Washington Updates

Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs, Gary Payton, spoke to reporters Feb. 4 at a Space Foundation Correspondents Group gathering in Washington, D.C. He talked about the new Air Force budget, including plans for space protection, operationally responsive space (ORS), and satellite programs, including five Air Force satellite launches scheduled for…

In January, President Barack Obama’s administration continued to move forward on efforts to review and reform policies in civil, commercial, and defense space. On Dec. 21, Obama signed Presidential Study Directive 8, directing his administration to recommend steps leading to an overhaul of the United States export control regime by no later than Jan. 29.…

Satellites provide a wide perspective of Earth that cannot be replicated in any other way. Industries involved in energy, resources, and environmental management are benefiting from developments in satellite technology and services. The following is an edited excerpt from the Space Foundation’s The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity that demonstrates the…

The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness last month released its recommendations for modernizing U.S. export controls. The Space Foundation is among the 14 organizations participating in the effort to improve United States’ technological competitiveness by adopting new policies to govern U.S. export controls and new administrative regulations and procedures to streamline export licensing and compliance requirements.…

A report released Jan. 22 by the National Academy of Sciences says that the $4 million the U.S. spends each year to identify potentially dangerous asteroids is not enough to satisfy the 2005 Congressional mandate that 90 percent of nearby asteroids 460 feet (140 meters) across or larger be identified by 2020. Defending the Earth: Near-Earth…

On Dec. 8, the Space Foundation and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) held a Space Power Lecture breakfast (pictured) featuring Norman Augustine, retired Lockheed Martin chairman and chief executive officer and head of the Future of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee. Augustine addressed the challenges that lie ahead for the United States as a space power, including…