Category: Military

What's Happening in Space Policy February 29 – March 4, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy February 29 – March 4, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 28, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 29, 2016 5:52 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy events for the week of February 29 – March 4, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

It’s another busy week  — on the Hill, off the Hill, and off the planet. 

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is finishing up his last days on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the “year in space” mission (it’s not quite a year, actually, but about 340 days).  He and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko have been on ISS since March 27, 2015 (Eastern Time) to further studies of human physiological and psychological adaptation to spaceflight in preparation for even longer trips to destinations like Mars.   Theirs is not the longest duration mission — four Russian cosmonauts spent 365 days or more continuously on the Soviet/Russian space station Mir in the 1980s and 1990s — but is the most recent and Kelly is the first American on such a long mission.  (The record for total consecutive
days in space is held by cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov who
spent 438 days aboard the Mir space station in 1994-1995.  Sergei Avdeyev spent 380 days on Mir in 1998-1999.  Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov spent 365 days together on Mir in
1987-1988.  In all cases, other crews came and went during those missions.)

Kelly and Kornienko are scheduled to land in the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft along with cosmonaut Sergei Volkov (who arrived at ISS in September) very late Tuesday night — 11:27 ET.   Kelly will embark on his trip home to Houston very soon thereafter, arriving late Wednesday night (11:45 pm ET) where he will be greeted by Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden and other White House and NASA dignitaries.   On Friday, he will participate in a press briefing from Johnson Space Center at 2:00 pm ET, preceded at 1:00 by a briefing by two NASA scientists and his identical twin brother, Mark.   The two brothers have been part of a Twins Study during the mission.  NASA TV will cover it all.

It may be hard to top that in terms of news value, but there is much more going on, including quite a few congressional hearings on military and civil space programs.  Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III will appear before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee on Wednesday and the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.  FAA Administrator Michael Huerta will testify to the House Appropriations Transportation-HUD subcommittee on Wednesday, though it is not clear how much focus will be on the $19.8 million request for the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.  

Perhaps of most interest to readers of this website is a House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee hearing on Thursday on NASA’s new “Ocean Worlds” program.  Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), who chairs the subcommittee, is an enthusiast for sending a probe to Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is thought to have an ocean under its icy crust.  It is not the only solar system body thought to have an ocean and Culberson directed NASA to initiate a program to explore these “ocean worlds” in his report on last year’s appropriations bill.  He has invited Charles Elachi, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Cornell’s Jonathan Lunine to testify about the program.   JPL is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) operated by the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), so some people consider it a NASA field center while others point out it is a contractor and not “government” in the same sense as the rest of NASA.   Thus one can say that the hearing has a NASA witness or not as one chooses, but it is interesting to see just this one part of NASA’s program singled out for a hearing, reflecting the chairman’s intense interest.  Culberson says often that he is convinced that evidence of life will be discovered on Europa and hence he believes this is one of NASA’s top priorities.  Elachi is retiring this summer, by the way, after 15 years at the helm of JPL (part of a 45 year career there).  He will move over to CalTech as professor emeritus to continue his research.  His successor has not been announced. 

Meanwhile, there are meetings of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), several NASA advisory committees, National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committees, the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, an ISU-DC space cafe, an Orbital-ATK investors teleconference, and an announcement by NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden about NASA’s new plans for X-planes.  Whew!  Get out your running shoes.

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

Oh, and happy Leap Year!  We certainly need that extra day.

Sunday-Wednesday, February 28-March 2

Monday, February 29

Tuesday, March 1

Tuesday-Wednesday, March 1-2

Wednesday, March 2

Wednesday-Thursday, March 2-3

Wednesday-Friday, March 2-4

Thursday, March 3

Friday, March 4

 

Editor’s Note:  NASA has countdown clocks on its website for the 1-year mission showing elapsed time and remaining time.   At this moment (February 29, 5:50 pm) it shows that the mission duration for the two men will be 340 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes and 2 seconds, not “just under 342 days” as we calculated yesterday.  The text has been changed accordingly.

Last Updated: Feb 29, 2016 5:52 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy February 22-26, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy February 22-26, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 21, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 21, 2016 2:41 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy events for the week of February 22-26, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.   The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

Now that the President has submitted his FY2017 budget request and Congress is back from its week-long break, congressional hearings on the budget and related topics begin in earnest.  

