Category: International

Orbital ATK, SpaceX Win $80 Million in Air Force Rocket Propulsion Agreements

Orbital ATK, SpaceX Win $80 Million in Air Force Rocket Propulsion Agreements

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 14, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 14, 2016 10:03 am ET

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has awarded Orbital ATK and SpaceX a total of $80 million in “Other Transaction Agreements” (OTAs) for work connected to its efforts to develop a U.S. alternative to Russia’s RD-180 rocket engines.

SMC characterized the awards of $46.9 million to Orbital ATK and $33.6 million to SpaceX as “initial government contributions” for Rocket Propulsion System (RPS) prototypes.  The OTAs are similar to NASA’s Space Act Agreements and are part of the move towards public private partnerships for developing new space hardware.  SMC says that it is still negotiating with other offerors and all of the awards are part of a portfolio of planned investments “in industry’s RPS solutions.”   Companies could submit proposals for addressing a range of requirements for the national security space sector from developing a new RPS to modifying an existing RPS to addressing high risk items for an RPS or subcomponents, or testing of qualifying a new or existing RPS.

The award to Orbital ATK is for development of the Common Booster Segment main stage, the  Graphite Epoxy Motor 63XL strap-on booster, and an extendable nozzle for Blue Origin’s BE-3U/EN upper stage engine.  SpaceX’s award is for development and testing of its Raptor upper stage.

The national security sector currently relies on the United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV and Atlas V Evolved Expandable Launch Vehicles (EELVs).  The Atlas V is powered by Russia’s RD-180 engines and the strained U.S.-Russian relationship following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and other actions in Ukraine galvanized political pressure to end that reliance on Russia.   The Air Force and ULA agree on the need to build a U.S. alternative, but disagree with those, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who want to set 2019 as a firm date for ending use of the RD-180.

Orbital ATK said in a statement that the $47 million award has options valued up to $133 million and “the company will also contribute additional development funds.”  The SMC announcement stated that for all of these awards “at least one third” of the total cost would be paid by “parties to the transactions other than the federal government.”

Last Updated: Jan 14, 2016 10:03 am ET
NASA Astronauts to Continue Flying on Soyuz Post Commercial Crew

NASA Astronauts to Continue Flying on Soyuz Post Commercial Crew

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 13, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 13, 2016 11:26 pm ET

NASA astronauts will continue flying on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft even after U.S. commercial crew systems come on line and Russian cosmonauts will fly on the U.S. systems according to NASA astronaut Jeff Williams.  The point is to ensure that all crew members are cross-trained on the various systems.

Williams is getting ready to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 18 with two Russian crewmates, Alexei Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.  During a pre-flight press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center last week, he said it is “fair to say, to assume” that there “will be continue to be one U.S crew member on every Soyuz and one Russian cosmonaut on every U.S. commercial vehicle.” 

During his time on ISS, the first International Docking Adapter (IDA) for commercial crew vehicles is expected to be delivered via a SpaceX commercial cargo launch.  (The June 2015 SpaceX CRS-7 mission had the first IDA aboard, but the launch failed.  This is the second IDA, but, hopefully, the first to arrive at the ISS.)  Williams is scheduled to take part in a spacewalk to attach it to the ISS.  When talking about the enhanced capabilities that will enable, Williams noted that although today there is much discussion about U.S. reliance on Russia for taking crews to and from ISS, from an operational standpoint, the crews need to be trained on all the spacecraft that will be available to them.

NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz confirmed via email to SpacePolicyOnline.com that Williams’ statements are correct.  She stressed that the United States no longer will be “solely reliant” on Russia and it is important to have more than one system capable of taking crews back and forth.

When the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that governs the ISS international partnership was signed, NASA planned to operate the space shuttle throughout the ISS’s lifetime and agreed to be responsible for launching not only U.S astronauts, but those from Europe, Canada and Japan, as part of each nation’s contribution.   NASA still has that obligation even though the United States decided to terminate the space shuttle program.  NASA pays Russia for seats on the Soyuz spacecraft to take all those crew members to and from ISS.  The current price is about $75 million per seat.

