Washington Updates

On Sept. 16, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee passed its FY 2011 Defense Appropriations bill, S. 3800, which added $44.4 million to the Department of Defense (DoD) ‘s $94 million request for the Operationally Responsive Space Office to fund responsive space launch capabilities. The bill zeroed out the Air Force’s $325.5 million request for National…

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that would implement treaties with the United Kingdom (Treaty Doc 110-7) and Australia (Treaty Doc 110-10) that cover international arms sales. S. 3847, which has already passed the Senate, cleared the House on Sept. 28 and will now go to the President’s desk for signature. The treaties,…

On Sept. 29, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2701, the Senate version of the FY 2010 Intelligence Authorization. The legislation authorizes funding for FY 2010 for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and other…

The Space Foundation office in Washington, D.C., can be reached at new numbers: New main number: 202.618.3060 FAX:  202.618.3079 Vice President – Washington Office Brendan Curry heads the five-person D.C.-based team, which is located at 1655 N. Fort Meyer Dr., Ste. 910, Arlington, Va. 22207. See more about the Space Foundation Washington, D.C., office here.   This…

During August, activities in Washington, D.C., focused heavily on space issues commercial. Here are some highlights: NGA Contracts Awarded On Aug. 6, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded new contracts potentially worth a combined $7.3 billion over the next decade to DigitalGlobe and GeoEye under the EnhancedView program. EnhancedView follows up on previous NGA…

NASA’s Exploration of Near-Earth Objects (NEO) Objectives Workshop, held Aug. 10 in Washington, D.C., was designed to accomplish several objectives: increase the collective understanding of NEOs; solidify what the science community already knows about NEOs; and capture new ideas for future robotic and human missions to NEOs. Several key themes imaged among the many presentations…

The Space Foundation is demonstrating how astronauts conduct experiments on the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Oct. 23-24 at the inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. Using gloveboxes similar to the ones used in space to prevent experiments from floating away and to keep scientists and astronauts safe, the Space Foundation will…

The Obama administration has announced changes to rules governing the export of sensitive military and other technologies, which will streamline export processes and free up U.S. space companies to compete more effectively in the global marketplace. The changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) come after a year-long review by departments of State,…

“Wow… “There really is a larger universe out there and bigger things than just what we focus on day-to-day. You really sparked my interest and imagination. Thanks for doing this.” That’s a comment from one of the attendees of a Space Foundation breakfast held July 15 in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Ronald Greeley and Dr.…

On July 22, the Space Foundation and the Global Technology Institute held a discussion on the recently released U.S. Space Policy featuring keynote speaker Peter Marquez, director of space policy for the National Security Council. Marquez, who is responsible for development and oversight of the President’s space policies, said the administration is trying to maintain/re-focus…