Washington Updates

The Space Foundation has expressed its approval of the Sept. 29 passage of FY2011 NASA Authorization, S. 3729, by the House of Representatives. The bill is a Senate-enacted roadmap that establishes a clear path forward for the nation’s space agency. “America’s civil space program has been in costly and divisive turmoil since Congress received the President’s…

The Space Foundation is participating in the USA Science & Engineering Festival’s Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23-24. The two-day Expo, which is the culmination of 15-day event, will feature more than 500 science and engineering organizations from across the United States presenting hands-on, fun science activities to inspire the next generation of scientists…

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,…

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…