The Senate Commerce, Science and Transporation committee’s hearing on Wednesday about the need for innovation in weather forecasting and prediction will feature a broad cross-section of witnesses from federal and state government and the private sector.

The committee released the witness list today:

Witness Panel 1

The Honorable Mary M. Glackin
Deputy Under Secretary for Operations
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Honorable Todd J. Zinser
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Commerce

Mr. David C. Trimble
Director, Natural Resources and Environment
Government Accountability Office

Rear Admiral Cari B. Thomas
Director of Response Policy
U.S. Coast Guard

Witness Panel 2

Mr. Tom Iseman
Program Director, Water Policy and Implementation, Climate Adaptation
Western Governors’ Association

Dr. Peter P. Neilley
Vice President, Global Forecasting Services
The Weather Channel Companies

Mr. Robert Marshall
President and CEO
Earth Networks

The hearing starts at 10:30 on Wednesday, November 16, and will be webcast on the committee’s website.

UPDATE 2: The House Rules Committee meeting on the “minibus” appropriations bill on Wednesday has been added, along with the opening of an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Saturday.

UPDATE: USSTRATCOM’s Cyber and Space Symposium on Tuesday-Thursday has been added.

The following events may be of interest in the coming week. For more information, check our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. The House and Senate both are in session this week.

During the Week

This is another “government-shutdown watch” week. The FY2012 Continuing Resolution (CR) that has been keeping the government operating since October 1 expires on Friday. Funding for NASA, NOAA and the FAA (including the Office of Commercial Space Transportation) is included in a package of three appropriations bills (H.R. 2112) that passed the Senate two weeks ago. If agreement can be reached with the House before Friday, those agencies, and the others included in that package, will know their FY2012 funding levels for the rest of the year. Another CR will be needed for all the other agencies (including DOD) in any case.

The November 23 deadline for the supercommittee is fast approaching. How much progress they will make this week is up in the air. Opinions among Washington pundits vary widely as to their chances of success in reaching agreement on how to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years. If they do not, automatic spending cuts are supposed to go into effect, an outcome so dire that it was included in the deal as a deterrent against partisan bickering preventing agreement. Some Members of Congress already are suggesting that the deal be changed if the supercommittee fails, but President Obama said that he would not accept any changes.

Russia’s effort to contact the Phobos-Grunt (Phobos-soil) spacecraft stranded in Earth orbit are expected to continue. The window to Mars closes on November 21. They have that long to determine what went awry shortly after the spacecraft and its Fregat upper stage successfully separated from the Zenit booster last Tuesday. The spacecraft has been silent since. If they cannot resurrect it, the fully fueled Phobos-Grunt would make an uncontrolled reentry sometime in December.

Everyone is hoping for a nominal launch TONIGHT (Sunday) at 11:14 pm EST (Monday morning local time at the launch site in Baikonur) of the next International Space Station crew. The launch of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft with two Russians and one American aboard a Soyuz rocket was delayed by an August 24 launch failure of a similar Soyuz rocket, but Russian and American space program managers appear confident that the rocket is fit for duty.

Sunday, November 13

• Launch of Soyuz TMA-22 with a three person crew for the International Space Station at 11:14 pm EST (watch on NASA TV)

Monday, November 14

• Space Transportation Association seminar on China Space & Cyber Challenges, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST (RSVP required — check our calender for more details)
• ABC TV interview with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, 10:00 pm EST

Monday-Wednesday, November 14-16

• NASA Human Space Exploration Community Workshop, San Diego, CA (watch via webcast)

Tuesday, November 15

• HSS&T Hearing on “Exploring Mars and Beyond : What’s Next for U.S. Planetary Science?”, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am EST

Tuesday-Wednesday, November 15-16

• American Astronautical Society National Conference “Celebrating Achievements, Celebrating the Future,” NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

