International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on November 15, 2024
Written by: Molly Prochaska
This Week in Washington
- Denmark has become the 48th signatory of the Artemis Accords.
- SpaceX’s sixth Starship flight test is set for Monday, November 18.
- The FAA has established an Aerospace Rulemaking Committee for Part 450.
United States Space Policy Updates
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched its Aerospace Rulemaking Committee to revise the FAA’s Part 450 launch and reentry licensing regulations. (FAA, November 14)
- At a House Oversight Joint Subcommittee hearing titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth,” former NASA Associate Administrator Mike Gold emphasized the need for NASA to leverage its expertise in analyzing UAP data and reducing the associated stigma. (HCOA, November 13)
- Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) released an op-ed advocating for NASA to partner with the private sector on hypersonic technology. (SpaceNews, November 13)
- President-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, will lead a Department on Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy, to find ways to reduce government spending and bureaucracy. (X, November 13)
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced layoffs, cutting its workforce by 5%, or approximately 325 employees, to meet the available funding for FY25.(NASA JPL , November 12)
- NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the “2024 Report on NASA’s Top Management and Performance Challenges,” highlighting three key challenges facing the agency: (1) improving management for major programs, (2) partnering with the commercial industry, and (3) enabling mission critical capabilities. (NASA OIG, November 12)
- George Whitesides, former Virgin Galactic CEO and NASA Chief of Staff, won the Congressional seat for California’s 27th district, located north of Los Angeles. (AP News, November 12)
- Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has departed as chair of the Mars Sample Return Strategy Review (MSR-SR) team, which continues its work on a revised strategy to be submitted to the agency by year-end, with a new acquisition strategy anticipated by spring 2025. (SpaceNew, November 7)
- Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), the Democratic Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (HAC-CJS), lost his re-election bid for Pennsylvania’s 8th district. (AP News, November 7)
- In a letter to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Space Bureau Chief Julie Kearney, over 100 astronomers have called for a pause on launching new LEO satellite megaconstellations to assess their environmental impact and end satellites’ categorical exclusion from environmental reviews. (PIRG, October 24)
International Space Policy Updates
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen, Director of Peru’s National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA), signed an MoU to increase space cooperation between the two countries, including a potential sounding rocket campaign. (NASA, November 14)
- At the Beyond Earth Symposium, Zhou Golin, minister counselor for science and technology at the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., stated that China “welcomes participation from space agencies worldwide, including the United States.” (SpaceNews, November 14)
- Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) has announced a SUPARCO rover will join China’s Chang’E 8 Mission to the lunar south pole, as part of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project. (The Express Tribune, November 14)
- NASA and Roscosmos have not reached a consensus on the cause or severity of a small, persistent air leak in the Zvezda service module vestibule on the International Space Station. (SpaceNews, November 13)
- Denmark has become the 48th signatory of the Artemis Accords (NASA, November 13)
- Space Delta 5 and the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) hosted a 3-day Operation Olympic Defender Common Operational Picture (COP) working group with space representatives from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom to update plans for developing a shared Space COP. (USSPACECOM, November 7)
- Ghana has published its national space policy. (Space in Africa, November 6)
- Gilmour Space has received a launch license from the Australian Minister of Industry and Science and the Australian Space Agency for the inaugural flight of its Eris small launch vehicle, marking Australia’s first domestic orbital launch, with a planned launch in December 2024 or January 2025. (Gilmour Space, November 5)
- Defence Australia has terminated its procurement of single-orbit geostationary satellite communications systems from Lockheed Martin Australia to prioritize multi-orbit capabilities. (Defence Australia, November 4)
- The United Nations (UN) Fourth Committee approved the appointment of Latvia and Djibouti to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and declared 2029 the International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence. (UN, November 1)
Space Industry Updates
- SpaceX announced that the sixth flight test of Starship is scheduled for launch as early as Monday, November 18. (SpaceX, November 15)
- Rocket Lab has secured its first customer for its Neutron rocket, signing a multi-launch agreement with a confidential commercial satellite constellation operator for two dedicated missions from Wallops Island, Virginia, starting in mid-2026. (Rocket Lab, November 14)
- Starfish Space, a Washington-based satellite-servicing startup, announced it raised $29 million in a new funding round led by Shield Capital. (TechCrunch, November 13)
- Arianespace announced that the second flight of the Ariane 6 rocket has been postponed from December to no earlier than mid-February 2025. (Arianespace, November 8)
- NASA has filed to extend the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contracts with Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, and Sierra Space through 2030, which were originally set to expire in 2026. (SAM.gov, November 8)
- Axiom Space has announced the retirement of Mary Lynne Dittmar from her role as Chief Government and External Relations Officer. (Axiom, November 8)
- Relativity Space is reportedly experiencing a cash shortage and facing challenges in raising additional capital. (Bloomberg, November 1)
- AstroForge has received the first-ever commercial license from the FCC to operate and communicate with a spacecraft in deep space, ahead of its Odin mission, which is set to launch in early 2025 to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid. (Astroforge, October 28)
Space Leader Spotlight
Janet Petro
This week’s space leader is Janet Petro, the 11th Director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. She officially assumed the role in June 2021 after serving as acting director since May, following NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s announcement that former director Robert D. Cabana would become NASA’s Associate Administrator. In her position, Ms. Petro oversees personnel, policy, and program management at KSC.
Prior to her current position, Ms. Petro served as Deputy Director of KSC beginning in April 2007, where she supported KSC’s transition into a multi-user spaceport and collaborated with government and military partners to enhance commercial space operations. From 2017 to 2020, she led the Mission Support Future Architecture Program as Program Executive. Additionally, she held a year-long position as Deputy Associate Administrator and Acting Director for the Office of Evaluation at NASA Headquarters.
Prior to joining NASA, Ms. Petro held management and engineering roles at companies such as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace. Throughout her career, she has been awarded multiple honors for her service, including the President’s Distinguished Executive Award and the Silver Snoopy Award. In 2018, she was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.
After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1981, Ms. Petro was commissioned into the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany. Ms. Petro later earned a Master of Science in Business Administration from Boston University Metropolitan College in 1988.
Reading Corner
The Booker Prize | Everything you need to know about Orbital by Samantha Harvey, winner of the Booker Prize 2024
British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital, the first book set in space to receive the prestigious award. The 136-page story follows a team of astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) over a single day, during which they witness 16 sunrises and sunsets, observing Earth’s glaciers, deserts, mountains, and oceans from a unique vantage point.