This week, subcommittees of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (HAC-D) will hold hearings on the status of U.S. strategic forces (HASC), the FY2017 DOD budget for science and technology (HASC), and the entire DOD budget request (HAC-D). 

Subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on the budgets for the Department of Commerce (which includes NOAA) and Department of Transportation (which includes the FAA and its Office of Commercial Space Transportation).  It is unlikely that space activities will come up at those hearings, but we list them here for completeness.  Specific hearings on NOAA and the FAA are likely to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

As for NASA, although it is not about the FY2017 budget request per se, the House Science, Space, and Technology (SS&T) committee will hold a hearing on the Space Leadership Preservation Act (H.R. 2093).  That bill is sponsored by Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), who chairs the House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee that funds NASA.   Similar legislation in the previous two Congresses was sponsored by Frank Wolf, who chaired the CJS subcommittee until he retired.  House SS&T held a hearing on one of those bills (H.R. 823 from the 113th Congress) on February 27, 2013, almost exactly three years ago.   Culberson reintroduced the legislation last April. House SS&T Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and four others (two Republicans, two Democrats) are co-sponsors.  There are some differences among the three versions of the bill, but essentially the goal is for NASA to be run by a Board of Directors similar to the National Science Board that oversees the National Science Foundation and to make the position of NASA Administrator a 10-year appointment, similar to the Director of the FBI.  The sponsors of the legislation assert these steps would make NASA less political.

House SS&T will hold a hearing on the discovery of gravitational waves on Wednesday.   The discovery was made using terrestrial instruments — LIGO — but spacecraft have been launched (Europe’s LISA Pathfinder) or are planned to investigate that phenomenon, so space-based astrophysics may come up.

Off the Hill, on Thursday, two groups are holding events looking at the FY2017 budget request — both at the same time, unfortunately.  The Air Force Association and FiscalTrak will hold a symposium focused on the request for national security space at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, VA.   In another part of Arlington, called Pentagon City because of its proximity to the Pentagon, Women in Aerospace will hold a broader “senior leaders” discussion with representatives of NOAA, DOD, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden.  Both of those, again unfortunately, are at the same time as the House SS&T hearing on the Space Leadership Preservation Act and the HAC-D hearing with Secretary of Defense Carter on the DOD budget.  So #needclones is the hashtag of the week, especially for your SpacePolicyOnline.com editor since I will be moderating a panel at the WIA event.  The good news is that congressional committees usually webcast their hearings so those should be available for later viewing.

It’s a busy week.  Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are shown below.  Check back throughout the week for any others that are announced later and added to our Events of Interest list. 

Monday-Thursday, February 22-25

Tuesday, February 23

Wednesday, February 24

Thursday, February 25

Last Updated: Feb 21, 2016 2:41 pm ET
WFIRST Gets Go Ahead

WFIRST Gets Go Ahead

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 18, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 18, 2016 11:47 pm ET

NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) took a step forward on Wednesday with approval from NASA’s Program Management Council.  WFIRST will be the next large (flagship) space telescope after the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and will search for exoplanets and aid in understanding dark energy and dark matter.

WFIRST was the top priority for a flagship space telescope in the 2010 National Research Council (NRC) astrophysics Decadal Survey New Worlds New Horizons.  Cost overruns and schedule delays on JWST meant that WFIRST has had to wait much longer than expected to move forward.  Funding for JWST had to pass its peak before a funding wedge to initiate WFIRST opened up.  JWST, scheduled for launch in 2018, is finally past that phase.

WFIRST has been through many changes since the NWNH Decadal Survey largely because the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which builds and operates the nation’s spy satellites, transferred to NASA a 2.4 meter space-qualified  telescope that it no longer needed.  The NRO hardware is called Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (AFTA) and the project is now often referred to as WFIRST/AFTA. 

NASA asked the NRC to review the design changes associated with using the NRO hardware.  The 2014 NRC report expressed concern about the cost implications, especially if a coronagraph was added to the mission.  NASA decided to add a coronagraph anyway because it will enhance the scientific capability of the spacecraft.  The coronagraph will block the light of a star, enabling precise measurements of what is around the star, such as planets and their atmospheres.   WFIRST is expected to detect thousands of new exoplanets.   Launch is anticipated in the mid-2020s.

