Washington Updates

Wanda Austin, Ph.D., Aerospace Corporation president and CEO, has been selected by President Barack Obama to serve on President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Austin also serves on the Space Foundation Board of Directors. PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the President and the…

By Space Foundation Government Affairs Associate Jillianne Pierce February has been a busy month in the District of Columbia! Here is a summary of those activities: On Feb. 2, President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2016 budget request. For your convenience, Space Foundation staff has culled together the relevant space budget numbers for the National…

In December, the Space Foundation and the European Space Agency (ESA) hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill titled “To Catch a Comet.” Professor Mark McCaughrean, Senior Science Advisor, ESA, gave a briefing and update for the very successful Rosetta-Philae mission. He spoke for almost 90 minutes on the history of mankind’s understanding of comets throughout…

Dec. 2: House and Senate Armed Services leadership reached an agreement on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2015 (S. 1847). This annual bill funds the Department of Defense (DoD), including key military space and cyber-security programs. The bill: Instructs the Secretary of Defense to submit a report assessing the ability of the…

In November, Jillianne Pierce joined the Space Foundation’s Washington Operations team as a Government Affairs Associate. A native Floridian, Jillianne has a life-long passion for all things space. She brings with her a wealth of experience from working for Walt Disney World Government Relations, as well as previous positions working on public policy issues. Jillianne…

by Space Foundation Vice President – Washington Operations Brendan Curry Due to the mid-term elections, there can be expected some impact to U.S. space policy in the coming 114th Congress, which will be seated early next calendar year. And due to a number of Members of Congress either being defeated or retiring, the various committees…