Report from Washington, D.C.
NASA Budget Analysis Available
Despite a very contentious year between Congress and the White House, President Barack Obama signed a spending bill in November that sets the 2012 budget for NASA, bringing to an end several years of operation under restrictive Continuing Resolutions that underfunded the agency. According to Space Foundation Vice President – Washington Operations Brendan Curry, “This…
China is Topic of Hearing
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation held a hearing on Nov. 2 on Efforts to Transfer America’s Leading Edge Science to China. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., warned against U.S. engagement with China on matters of technology. Ranking Member of the Subcommittee Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., expressed a different view, saying…
What's Next for U.S. Planetary Science?
In mid-November, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing on Exploring Mars and Beyond: What’s Next for U.S. Planetary Science. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., called the Mars Sample Return Mission a “very expensive undertaking” and suggested an “obvious option would be to engage with the European…
Hearing Questions JPSS-1 Readiness
At a Nov. 16 Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard hearing on Weathering Change: Need for Continued Innovation in Forecasting and Prediction, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, expressed concern about recent Government Accountability Office (GA0) reports indicating that the Joint Polar Satellite System JPSS-1 mission may be delayed by technical development problems. A…
Exploration "Too Important" to Give Less than Best
“The effective restoration of U.S. exploration leadership is simply too important to the well-being of the nation, both economically and competitively, for us to give anything less than our very best to ensure its success,” was how Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., summed up his thoughts at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Science…
Super Committee Failure Could be Tough on Space
In last month’s Space Watch The View From Here column, Space Foundation CEO Elliot Pulham predicted that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the Super Committee) would fail to produce a plan to reduce the U.S. budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. Turns out, as usual, he was right. Commenting on…
Successful GMLRS+ Rocket Flight Test Demonstrates New Aerojet Scalable Effects Warhead
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Nov. 30, 2011) – Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced that its new scalable effects warhead was successfully demonstrated on Lockheed Martin’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System-Plus (GMLRS+) rocket today during a flight test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This new warhead provides the user the ability to…
Thuraya Displays Telecom Solutions that Enable Digital Oil-Field at World Petroleum Congress
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (Nov. 30, 2011) – The global energy business represents trillions of dollars per annum. The industry involves hundreds of huge exploration, production, refinery and storage facilities around the globe. The majority of oil and gas sites are located in remote on-shore areas or at sea. Hence, for efficient operations and communications…
Expert Expeditionist Adrian Hayes Deploys Thuraya Solutions for 1,500 Kilometer Journey
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (Nov. 29, 2011) – The innovative solutions of Thuraya, the leading international mobile satellite services operator, have been selected as the main telecom service to be deployed by the Footsteps of Thesiger team member, Adrian Hayes and a support film crew during a challenging 1,500 kilometer expedition from Salalah in Oman…
Aerojet and FTT Announce Major Next Generation Engine Milestone
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Nov. 28, 2011) – Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced today that it has successfully completed a major milestone in the development of a ground demonstrator for the Next Generation Engine (NGE) program. Aerojet, along with its partner Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc. (FTT), recently completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the…