Washington Updates

United States Space Policy Updates Joseph Pelfrey, director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center since February 2024, announced his resignation. (AL.com, September 25) Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy announced that Space Force will require its next generation of space domain awareness satellites to be able to be refueled in…

United States Space Policy Updates Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Representatives Dale Strong (R-AL), George Whitesides (D-CA), and Vince Fong (R-CA) reintroduced the Spaceport Project Opportunities for Resilient Transportation (SPACEPORT) Act (Senator John Hickenlooper,  September 19) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released…

United States Space Policy Updates The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (CST) held a full committee hearing titled ‘There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race.’ (Senate CST, September 3). Read Space Foundation’s summary of the hearing here. NASA selected Amit Kshatriya as the new…

United States Space Policy Updates Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced an intention to move NASA away from earth science efforts. (Payload, August 18) Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced his retirement. (Breaking Defense, August 18) The Federal Aviation Administration has dismissed all members of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). (SpaceNews, August 15) Steven Sinacore will…

United States Space Policy Updates Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy signed a new directive altering the agency’s acquisition strategy for commercial low earth orbit destinations. (Ars Technica, August 6) NASA Astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore has retired after 25 years with the agency. (NASA, August 6) Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy outlined a fast-track plan for the agency…