Scientists use the terms dark energy and dark matter to refer to the approximately 96 percent of the universe that we do not yet understand.  Scientists concluded in the 1990s that we understand only four percent of what is in the universe, with dark energy comprising approximately 72 percent and dark matter about 24 percent.    Dark energy is an unknown force that is pushing the universe apart at a greater rate than expected.  Dark matter is “invisible material that makes up most of the matter in the universe,” according to NASA. 

Like JWST, WFIRST is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.  The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center are participating in the project.

NASA’s Program Management Council evaluates the content, cost, risk management and performance of the agency’s programs and projects.  It decided to move forward with WFIRST yesterday.

Last Updated: Feb 18, 2016 11:47 pm ET
Shelby Faces Four Opponents in March 1 Primary – UPDATE

Shelby Faces Four Opponents in March 1 Primary – UPDATE

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 16, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: March 3, 2016 8:23 pm ET

UPDATE, March 3, 2016:  Sen. Shelby won the primary.

ORIGINAL STORY, February 16, 2016: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) is facing four Republican opponents in Alabama’s March 1 Senate primary.  The 81-year-old five-term Republican is expected to win, but in this anti-establishment political season, there are no sure bets.

In the space policy community, Shelby is best known for his unwavering support of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, and his clash with Sen. John McCain over the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) use of Russian RD-180 rocket engines for the Atlas V launch vehicle.  ULA builds its rockets in Decatur, AL.  McCain wants to limit the number of RD-180s ULA can obtain, while Shelby wants considerable flexibility.

The McCain-Shelby fireworks erupted publicly in December when Shelby, a powerful member of the Senate Appropriations Committee working with one of the committee’s top Democrats, Dick Durbin (D-IL), undermined McCain’s efforts to limit to nine the additional number of RD-180s that ULA could obtain for national security launches.  The appropriations committee essentially lifted that limit.  McCain pulled no punches in lambasting the two for putting constituent interests ahead of national interests.  ULA is jointly owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  Boeing is headquartered in Durbin’s state of Illinois.

The antagonism continued last week with McCain and Durbin publishing dueling commentaries in the Wall Street Journal (McCain’s as an op-ed on Monday, Durbin’s as a letter to the editor on Thursday), and McCain (or his designee) live-tweeting rejoinders to Shelby’s conversation with Air Force witnesses about RD-180s at a hearing on Wednesday.  The Air Force agrees with ULA on the need for the flexibility the appropriations act provides.  Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said on Wednesday that 18 are needed; last year the number was 14.   McCain’s FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act allows only nine.

Shelby is among the highest ranking Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs the Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee that funds NASA.  He is a steadfast supporter of SLS and widely viewed as the architect of the increased budgets SLS has received compared to the President’s request.  For the current fiscal year (FY2016), for example, Congress appropriated $2 billion for SLS, compared with the President’s request of $1.356 billion.

Alabama holds its Republican and Democratic primaries on March 1 along with a number of other states in what is billed as “Super Tuesday.”  While most of the attention will be focused on the presidential races, they are not the only ones of consequence.  

Shelby is facing four Republican primary opponents.  National Journal (NJ) reports that Shelby and the Republican party nationally, which is fighting to retain control of the Senate, are taking the race very seriously despite internal polls that show Shelby leading.  He needs a majority of votes to avoid a runoff and with the anti-establishment tenor of the presidential races, nothing can be taken for granted.   NJ quotes Republican consultant Brad Todd as saying that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz may “motivate a group of not your normal Alabama Republican primary voters” and Shelby and other incumbents need to be prepared for “having an electorate you weren’t counting on.”

Shelby’s opponents are Jonathan McConnell, 33, a Marine veteran; John Martin, 59, a former Army Ranger; Marcus Bowman, 42, a former legislative analyst and research consultant; and Shadrack McGill, 40, a former Alabama state senator. 

Last Updated: Mar 03, 2016 8:23 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy February 15-19, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy February 15-19, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 14, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 14, 2016 5:08 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy events for the week of February 15-19, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in recess this week.

