A test countdown for the first launch of NASA’s Artemis I system is still on track for next month. NASA officials said today the vehicle will roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on March 17 for a full-up test prior to an uncrewed flight around the Moon. The actual Artemis I launch date is dependent on how well the test goes, but the long-awaited launch of the Saturn V-class rocket is getting closer.
Space cooperation continues to escape today’s geopolitical gravity, at least for now. U.S. officials confirm ISS operations remain safe and secure and the training of U.S. astronauts in Russia and Russian cosmonauts in the United States continues. An ESA representative says members of the ExoMars team are on track to travel to Kazakhstan next month to begin integrating the Mars-bound spacecraft onto its rocket for a September launch.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of February 20-26, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess this week except for pro forma sessions.
The juxaposition between terrestrial geopolitics and space cooperation could not have been starker today with the launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with a Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station. The first stage of Antares is built largely in Ukraine and it has a Russian engine. Cygnus is built by U.S. and European companies. Like the ISS itself, this mission demonstrates that however countries are divided on Earth as Russia threatens to invade Ukraine and the U.S. and its European allies vow punishing sanctions, they are intertwined in space.
As Senators literally headed for the doors to board an airplane to take them to a high level conference in Germany, they passed a new Continuing Resolution to keep the government operating through March 11. The existing CR expires tomorrow.
In the wake of Eric Lander’s forced departure, President Biden today named an acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and an Acting Presidential Science Adviser. The latter carries Cabinet rank for the first time in history. Lander filled both positions, but for now they are split between the woman who had been OSTP Deputy Director and the recently retired Director of the National Institutes of Health.
NOAA issued a Request for Information today seeking input from industry on data products, services and capabilities to support its Open Architecture Data Repository to provide Space Situational Awareness for civil and commercial space operators. NOAA demonstrated a prototype version of the OADR last week and said it was about to reach out to further engage with the private sector.
Jared Isaacman, the wealthy entrepreneur who flew the Inspiration4 private astronaut mission last fall, is planning to fly again later this year in the first of as many as three more spaceflights. The goals for this next mission, Polaris Dawn, are more ambitious, including the first commercial spacewalk. He still plans to use these spaceflights as fundraising opportunities for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to underscore that human spaceflight and solving problems on Earth are not mutually exclusive. …
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of February 13-19, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House is having a “committee work week” where committees hold virtual hearings, but the House meets only in pro forma sessions.
NOAA’s effort to develop a space object data repository combining input from the government and commercial sources took a step forward today from pilot to prototype. Agency officials demonstrated this nascent version of an Open Architecture Data Repository for reporters. The goal is for the system to be fully operational in 2025.