Schierholz said that in the commercial crew era there will be no exchange of funds between the United States and Russia for crew transportation. 

Last Updated: Jan 13, 2016 11:26 pm ET
The Chinese ASAT Test — Nine Years Later

The Chinese ASAT Test — Nine Years Later

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 11, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 12, 2016 8:56 am ET

Nine years ago today China conducted a test of an antisatellite (ASAT) weapon against one of its own satellites, creating more than 3,000 pieces of space debris and earning international condemnation.  A State Department official today credited U.S. diplomacy as one factor in leading China to avoid such debris-generating tests since then.

Mallory Stewart, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Emerging Security Challenges and Defense Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance spoke at the Atlantic Council today at an event marking the anniversary of the 2007 ASAT test.   Stewart noted that China has conducted additional ASAT tests in the intervening years, but none that created “what some have conservatively estimated to be one-sixth of the existing radar trackable debris” in Earth orbit.

The consequences of the 2007 test, which will endanger satellites for decades to come, catalyzed U.S. and international efforts to ensure that the space domain is not ruined by irresponsible actions and remains usable for future generations — what has become known as space sustainability.  

Stewart credited the “huge international outcry” and diplomatic initiatives by the United States and others to “inspire responsible behavior in space” as factors in convincing China to avoid debris-generating ASAT tests since then.  She did not specify what those additional Chinese ASAT tests were, but the State Department publicly criticized China for a 2013 test and experts believe there have been others.  The Secure World Foundation has a fact sheet listing them.

She also said that China may have realized its mistake since it has had to maneuver its own satellites to avoid the debris.  Just as the United States and Soviet Union learned first-hand about the consequences of debris-generating ASAT tests during the Cold War, China may have as well and thus chosen a course of  “strategic restraint” in finding other ways to conduct such tests. 

Another catch phrase that has taken hold since the Chinese ASAT test is space situational awareness — the need for better knowledge about where everything is in orbit and, for maneuverable satellites, where they are going.  Early in the Obama Administration, State Department and Defense Department officials began describing space as “congested, contested and competitive.”  Today Stewart joked that the government “loves” alliteration and discussions about the “three Cs” are meant to prevent the “three Ms” — “miscommunication, misperception and miscalculation.”

The State Department engages in bilateral space security dialogues with a number of countries, Stewart recounted, along with multilateral efforts to develop norms for responsible behavior in space.  For several years, the latter activity took place in part under the rubric of development of an “international code of conduct.”  That effort faltered at a United Nations meeting last summer, but Stewart asserted that it laid the groundwork for “subsequent clarity and work on additional principles” everyone could agree on.

Defining terms was one of the challenges in those discussions, she explained. 

What constitutes a “space weapon” has been debated for decades.  President Jimmy Carter opened negotiations with the Soviet Union to limit the development of space weapons in the 1970s, but the Soviets wanted to categorize the space shuttle as a weapon, for example.   

Stewart remains optimistic that, over time, consensus can be reached leading eventually to a treaty, “but what we don’t want to do is jump into a treaty headlong” without understanding the definitions and ensuring it is verifiable.

Involving the commercial sector is critical, she said.   It is a “collaboration that has to work” to establish norms of responsible behavior in space effectively.

Last Updated: Jan 12, 2016 8:56 am ET
What's Happening in Space Policy January 10-15, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy January 10-15, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 10, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 10, 2016 1:12 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy related events for the week of January 10-15, 2016.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

President Obama’s final State of the Union Address will take place on Tuesday night at 9:00 pm Eastern.   No idea whether space will be mentioned, though Obama has done so in the past,  Last year astronaut Scott Kelly was in attendance just prior to launching to ISS on his “year in space” mission and got a shout-out from the President along with NASA and NOAA climate scientists.

