International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on April 4, 2025
Written by: Molly Prochaska
United States Space Policy Updates
- The U.S. House Committee on Science Space and Technology (HSST) Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee held a hearing entitled “Leveraging Commercial Innovation for Lunar Exploration: A Review of NASA’s CLPS Initiative” on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Read Space Foundation’s summary of the hearing here. (HSST, April 1)
- United States Space Force (USSF) Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman stated that the USSF will soon release a strategy outlining its framework for attaining space superiority and giving operational planners a common playbook. (Via Satellite, March 27)
- In his confirmation hearing, Air Force Secretary nominee Troy Meink emphasized the need for a skilled space workforce within the Space Force. (SASC, March 27)
- The United States Senate has confirmed Michael Kratsios to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). (The Hill, March 25)
- NASA is terminating $420 million in contracts the agency says are redundant or misaligned with its core priorities. (SpaceNews, March 25)
- Congress allocated $40 million for commercial surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking services in the recently passed fiscal year 2025 continuing resolution spending bill. (SpaceNews, March 25)
- President Donald Trump has nominated Greg Autry to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of NASA. (NASA, March 24)
International Space Policy Updates
- The Ukrainian Defence Ministry has created a Space Policy Directorate. (Pravda, March 29)
- The Netherlands Ministry of Defense announced the development of four military satellites, set to launch in 2025 and 2026. (NL Times, March 27)
- The China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) has shared a roadmap for planetary exploration missions, including missions for a Venus Sample Return and the development of a Mars Science Station. (SpaceNews, March 27)
- The government of Vietnam stated it will allow SpaceX’s Starlink to operate in the country on a trial basis. (Reuters, March 26)
- The European Space Agency (ESA) European Launcher Challenge opened its call for proposals for EU registered launch providers. (Payload, March 25)
- The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) selected Berlin-based Exolaunch to support the deployment of nine CubeSats as part of CUBICS (CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM) (Exolaunch, March 24)
- The Korea AeroSpace Administration announced it will invest 7 billion won in the New Space fund, a fund that invests in small and venture enterprises engaged in the space industry. (Chosun Biz, March 24)
- In a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, the importance of collaboration in the space sector was emphasized. (U.S. Department of State, March 19)
Space Industry Updates
- Redwire announced that Mike Gold has been appointed President of Civil and International Space Business. (Redwire, April 2)
- Airbus was selected to build key systems for ESA’s ExoMars lander. (Airbus, March 29)
- Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo have begun talks with EU regulators on a merger of their satellite businesses. (Reuters, March 28)
- SpaceX has been awarded a modification of the NASA Launch Services II contract to add Starship to their existing launch service options. (NASA, March 28)
- The USSF added Rocket Lab and Stoke Space to its launch vendor pool. (Defense News, March 27)
- United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket has been certified by the USSF to fly National Security Space Launch missions. (ULA, March 26)
- Alison Engel joined Spire Global as its Chief Financial Officer. (Spire, March 24)
- The Honorable Frank Calvelli and the Honorable William LaPlante have been elected to the Aerospace Corporation’s Board of Trustees. (Aerospace, March 20)
- Dr. Claire Leon was appointed to Orbit Fab’s Board of Advisors. (Orbit Fab, March 18)
Reading Corner
RAND | Chinese Military Views of Low Earth Orbit
Researchers at RAND have released an assessment of China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) perspectives of low earth orbit (LEO) as a warfighting domain and perspectives of the systems being deployed in LEO. Key findings include that the PLA assumes a high degree of coordination between U.S. policy, military doctrine and industry, and that the PLA takes SpaceX’s Starlink as an aspirational model for capabilities in LEO.