 2016, the film Hidden Figures, based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s nonfiction book, was released to celebrate the contributions of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—three African American women who played crucial roles in Project Mercury. The following year, NASA Langley Research Center named its Computational Research Facility in Johnson’s honor to recognize her pivotal work in early human spaceflight missions.
We celebrate her legacy on the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, acknowledging how her groundbreaking contributions were instrumental to the advancement of the U.S. space program.
Reading Corner
Atlantic Council | Modernizing space-based nuclear command, control, and communications
The Atlantic Council released an issue brief on modernizing space-based nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3), highlighting the need to update current NC3 systems in response to the evolving geopolitical landscape. The brief includes recommendations for creating more resilient space-based systems to continuation of critical capabilities and gain strategic advantage.
Written by Molly Prochaska, Chantal Li, and Amanda Nguyen.