Congress will be in recess next week and most of the rest of Washington similarly will be catching its breath as the country celebrates Independence Day. Enjoy your July 4th holiday!

A list of events NASA is planning around the country to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon — July 20, 1969 — is available here. Not all of the events are open to the public.

The full Senate Appropriations Committee completed markup of the FY2010 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill on June 25. No changes were made from the subcommittee markup the previous day. A summary of the committee’s actions is available here. (The title of the link says FY2009, but it is the FY2010 bill.)

Bill Harwood of CBS’ Space Place reports that space shuttle Atlantis’ November launch date may slip due to an unusual problem — a knob from a work light attachment apparently floated away from the last Atlantis crew (the Hubble servicing mission) while on orbit and is now lodged between a cockpit window pane and part of the shuttle’s control panel.

The knob must be removed to ascertain whether the window pane is damaged. Months may be required if the pane needs to be replaced, according to the report.

NASA has a full schedule of 8 shuttle flights coming up with the goal of completing all by September 30, 2010, the end of Fiscal Year 2010 and currently the end of funding for the shuttle program. The Obama Administration has stated that it is committed to completing all of the remaining flights regardless of whether they can be completed on the current schedule. Where the money will come from for flights in FY2011 is unclear, but NASA officials have assured Congress that safety remains the number one priority for the shuttle program.

According to NASA’s website, the 8 remaining shuttle missions are currently scheduled as follows:

Endeavour	July 11, 2009
Discovery	Aug. 18, 2009
Atlantis	Nov. 12, 2009
Endeavour	Feb. 4, 2010
Discovery	Mar. 18, 2010
Atlantis	May 14, 2010
Endeavour	July 29, 2010
Discovery	Sept. 16, 2010

The Senate Appropriations Committee has posted a summary of action by the Commerce, Justice, Science subcommittee this afternoon. (The title of the link says FY2009, but it is the FY2010 bill.) Regarding NASA and NOAA’s satellite programs, the subcommittee supported the President’s requested funding levels (at least at the top levels):

• “National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – The bill provides $18.68 billion for NASA, $903 million above the Fiscal Year 2009 level and equal to the President’s request. The total funding includes $3.16 billion for Space Shuttle operations; $2.27 billion for Space Station operations; $3.5 billion for development of the next generation Crew Launch Vehicle and Crew Exploration Vehicle and Cargo Launch Vehicle; $4.5 billion for science; and $507 million for aeronautics research.”

For NOAA:

• “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – The bill provides more than $4.77 billion for NOAA, $407 million above the Fiscal Year 2009 level and $299 million above the President’s budget request. The Committee bill includes: $551 million for the National Ocean Service; $980 million for the National Weather Service; $872 million for the National Marine Fisheries Service; $1.2 billion for satellite programs; and $430 million for Oceanic and Atmospheric research, including climate science.”

An audiocast of the markup is available on the committee’s website.

Ken Monroe (Republican staff of the House Science and Technology Committee) tweets from the ongoing Senate Appropriations CJS markup:

“Senate Appropriations subcmte mark providing $18.68 billion to NASA.”

This is the same as the request and $483 million more than the House-passed version of the bill. Details will be posted as they become available. Full committee markup by Senate Appropriations is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up its version of the FY2010 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill (which includes NASA, NOAA and NSF) this week.

• Subcommittee markup is scheduled for June 24 at 2:30 pm in 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
• Full committee markup is scheduled for June 25 at 3:00 pm in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Note: dates and times for congressional activities are subject to change. Check with the committee for the most up to date information: http://appropriations.senate.gov.

Decadal Surveys are signature products of the National Research Council because they set consensus-based priorities in various fields of research. Our “National Research Council” section (on our left menu) has been updated to explain what Decadal Surveys are and to provide links to the four existing Decadal Surveys that guide space and earth science research at NASA, and to the three Decadal Survey studies that are currently underway — astronomy and astrophysics, planetary science, and biological and physical research in space. We also provide links to other classic NRC reports broadly or specifically related to space activities that are often cited.

According to Congress Daily (subscription required), the House debate on the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill yesterday set a new record for votes in a single day.

“The House Thursday conducted a raucous, marathon series of 53 roll-call votes” in an “eight-hour vote-a-rama.” The earlier record was 40 votes in a single day on Oct. 4, 1988. Republicans reportedly were displeased at limitations on the number of amendments that could be offered so forced the series of roll-call votes. Hearings and markups were delayed or cancelled as Members were required to be on the floor.

The following events next week may be of interest. In addition to the events listed below, the DOD authorization bill may go to the floor in the House. Check the House calendar at http://www.house.gov for up to the minute information. The Senate Armed Services Committee and its subcommittees are scheduled to markup their versions of the DOD authorization bill June 23-25 (and the 26th if necessary), but those meetings are closed. For further information, visit the committee’s website.

Note: Dates and times for congressional hearings, markups and floor action are subject to change. Check with the committee or the House or Senate calendar for the most up-to-date informatio

Washington, D.C.

June 22-24 8:30-5:00 each day NASA/NRC Symposium on NASA Earth System Science at 20. National Academy of Sciences Building, 2100 C Street, N.W. Free.

June 25 8:00 am-9:00 am Commercial Satellite Images and Their Impact on National Security. Sponsored by Women in Aerospace. Charlie Palmer’s Steakhouse, 101 Constitution Ave., NW. $30 for WIA members, $45 for non-members.

Woods Hole, MA

June 23-25 Mitigation Panel of the NRC’s Committee on Near Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies. J. Erik Jonnson Conference Center, Woods Hole, MA. Some sessions of this meeting are closed.