What’s Happening in Space Policy March 1-7, 2026

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of March 1-7, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House is in session Tuesday-Thursday.

During the Week

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s surprise announcement two days ago that the agency is revamping the Artemis program may get some attention on Capitol Hill this week. The Senate Commerce Committee will mark up the NASA Authorization Act (S. 933) on Wednesday and hold a hearing on Matt Anderson’s nomination to be Deputy NASA Administrator on Thursday.

Advancing the Artemis program and building a base on the Moon, plus extending the International Space Station to 2032, were the three aspects of S. 933 highlighted by the committee in announcing the markup.

The NASA Authorization Act of 2026, an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 933 (NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025), is bipartisan legislation to be offered by Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This legislation is a two-year reauthorization that would reassert American leadership in space by, among other things, directing NASA to establish a permanent Moon Base, advancing the Artemis program, and preserving the International Space Station through at least 2032 when commercial space stations are expected to begin operation. — Senate Commerce Committee

A draft of the bill has been circulating for several days, but changes can be made until the last minute. What will be in the version they mark up on Wednesday is TBD, but it is a broad bill covering all aspects of NASA’s programs. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee marked up their version earlier this month. These are just the first steps in getting legislation enacted.

If everything is agreed to ahead of time, committee approval could come quickly by unanimous consent. But some committee members may want to share their reaction to Friday’s announcement, especially NASA’s decision to eliminate the Space Launch System (SLS) upgrades that were required in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act largely crafted by this committee. On Friday, Isaacman cited the need for a single, standardized version of SLS, but the 2010 Act requires upgrades to a much more capable vehicle. Three basic versions have been envisioned, with today’s Block 1 growing to Block 1B and eventually Block 2. A more powerful Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) for Block 1B has been under development for years along with a taller, stronger Mobile Launcher (ML-2) to support the larger vehicle during assembly and on the launch pad.

The draft of the bill we saw allows for recompeting the EUS contract, but otherwise seems to stand behind the 2010 requirements. To be sure, a lot has changed in the rocket business since 2010. Falcon 9 made its first flight that year. Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018. Elon Musk’s plans for Starship — then “BFR” — were revealed in 2016, about the same time ULA was laying out its plans for Vulcan and Blue Origin for New Glenn. Congress has steadfastly supported SLS and the planned upgrades throughout that time, however. Isaacman said he had conversations with NASA’s congressional stakeholders and they’re behind the new Artemis plan, but Friday’s announcement avoided the long term future of SLS. They also didn’t explicitly say EUS will be replaced, declining to discuss “contractual issues,” allowing only that they have “confidence in our ability to source and integrate a more standardized second stage” for missions beyond Artemis III.

Not sure how much of that will come up at Wednesday’s markup, but it certainly might on Thursday when the committee holds the nomination hearing for Matt Anderson to NASA Deputy Administrator. President Trump nominated him last May, but the delay in confirming Isaacman after Trump withdrew and then reinstated that nomination pushed Anderson’s consideration to now.  (NASA’s third political appointee is the Chief Financial Officer. Trump nominated Greg Autry to be CFO last year. Any nomination not approved in a calendar year must be resubmitted and Autry said he declined to be renominated in 2026 so that position remains open.)

Col. Anderson retired from the Air Force in 2021 after 24 years. A pilot, he logged over 650 combat hours according to his LinkedIn profile. Currently he’s Vice President, U.S. Space Force and Air Force client executive at CACI International, and Chief Growth Officer at the Space Force Association. He has a B.S. in biology from the Air Force Academy, an M.S. in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Isaacman’s alma mater), and an M.A. in Leadership & Counseling from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Also on Capitol Hill this week, the Senate and House Armed Services Committees (SASC and HASC) will hear from Elbridge Colby on the National Defense Strategy. Colby is Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. With the military operations in Iran that began yesterday, it seems unlikely space will be a major topic, but the hearings could be interesting anyway. SASC is on Tuesday and HASC on Thursday, assuming the hearings aren’t postponed because of the ongoing operations.

Space certainly is part of warfighting, of course, and CSIS will hold a webinar on that topic on Thursday. “Warfighting and War Winning in Space” features three CSIS experts: Heather Williams, director of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues; Tom Karako, director of CSIS Missile Defense Project; and Kari Bingen, director of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project.  They’ll discuss “What does “war-winning” look like in space? How is space different from other warfighting domains, and how can the United States prepare to fight in this domain? And what are the implications of emerging concepts such as space fires, interceptors, and expanded offensive options for deterrence and strategic stability?”

Lots of other interesting webinars, meetings and conferences as usual.  To highlight just two: AIAA will have a webinar tomorrow (Monday) about a new report on the “Top 10 Technologies Transforming Aerospace” with BryceTech’s Carissa Christensen; and Space-Comm Expo Europe takes place in London Wednesday-Thursday with Richard Branson as a headline speaker, albeit virtually.

One last note — as a heads up, Daylight Saving Time begins next Sunday (March 8) at 2:00 am before we publish our next edition of What’s Happening.  Be sure to “spring forward” one hour if you live anywhere in the United States other than Arizona and Hawaii, which don’t observe this ritual. Note that other countries have completely different schedules, so be careful if you’re participating in a virtual meeting. Europe doesn’t switch to Central European Summer Time until March 29, for example.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are shown below. Check back throughout the week for others we learn about later and add to our Calendar or changes to these.

Sunday-Tuesday, March 1-3

• 3rd Annual Business of Space Summit, Huntsville, AL

Monday, March 2

• Technologies Transforming Aerospace (AIAA/BryceTech), virtual, 12:00 pm ET

Tuesday, March 3

• SASC Hearing on National Defense Strategy, SH-216 Hart Senate Office Building, 9:30 am ET (webcast)

Tuesday-Wednesday, March 3-4

• Amsterdam Space Symposium, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Tuesday-Thursday, March 3-5

• Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) Workshop, North Logan, UT

Wednesday, March 4

• Senate Commerce Committee Markup NASA Authorization Bill, 253 Russell Senate Office Building, 10:00 am ET (webcast)

Wednesday-Thursday, March 4-5

• Space-Comm Expo Europe, London, UK
• DSI 12th Joint Space Operations Summit, National Harbor, MD

Thursday, March 5

• Senate Commerce Nomination Hearing for Matt Anderson to be NASA Deputy Administrator, 253 Russell Senate Office Building, 10:00 am ET (webcast)
• HASC Hearing on U.S. Defense Strategy and Posture, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am ET (webcast)
• Warfighting and War Winning in Space (CSIS), virtual, 11:15 am-12:15 pm ET

Friday, March 6

• Interagency Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC), virtual, 1:00-5:30 pm ET

Saturday-Saturday, March 7-14

• 2026 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT

Sunday, March 8

• Daylight Saving Time Begins in the United States, 2:00 am