The waiting will soon be over according to NASASpaceflight.com. NASA will at last announce its plans for the Space Launch System (SLS) before the final shuttle launch, now scheduled for July 8.

Congress has been increasingly impatient waiting for NASA to make a decision on the SLS, which it directed the agency to build in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. According to the NASASpaceflight.com website, NASA Administrator Bolden has signed off on a vehicle design. Quoting from a memo, the website describes a vehicle that will have an 8.4 meter core and upper stage, RS-25 engine for the core stage, J-2X engines on the upper stage, and 4 or 5 segment solid rocket boosters for initial flights.

Seven Republican House members sent a letter to NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden yesterday criticizing the agency for not complying with the 2010 NASA Authorization Act.

“We … strongly request that you stop studying and re-studying NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) … and report to Congress on NASA’s final plan for SLS,” they wrote. Signing the letter were Representatives Pete Olson (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Rob Bishop(R-UT), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Bill Posey (R-FL), and Sandy Adams (R-FL).

Members of both parties have complained over the past several months that NASA is moving too slowly on choosing a design for the congressionally-mandated SLS. The authorization act was a compromise between the Obama Administration’s preference for relying on the commercial sector to develop a new crew transportation system for access to low Earth orbit (LEO) and congressional determination to have the government build a larger (“heavy lift”) vehicle that enables human exploration beyond LEO. The law directs NASA to do both and to expeditiously move out on building the heavy lift vehicle — the SLS. Congress required NASA to submit a report on its plans within 90 days of the law’s enactment, but the report that was submitted in January was only an interim report. Congress has been waiting for the final report and is becoming impatient. Four key Senators — two Democrats and two Republicans — wrote their own letter to Bolden last month.

The seven House members left no doubt about their views on NASA’s delay. The current situation is “irresponsible, objectionable, and incompliant with the law,” they wrote.

With construction of the International Space Station (ISS) complete, the time has come to utilize it as the backbone of a new space economy in low Earth orbit (LEO). That was the key message from Mark Uhran, NASA’s assistant associate administrator for ISS, at a Space Transportation Association luncheon today.

Calling the ISS a “Herculean achievement” so far, Uhran said “the best is yet to come, provided we don’t let opportunity slip through our fingers.”

The necessary next step, he said, is for the government and space industry to stimulate non-aerospace non-governmental demand to make use of the ISS, a piece of infrastructure that has cost U.S. taxpayers alone close to $100 billion. The U.S. cost of ISS to date is $60 billion, and another $20-30 billion will be spent on operations in the next decade, Uhran said. He did not provide an estimate of how much it has cost the other partners in the program: Russia, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency.

“I’ve chosen my words carefully,” he stressed: “Note that the action verb is to stimulate, not to invest. The government can’t afford to invest another $100 billion.”

NASA and the space industry need to “actively stimulate non-government demand by an aggressive and strategically structured plan of action to engage non-aerospace scientific and industrial R&D organizations that are presently unaware of the benefits to be gained through space-based R&D programs,” he continued. R&D is the underpinning of long-term economic growth, according to Uhran, and ISS is “primed” for its R&D role.

NASA will announce later this summer the winner of its competition for a non-profit entity to fill the role of stimulating demand and serving as the nexus between NASA and the non-governmental users. Uhran warned, however, that there is one other “trap door” to be avoided – tensions between different user communities. Scientists, engineers and industrialists are all welcome. “No single interest group should be allowed to politically capture exclusive control of the ISS R&D agenda,” he cautioned.

Selection of the non-profit entity had been expected on May 31, and that date is still displayed on the ISS National Laboratory website as the selection date. Uhran said that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirement was that it be completed by the end of FY 2011 (September 30, 2011), and while he called the selection “imminent,” he added that it would be made “later this summer upon successful completion of negotiations.”

Ensuring the continuity of data streams from earth observation satellites and changing the framework of the debate over climate change were key messages from yesterday’s Forum for Earth Observations V. The Forum was sponsored by the Alliance for Earth Observations and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.

Focusing on the need to create a national strategy for environmental intelligence, the day-long meeting brought together business and government representatives to talk about the importance of sustained environmental observations. There was a general understanding that today’s economic situation means that everyone must do more with less. Nonetheless, speakers emphasized that such data are needed not only for research into climate change and government intelligence analyses of global changes in supplies of food, water and energy, but also to support businesses like the insurance industry.

