Washington Updates

Jim Maser, president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), speaking last month at a Space Foundation Correspondents Group breakfast in Washington, D.C., said that the U.S. needs a long-term vision for space to allow industry to better align human resources and research and development dollars with government plans. He said the unstable and discontinuous nature…

Space “is the bedrock of America’s economic and strategic power,” but the U.S. government needs to improve the acquisition of space systems in order to maximize the benefits of space investment. This was part of the feedback Space Foundation Board member Patti Grace Smith gave to the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on…

The Space Foundation is among 14 organizations signing a July 13 letter to President Barack Obama encouraging U.S. export control modernization to improve the United States’ technological competitiveness. The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, which was formed in 2007 to draw attention to the need for fundamental export control modernization, asked the president to “adopt…

On July 28, the Space Foundation, in partnership with the National Defense Industrial Association, held the second Space Power Lecture Series breakfast of the year, with Dr. Peter Wegner, director of the Operationally Responsive Space Office, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., as the featured speaker. Dr. Wegner spoke to an audience of Congressional members and…

On July 15, Major General Charles Bolden, USMC (Ret.) was confirmed as the 12th NASA Administrator and Lori Garver was confirmed as NASA Deputy Administrator. Both began their new positions on July 17. “Charlie Bolden is an American hero who brings deep NASA knowledge and experience, and unsurpassed leadership skills to the key position of…

Dr. Peter Wegner, director of the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., addressed an audience of 62 government and industry leaders and Congressional members and their staffs at a Space Power Lecture Breakfast July 28 in Washington, D.C. The breakfast was jointly sponsored by the Space Foundation and the National Defense…