International Affairs
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on December 6, 2024
This Week in Washington NASA has revised the launch dates for the Artemis missions, with Artemis II now set for April 2026 and Artemis III scheduled for mid-2027. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Brendan Carr as the new chairman of the FCC. United…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on November 15, 2024
This Week in Washington Denmark has become the 48th signatory of the Artemis Accords. SpaceX’s sixth Starship flight test is set for Monday, November 18. The FAA has established an Aerospace Rulemaking Committee for Part 450. United States Space Policy Updates The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched its Aerospace Rulemaking Committee to revise the FAA’s Part…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on November 1, 2024
This Week in Washington Chile and the Republic of Cyprus have officially joined the Artemis Accords as the 46th and 47th signatories The government of Thailand has approved the country’s participation in the Artemis Accords. NASA has released its “NASA Economic Impact Study 2023,” estimating the agency’s annual economic output at $75.6 billion. United States…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on October 18, 2024
This Week in Washington The Dominican Republic and Estonia have officially joined the Artemis Accords as the 44th and 45th signatories. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is participating in an official visit to Romania and Bulgaria to meet with key government and space officials. SpaceX completed the fifth test flight of its Starship rocket, successfully “catching”…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on October 4, 2024
This Week in Washington The House of Representatives passed the NASA Reauthorization Act in a 366-21 vote. The bill now advances to the Senate for consideration. Colonel Nick Hague is the first Guardian to launch into space as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. NASA and the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) signed a MoU to…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on September 20, 2024
This Week in Washington The HSST Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing on “Encouraging Commercial Space Innovation While Maintaining Public Safety” which addressed challenges related to the FAA’s Part 450 launch and reentry licensing requirements. Read Space Foundation’s summary of the hearing here. Congress voted to pass the Launch Communications Act which would modernize…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on September 6, 2024
This Week in Washington The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics will hold a hearing next week on commercial space activities. NASA announced that Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will undock from the ISS on Friday evening and return to Earth early Saturday. At the U.S.-Japan Comprehensive Dialogue on Space, both countries reaffirmed…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on August 23, 2024
This Week in Washington NASA announced a media event on August 24 with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to discuss the Boeing Crew Test Flight. John Hill assumed the role of Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. The FAA postponed public hearings on the environmental review for increased SpaceX Starship launches from Texas. United States Space Policy Updates…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on August 9, 2024
This Week in Washington Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced S.4952, the Dark and Quiet Skies Act. Canada and the U.S. have concluded negotiations for the Canada-U.S. Technology Safeguards Agreement. NASA is evaluating options to have astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the ISS aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner,…
Biweekly Washington D.C. Updates for the Week Ending on July 26, 2024
This Week in Washington The Senate Appropriations Committee held a full committee markup of the FY25 CJS Appropriations Act. Read Space Foundation’s summary of the markup here. The U.S. Space Force announced the appointment of Air Marshal Paul Godfrey to Assistant Chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships. NASA announced plans to discontinue…