Although the meeting’s emphasis was on satellite observations, William Vass of Liquid Robotics reminded the audience that the Earth is 70 percent ocean and robotic platforms that can operate autonomously at sea for two years, like those developed by his company, are another method of obtaining data.

One business use of remote sensing data highlighted at the Forum was the insurance industry. Carl Hedde of Munich RE reviewed the worldwide natural disasters that have occurred just in the first five months of 2011 — from earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan to tornadoes and floods in the United States. Insured losses in the United States alone from these events total more than $11 billion, he said. His company thinks climate change is one factor in the weather-related events and is investing in climate change research itself.

Climate change is an emotional topic. Sharon Hays, Vice President for the Office of Science and Engineering at CSC and a former congressional and White House staffer, called for a new way to communicate about climate change issues. “What we’re doing doesn’t work,” Hays stressed. Too much attention is focused on whether it is human induced or natural instead of what needs to be done to adapt to it, she said.

Another key message was the need for public-private partnerships between businesses and the government to effectively utilize environmental data. Engaging with corporate executives to help them understand the impact climate change could have on their businesses is one step that is needed, Hays pointed out. “Did you know that all of our data centers are located in the same 100 year flood plain?” she asked. What happens when that becomes a 50 year flood plain, or 25 year flood plain is critical to businesses. She challenged the audience to think about “how we shift the debate,” and “how do we stimulate the climate service industry?”

Hays was on Capitol Hill in 1996 just after Republicans took control of the House after decades in the minority. She recalled that doubling funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was a big issue at the time. Increasing NIH funding to that extent “seemed like fantasy,” but what persuaded the Republican leadership, including then-Speaker and current presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was hearing from biotech and other companies about how that government investment would create jobs. It was not about scientists and the data they needed. The key is appealing to “pocketbook issues,” she said, and harnessing non-traditional users of environmental observations to make them advocates for that data — “Then we start to change the debate.”

The meeting was a love fest for the venerable Landsat series of medium resolution land imaging data. The first Landsat was launched by NASA in 1972. The most recent, Landsat 7, has been in orbit since 1999. It and Landsat 5 (1984) continue to operate with partial capabilities well past their design lifetimes. The need to ensure continuity of that data series was stressed throughout the day by speakers both from the public and private sectors. Many also heralded the 2008 U.S. Government decision to make Landsat data freely available to anyone.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), manages distribution and archiving of Landsat data and its role in the program will change dramatically if Congress agrees. David Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI), enthusiastically told the audience that in the FY2012 budget request his department has proposed taking over the Landsat program “lock, stock and barrel” from NASA. The budget request proposes that USGS not only take the primary role for the next in the series, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) or Landsat 8 – scheduled for launch in 2012 – but also initiate planning for Landsat 9 and 10.

While “home” undoubtedly is her district in Tucson, AZ, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords went home today from TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital to her husband Mark Kelly’s home in League City, TX. Kelly is a NASA astronaut. League City is close to NASA’s Johnson Space Center where astronauts train.

Giffords will continue to go to TIRR every day for outpatient therapy. The hospital released a statement saying that “her cognitive abilities and physical strength have improved to the poiint where she no longer needs to remain a patient in the hospital.”

In an Arizona Republic story republished on the congresswoman’s website, her spokesman, CJ Karamargin, is quoted as saying that she is “elated.” The newspaper also quotes Kelly as saying that his wife loves to be outside and now, while she will still go to TIRR daily, “when she finishes rehab, she will be with her family.”

Thanks to Jeff Foust over at Spacepolitics.com for watching the Republican presidential debate last night and noting that a question was asked about the space program.

According to Jeff’s account, the question to the candidates was what role should the government play in the future of space exploration. Former Rep. Newt Gingrich said he favors more privatization, while former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty called for the space program to be “refocused.” Jeff provides a transcipt of the entire exchange on his website.

The following events may of interest in the week ahead. For more information, see our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. Times and dates for congressional activities are subject to change; check the relevant committee’s website for up to date information.

