Report from Washington, D.C.

On March 4, Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), spoke with reporters at a Space Foundation Correspondents Group breakfast in Washington, D.C. Weiler began by saying that for the SMD, the president’s budget proposal provides both “good news and great news.” He said the “good news” is for heliophysics,…

Early last month, President Barack Obama released his proposed $3.8 trillion budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which gives NASA a proposed boost of $1.3 billion next year and a $6 billion increase over the next five years. To see the budget proposal, click here. The President’s plan zeroes out funding for the Constellation Program…

The Space Foundation’s Solutions from Space: Faster, Safer, Greener Commercial Aviation details how space technology is dramatically improving air traffic management. According to the paper, the advanced positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities offered by satellite systems can: Reduce air traffic congestion Lower fuel consumption Reduce noise pollution Lessen environmental impact Provide clearer, more accurate, real-time…

Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs, Gary Payton, spoke to reporters Feb. 4 at a Space Foundation Correspondents Group gathering in Washington, D.C. He talked about the new Air Force budget, including plans for space protection, operationally responsive space (ORS), and satellite programs, including five Air Force satellite launches scheduled for…

In January, President Barack Obama’s administration continued to move forward on efforts to review and reform policies in civil, commercial, and defense space. On Dec. 21, Obama signed Presidential Study Directive 8, directing his administration to recommend steps leading to an overhaul of the United States export control regime by no later than Jan. 29.…

Satellites provide a wide perspective of Earth that cannot be replicated in any other way. Industries involved in energy, resources, and environmental management are benefiting from developments in satellite technology and services. The following is an edited excerpt from the Space Foundation’s The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity that demonstrates the…

The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness last month released its recommendations for modernizing U.S. export controls. The Space Foundation is among the 14 organizations participating in the effort to improve United States’ technological competitiveness by adopting new policies to govern U.S. export controls and new administrative regulations and procedures to streamline export licensing and compliance requirements.…

A report released Jan. 22 by the National Academy of Sciences says that the $4 million the U.S. spends each year to identify potentially dangerous asteroids is not enough to satisfy the 2005 Congressional mandate that 90 percent of nearby asteroids 460 feet (140 meters) across or larger be identified by 2020. Defending the Earth: Near-Earth…

The following is an edited excerpt from the Space Foundation’s The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity. Often, space-based capabilities are combined to create new capabilities, many of which are changing our lives here on solid ground. For example, “geoinformatics” converges position, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems with remote sensing and position…

The Space Foundation, in partnership with the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA), held the last Space Power Lecture Breakfast of 2009 on Dec. 8 in Washington, D.C. Featured speaker Norm Augustine, chairman of the Future of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee and former Lockheed Martin chairman and chief executive officer, talked about the challenges facing…