Jared Isaacman’s expected nomination as NASA Administrator is winning both support and criticism from Republicans.  Two prominent Republicans involved in crafting the Contract with America that led to Republicans gaining control of the House in 1995 for the first time in decades praise him as a man with “the right stuff” to lead the agency at this critical juncture. But others complain about his contributions to Democratic candidates and that his companies embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, which they oppose. For his part, Isaacman is enthusiastic about taking on the role and ensuring America never settles for second place in space.

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Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is still on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch was scrubbed about 3:00 am ET this morning, two-thirds of the way through the three-hour launch window after a series of unexplained delays. The main goal for this first mission, humorously designated “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,”  is just to safely reach orbit, but that will have to wait. The company, owned by Jeff Bezos, has not announced when they will try again.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 12-18, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

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NASA will wait until the middle of next year to decide on the fastest, cheapest way to get the samples now being collected on Mars by the Perseverance rover back to Earth. Agency officials said today they will continue engineering studies of two options, one using an upgraded version of JPL’s sky crane and the other a commercial “heavy lander,” to determine which will get the samples here soonest at the lowest cost.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of January 5-12, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

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After an endorsement from President-elect Trump, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) won reelection as Speaker of the House today at the opening of the 119th Congress. The initial round of voting appeared to hand him defeat, but after a lengthy interval while the vote was held open, two opponents were convinced to change their minds. He won with 218 of the 219 Republicans voting for him.

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Although it does not officially end until tomorrow, January 3, 2025, at noon, the 118th Congress is essentially over.  Here is a look at how space-related legislation fared in the 118th and a look ahead to the 119th.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next two weeks, December 29, 2024-January 11, 2025, and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate will formally end the 118th Congress and convene the 119th Congress on Friday, January 3. Both chambers will be in session the week of January 6.

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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its close encounter with the Sun this week, getting closer than any previous spacecraft.  The success comes at the same time a new Decadal Survey from the National Academies makes the case for future investments in heliophysics research, including the Geospace Dynamics Constellation that NASA is proposing to cancel because of budget cuts.

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Blue Origin took more steps towards the first launch of the New Glenn rocket yesterday with a successful static fire test and getting a launch license from the FAA.  The company has been hoping to launch before the end of the year, but it seems likely to slip into 2025.

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