During the Week

The House and Senate are both in session this week. Both will work on funding for the Department of Defense (DOD). The full House Appropriations Committee will markup the FY2012 Defense Appropriations bill on Tuesday. The Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the FY2012 DOD budget request on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on the authorization front, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) subcommittees and then the full commitee will markup their version of the National Defense Authorization Act during the week. The meeting of the Strategic Forces subcommittee (where most space programs are handled) and the full commitee are closed, so are not listed below, but for those who are interested, that subcommittee markup is on Tuesday at 10:30 am and full committee markup is Wednesday-Thursday, with Friday as an “if needed” date. The House passed the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act in May, but the Senate version is expected to be quite different.

Monday-Wednesday, June 13-15

• National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Evaluation of Space Radiation Cancer Risk Model, Keck Center, Washington, DC

Tuesday, June 14

• Alliance for Earth Observation Forum on Earth Observations V: Creating a National Strategy for Environmental Intelligence, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington DC, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm EDT
• House Appropriations Committee markup of FY2012 defense appropriations bill, 2359 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am EDT

Tuesday-Thursday, June 14-16

• NRC Heliophysics Decadal Survey Steering Committee, Boulder, CO
• NRC Committee on Planetary Protection Standards for Icy Bodies in the Outer Solar System, Irvine, CA

Wednesday, June 15

• Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on FY2012 DOD Budget Request, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 10:30 am EDT
• NASA press conference on black holes, NASA Auditorium, Washington DC, 1:00 pm EDT (watch on NASA TV)

Thursday, June 16

• NASA press conference on images of Mercury from MESSENGER, NASA auditorium, Washington, DC, 1:00 pm EDT (watch on NASA TV)
• Secure World Foundation panel discussion on First Year of the Obama National Space Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT

Thursday-Friday, June 16-17

• Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Lisbon, Portugal

Pia Carusone, chief of staff to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), told the Arizona Republic on Thursday that the Congresswoman continues her recovery and is not yet ready to return to her congressional duties, but as one more step forward, two new photos of Rep. Giffords were posted on her website this weekend.

Wearing glasses and with very short dark hair, the woman in the photos on the right side of the website may not be immediately recognizable, but the bright smile is clearly the same as in the photo of Rep. Giffords at the top of the site. The Associated Press reported that the photos were taken on May 17 and were being released “amid the possibility that Giffords could be released from the hospital in the coming weeks.”

Although she was able to travel to Florida for husband Mark Kelly’s space shuttle launch in May, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is not yet ready to return to the grueling job of representing Arizona’s 8th district according to her chief of staff.

Pia Carusone gave an interview to the Arizona Republic in which she frankly discussed the Congresswoman’s recovery from a gunshot wound to the head during an assassination attempt on January 8. Carusone pointed out that the best way for doctors to know the extent of the physical damage to her brain is by using an MRI, but that option is not available to Rep. Giffords because metal bullet fragments remain in her brain.

Rep. Giffords can communicate, but not always with words. “She is borrowing upon other ways of communicating. Her words are back more and more now, but she’s still using facial expressions as a way to express,” Carusone is quoted as saying.

As for Giffords’s future, Carusone said that the only legal timetable for making a decision about whether she will run for her congressional seat again is May 12, 2012 when petitions for re-election are due. “We’re about halfway through the process that is the most important for recovery,” Carusone said, the first 12-14 months after a brain injury. Doctors remain optimistic that Giffords will make a “tremendously good recovery,” but exactly what her condition will be is unknown. “All that we can hope for is that she won’t plateau today and that she’ll keep going…,” Carusone told the newspaper.

UPDATE: Aquarius/SAC-D was successfully launched this morning (Friday, June 10, 2011).

ORIGINAL STORY: Launch of the Aquarius/SAC-D earth science mission has been postponed from tomorrow to Friday.

NASA said that the postponement was due to the need “to complete additional review of an inconsistency found in the Delta II launch vehicle flight profile” for flying through upper level wind conditions expected tomorrow. Waiting until Friday gives the launch a “100 percent of favorable weather conditions for the launch.”

NASA’s earth science program has suffered through two losses recently. The OCO satellite in 2009 and the GLORY satellite earlier this year ended up in the Pacific Ocean instead of orbit because of launch vehicle failures. The Taurus XL was the problem in those two launches. Aquarius/SAC-D will launch on the tried and true Delta II rocket, the workhorse of the space program with an enviable track record.

Aquarius is a NASA instrument on Argentina’s SAC-D spacecraft. It will study ocean surface salinity. Canada, France and Italy also are contributing instruments to the mission.