Space Awareness
New Discoveries for NASA Kepler Mission
In 2012, the Space Foundation presented the NASA Kepler Mission with the John L. “Jack” Swigert, Jr., Award for Space Exploration for the discovery of 61 confirmed extrasolar planets and over 2,300 planet candidates in the first 16 months of observations from May 2009 to September 2010. Now NASA reports that the Kepler Mission has…
DigitalGlobe To Merge with GeoEye
In January, the Department of Justice gave DigitalGlobe, a global provider of commercial high-resolution earth imagery products and services, antitrust clearance to merge with GeoEye, a provider of geospatial intelligence solutions. The merger was driven by projected U.S. government budget cuts to the EnhancedView contract, which was a $7.3 billion vehicle for purchasing commercial satellite data.…
Space Sector Outperformed S&P 500 and NASDAQ in Fourth Quarter 2012
The fourth quarter of 2012 saw continued strength in the space sector. The companies in the Space Foundation Services Index led the way with nearly 8 percent growth, followed by those in the Space Foundation Index and the Space Foundation Infrastructure Index (up 6.26 percent and 5.23 percent, respectively). In contrast, both the S&P 500 Index…
Have You Read PIONEERING?
Have you read the Space Foundation’s PIONEERING: Sustaining U.S. Leadership in Space yet? If not, download a copy here and then tell us what you think. We would love to hear your views on the future of NASA and how to improve and sustain space leadership. Email your comments to [email protected] – and make sure to let us…
Chiao: Has NASA Become Byzantine?
Inspired by the Space Foundation’s PIONEERING: Sustaining U.S. Leadership in Space report, Space Foundation Special Advisor – Human Spaceflight (and former NASA astronaut) Dr. Leroy Chiao penned an editorial that appeared on Discovery.com Jan. 24. Talking about the current state of manned space travel, Chiao says “What happened? Did America somehow lose, or see a diminished pioneering…
Brookings Institution Colorado Space Report Event to Feature Hickenlooper
The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, in partnership with the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and the Colorado Space Coalition – will hold a half-day event from 9:00-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, focused on the best ways to advance…
MIT Interns Assist with The Space Report 2013
Two students from the MIT Externship Program spent their winter Independent Activity Period between fall and spring semesters as interns at the Space Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office. In addition to exposure to government affairs and space policy activities, they assisted with the production of the soon-to-be-published The Space Report 2013. The two interns are: Claire…
Baker Panel Discusses Space Policy
When the Space Shuttle program ended in July 2011, the United States lost its capacity to launch humans into space. U.S. astronauts are now flying to space in Russian spacecraft, and if the nation does regain such a capability, it may be provided by commercial companies. In the interim, NASA has initiated the development of…
Committees with Space Jurisdiction Change Leadership
The opening of the 113th Congress welcomed 84 new members to the House of Representatives and 14 to the Senate. Several committees with jurisdiction over space saw changes to their leadership: Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) replaced Congressman Ralph Hall (R-TX) as the chairman of the House Science, Space, & Technology Committee due to term limits.…
White House Update: Budget, Sequestration, Space Sustainability
In January, the White House confirmed it would not submit its FY 2014 budget request to Congress in early February as required by law. The delay is due, in part, to the continued threat of sequestration to the FY 2013 and FY 2014 budgets. Currently sequestration is scheduled to go into effect on March 1.…