International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on August 22, 2025
Written by: Molly Prochaska
United States Space Policy Updates
- Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced an intention to move NASA away from earth science efforts. (Payload, August 18)
- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced his retirement. (Breaking Defense, August 18)
- The Federal Aviation Administration has dismissed all members of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). (SpaceNews, August 15)
- Steven Sinacore will lead the NASA team standing up the commercial program to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon. (Payload, August 14)
- President Trump signed the Executive Order (EO), “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry.” (The White House, August 13)
- Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink announced in a memo that the Space Force will take over all space missions currently performed by nine Air National Guard units on October 1. (National Guard Association of the United States, August 12)
International Space Policy Updates
- Starting in 2027, the Schriever Wargames series will be planned jointly by the US Space Force and international allies. (Breaking Defense, August 19)
- The UK Space Agency will be absorbed into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April 2026. (BBC, August 19)
- Chinese launch company CAS Space launched two Mexican femtosats, marking its first payloads for a Latin American client. (MSN, August 19)
- Chinese launch company CAS Space completed IPO counseling with regulators, advancing toward a listing on Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market.(SpaceNews, August 14)
- The United Kingdom Parliament introduced the Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill, which would amend the Space Industry Act 2018 to require liability limits for spaceflight operator licenses. (House of Lords Library, August 12)
Space Industry Updates
- Blue Origin has proposed a version of its Blue Ring platform to be used as a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) to support NASA’s Mars mission. (Blue Origin, August 18)
- Former NASA Chief Technologist A.C. Charania has joined Zeno Power as Senior Vice President of Space Business Development. (Zeno Power, August 14)
- United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket has conducted its first National Security Space Launch. (ULA, August 13)
- KBR and Axiom Space completed initial testing of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), which is being developed for the Artemis III lunar mission. (KBR, August 12)
- Booz Allen Hamilton’s venture capital arm has tripled its funding pool to $300 million, in part to fund space investments. (SpaceNews, August 11)
Reading Corner
Space.com | Fly me to the moon: 25 finalists chosen for Artemis 2 ‘zero-g indicator‘
NASA has announced the 25 finalists for its Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge. The challenge called for designs of a small toy representing ‘humanity, exploration and the spirit of the Artemis campaign.’ The winning design will be developed and serve as the zero-gravity indicator for the Artemis II Orion spacecraft. The toy will be suspended from a tether, and will float in the microgravity environment of space, indicating to the astronauts that they have entered zero-gravity.
The winning designs were chosen from a total of 2,605 entries across three categories: K–12 Individual, K-12 Classroom and Adults. Depending on the category, the winners will receive either $1,225 or an Artemis prize pack. The finalists hail from ten countries, and from nine states within the United States.