Also in the political realm, another Republican presidential primary debate is on tap this week, on Thursday in North Charleston, South Carolina.   The national media who run these debates have not asked questions about the space program so far, although the topic has arisen during campaign events for some of the candidates, notably in New Hampshire (most recently for Jeb Bush).   With the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy coming up in less than three weeks (on January 28), it is possible the national media could use it as an opportunity to query the candidates about their positions on space exploration.  Not to mention the next Democratic debate on January 17 in Charleston, SC.  Or the subsequent Republican debate on January 28 itself in Iowa.

Apart from that, a number of interesting meetings are scheduled this week, including the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).   Unfortunately the sessions will not be livestreamed.   A panel discussion of particular note to readers of this website will take place on Wednesday concerning “The Weather Value Chain of the Future” that will discuss “innovative data sources” — commercial and crowdsourced data including commercial weather satellites.   Rob Kursinski of PlanetIQ will be there and the company’s Dan Stillman tells SpacePolicyOnline.com that a video of the panel will be posted “in the days after.”   Other panelists are from IBM, Weathernews, Panasonic, Weather Analytics, and Ignatia.  AMS past president and the Weather Channel’s WeatherGeeks host Marshall Shepard is the moderator.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are listed below.  Check back throughout the week for additional events we learn about later and add to our Events of Interest list.

Sunday-Thursday, January 10-14

Monday-Wednesday, January 11-13

Tuesday, January 12

Thursday, January 14

  • Republican Presidential Primary Debate, Fox Business Network, 6:00 pm ET (“undercard”), 9:00 pm EST (main group)

Friday, January 15

  • ESA Director General Annual Briefing, ESA HQ, Paris, France, 09:00 Central European Time (3:00 am Eastern Standard Time), followed at 11:30 CET (5:30 am EST) by briefing on European Data Relay System (webcast)
  • Jason-3 Pre-Launch Briefings, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, 1:00 pm and 1:45 pm Pacific Standard Time (4:00 pm and 4:45 pm EST) (watch on NASA TV)

Last Updated: Jan 10, 2016 1:12 pm ET
NASA Establishes Planetary Defense Coordination Office

NASA Establishes Planetary Defense Coordination Office

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 7, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 8, 2016 11:54 am ET

NASA formally established a Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) today.  It will not only consolidate supervision of NASA’s various asteroid and comet Near Earth Object (NEO) detection and tracking programs, but coordinate with other government agencies to respond to any potential threats.

PDCO is part of the planetary science division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and will be led by Lindley Johnson, NASA’s long-time Near Earth Object Observations (NEOO) program executive. Johnson adds Planetary Defense Officer (PDO) to his title. (The PDO is distinct from NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer, Cassie Conley.  Her responsibilities deal with forward and back contamination — ensuring NASA does all it can to protect other solar system bodies from becoming contaminated by Earth organisms as humans and robotic spacecraft venture away from our planet and to protect Earth from alien organisms when samples of other solar system bodies are brought back here.)

NASA’s efforts to find, track and catalog potentially Earth-threatening NEOs largely date back to 1998 when Congress directed NASA to find 90 percent of potentially hazardous NEOs 1-kilometer or more in diameter within 10 years.  NASA met that goal.  In 2005 Congress directed that NASA discover 90 percent of those that are 140-meters or more in diameter by 2020.  NASA is still working on that and better instruments are needed to achieve that goal.  Annual funding for NASA’s NEO programs has increased from $4 million to $50 million since 2010.

A 2014 report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the NEO program’s “existing structure and resources are inadequate to provide efficient, effective, and transparent program management.”  At that time, the OIG said “in addition to limited personnel, the NEO Program lacks a plan with integrated milestones, defined objectives, and cost and schedule estimates to assist in tracking and attaining Program goals.”  

Creation of the PDCO is partially in response to those concerns, though earlier reports from the National Research Council and an ad hoc Task Force of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) also played a role.  The recommendation to form a “Planetary Defense Coordination Office” can be found in the 2010 NAC Task Force report, chaired by former astronauts Tom Jones and Rusty Schweickert.

How best to organize NASA is one part of the issue. Another is what to do if, in fact, a NEO is on a collision course with Earth.  Mitigating such a threat would involve both domestic and international institutions.

