Today’s release of more images and data from the James Webb Space Telescope did not disappoint. The dazzling views of the universe are just the beginning of what JWST will reveal as it begins 20 years of operation.
The first science-quality image from the James Webb Space Telescope was revealed by President Joe Biden at the White House today. More will follow tomorrow during briefings at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, but this one certainly met NASA’s goal of getting a “wow” reaction. The stunning image shows galaxies that formed 13 billion years ago as magnified by galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, a natural gravitational lens. After years of delays and billions in overruns, the U.S.-European-Canadian space telescope is finally showing what it can do.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 10-16, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
NASA issued a rare rebuke today of Russia, a critical partner in the International Space Station, for using the facility for political purposes to support its war against Ukraine. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has been striving to keep the ISS out of the political fray, but Russia’s decision to show its ISS cosmonauts holding flags for two Ukrainian regions Russia now claims apparently tipped the scale.
NASA’s CAPSTONE lunar cubesat successfully executed its first course change today after a communications glitch was resolved. The tiny spacecraft is taking a unique Ballstic Lunar Transfer trajectory to the Moon and will not arrive until November 13. At the moment, all is well.
NASA and its partners in the James Webb Space Telescope will release the first science-quality images on July 12. The images are being carefully chosen to showcase the capabilities of the telescope’s four instruments and what they are expected to reveal about the formation and evolution of the universe from its earliest days until now.
NASA’s CAPSTONE cubesat, successfully launched by Rocket Lab last week, is not communicating with Earth. A public-private partnership between NASA and Advanced Space, LLC, the pathfinding cubesat separated from Rocket Lab’s upper stage yesterday, but soon stopped talking to NASA’s Deep Space Network. Troubleshooting is underway. [Update: communications were restored on July 6.]
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 3-9, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.
The House Appropriations Committee plans to increase funding for FAA’s space office in FY2023, but not as much as the Biden Administration requested. In its draft report scheduled for approval tomorrow, instead of the $42.5 million requested for the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation, it is recommending $33.7 million. That still is more than the $27.6 million for FY2022. The committee also weighed in on plans by the National Transportation Safety Board to get more involved in investigating commercial space accidents, a controversial idea, but one the committee endorsed.
Today the House Appropriations Committee approved the funding levels for NASA recommended by its Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee last week. The committee reduced NASA’s funding by half a billion dollars compared to the request, but it is $1.4 billion more than the current level. One program that got more than requested is the asteroid-hunting NEO Surveyor, pushing back on NASA’s proposal to delay it for at least two years.