During the Week

Monday (February 15) is a U.S. federal holiday, President’s Day, marking the birthdays of two of our most famous Presidents — Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22).  Federal offices will be closed on Monday and Congress is taking the entire week off from inside-the-Beltway debates to check in with their constituents back home.

Consequently it is a relatively quiet week space policy-wise, which should give us all time to digest the President’s FY2017 budget request.  The NASA request is particularly complicated as explained in our new fact sheet.  We also have a fact sheet on NOAA’s request for satellites.

One intriguing meeting this week is of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Big Data of the NASA Advisory Council’s (NAC’s) Science Committee.  The meeting, all day Tuesday, was announced in the Federal Register, which is a requirement for all advisory committee meetings governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).  We couldn’t find anything about the upcoming meeting or the task force itself on the websites of NAC or its Science Committee, however, other than a broken link to a presentation by Elaine Denning at the November 2015 Science Committee meeting and a functioning link to a July 2015 presentation by Dr. Erin Smith, the task force’s executive secretary.  That includes the two-page Terms of Reference for the task force, signed by NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden in January 2015. The Federal Register notice provides only a general list of agenda items, but overall it looks like quite an interesting set of issues.  The meeting is available by WebEx and telecon.

The AIAA’s National Capital Section luncheon on Wednesday is also notable this week.   Winston Beauchamp is the speaker.  He is Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space and Director, Principal DoD Space Advisor Staff.  The Principal DoD Space Advisor (PDSA) position was created in October 2015, broadening the responsibilities of what previously was called the “Executive Agent for Space” (EA4S).  Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James was the EA4S and now is the PDSA.  DOD said at the time that the new position would “strengthen the leadership of the space enterprise by sharpening authorities and responsibilities, and unifying diffused and competing voices within the department.”    Hopefully Beauchamp will provide a glimpse into how things are going so far.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday afternoon are listed below.  Check back throughout the week to see additions to our Events of Interest list that are announced in the coming days.

Tuesday, February 16

Wednesday, February 17

Last Updated: Feb 14, 2016 5:08 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy February 7-12, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy February 7-12, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 7, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 7, 2016 10:30 am ET

Here is our list of space policy events for the week of February 7-12, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

North Korea’s satellite launch last evening (February 6) Eastern Standard Time (today, February 7, local time in North Korea) certainly will be the international space-related story of the week.  The United Nations Security Council will meet in emergency session today to discuss whether additional sanctions should be levied.  The launch violates two U.N. Security Council resolutions —  Resolution 1718 adopted in 2006 and Resolution 1874 adopted in 2009 — designed to discourage North Korea from developing ballistic missiles.

Meanwhile back in D.C., President Obama will submit the final budget request of his Administration to Congress on Tuesday.   The document will be released by the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at 11:00 am EST and should be posted on their websites at that time.   DOD, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and NASA are all holding budget briefings during the day.  NASA is using the entire day to showcase its activities at all of its centers around the country.  Called “State of NASA'” day, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden will deliver a State of NASA speech at 1:30 pm EST that will be carried on NASA TV (it is separate from the NASA budget briefing at 5:00 pm EST with NASA Chief Financial Officer Dave Radzanowski).

The release of the budget kicks off congressional hearings on the President’s request.  From a space policy perspective, first up is the Air Force.  SecAF Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III will appear before the defense subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday as well, but it is not budget related.  Instead, it will discuss “Understanding and Deterring Russia.”  There is no way to know in advance whether any of the government or commercial space arrangements we have with Russia or DOD’s space protection efforts will come up (the witnesses are not from the space community), but it is quite possible.  A growing number of U.S. officials cite Russia as the current biggest threat to the United States and its allies both on Earth and in space.

It is shaping up to be an intense week, so it’s good that on Thursday evening there’s something a little more fun to do (other than watching the next Democratic presidential primary debate).  NASA Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green will speak at an AIAA-Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) event at the British Embassy in Washington on the science fiction and science fact in the movie The Martian.

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

Tuesday, February 9

Wednesday, February 10

Wednesday-Thursday, February 10-11

Thursday, February 11

Last Updated: Feb 07, 2016 10:30 am ET
Nield, Bridenstine Make Case for Expanding FAA/AST's Authorities

Nield, Bridenstine Make Case for Expanding FAA/AST's Authorities

By Marcia Smith | Posted: February 3, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 3, 2016 7:10 am ET

The head of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) and a key Member of Congress are making the case for expanding AST’s regulatory responsibilities to include much more than commercial launches and reentries. Both spoke at the first day of AST’s annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference, which continues today (Wednesday).  The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is webcasting the event.