Domestically, in the 2008 NASA Authorization Act, Congress required the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to determine federal agency responsibilities in the event a NEO might collide with Earth.  In 2010, OSTP issued guidance that NASA is formally responsible for determining if there is a threat and thereupon notifying the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the State Department, the Department of Defense’s Joint Space Operations Center, and other relevant federal officials.

Today’s announcement of the PDCO says that it will improve and expand on NASA’s worldwide planning for planetary defense working with FEMA and other federal agencies and departments.  Johnson said in the announcement that the establishment of PDCO “makes it evident that the agency is committed to perform a leadership role in national and international efforts for detection of these natural impact hazards, and to be engaged in planning if there is a need for planetary defense.”  The United States already has been leading efforts at discussing these issues
internationally, especially through the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses
of Outer Space. 

Public awareness of the threat posed by asteroids moved from Hollywood movies to real life in 2013 when a meteor exploded low in Earth’s atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, causing substantial property damage and injuries (primarily from flying glass from windows broken by the sonic boom it created). 

Meteors are space rocks — asteroids or pieces of them — that enter Earth’s atmosphere.  Most disintegrate as they travel down through the atmosphere causing meteor showers.   Some survive (“meteorites”) all the way to the surface often becoming collectors items or objects for scientific study.   Pieces large enough to be destructive that reach the surface or explode above it are more rare. The major concern is that a very large asteroid might impact Earth, causing regional or global devastation.  Many scientists believe that an asteroid (or comet) impact was responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago, for example.

Asteroids fly past Earth routinely and NASA has a downloadable asteroid widget that lists the next five upcoming close approaches.

 

Last Updated: Jan 08, 2016 11:54 am ET
Big Changes at Space News, Inc.

Big Changes at Space News, Inc.

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 5, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 6, 2016 12:01 am ET

Editor’s Note:  I received word today that two highly respected colleagues at Space News are leaving that publication.

An email from Space News Publisher Bill Klanke last month announced that the “must read” newspaper/website for anyone who wants to know what’s happening in the space business (apart from SpacePolicyOnline.com, of course!) was changing from a weekly newspaper to bi-weekly magazine format.   The difficulties facing news publications in today’s digital/social media age are well documented and that alone was not much of a surprise.   But farewell messages today from Executive Editor Warren Ferster, a 21-year Space News veteran, and reporter Dan Leone, who covered the NASA beat, were stunning.

I wish Warren and Dan the very best wherever they land and one can only hope no more shoes are about to drop over there.  I have enormous respect for everyone associated with Space News and any downsizing in its coverage would be a loss to all of us in the space community.

Last Updated: Jan 06, 2016 12:01 am ET
What's Happening in Space Policy January 3-8, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy January 3-8, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 3, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 3, 2016 12:53 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy related events for the week of January 3-8, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.  The 114th Congress 2nd session convenes this week and the House meets for legislative business (the Senate returns to work next week).

During the Week

Washington gets back to work this week with the President returning from his Christmas vacation in Hawaii and the House and Senate officially convening for the 2nd session of the 114th Congress tomorrow (Monday).  The “official” convening is only in pro forma session, though.  The real work begins for the House on Tuesday and for the Senate on January 11.  No space-related hearings are on the committee schedules posted as of now.

Outside of Washington, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) annual meeting in Kissimmee, FL and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech 2016 conference in San Diego promise to be full of interesting sessions on space science, engineering and policy.   The AAS offers real-time webcasts only of press conferences and those are only for registered journalists, so the Town Hall meetings with NASA and NSF, for example, will not be available remotely from AAS at least.  If we hear of any other organization providing livestreaming, we’ll post it on our Events of Interest list.

AIAA, on the other hand, generously offers livestreaming for many of its key sessions, including one tomorrow (Monday) that features former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin along with a stellar panel of other government, former government, and non-government experts.  The topic is “Aerospace Science and Technology Policy in the 2016 Political Arena” and two of the other panelists — Courtney Stadd and Mark Albrecht — are veterans of the White House National Space Council during the Bush/Quayle years (among their many other government and non-government positions).   It wouldn’t be surprising if someone asks the perennial question of whether whoever becomes the next president should reinstate the Space Council, which still exists in law, but has not been staffed or funded since the end of the Bush/Quayle term.

