International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on January 10, 2025
Written by: Molly Prochaska
This Week in Washington
- Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) was named Chair of the HASC Strategic Forces Subcommittee.
- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee announced new and returning members for the 119th Congress.
- Dr. V. Narayanan has been appointed as the Secretary of the Indian Department of Space and the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization.
United States Space Policy Updates
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed relocating NASA’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. (Florida Today, January 8)
- Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), announced the GOP members and subcommittee chairs for the HASC in the 119th Congress. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) was named Chair of the HASC Strategic Forces Subcommittee. (HASC, January 7)
- NASA announced a new approach to its Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, pursuing two landing architectures simultaneously to encourage competition, innovation, and cost savings, with a final design decision expected in the second half of 2026. (NASA, January 7)
- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee (CST) announced its new and returning members for the 119th Congress, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) serving as Chairman, and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) serving as Ranking Member. (CST, January 7)
- The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) published a report and ordered allocating spectrum between 2360 and 2395 megahertz for communications with commercial launch and reentry vehicles on a secondary basis. (FCC, December 31)
- The Trump Administration has selected Michael Kratsios to serve as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). (FedScoop, December 23)
- Bipartisan leaders and members of Senate CST introduced S.5600, the NASA Transition Authorization Act, which proposes $25.478 billion in funding for NASA for FY25. (S.5600, December 19)
- Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL) introduced H.R. 10464, the Spaceport Project Opportunities for Resilient Transportation (SPACEPORT) Act, which would Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching (STIM) grants program to address the increased demand launch and reentry activities. (H.R. 10464, December 19)
- NASA has finalized its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Microgravity Strategy, supporting the “continuous heartbeat” concept to maintain humans in orbit as it transitions from the International Space Station (ISS) to commercial stations. (NASA, December 16)
International Space Policy Updates
- The European Space Agency’s (ESA) budget has decreased to €7.68 billion from €7.79 billion in 2024, with the combined contributions of Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom reduced by €430 million. (European Spaceflight, January 9)
- Dr. V. Narayanan has been appointed as the Secretary of the Indian Department of Space and the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), succeeding S. Somanath. (The Times of India, January 8)
- The White House issued a National Security Memorandum updating policy guidance for the implementation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MCTR). (The White House, January 7)
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul announced an agreement to extend the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty to outer space, with Secretary Blinken also indicating that Russia intends to share space and satellite technology with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). (Department of State, January 6)
- Slovenia has formally acceded to the ESA convention, becoming the 23rd member state. (ESA via X, January 1)
- Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), will be removed from his position as Party Secretary of the State Administration for National Defense Science, Technology, and Industry (SASTIND). Shan Zhongde has been appointed as his replacement. (SpaceNews, December 30)
- Roscosmos confirmed that it is set to sign the third supplement of an existing agreement with NASA that allows for seat swap flights to the International Space Station. The agreement will stipulate two flights by NASA astronauts aboard the Soyuz MS-28 and Soyuz MS-29 flights in 2025 and 2026 and three flights by Roscosmos cosmonauts on Crew Dragon spacecraft. (TASS, December 28)
- Liechtenstein became the 52nd signatory of the Artemis Accords. (Department of State, December 23)
Space Industry Updates
- Blue Origin plans to launch the debut mission of its New Glenn rocket from no earlier than Sunday, January 12, following a delay. (Blue Origin, January 9)
- Maxar Intelligence has been awarded a $14.4 million contract by the Netherlands Ministry of Defence for access to satellite imagery and analytics. (Maxar, January 9)
- SpaceX’s seventh test launch of Starship is scheduled for no earlier than January 13th, with Starship attempting to deploy ten Starlink simulators for the first time. (SpaceX, January 8)
- Tom Vice has retired as CEO of Sierra Space. Fatih Ozmen, board chairman of Sierra Space, will serve as the interim CEO. (SpaceNews, January 6)
- Stephen Kitay, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, has joined True Anomaly as the Senior Vice President for Space Defense. (True Anomaly, January 8)
- Rocket Lab has outlined a new mission concept for NASA’s MSR program, claiming their approach will be faster and more affordable than current plans. (Rocket Lab, January 8)
- Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, has reportedly made a significant investment in Relativity Space, although the exact size of the investment is unspecified. (Bloomberg, January 8)
- NASA has awarded four companies – Intuitive Machines, Kongsberg Satellite Services, SSC Space, and Viasat – contracts to expand the agency’s Near Space Network and its commercial “direct-to-Earth capabilities” services. (Space & Defense, January 6)
- Toyota, through its mobility arm Woven by Toyota, is investing $44 million in Japanese space startup Interstellar Technologies to expand its rocket and satellite manufacturing, with additional funding expected by June. (SpaceNews, January 6)
Reading Corner
Ars Technica | A Cold War mystery: Why did Jimmy Carter save the space shuttle?
With the passing of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, 2024, Ars Technica revisited a previously published story covering President Carter’s history with NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Eric Berger explores the context behind President Carter’s critical decision to provide NASA with its first supplemental to support the program.
Written by Molly Prochaska and Amanda Nguyen.