SpaceX launched the 15th Starship Integrated Flight Test (IFT-15) early this evening from Starbase, Texas. Plans to bring the first stage Booster back to the launch tower for a “catch” minutes after liftoff were scrubbed, but hopes remain high that there will be a catch tomorrow when the second stage, Starship, returns from orbit.
The Senate Appropriations Committee released five more FY2027 bills this evening, including the Commerce-Justice-Science bill that funds NASA. The CJS subcommittee is proposing $24.874 billion for NASA, slightly more than the $24.438 billion approved by Congress for FY2026. By contrast, the Trump Administration requested $18.8 billion in FY2027.
In January, NASA will begin assessing new strategies to return the samples now being collected by the Mars Perseverance rover to Earth. The agency ended an earlier Mars Sample Return mission last year because of cost concerns.
NASA provided another update on the Moon Base project this weekend in conjunction with the MAX POWER airshow at Kennedy Space Center. Billions of dollars were awarded or soon will be for cargo landers, a nuclear-powered lunar rover, launch and transportation, as well as architecture and infrastructure capabilities. Although the agency is full steam ahead on Moon Base plans, the three CLPS missions expected to launch this year have all slipped to 2027 and hopes for another 10 in 2027 will wait until 2028.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 8-14, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Alexander MacDonald is the new President of the Canadian Space Agency. Canadian-born MacDonald was NASA’s Chief Economist until December 2024.
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory reentered this morning, bringing the 22-year-old mission to an end.
President Trump issued a space proclamation yesterday. “The American Declaration of Freedom in Space” pledges that the United States will lead the exploration, development, use, and settlement of new frontiers throughout the solar system and beyond.
Democratic victories in yesterday’s midterm elections are being touted not as a “Blue wave,” but a “Blue tsunami” as votes are counted throughout the country. The final tally is not in as of Wednesday morning at 8:00 am ET, but the Associated Press is projecting Democrats will have at least 54 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House, putting them in charge when the 120th Congress begins on January 3. Republicans remain in control of both chambers until then and will have to decide which legislative priorities to try and pass during these next two months.
Democratic victories in yesterday’s midterm elections are being touted not as a “Blue wave,” but a “Blue tsunami” as votes are counted throughout the country. The final tally is not in as of Wednesday morning at 8:00 am ET, but the Associated Press is projecting Democrats will have at least 54 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House, putting them in charge when the 120th Congress begins on January 3. Republicans remain in control of both chambers until then and will have to decide which legislative priorities to try and pass during these next two months.