In the early hours this morning, the House finally elected Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker, allowing the chamber to get down to business. Until now, members could not be sworn in and the House could not adopt rules to organize for the 118th Congress. The change from Democratic to Republican control marks a return to divided government, with Democrats retaining the Senate and White House. Cutting non-defense government spending is a top priority for the House Republican majority, which could have a significant impact on NASA’s aspirations, as would gridlock.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next two weeks, January 1-14, 2023, and any insight we can offer about them. The House will be in session most of that time. The Senate plans to be in session only on January 3 to swear in Senators and adopt housekeeping resolutions, with the expectation they will reach agreement that January 23 will be the first day for bill introductions.

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As NASA and Roscosmos determine what to do about the Soyuz MS-22 situation, one potential option is using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance to bring all seven ISS crew members home. Crew Dragon actually is designed for seven people, but NASA needs only four seats so that is the number in Endurance right now. NASA is asking SpaceX what it would take to accommodate the three who arrived on Soyuz MS-22 as well.

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President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law today, finalizing funding for FY2023. The $1.7 trillion legislation funds the departments and agencies that execute space programs — NASA, NOAA, DOD, and the FAA — plus all the others in the discretionary part of the U.S. budget through September 30, 2023.

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A decision on whether Soyuz MS-22 is safe enough to transport crews or must be replaced by a new vehicle will wait until January according to Russia’s space agency. Earlier, Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov said a decision would be made by today.

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The House today joined the Senate in passing the $1.7 trillion FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations bill. This 4,155-page “omnibus” legislation combines all 12 regular appropriations bills that fund most government agencies, including those that execute space programs. The funding covers the rest of FY2023, through September 30, 2023. President Biden is expected to sign it soon.

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Russia’s space agency Roscosmos is still deciding whether the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is safe enough to bring three ISS crew members back to Earth in March. The spacecraft sprang a coolant leak last week and whether safe thermal conditions can be maintained is still being determined. Sergei Krikalev, head of Roscosmos’s human spaceflight program, said decisions are expected next week.

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The Senate passed the $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2023 this afternoon. The next stop is the House, which is expected to pass it tomorrow before the Continuing Resolution keeping the government open expires at midnight. While waiting for the deal to be made, the Senate also passed the ORBITS Act to address the problem of space debris.

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Two NASA astronauts were suited up and getting ready to begin a 7 hour spacewalk this morning when it was suddenly cancelled because a piece of space debris was closing in on the International Space Station. The spacewalk has been rescheduled for tomorrow, but the incident is another illustration of the growing problem of debris in low Earth orbit.

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The final version of the FY2023 defense appropriations bill will boost funding for the U.S. Space Force not only above FY2022, but over President Biden’s request — a new total of $26.3 billion. The defense appropriations bill is incorporated in the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations bill introduced in the early hours this morning and currently being considered by the Senate. The funding is a little higher than what was recommended in the National Defense Authorization Act last week.

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