Washington Updates

On June 14, the House Committee on Appropriations passed its FY 2012 Defense Appropriations bill, which includes $530 billion in basic spending – $9 billion less than the President requested for FY 2012. Despite the decrease, the legislation increases base funding for the Department of Defense by $17 billion over the FY 2011 budget. In…

Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham testified May 18 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on the importance of a robust space program (the official topic of the hearing was The Contributions of Space to National Imperatives). The other participants were Frank Slazer, vice president of space systems, Aerospace Industries Association; Dr. Christopher…

The Space Foundation has updated its report providing an overview and comparison of the NASA budget. The report provides an overview of FY 2011 NASA budget request and legislation, breaking it down into the President’s FY 2011 Budget Request, FY 2011 funds authorized by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and the FY 2011 Enacted…

In May, the House Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee held two hearings: Office of Commercial Space Transportation’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request NASA’s Commercial Cargo Providers: Are They Ready to Supply the Space Station in the Post-Shuttle Era?” In the first hearing on May 5, members of the Subcommittee voiced their concern that the request sought…

During May, space-related subcommittees met, authorization acts were passed and strageic decisions were announced: Hearings The Senate Strategic Forces Subcommittee held a hearing on May 11 entitled, Military Space Programs in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2012 and the Future Years Defense Program. Senators on the Subcommittee recognized several recently successful…

Despite 50 years of strength and our current position of technological leadership in space, Congressman C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD) said our space program is slipping. Speaking at the 27th National Space Symposium, Ruppersberger said that, between policy and budgetary uncertainty, the future is unclear. He said we must address four areas to reorient and refocus…

The Space Foundation’s New Generation Space Leaders Initiative continued to grow at the 27th National Space Symposium with almost 150 young space professionals attending specialized programs. The New Generation Initiatives featured a full week of events that kicked off on April 11 with the popular “speed mentoring” New Generation Leadership Exchange. During the exchange, up-and-coming…

April 11 The Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee held a hearing on NASA’s FY 2012 budget request. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told lawmakers that, in the current tough fiscal environment, the space agency would have to push back the launch date of several missions. For example, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) had…

NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding that formalizes agency collaborations that use Earth science data to address developmental challenges, and to assist in disaster mitigation and humanitarian responses. The agreement also encourages NASA and USAID to apply geospatial technologies to solve development challenges affecting the…

The House Science, Space & Technology Committee held a hearing March 2 on NASA’s FY 2012 budget request, which proposes $18.7 billion in funds for the space agency. Administrator Charles Bolden testified before the Committee. Members of Congress from both parties voiced their concerns that the funding priorities outlined in NASA’s budget request did not…