Washington Updates

On Oct. 22, after months of deliberations, the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee released its final report. Among lawmakers there has been strong bi-partisan consensus that the current U.S. human space flight program is on an unsustainable trajectory that needs increased funding. However, lawmakers continue to debate the report’s prospective paths going…

The Space Foundation Government Affairs team spent a large portion of October debriefing space policy decision-makers on the Space Foundation-led mission to Chinese space facilities, which offered helpful insight into the future of Chinese human space flight initiatives. Led by Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham, the Space Foundation delegation comprised former shuttle astronaut and AVIATION…

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), a non-governmental organization that represents students and young space professionals to the United Nations, member countries, and space agencies, has released a report that outlines a youth vision of the “spacescape” in the next decade. The Youth Space Vision for the Next Decade: Looking Back to Look Forward includes…

Space Foundation Research Analyst Mariel John presented two papers at the 60th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Oct. 12-16, in Daejeon, South Korea. Both papers – Space Activities in Developing Nations: Contributions to Capacity Building and Innovation and Remote Sensing for Disease Prevention in Nigeria –  focused on Nigeria as a case study for the positive impact space activity can…

Participants at the 2nd Global Space Development Summit, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in partnership with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Space Foundation and the Chinese Society for Astronautics, will examine critical developments on issues of space exploration and Earth observations. Scheduled for Nov. 12-13 in Washington, D.C., the…

NASA has signed a number of agreements to facilitate cooperation between the United States and Europe on matters relating to space. A memorandum of understanding with the European Space Agency (ESA) signed last month allows NASA and ESA to exchange technical information and personnel, which will aid the eventual development of new space transportation systems.…