Today the Chief of Space Operations spelled out the consequences if the U.S. Space Force is kept at its FY2021 funding level under a Continuing Resolution that lasts for all of FY2022. Gen. Jay Raymond’s frank remarks to House appropriators today left no doubt that the country’s newest military service would be particularly hard hit, including restricting the number of space launches to three instead of five.
On the 15th anniversary of the Chinese antisatellite test that cluttered Earth orbit with debris, a group of national security space experts is proposing that the United States unilaterally declare a moratorium on such testing. Narrowly tailored to limit only debris-generating kinetic-energy tests against space objects, the goal is to ensure the sustainability of Earth orbit, not arms control in space.
NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel told NASA today that the agency is at an inflection point in its management of human spaceflight programs as it relies more and more heavily on partnerships with the commercial sector. NASA urgently must strategically define its future role and articulate a vision and principles to guide it for at least the next 20 years.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 9-15, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Exactly two weeks after launch, deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope was completed today as the last wing of the 18-segment mirror swung into place. Several steps remain in the commissioning process before scientifically-usable data are obtained, but the telescope unfolded into its operational configuration with impressive precision.
The head of Russia’s space agency tweeted today that the situation at the Baikonur Cosmodome is calm despite the political turmoil in Kazakhstan. Russia pays Kazakhstan for use of the cosmodrome, built when the country was part of the Soviet Union.
The “29 Days on the Edge” of the deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope are merrily marching along as the sunshield’s last two layers successfully tightened today. Only minor hiccups have occurred since launch on December 25 and the end is in sight. Granted, critical steps remain and it is no time to become complacent, but the telescope’s unfolding is proceeding remarkably smoothly.
After a short break for the team in charge of unfolding the James Webb Space Telescope, work began today on tensioning the sunshield that will protect the sensitive instruments from the heat and light of the Sun. By evening, three of the five layers were successfully in place, an “awesome” achievement.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 2-8, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House returns for legislative business next week and will meet only in pro forma sessions this week.
NASA announced today that the Biden Administratoon is committed to operating the International Space Station through 2030, a six-year extension. The sudden statement comes one day after a tense conversation where Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told President Joe Biden that any more U.S.-imposed sanctions could result in a “complete rupture” in relations. Russia is a major partner in the ISS.