NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel told NASA today that the agency is at an inflection point in its management of human spaceflight programs as it relies more and more heavily on partnerships with the commercial sector. NASA urgently must strategically define its future role and articulate a vision and principles to guide it for at least the next 20 years.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 9-15, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Exactly two weeks after launch, deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope was completed today as the last wing of the 18-segment mirror swung into place. Several steps remain in the commissioning process before scientifically-usable data are obtained, but the telescope unfolded into its operational configuration with impressive precision.
The head of Russia’s space agency tweeted today that the situation at the Baikonur Cosmodome is calm despite the political turmoil in Kazakhstan. Russia pays Kazakhstan for use of the cosmodrome, built when the country was part of the Soviet Union.
The “29 Days on the Edge” of the deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope are merrily marching along as the sunshield’s last two layers successfully tightened today. Only minor hiccups have occurred since launch on December 25 and the end is in sight. Granted, critical steps remain and it is no time to become complacent, but the telescope’s unfolding is proceeding remarkably smoothly.
After a short break for the team in charge of unfolding the James Webb Space Telescope, work began today on tensioning the sunshield that will protect the sensitive instruments from the heat and light of the Sun. By evening, three of the five layers were successfully in place, an “awesome” achievement.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 2-8, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House returns for legislative business next week and will meet only in pro forma sessions this week.
NASA announced today that the Biden Administratoon is committed to operating the International Space Station through 2030, a six-year extension. The sudden statement comes one day after a tense conversation where Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told President Joe Biden that any more U.S.-imposed sanctions could result in a “complete rupture” in relations. Russia is a major partner in the ISS.
Five days after launch, NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope is checking off one box after another unfolding itself enroute to its destination a million miles from Earth. Many more steps are required, but so far so good.
President Biden signed the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act into law today, the 61st year in a row the massive policy bill has made it over the finish line. The $740 billion in the bill for DOD is just a recommendation since this is an authorization bill, but defense appropriators often work closely with the authorizers. The U.S. Space Force would get a significant increase over last year and above the President’s request if the appropriators follow suit, although all the FY2022 appropriations are stuck in limbo right now so there are no guarantees.