Washington Updates

This Week in Washington NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has traveled to Italy, Vatican City, and Saudi Arabia. The House Armed Services Committee released its draft FY25 NDAA. Lithuania has become the 40th signatory to the Artemis Accords. The SASC Subcommittee on Strategic Forces is scheduled to convene a hearing on DOD space activities next week. United…

This Week in Washington Congress passed a resolution to designate today, May 3, as National Space Day. Russia vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution on preventing nuclear weapons in outer space. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson testified before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on the FY2025 budget request for NASA. Read Space Foundation’s summary of…

This Week in Washington Switzerland, Sweden, and Slovenia joined the Artemis Accords this week. The U.S. Space Force released its Commercial Space Strategy. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. United States Space Policy Updates  Vice President Kamala Harris has called for action from both the private…

This Week in Washington The Pentagon released the “2024 DOD Commercial Space Integration Strategy.” Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Chief of Space Operations Chance Saltzman will testify before the Senate Appropriation Subcommittee on Defense next Tuesday. Roscosmos has approved the preliminary design of a future Russian orbital station. United States Space Policy Updates …

This Week in Washington SpaceX’s Starship conducted its third flight test, successfully lifting off from Starbase. The Biden-Harris Administration released its Fiscal Year 2025 Presidential Budget Request. The House Science Committee approved eight bipartisan bills during a full Committee markup. Congress unveiled the remaining six FY 2024 appropriation bills in a second “minibus,” which includes…

This Week in Washington The Senate Armed Service Committee held a hearing with the U.S. Strategic Command and the U.S. Space Command. Read Space Foundation’s summary of the hearing here. Congress has passed a six-bill appropriations package, allocating $24.875 billion to NASA for FY2024. Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) announced the relaunch of…