Over the past year, interest has grown in both the government and commercial space sectors over what agency should have the responsibility for ensuring U.S. compliance with Article VI of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that requires governments to “authorize and continually supervise” the activities of their non-government entities, such as companies.  U.S. companies have been operating in space since the 1960s, primarily commercial communications and remote sensing satellites, but the potential expansion of commercial activities to other realms, such as asteroid mining or habitats on the lunar surface, is raising the visibility of the issue of who in the U.S. government is responsible for that task.

The recently enacted Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to recommend approaches for oversight of commercial activities in space.  The law was enacted on November 25, 2015 and the report is due 120 days thereafter.

FAA Associate Administrator for AST George Nield wants his office to be given that responsibility.  He said that his office could issue a “mission license” for in-space operations not already regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or NOAA.   FCC licenses the use of the radio spectrum by commercial companies.  NOAA licenses commercial remote sensing satellites.

Another growing issue is who should be responsible for determining if satellites are going to collide with each other or with space debris and warn affected parties.  This is often referred to as Space Traffic Management.  Today, DOD’s Joint Space Operations Center (JSPoC) performs the calculations — “conjunction analyses” — and alerts appropriate parties, but some argue that JSPoC should focus on DOD’s requirement to protect U.S. national security satellites, not those of the civil or commercial sectors.

Nield said the FAA should take on that responsibility as well;  “We think it makes sense for the FAA to take on this role, and we believe that there is consensus in the interagency community that we are the right ones to do it, but we need to make the decision soon and get on with it.”  He also advocated for the FAA to process safety-related space situational awareness data and release it “to any entity, consistent with national security interests and public safety obligations.”  The FAA and DOD are in agreement that this is feasible, he added, though his office needs additional resources to do it.

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the House Science, Space, and Technology (SS&T) Committee, agrees.   Speaking at the conference yesterday, he stressed that DOD must focus on the threats posed to national security satellites rather than spending its time determining whether the International Space Station (ISS) is “going to hit a screw.”   DOD must be relieved of the “burden” of performing conjunction analyses for the civil and commercial sectors, he said, and the FAA is the proper agency to take on that task.   He added that DOD does not want to relinquish JSPoC, but instead to use it for what it is intended — national security.  He also agreed that FAA/AST needs more money if it takes on additional tasks.   He noted that he tried to add $1 million for FAA/AST in the House-passed version of the FY2016 Transportation-HUD appropriations act, but only $250,000 was approved.

Bridenstine also raised the issue of who should be responsible for ensuring compliance with Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty, calling it a “challenge we have to own up to and ultimately solve.  It won’t be easy and won’t happen overnight.”  He stopped short of recommending FAA/AST as the answer, but said government regulation of commercial space activities overall must be consistent and simplified.

The conference continues today, with Rep. Brian Babin, chairman of the House SS&T Space Subcommittee, scheduled to speak at 8:30 am ET, followed by NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman.

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation indicated that it will webcast today’s sessions as well.

Last Updated: Feb 03, 2016 7:10 am ET
What's Happening in Space Policy February 1-5, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy February 1-5, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 31, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: February 2, 2016 9:31 am ET

Here is our list of space policy related events for the week of February 1-5, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

A conference on commercial space transportation and a House hearing on NASA’s human exploration proposals are just two highlights of the coming week.

