Washington Updates

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

This Week in Washington The 2024 NATO Summit was hosted in Washington D.C. from July 9 to 11. The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY25 Commerce, Justice, and Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act in a 31-26 vote. The House Science Space and Technology Committee unanimously approved the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024 in a…