Chris Kraft, a legendary figure in the history of NASA’s human spaceflight program, died today at the age of 95. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and many others issued statements praising his service to the country and offering condolences to his family.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans and President Trump reached agreement today to raise budget caps for the next two fiscal years and suspend the debt limit until July 31, 2021. The deal still must pass the House and Senate and be signed into law, but congressional leaders of both parties and the President have issued statements of support this evening. It’s not over till it’s over, but if everyone sticks with the plan it would pave the way for passing FY2020 appropriations in a timely manner, which would be good news for civil and national security space programs, especially NASA’s Artemis Moon-by-2024 plan.
India launched a three-part probe to the Moon today. Chandrayaan-2 will be captured into lunar orbit four weeks from now and on September 6 EDT, a lander/rover will separate from the orbiter and descend to the Moon’s South Pole. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan referred to it as “15 minutes of terror” that, if all goes well, will make India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 21-27, 2019 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Vice President Mike Pence celebrated the Apollo 11 50th anniversary at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) today. While President Trump gives the appearance of wavering on the need to return to the Moon before going to Mars, Pence exhibits no such doubts. He again said American astronauts will walk on the Moon in 2024, what is now called the Artemis program. As he spoke, three new crew members were on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) where they will dock this evening. Knowing they were launching on this historic day, they designed their mission patch to commemorate Apollo 11 and tie it to the present (ISS) and future (Artemis).
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for July 19, 2019. It’s a long list this time because space policy has been incredibly busy lately. There is a lot to catch up on: DOD nominations, legislation, Japan snags another asteroid sample, China deep sixes a space station, Israel’s lunar lander wins another chance, Kathy Warden gets new responsibilities and Mike French has a new job. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Flanked by Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, President Trump pressed NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on why going back to the Moon is a necessary precursor for sending humans to Mars. Aldrin and Collins are both Mars advocates who see no need to return to the Moon. They and Neil Armstrong’s two sons were among those at the White House today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first human landing on the Moon.
During a hearing on NASA’s Moon/Mars plans today, Senators pressed NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on whether or not the Space Launch System (SLS) will undergo a Green Run test and the need for Congress to have a cost estimate for the entire Artemis program, not just the first year. Bridenstine demurred on both questions while warning that any delay in receiving the funds requested for FY2020 would be “devastating” to the program.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission kicked into high gear today. It was exactly 50 years ago, at 9:32 am EDT, that Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins lifted off atop a Saturn V rocket from Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center, FL. Four days later, on July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on another world. The three men returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24. While heralding these historic events, NASA, the White House and Congress are looking to the future and getting astronauts on the lunar surface again and eventually to Mars.
SpaceX provided an update today on its investigation into the cause of the “anomaly” during a static fire test of its Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort system in April that destroyed the spacecraft. A leak allowed liquid oxidizer to enter high-pressure helium tubes during ground processing. Milliseconds before the eight SuperDraco engines were to be fired, a slug of the oxidizer was driven through a check valve, causing the valve to ignite and cause an explosion. The company still has work to do and could not project a revised schedule for the In-Flight Abort test, a prerequisite for launching astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).