The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation’s (AST’s) 19th annual conference is in Washington, DC on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Neither the conference’s website nor the agenda indicate that any of the sessions will be webcast, which is a shame because they look really interesting.   If we learn that remote access will, in fact, be available, we’ll add that information to the entry in our Events of Interest list. [UPDATE:  FAA/AST confirms that there will NOT be a webcast.  UPDATE 2 — AS WE JUST LEARNED NOW THAT WE’RE HERE AT THE CONFERENCE, THE COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT FEDERATION IS WEBCASTING THE EVENT.] There are keynotes and panels featuring top leaders from the Administration (e.g. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman), Congress (Rep. Brian Babin, R-TX, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-TX, and a panel of congressional staff), and industry (Sierra Nevada Corporate VP for Space Systems Mark Sirangelo and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell).   For those who are advocating for an expansion of AST’s jurisdiction beyond launch and reentry of satellites, one of the panels will discuss European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Woerner’s Lunar Village (or Moon Village) concept.   AST’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) recently recommended that AST “engage directly” with ESA to foster the participation of U.S.-based commercial entities in planning and creation of such a village.  Woerner spoke to COMSTAC during a telecon meeting last month and will participate in this conference via livestream.

Wednesday’s hearing before the Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee also should be interesting.   The topic is NASA’s human exploration proposals, but in this case there are no NASA witnesses.  Instead, three “outside” witnesses will present their views.   Aerospace industry icon Tom Young is one of them.  He has testified many times, perhaps most memorably answering “never” to a question about when humans would get to Mars under NASA’s current budget. He is a member of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), which has been deliberating for at least two years over NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) and NASA’s planning for sending humans to Mars.  Young will be speaking only for himself, but NAC has not been enthusiastic about ARM for many reasons, one of which is skepticism that it will cost only $1.25 billion as NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden insists.  NAC members also criticize NASA’s Evolvable Mars Campaign because it lacks specifics.  The other two witnesses are Paul Spudis, a fervent advocate of returning humans to the lunar surface before going to Mars, and John Sommerer, who chaired the Technical Panel of the 2014 “Pathways” report from the National Academies that also endorsed returning astronauts to the lunar surface and raised questions about the value of ARM to the long term goal of human Mars exploration.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday afternoon are listed below.  Check back throughout the week to see any new meetings we learn about and post to our Events of Interest list.

Monday-Tuesday, February 1-2

Tuesday, February 2

Tuesday-Wednesday, February 2-3

Wednesday, February 3

Last Updated: Feb 02, 2016 9:31 am ET
McCain, McCarthy Try to Repeal RD-180 Provision in FY2016 Appropriations Bill

McCain, McCarthy Try to Repeal RD-180 Provision in FY2016 Appropriations Bill

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 27, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 28, 2016 12:15 am ET

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are introducing
legislation to repeal a provision in the FY2016 Consolidated
Appropriations Act that undermines a section of the FY2016 National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) that limits the number of Russian RD-180 engines
that can be obtained by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) for its Atlas V rockets.  The appropriations law, enacted after the NDAA, essentially allows an unlimited number to be procured.   McCain announced his new legislation in conjunction with a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing on the topic today.

Since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula two years ago, McCain has led efforts to end U.S. reliance on Russian RD-180 engines used in rockets that launch national security satellites.   He argues that Russia’s actions in Ukraine and elsewhere are inimicable to U.S. interests and the money ULA pays for the engines goes to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his “cronies.”  As chairman of SASC, he included language in the FY2015 and FY2016 NDAAs that limits the number of RD-180s ULA may obtain and directs DOD to fund the development of a U.S. alternative.  McCain also is a champion of SpaceX and its drive to compete with ULA for Air Force contracts to launch national security satellites.  The Air Force certified SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch its satellites last year. 

Little new was added to the debate at this morning’s hearing.  Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Under Secretary of  Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall repeated their oft-stated position that they agree on the need to end reliance on Russian engines and to build a new U.S. engine by McCain’s target date of 2019.  They argue, however, that an engine is only part of a  launch system and it will take at least two more years, to 2021, to integrate a new engine into a new launch vehicle, test it and certify it to launch national security satellites.  McCain and other members of the committee insisted that the transition to a new rocket with an American engine must happen sooner.

The distinction between an engine and a complete launch system was reiterated by James and Kendall throughout the hearing.  They are seeking relief from language in the FY2016 NDAA (Sec 606) that restricts them to spending funds on developing new rocket engines only and not entire new launch vehicles. James and Kendall said if they can only use the money for a new engine to replace the RD-180, just one company will benefit, ULA, which would get a new engine for its Atlas V.    If instead they could use the money to invest in a public private partnership to develop a new, modern launch system to replace the Atlas V, greater benefits would accrue.  