Tuesday-Thursday, November 15-17

• U.S. Strategic Command 2011 Cyber and Space Symposium, Omaha, NB

Wednesday, November 16

• Marshall Institute seminar on “Returning to Fundamentals: Deterrence and U.S. National Security in the 21st Century,” Capitol Hill Club, 300 First St, S.E., Washington, DC, 8:30 – 11:00 am
• Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on Weathering Change: Need for Continued Innovation in Forecasting and Prediction, 253 Russell Senate Office Building. 10:30 am EDT
• Congress honors Apollo 11 astronauts and John Glenn with Gold Medal Ceremony, Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, 11:00 am EST
• House Rules Committee meets to consider a rule for the conference report to accompany H.R. 2112, the minibus appropriations bill that includes NASA. NOAA and the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, H-313 Capitol, 2:00 pm EST

Thursday, November 17

• Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on “NASA’s Human Space Exploration: Direction, Strategy, and Progress,” 253 Russell Senate Office Building. 10:00 am EST
• FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee’s (COMSTAC’s) Space Transportation Operations Working Group (STOWG), teleconference, 11:00 EST

Friday, November 18

• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Technology & Innovation Committee, NASA Headquarters, room 6H45, Washington, DC, 8:00 am – 3:15 pm EST

Friday-Saturday, November 18-19

• National Air & Space Museum (NASM) symposium “Moving Beyond Earth: Innovations in Space,” NASM, 600 Independence Ave., SW, Washington DC
  • Friday night, November 18, 8:00 – 9:00 pm EST, movie “Orphans of Apollo”
  • Saturday, November 19, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm, panel discussions and family activities

Saturday, November 19

• Opening of exhibit at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History on “Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration,” which is open until August 12. See Dennis Overbye’s review in the New York Times.

Two Russians and an American are getting ready to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday night Eastern Standard Time (Monday morning at the launch site). At the same time, the current three ISS crew members will be coming home soon.

Anatoly Ivanishin, Anton Shkaplerov and Dan Burbank are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft at 11:14 pm EST (11:14 am Monday at Baikonur). The three will join a Russian, an American and a Japanese who have been aboard the ISS for nearly six months. Both the spacecraft and the rocket used to launch it are named Soyuz.

The launch of Soyuz TMA-22 was delayed for several weeks while Russia investigated the cause of an August 24 launch failure of a Soyuz rocket that doomed the Progress M-12M (or Progress 44 in NASA’s numbering system) cargo spacecraft intended to take supplies to the ISS. Consequently, the ISS has had only three crewmembers instead of six aboard for a longer than usual time.

Russia launched three Soyuz rockets in October demonstrating that the basic vehicle appears fit for duty. One of those sent another Progress cargo craft to the ISS. There are several versions of the Soyuz rocket, and the one that will be used for Soyuz TMA-22 tomorrow is somewhat different from those that flew in October, but Russian and American space program managers clearly are convinced that the rocket is flight ready. The August 24 launch failure was traced to a clogged fuel line.

Each Soyuz spacecraft can accommodate three people. ISS crews rotate three-at-a-time on roughly six month schedules that coincide with the on-orbit lifetime of the Soyuz spacecraft that take them back and forth and serve as “lifeboats” in case there is an emergency. A Soyuz spacecraft can remain in orbit for about 200-210 days, meaning that the three crew members who are already aboard ISS must return very soon as their Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft reaches that limit. Those three — Mike Fossum, Satoshi Furakawa, and Sergei Volkov — will return on November 21.

The new crew will dock with ISS on at 12:33 am EST on Wednesday, November 16, providing only a few days to hand over operations from one crew to another.

ISS will then be back to a three-person crew until normal operations are expected to resume with the launch of another three-person crew (one Russian, one American and one European) on December 21. The number of crew aboard the ISS directly affects how much time is available for conducting scientific experiments in the three international laboratories — the U.S. Destiny module, Europe’s Columbus module, and Japan’s Kibo module — that comprise part of the orbiting facility. Scientific research in the microgravity environment of space was one of the primary rationales for building the space station.

Tomorrow’s launch begins a week of human spaceflight related events. On Monday-Wednesday, NASA is hosting a “community workshop” on long term plans for human spaceflight where it will introduce the results of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG). On Thursday, a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee will hold a hearing on NASA’s human space exploration program.

A Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee will hold a hearing next week to get an update on NASA’s human spaceflight program.

