What’s Happening in Space Policy November 1-8, 2026

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of November 1-8, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess, except for pro forma sessions, until after the midterm elections.

During the Week

The United States returned to Standard Time at 2:00 am this morning — hope you remembered to change any timepieces that don’t change themselves!

The big event this week, of course, is the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3.  We are not speculating on what the outcome will be, but watching with interest like everyone else and assessing any potential impact on space activities afterwards.  The Planetary Society will share their assessment during a webinar on Wednesday.

Whatever the results, the House and Senate return to work next Monday, November 9, with a long list of legislation to deal with before the 119th Congress comes to a close no later than noon on January 3, 2027.  All 12 FY2027 appropriations bills and the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act are among the unfinished business.

We’re including an extra day in this week’s What’s Happening because NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s “MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show” at Kennedy Space Center runs through the weekend. Media opportunities are available on Friday, November 5, but the main event is Saturday and Sunday. NASA describes it this way:

Through multiple park experiences at MAX POWER, NASA and a variety of external collaborators will showcase the newest aircraft, autonomous vehicles, technologies, and more defining the future of air and space. NASA will display its quiet supersonic X-59 plane, and agency partners will showcase Moon rovers, spacecraft, and more. The expo also is a culmination of the agency’s recent Inspiration Tour, which included numerous flyovers to highlight NASA’s fleet of aircraft. — NASA

Earlier in the week, among the very interesting meetings/conferences is the Space + Defense Investor Summit in Beverly Hills, CA sponsored by Payload Space and Tectonic Defense on Tuesday and Wednesday. A Wednesday panel on “Succession: Who Replaces the ISS?” features representatives from Vast, Axiom and Starlab. Another that day on “Building the (Space) Arsenal” includes speakers from True Anomaly, Apex, and CesiumAstro. Lots, lots more.

The Secure World Foundation’s annual Summit for Space Sustainability on Wednesday and Thursday is in Brazil this year (SGAC and Learning Lab sessions precede the summit on Tuesday). Co-sponsored by the Brazilian Space Agency, this is the first time the summit has been held in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Space sustainability in the LAC region is a main focus with speakers from throughout the region, especially Brazil, but representatives from many other countries including the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, and South Africa also will be there. A virtual option is available for a fee.

 

The Mitchell Institute will hold a Schriever Spacepower Series webinar with Gen. Douglas Schiess on Wednesday morning. Schiess recently took over as Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force. The recent Russian Kosmos 2612 encounter with the U.S. ICEYE-X36 is almost certain to come up, but military space activities generally are growing in significance and getting increased public attention. Schiess and Mitchell Institute’s Gen. Kevin Chilton (Ret.) “will explore Space Force strategies, concepts of operation, and technical priorities regarding how Guardians are securing U.S. interests in, from, and to space.” Chilton is a former commander of U.S. Strategic Command (and was a NASA astronaut for many years).

At exactly the same time, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) will be holding a discussion on “Weapons in Orbit: Reducing Risk in a New Era of Space Competition” and what it means for nuclear risk reduction. The event is in-person in D.C. and livestreamed on YouTube. Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III is one of the speakers. He recently authored “Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It Or Not.”

Many more great events here and around the world.

Those 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, November 1

• Daylight Saving Time Ends in the U.S.

Monday, November 2

• Curation Community Conversation (NASA), virtual, 2:00 pm ET

Monday-Thursday, November 2-5

• Global MilSatCom 2026, London, UK
• Cybersat, Reston and Chantilly, VA

Tuesday, November 3

• ExMAG 2026, virtual, various times

Tuesday-Wednesday, November 3-4

• Space + Defense Investor Summit, Beverly Hills, CA

Tuesday-Thursday, November 3-5

• APSCC, Denpasar, Indonesia

Wednesday, November 4

• Schriever Spacepower Series with Gen. Douglas Schiess (Mitchell Inst), virtual, 10:00 am ET
• Weapons in Orbit: Reducing Risk in New Era of Space Competition (NTI), 1776 Eye St., NW, Washington, DC/online, 10:00 am ET
• What the Election Results Mean for NASA (The Planetary Society), virtual, 3:00 pm ET

Wednesday-Thursday, November 4-5 

• 8th Summit for Space Sustainability (Secure World Foundation), Brasilia, Brazil

Thursday, November 5

• NASA/CSA Spacewalk at ISS (Menon/Kutryk), Earth orbit, 8:10 am ET (NASA coverage begins 6:45 am ET)
• Satellite Mission Management at the Edge (Space News/RTX), virtual, 10:00 am ET

Friday, November 6

• Maine Launch Summit (Maine Space Corp.), Northeastern University’s Roux Institute, Portland, Maine, 8:00 am-4:00 pm ET (open to the public)

Saturday-Sunday, November 7-8

• MAX POWER (NASA), Kennedy Space Center, FL