According to James, Congress has authorized and appropriated over $400 million for a new engine:  $41 million that was reprogrammed in FY2014, $220 million in FY2015, and $227 million in FY2016.  Of that, $176 million has been obligated to date, she added.

One point on which McCain and the witnesses agreed was unhappiness that ULA chose not to bid on the first launch where SpaceX could compete.   Competition for that launch, of a GPS 3 navigation satellite, opened last fall, but ULA asserted that it could not enter a bid because of the limitation on how many RD-180 engines it may obtain under the FY2015 NDAA in effect at that time and for other reasons.

McCain repeatedly expressed exasperation at ULA’s decision not to bid.  James said the Air Force was “surprised and disappointed” and Kendall said “we are all upset.”  James said she has asked her legal team to review the Air Force contract with ULA to see what can be done possibly “including early termination” of the EELV Launch Capability (ELC) contract that pays for infrastructure and other ULA costs. That funding is separate from the money paid for individual launches.

McCain repeatedly referred to the ELC funding — approximately $800 million per year — as money the government pays ULA “to do nothing” or “to just stay in business.”  Kendall explained that the ELC contract was designed to cover fixed and variable costs associated with launch infrastructure and meant to ensure stability in a sole source environment.  ULA has been virtually a monopoly provider of national security launch services since it was formed in 2006 as a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  While Kendall defended the ELC as a good business deal under those circumstances and “not a subsidy,” he agreed it is the only DOD contract of its kind, is being phased out, and a model that will not be used in the future.  What DOD wants to do now is to provide “at least two launch service providers” with some of the capital to develop, test and certify new launch systems through public private partnerships.  A draft request for proposals (RFP) will be released this spring, he said, and a final RFP by the end of the year with awards expected in FY2017.

One new piece of information that surfaced today was the cost of an RD-180 engine.  Kendall pegged it at $30 million.  The fundamental dispute is whether ULA should be able to obtain nine more, or 14 more, RD-180 engines than the five they already have under contract as part of a 2013 block buy awarded by the Air Force.  That is a difference of five engines, or $150 million, money McCain argues would go to Putin and associates including three he said have been sanctioned by the United States – Igor Komarov, Sergey Chemezov and Dmitry Rogozin.   Rogozin is the Russian Deputy Prime Minister who oversees the aerospace sector.  Komarov is the head of Roscosmos, which recently transitioned from a government space agency into a state corporation.  McCain identified them as members of the Board ot RD-AMROSS, the intermediary between the Russian company that manufactures RD-180s. Energomash, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, which imports them for use in the Atlas V.

The Air Force and ULA want 14 more; McCain wants to limit it to nine.   The FY2016 NDAA states that only nine may be obtained, but Senate appropriators, led by Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) included a provision in the DOD portion of the FY2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act that removes that limit. ULA builds its rockets in Alabama; Boeing is headquartered in Illinois.  McCain verbally attacked both Senators during a floor speech after the appropriations bill language became public. 

Just before this morning’s hearing, McCain revealed that he and House Majority Leader McCarthy will introduce legislation imminently to repeal the provision in the appropriations law.  In a statement, McCain said the provision was “airdopped” into the appropriations bill “in secret, with no debate” after the nine-engine limitation in the NDAA was “debated for months and passed by the Senate not once, but twice.”  

Last Updated: Jan 28, 2016 12:15 am ET
Washington DC Gets Back to Work, RD-180 Hearing On Track

Washington DC Gets Back to Work, RD-180 Hearing On Track

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 27, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 27, 2016 6:30 am ET

The Washington, D.C. area is slowly recovering from the Snowzilla blizzard and government offices reopen today with a three hour delay.  The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC’s) website shows that the 9:30 am ET hearing on RD-180 rocket engines will take place as scheduled.

Most schools are still closed and the traffic reports at this hour (6:00 am) are chock full of accidents closing portions of major highways, so still be sure to check to see if any meeting you plan to attend will, in fact, take place.

Virtually all congressional committees webcast their hearings, so the SASC hearing should be viewable on the committee’s website without making the trek to Capitol Hill.  Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall are scheduled to be at the witness table to continue the debate over how quickly an American alternative to Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine will be ready.  The issue is a bone of contention between SASC and the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Last Updated: Jan 27, 2016 6:30 am ET

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