Remember that all the times posted on the AIAA livestream list are in Pacific Standard Time (PST).  Add three for Eastern Standard Time (EST).  That panel is at 8:00 am PST/11:00 am EST. 

Two other especially interesting sessions tomorrow are the Durand Lecture for Public Service by Ron Sega at 12:30 pm PST/3:30 pm EST and a panel moderated by Michael Moloney of the Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. (What a mouthful!  It sure was easier when we could say National Research Council.)  That panel is on “Research Enabling and Enabled by a Cis-Lunar One-Year Mission” and begins at 2:00 pm PST/5:00 pm EST.  Several other interesting lectures and sessions also will be webcast throughout the week.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are listed below.  Check back throughout the week for anything we learn about later and add to our Events of Interest list on our main page.

Sunday-Monday, January 3-4

  • ExoPAG, Kissimmee, FL (in conjunction with the AAS meeting)

Monday-Friday, January 4-8

  • American Astronomical Society annual meeting, Kissimmee, FL, includes meetings of NASA’s three astrophysics Program Analysis Groups (PAGs) – ExoPAG, COPAG, PhysPAG
  • AIAA SciTech 2016, San Diego, CA (key sessions will be livestreamed)

Tuesday, January 5

  • First legislative business day for the House of Representatives, 114th Congress, 2nd session

Thursday, January 7

Last Updated: Jan 03, 2016 12:53 pm ET
Russia Downscales Lunar Program as Roscosmos Morphs into State Corporation

Russia Downscales Lunar Program as Roscosmos Morphs into State Corporation

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 29, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 29, 2015 6:22 pm ET

Russia’s Roscosmos will become a state corporation rather than a government agency on January 1, completing a reorganization announced earlier this year. At the same time, funding constraints have led to another revision of Russia’s federal space plan.  Human trips to the Moon will be postponed until at least the second half of the 2020s, although robotic missions are still on the books for as early as 2018.

The name of the Russian organization that oversees the space program will remain the same — Roscosmos — but the governance structure will
change.  It will be a state corporation rather than a government agency.   This latest reorganization comes as Russian officials continue to try to remedy pervasive problems that have
undermined its past reputation for reliable launch services.   A series of launch failures of various rockets over the past five years coupled with charges of corruption in companies that build spacecraft and rockets have led to many personnel changes in both the government and industrial sectors.

The newest head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, is the fourth Russian space agency director since NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden took office in 2009.   At that time, Roscosmos was headed by Anatoly Perminov.  He was replaced by Vladimir Popovkin, who was replaced by Oleg Ostapenko, who was replaced by Komarov. 

Each change followed more Russian rocket failures and several organizational models have been tried.  In 2013, when Ostapenko was named Roscosmos director, Roscosmos’s duties were split into two:  the Roscosmos space agency and a newly created United Rocket and Space Corporation (URSC, or ORKK using its Russian acronym).   Komarov was named head of URSC and in January 2015, the Russian government announced that the agency would be dissolved and all responsibilities would shift to a state corporation headed by Komarov.  Before becoming a space program official, Komarov was head of Russia’s AvtoKAZ, which manufactures automobiles.

The process of transforming Roscosmos into a state corporation has taken almost exactly a year.  The plan was announced on January 21, 2015.  A law was passed on July 13 creating the Roscosmos State Corporation.  Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree yesterday (December 28), which becomes effective on January 1, 2016, abolishing the Roscosmos space agency.

In January, Komarov said he had been directed to submit a new federal space plan and he did in April, but it was premised on a space budget of 2 trillion rubles (about $28 billion) through 2025. (1 $US = 72.18 Russian rubles.) That later was revised downward to 1.4 trillion rubles (about $20 billion), with the possibility of another 115 billion rubles after 2021.  The reduction in anticipated funding necessitated a new draft plan for 2016-2025 that was just revealed.  Komarov cautioned reporters that it still must be coordinated with the Economic Development Ministry and the Finance Ministry. 

