Washington Updates

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…

The Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development has launched an interactive website to encourage public comment on ways to promote economic growth and sustainability in Florida’s Space Coast region as it adapts to changes in America’s space program.  According to NASA, the site offers “information about the work the administration is doing to…

Frequent attendees at Congressional hearings, as well as policy presentations and meetings of U.S. government advisory panels, the Space Foundation’s Washington, D.C., staff routinely provides reports and analyses on policy issues to Space Foundation Corporate Members. So far in 2010, more than 20 reports have been sent to Corporate Members as an additional benefit to…

On May 12, the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee held a hearing on the proposed FY 2011 Air Force budget. Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) continued to fight against President Barack Obama’s proposed plan to cancel the development of the Ares rocket. Sen. Bennett charged the Obama administration with failing to adequately engage the Department of Defense…