The hearing by the Science and Space subcommittee is scheduled for November 17 at 10:00 am in 253 Russell Senate Office Building. The witnesses are not yet listed on the committee’s website. The title of the hearing is “NASA’s Human Space Exploration: Direction, Strategy, and Progress.”

A NASA astronaut is scheduled to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) tomorrow (November 13 EST, November 14 local time at the launch site) along with two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on a Soyuz rocket. The launch was delayed by several weeks while Russia investigated the cause of an August 24 Soyuz launch failure that doomed a Progress cargo spacecraft headed to the iSS. Russia has conducted three launches of various versions of the Soyuz rocket since then to demonstrate its flight readiness.

The August launch failure and its consequences on ISS crew rotations drove home the point that with the space shuttle program terminated, Soyuz is the only way to get crews back and forth to ISS. Even if the space shuttle was still flying, the Soyuz is needed as a “lifeboat” for the ISS to bring crews home in an emergency. If the shuttle was still available, crews could remain on the ISS only while the shuttle was docked there, limiting missions to about two weeks. U.S. dependence on Russia for the ISS program likely will be discussed at the November 17 hearing.

The hearing comes immediately after a three-day NASA “community workshop” on human spaceflight in San Diego, CA where it plans to introduce the Global Exploration Roadmap developed through the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG). The agency says that it is “seeking industry and academic feedback to shape strategy, assist with investment priorities and refine international exploration scenarios for human exploration and operations through the 2020’s.” Although NASA says the workshop is part of an effort “to engage the broader space community,” it apparently does not count reporters as part of that community. Reporters are asked not to attend the workshop, but to watch the webcast and submit questions by email.

NASA will hold a media briefing on Thursday, November 10, about the upcoming launch of its next Mars mission, Curiosity.

The briefing is at 1:00 pm EST and will be broadcast on NASA TV. Participants are:

— Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Program, NASA Headquarters
— Ashwin Vasavada, MSL deputy project scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
— Pete Theisinger, MSL project manager, JPL

Curiosity’s launch is scheduled for November 25 at 10:25 am EST. The launch window is open until December 18.

The Women and Mars conference sponsored by Explore Mars, Inc. today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday) will be webcast at this link: http://www.livestream.com/exploremars.

The keynote speaker this morning at 9:10 am EST is NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Three panels follow on why so many women are involved in Mars exploration, how to advance STEM education for young women interested in Mars, and a largely industry panel on “Getting to Mars.” The day’s activities end with an afternoon keynote at 4:00 pm featuring Penny Boston, Director, Cave and Karst Studies Program at the National Cave and Karst Research Institute. Two more panels — on policy and on Mars science — are on the agenda for tomorrow morning.

For the complete program, visit the conference website.

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing about the future of the planetary exploration program next week.

Witnesses are Jim Green, director of the planetary sciences division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and Steve Squyres, chair of the National Research Council’s recent decadal survey on planetary science.

Budget constraints at NASA are heightening concerns about what the future holds for the U.S. planetary science program. With the launch of NASA’s next Mars probe, Curiosity, just weeks away, what will come next is an open question. Grand plans of merging the U.S. and European robotic Mars exploration programs are endangered by NASA’s inability to commit funds to planned missions in 2016 and 2018. U.S. plans for large “flagship” missions to destinations like Jupiter’s moon Europa are in abeyance until the budget situation stabilizes. In recent meetings of NASA’s planetary science subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), Green has been alerting planetary scientists to the need to explain the return on investment in planetary exploration. Squyres, best known as the father of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, was just named as the new chair of NAC.

Still, in response to a recent op-ed in the Washington Times lamenting the state of the planetary science program, Green said that the U.S. program is still the best in the world.

The hearing is at 10:00 am EST on November 15 in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.

The following events may be of interest in the coming week. For more information, click the links below or check our calendar on the right menu. The Senate is in session this week until Thursday (Friday is a federal holiday, Veterans Day). The House is in a Constituent Work Week and meets only in pro forma session on Monday and Thursday.