Komarov told Tass that funding will be frozen for the first three years of the plan (2016-2018) at its current level of 104.5 billion rubles.

The new plan pushes out Russian efforts to send humans to the Moon until the second half of the 2020s.  Quoting another Russian newspaper, Izvestiya, Tass reported that “a decision was taken to sacrifice the lunar programme” that previously had been designated as a strategic goal of the Russian space program.  Compared with the plan presented in April, the new version omits “the creation of a lunar landing/takeoff complex, a lunar orbital station, construction of a lunar base, the designing of a spacesuit for operations on the Moon, and designing of a system for robotic maintenance on the moon….”   Work reportedly will continue on developing a spacecraft to take humans to the Moon someday.  Tass published an
infographic of a 12-ton “advanced crew transportation system” and
identified it as a “reusable manned space vehicle” that “can be used up
to 10 times” and will make its first flight to the Moon in 2028.  It
does not state whether a crew will be aboard.

However, five robotic lunar probes still are on the books during the time period of the draft space plan. Oleg Korablyov, Deputy Director of the Space Research Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, listed four and said the first would be launched in 2018:  Luna 25, a lander (also known as Luna Glob); Luna 26, an orbiter; Luna 27, a sample return mission; and a “lunar surface vehicle.”  The Soviet Union conducted extensive robotic lunar missions from 1959-1976, returning samples to Earth three times (Luna 16, Luna 20, Luna 24) and landing two rovers (Lunokhod-1 and -2), but never sent humans to the Moon.  Only the United States sent astronauts to orbit or land on the Moon (1968-1972).

Komarov said 205.1 billion rubles are allocated to lunar exploration in the new draft plan, along with 28.1 billion rubles for Mars research and 37.2 billion rubles for the Spektr series of earth-orbiting telescopes to observe the universe in various wavelengths.

Other activities in the plan include “projects and research” on reusable rocket stages and reusable spacecraft; launching 150 spacecraft for “social-economic and scientific purposes” during that time period, down from 185 in the previous draft program; and possibly a joint project, Boomerang, with the European Space Agency (ESA) for returning samples from the Martian moon Phobos.

Last Updated: Dec 29, 2015 6:22 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy December 28, 2015 – January 8, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy December 28, 2015 – January 8, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 27, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 27, 2015 7:41 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks as we transition from one year to the next:  December 28, 2015 – January 8, 2016.   The 114th Congress officially begins its second session next week and the House will meet for legislative business, but the Senate is not scheduled to be back until January 11.

During the Weeks

We all have one more week to relax and get to the bottom of the piles of stuff on our desks before 2016 starts off with fervor.  As usual, two big annual meetings are on tap for the first week of January that promise to be full of news about space science and engineering — the American Astronomical Society’s meeting in Kissimmee, FL and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech 2016 conference in San Diego.  Most of these big conferences offer key sessions via webcast either in real time or for later viewing.  Check their websites for details.

The 2nd session of the 114th Congress officially begins on January 4, though the House and Senate meet only in pro forma sessions that day.  The first legislative business day for the House is January 5.  House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has not yet posted the House schedule for January 5-8. The Senate goes back to work on January 11 (and the State of the Union address is on January 12). 

It being a presidential election year, the House and Senate will meet for fewer days than usual in 2016 and the schedule is front-end loaded.  They will be busy through early July, but then have an extended summer break — from July 18 to September 6 — because the party conventions to select their presidential tickets are the last two weeks of July (Republicans in Cleveland the week of July 18; Democrats in Philadelphia the following week).   Both return for most of September — when they will have to do something about FY2017 appropriations before the end of the fiscal year on September 30 — and the House will recess for the entire month of October to allow members to focus on reelection campaigns.  The Senate currently plans to meet the first week of October only.  They both return briefly in mid-November after the elections and for part of December.   What all that means is the lion’s share of congressional action will be in the first six months of the year.  In total, the House is scheduled to be in session for just 111 days in 2016, the fewest since 2006 according to the AP. The Senate plans to be in session for 149 days.

