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Space Policy
September Washington, D.C., Space Activity Wrap-up
Space Industry Updates The week of Sept. 19, the Artemis program was criticized in several House oversight hearings. On Sept. 23, NASA signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for six to 12 Orion spacecraft to be built at Johnson Space Center in Texas. Previously, NASA’s decision to award Alabama’s Marshall Spaceflight Center the leading role…
September Space Activity on the Hill
Congress returned on Sept. 9 after a month-long August recess. Last week, the Senate focused on appropriations markups and a nomination hearing for Secretary of Air Force and Army. There is increasing pressure as Congress attempts to pass the bill and prevent a government shutdown by Sept. 30. Although another lengthy government shutdown is unlikely, there…
The Space Report 2013: Space for Trade and Diplomacy
As noted in this month’s Second View, one of the reasons for the success of this year’s Space Symposium was the increased international participation in the form of government and trade delegations. This presence opens opportunities for companies to generate new business and for governments to engage with each other and with industry. The use…
Pulham Editorial Appears in New Space Magazine
The inaugural issue of New Space magazine, published by Mar Ann Liebert, Inc., and edited by Scott Hubbard, features an editorial on new space by Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham, who serves on the magazine’s editorial board. New Space, which was officially launched at the 29th National Space Symposium in April, is a…
Pulham Editorial Appears in New Space Magazine
The inaugural issue of New Space magazine, published by Mar Ann Liebert, Inc., and edited by Scott Hubbard, features an editorial on new space by Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham, who serves on the magazine’s editorial board. New Space, which was officially launched at the 29th National Space Symposium in April, is a…
NASA Testifies about Industry Partnerships
At the House Science, Space and Technology Committee September hearing on “Recent Developments in NASA’s Commercial Crew Acquisition Strategy,” NASA testified that the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) will enable industry partners to advance the integrated critical design of their planned crew transportation systems. This includes the crew spacecraft, launch vehicle, ground systems and mission…
House Introduces Space Leadership Preservation Act
On Sept. 20, six members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Space Leadership Preservation Act (H.R. 6491), which is aimed at providing NASA with more stability and predictability. Among other things H.R. 6491 would do are: Create a 10-year term for the NASA administrator Establish a board of directors to provide a quadrennial…
Senate Committee Hearing Raises Beyond-LEO Concerns
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing last month on “The Path from LEO to Mars,” which examined NASA’s exploration portfolio, both robotic and human, beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) to the surface of Mars. Steve Squyres, Ph.D., testified that there are two areas of concern regarding getting beyond LEO and eventually…
Industry Stresses Need for Continued SLS, Orion Crew Capsule Funding
The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Committee on Science, Space and Technology held a hearing in September on “Examining NASA’s Development of the Space Launch System and Orion Crew Capsule” at which representatives from industry testified that Orion is currently advancing toward its Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in 2014. EFT-1 mission…
FAA Update: Subcommittee Looks at Commercial Launch; House Appropriations Bill Approved; MOU Signed
Subcommittee Looks at Commercial Launch Market The House Science, Space & Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing in June on “An Examination of Future Commercial Launch Markets & FAA’s Launch Indemnification Program.” The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) launch indemnification program was created in the 1980s to provide a structured risk-sharing regime to…