The head of NASA’s planetary science division is enthusiastically embracing most of the recommendations of the recent Decadal Survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Praising the study overall, Lori Glaze nevertheless pointed out that the amount of money needed to execute the program is a lot more than what’s in NASA’s current plan and there are a few recommendations with which NASA does not concur.

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The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission is back at Launch Complex-39B at Kennedy Space Center, FL. The “stack” made the four mile trip back to the launch pad overnight for what NASA hopes is the last time as it continues to target August 29 for launch. No person will be aboard the rocket this time, but it carries a full load of dreams and aspirations, and a few science and technology experiments as well.

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A Russian spacewalk at the International Space Station today was forced to end early when one of the spacesuits experienced a drop in battery voltage. Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was ordered to return to the safety of the airlock immediately although Russian and U.S. officials insist he was in no danger. It is too early to tell when Russian spacewalks will resume. U.S. spacewalks already are suspended due to problems with NASA’s spacesuits.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of August 14-20, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.

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Vice President Kamala Harris said today the National Space Council is going to focus on updating rules for the commercial space industry to ensure it remains a world leader. The next Council meeting will take place in September to begin developing a new rules framework to ensure the clarity and consistency needed to attract investors.

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President Biden signed the 2022 NASA Authorization Act into law this morning, the first such act in five years. Incorporated into the CHIPS and Science Act, the bipartisan legislation supports NASA’s full suite of programs in aeronautics, human spaceflight, science, and technology. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson later enthused the bill gives NASA everything it needs, except appropriations, and he’s optimistic about that.

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Northrop Grumman announced today it is teaming with Firefly Aerospace to build an entirely domestic version of the Antares rocket. Right now Antares uses Russian RD-181 engines. In the aftermath of U.S. sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said it would no longer sell rocket engines to U.S. companies. Today’s deal means Northrop Grumman can continue to launch cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, although it reportedly will use a few SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets in the interim.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of August 7-13, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate began its summer recess today, Sunday, August 7.  The House will return from its recess and meet briefly in legislative session on Friday.

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The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously today to open a new proceeding called Space Innovation to assess what it could and should be doing in regulating new areas of commercial space activity. A Notice of Inquiry on the nascent In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing industry is its first step, but there is more to come.

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The sixth and final Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite, SBIRS GEO-6, is in orbit today, 11 years after the first was launched. Coupled with SBIRS satellites in other orbits, the system allows the United States to detect and track missile launches and other thermal events anywhere in the world, a critical capability. The Space Force is already working on its successor, Next Generation Overhead Persistent InfraRed or Next-Gen OPIR, hopefully avoiding the cost overruns and schedule delays that plagued SBIRS over the past 26 years since its inception.

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