Following are the events for the next two weeks that we know about as of Sunday morning, December 27.  Check back throughout the weeks for anything we learn about later and add to our Events of Interest list on our main page.

In the meantime, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

January 4-8, 2016

January 5

Last Updated: Dec 27, 2015 7:41 pm ET
International Institute of Space Law OK With U.S. Asteroid Mining Law

International Institute of Space Law OK With U.S. Asteroid Mining Law

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 24, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 24, 2015 7:05 am ET

The Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) has issued a position paper concluding that a new U.S. law that grants property rights to resources mined from asteroids or other space objects by U.S. companies does not violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.  The United States is a signatory to that treaty and whether or not the law complies with the treaty is matter of some debate in space law circles.

The law’s provision applies to extraction and use of resources from space objects generally, but is commonly referred to as asteroid mining because two U.S. companies are proposing to do that.  It is part of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act that was signed into law by President Obama on November 25.  While the law affects a variety of commercial space activities, the space resource mining provision is receiving the most attention.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) was negotiated long before the technical feasibility of mining asteroids existed.  Some question today whether it is technically or economically feasible, but two U.S. companies, Planetary Resources Inc. and Deep Space Industries, are promoting the idea.   Planetary Resources is widely credited with getting the legal issues on the table and convincing Congress to include the provision in the law and the President to sign it.  The argument is that while it may be many years before anyone actually mines resources from asteroids, investors are needed now and they want clarity before putting their money into such ventures.

Two provisions of the OST underlie the debate about the U.S. law’s international standing.  Article II states that no nation may claim sovereignty over the Moon or other celestial bodies.  Article VI requires countries that agree to abide by the Treaty (“States Parties”) to authorize and continually supervise the activities of their non-governmental entities, such as companies.

Section 402 of the law states that: “A United States citizen engaged in commercial recovery of an
asteroid resource or a space resource under this chapter shall be
entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource obtained, including
to possess, own, transport, use, and sell the asteroid resource or
space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including
the international obligations of the United States.”  Section 403 states that:  “It is the sense of Congress that by the enactment of this Act, the
United States does not thereby assert sovereignty or sovereign or
exclusive rights or jurisdiction over, or the ownership of, any
celestial body.”

The IISL position paper stops short of endorsing the U.S. law, but agrees that it is “a possible interpretation” of the OST, but “[w]hether and to what extent this interpretation is shared by other States remains to be seen.”   It points out that the law explicitly does not make any claims of sovereignty over celestial bodies and further states that the resources must be obtained in accordance with U.S. international obligations, which include adherence to the OST.  “The Act thus pays respect to the international legal obligations of the United States and applicable law on which the property rights to space resources will continue to depend.”

The position paper ends on a cautionary note: “It is an open question whether this legal situation is satisfactory.”   However, it considers the U.S. law to be a “starting point for the development of international rules to be evaluated by means of an international dialogue…”

Rep. Brian Babin, chairman of the Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, recently expressed support for international discussions while ruling out creation of any international body to regulate space resource mining.   Two congressional staff, one from the House and one from the Senate, who were deeply involved in crafting the bill, confirmed that both chambers are open to an international dialogue.

Such a dialogue can take place on a bilateral basis or through international fora such as the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).   COPUOUS has a Scientific and Technical subcommittee that meets in February and a Legal Subcommittee that meets in March/April.  The full committee meets in June.  All the meetings are held at the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) in Vienna, Austria.  

Washington sources say the United States is already talking with some of its traditional space program partners about these topics and will begin informing COPUOS about the new law at its meetings next year.

The law also addresses the questions posed by Article VI.  Today, no U.S. agency has responsibility for authorizing or continually supervising the activities of all U.S. non-governmental entities involved in space.  The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation regulates space launches and reentries, but has no authority over activities such as space resource mining, for example.   The law requires the President to submit a report to Congress within 180 days of enactment recommending the allocation of responsibilities among Federal agencies to meet the Article VI requirement.

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2015 7:05 am ET

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