Washington Updates

“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. Robert Pappalardo,…

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…

The Space Foundation has prepared an overview of six current NASA budget proposals, including a comparison of funding levels provided by each. The analysis looks in detail at similarities and differences within the sections covering exploration and space operations for the following documents: Proposed House Authorization Bill Proposed Senate Authorization Bill Proposed House Appropriation Bill Proposed Senate…

During July, Congress was focused heavily on the future of the nation’s space policy as space authorization and space appropriation bills came to vote. Authorization bills detail how the various committees believe funds should be spent and generally play a major role in shaping the final allotment of funds. With the controversy in Washington over…

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) outlined key elements that will form the bipartisan foundation of his FY 2011 NASA funding authorization bill in a June 14 letter to Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science. The letter said the bill will: Outline the logistics and support necessary to…

Politicians, civil servants, academics, and private industry came together in Washington, D.C., on June 8 to discuss space applications for weather prediction and management. Panelists at the 2010 Space Weather Forum addressed the challenge of transitioning satellites from conducting pure research to performing operations, advocating a structured approach rather than today’s ad hoc approach to transition. They highlighted…