Report from Washington, D.C.

Brendan Curry, vice president – Washington Operations, represented the Space Foundation in October at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) in New Mexico. Curry was part of a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities of implementing the new U.S. space policy. His comments covered:  Areas where there could be new commercial space…

G. Ryan Faith, who has joined the Space Foundation as a research analyst, wrote extensively about space policy, and human spaceflight in particular, during his years at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. As a program manager for space initiatives at CSIS, he worked with the Space Foundation on a…

The Space Foundation has expressed its approval of the Sept. 29 passage of FY2011 NASA Authorization, S. 3729, by the House of Representatives. The bill is a Senate-enacted roadmap that establishes a clear path forward for the nation’s space agency. “America’s civil space program has been in costly and divisive turmoil since Congress received the President’s…

The Space Foundation is participating in the USA Science & Engineering Festival’s Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23-24. The two-day Expo, which is the culmination of 15-day event, will feature more than 500 science and engineering organizations from across the United States presenting hands-on, fun science activities to inspire the next generation of scientists…

On Sept. 16, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee passed its FY 2011 Defense Appropriations bill, S. 3800, which added $44.4 million to the Department of Defense (DoD) ‘s $94 million request for the Operationally Responsive Space Office to fund responsive space launch capabilities. The bill zeroed out the Air Force’s $325.5 million request for National…

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that would implement treaties with the United Kingdom (Treaty Doc 110-7) and Australia (Treaty Doc 110-10) that cover international arms sales. S. 3847, which has already passed the Senate, cleared the House on Sept. 28 and will now go to the President’s desk for signature. The treaties,…

On Sept. 29, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2701, the Senate version of the FY 2010 Intelligence Authorization. The legislation authorizes funding for FY 2010 for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and other…

The Space Foundation office in Washington, D.C., can be reached at new numbers: New main number: 202.618.3060 FAX:  202.618.3079 Vice President – Washington Office Brendan Curry heads the five-person D.C.-based team, which is located at 1655 N. Fort Meyer Dr., Ste. 910, Arlington, Va. 22207. See more about the Space Foundation Washington, D.C., office here.   This…

During August, activities in Washington, D.C., focused heavily on space issues commercial. Here are some highlights: NGA Contracts Awarded On Aug. 6, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded new contracts potentially worth a combined $7.3 billion over the next decade to DigitalGlobe and GeoEye under the EnhancedView program. EnhancedView follows up on previous NGA…

NASA’s Exploration of Near-Earth Objects (NEO) Objectives Workshop, held Aug. 10 in Washington, D.C., was designed to accomplish several objectives: increase the collective understanding of NEOs; solidify what the science community already knows about NEOs; and capture new ideas for future robotic and human missions to NEOs. Several key themes imaged among the many presentations…