Washington Updates

In January, the White House confirmed it would not submit its FY 2014 budget request to Congress in early February as required by law. The delay is due, in part, to the continued threat of sequestration to the FY 2013 and FY 2014 budgets. Currently sequestration is scheduled to go into effect on March 1.If…

Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, U.S. Department of Defense, took advantage of the prestigious gathering of top space policymakers at the 28th National Space Symposium to announce a major report on space export control policy. Congress had requested the report from the Secretary of Defense and State in Section 1248…

On April 19, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which funds several agencies, including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Senate bill would provide NASA with $19.399 billion in FY 2013, $1.6 billion above the President’s request. However, the increase is…

Congress continues to discuss funding for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). On Dec. 6, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a hearing entitled The Next Great Observatory: Assessing the James Webb Space Telescope, where Committee Chair Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) stated his support for the JWST, adding that “NASA’s latest replan for…

At the end of December, several key events took place affecting the future of the U.S. space program. On Dec. 20, NASA announced it was taking a modified approach to supporting commercial crew capability, saying it will “competitively award Space Act agreements for the next phase of the Commercial Crew Program,” rather than award contracts.…

“The effective restoration of U.S. exploration leadership is simply too important to the well-being of the nation, both economically and competitively, for us to give anything less than our very best to ensure its success,” was how Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., summed up his thoughts at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Science…