During the Week

Russia is scheduled to launch its first robotic mission to Mars in 15 years. This mission, Phobos-Grunt (Phobos-soil), is a sample return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos. It also carries China’s first Mars probe, a Mars orbiter called Yinghuo-1. The launch is just after 3:00 pm Tuesday, November 8 EST (November 9, Moscow Time). One report gave the time as 00:26 Moscow Time on November 9, which converts to 3:26 pm EST November 8 (now that Moscow decided not to return to standard time), although Spaceflightnow.com reports the launch time as 2016:03 GMT (3:16:03 pm EST) November 8. Russia has been jinxed at Mars, with none of the many Mars probes it has launched since the 1960s being a complete success, and the partial successes quite modest. Its most recent Mars probe, Mars-96, was launched in 1996 and failed to leave Earth orbit. (Editor’s note: The time of launch was given as 4:26 pm EST in an earlier version of this article, but that did not reflect the recent decision by Moscow to remain on summer time.)

Tuesday-Wednesday, November 8-9

• National Research Council (NRC) Space Studies Board (SSB), Irvine, CA (no details have been posted on the SSB website other than the date and location)

Wednesday, November 9

• Secure World Foundation, China’s Space-Based Surveillance Activities, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST
• Mark Albrecht Lecture on his new book Falling Back to Earth: A First Hand Account of the Great Space Race and the End of the Cold War, George Washington University’s (GWU’s) Elliot School Lindner Family Commons, 1957 E Street, NW, Washington, DC, 5:30 pm EST

Wednesday-Thursday, November 9-10

• Explore Mars Inc., Woman and Mars conference, GWU Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC
• National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Board, Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria, VA, Washington Ballroom

Thursday, November 10

• AIAA National Capital Section luncheon with Kathy Sullivan, NOAA, Pier 7 restaurant, 650 Water Street, Washington, DC, 11:30 am EST

Steve Squyres, a highly respected planetary scientist, will be the new chair of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC).

NASA announced his appointment today. NAC provides advice to the NASA Administrator on programs and issues affecting the agency. It has a number of committees, subcommittees, and analysis groups.

Squyres is probably best known as the “father” of the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. A professor at Cornell University, he also chaired the recent Decadal Survey on planetary science for the National Research Council. He recently took part as an “aquanaut” in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) simulation of a mission to an asteroid, which had to be terminated prematurely because of Hurricane Rina.

This afternoon the Senate passed the “minibus” appropriations bill (H.R. 2112) that combines three of the regular appropriations bills into one, including funding for NASA, NOAA and the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST).

The Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill includes NASA and NOAA. The Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) includes AST. The third bill in the package is Agriculture.

The vote was 69-30.

The bill now goes to the House where its future is unclear. The most recent reports indicate that the House will, in fact, accede to the Senate’s approach to the appropriations bills for FY2012, dealing with them in groups instead of combining all 12 into a single “omnibus” package. Omnibus bills have become common in recent years and initially it appeared the House preferred that method.

The House and Senate appropriations committees were fairly far apart in their recommendations for NASA. The House committee approved $16.8 billion, and, among other things, recommended terminating the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) program. The Senate approved $17.9 billion and recommended increasing JWST funding by $156 million so it could be launched in 2018 instead of years later. The President’s request for NASA was $18.7 billion, of which $374 million was for JWST.

The two also were far apart on overall funding for NOAA. The House committee approved $4.5 billion; the Senate approved $5.0 billion. The request was $5.5 billion. However, regarding the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), the two are quite close: $901 million in the House versus $920 million in the Senate, compared to the request of $1.07 billion.

The two also were fairly close in their recommendations for AST, approving about half of what the President requested. The request was $26.6 million, a significant increase from its FY2011 level of $15 million. The House committee approved $13 million, while the Senate approved $15 million.

After the House passes its bill, with whatever amendments are adopted, the two chambers will have to reach a compromise and the President will have to agree with it, so there still are several steps to go. Today’s action, however, moves the process closer to providing certainty to at least some federal agencies as to their FY2012 funding levels.

The government is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution that expires on November 18. Congress will need to pass some sort of appropriations bill(s) before then to avoid a full or partial government shutdown.