International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on June 27, 2025
Written by: Molly Prochaska
United States Space Policy Updates
- Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Representative Mark Messmer (R-IN) announced the introduction of the the Ground and Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements (GOLDEN DOME) Act. (Senator Dan Sullivan, June 24)
- President Trump officially nominated Space Force General Michael Guetlein to lead the Golden Dome initiative. (SpaceNews, June 18)
- The CEOs of several satellite imaging firms called for Congress to reject proposed budget cuts to commercial remote sensing programs. (SpaceNews, June 17)
- A Congressional delegation to the Paris Air Show, co-led by Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), called for a new, swift nomination of a NASA administrator. (SpaceNews, June 16)
International Space Policy Updates
- The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) convened its 68th session. (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, June 25)
- The European Commission launched the EU Space Act which aims to ensure space sustainability and boost competitiveness of the EU space industry. (European Commission, June 25)
- NATO updated its Commercial Space Strategy that aims to build more business opportunities for space companies, increase commercial diversity, and simplify the procurement process. (NATO, June 24)
- ESA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Thales and Blue Origin at the Paris Air Show to study flying European payloads to the Orbital Reef space station. (SpaceNews, June 20)
- The United States and Sweden signed the U.S.-Sweden Technology Safeguards Agreement, providing a legal and technical framework for U.S. commercial space launches from Swedish spaceports. (Office of the Spokesperson, June 20)
- The Canadian Space Agency released its Departmental Plan which showed its planned spending to reach a record high of $834 million. (SpaceQ, June 19)
- Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro signed an agreement with the German Aerospace Center at the Paris Air Show, continuing partnership on space medicine research. (NASA, June 17)
- The Italian Parliament passed Bill 1415, the country’s first space economy framework law, which gives more clarity for businesses and startups, establishes a National Space Economy Fund, and designates a central role for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) as a technical and regulatory authority. (International Trade Administration, June 16)
Space Industry Updates
- United Launch Alliance (ULA) deployed an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT to assist in writing reports, drafting government proposals, analyzing flight telemetry, and other activities. (SpaceNews, June 22)
- Blue Origin announced the establishment of its European office in Luxembourg to expand its presence on the continent and manage development of commercial space services ranging from lunar transport to resource extraction. (The Luxembourg Government, June 19)
- France announced a bid to double its stake in Eutelsat to nearly 30% of the $1.56 billion capital raise to reboot its OneWeb constellation. (SpaceNews, June 19)
- Airbus Defense and Space, Thales, and Leonardo announced plans to decide on combining their space divisions by the end of July at the Paris Air Show. (SpaceNews, June 17)
- Astroscale received a $7 million contract from the British government to deploy cubesats that monitor space weather and track objects in low Earth orbit (LEO). (SpaceNews, June 16)
- Satellite image provider BlackSky announced plans to develop and launch an Earth observation satellite with broader geographical coverage in 2027. (SpaceNews, June 16)
Reading Corner
McKinsey & Company and the Aerospace Industries Association | Accelerating Progress: Maximizing the Return on Talent in A&D
McKinsey and the Aerospace Industries Association has released a report on workforce and productivity issues facing the aerospace and defense (A&D) sectors, analyzing trends in talent acquisition, retention, and productivity. The report notably views two large issues that hinder the A&D sector: an aging talent base which poses a retirement wave risk and a high early career attrition. It concludes with three key actions to produce productivity: leverage automation and digitalization, create a talent development engine, and incentive employees to reduce attrition.
Written by Sam Chang and Molly Prochaska