Blue Origin took another step closer to launching people on suborbital trips to space today. For the first time, company employees performed a pre- and post-launch dress rehearsal of what passengers will experience on a New Shepard flight, though no one was aboard the rocket when it actually flew.
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for April 12, 2021: Happy Cosmonautics Day!, Blue Origin getting closer to launching people, Rep. Beyer anticipates space bipartisanship, Intelsat 10-02 gets a companion, Mike Gold moves to Redwire, a 30-year strategy for space from the Atlantic Council. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter @SpcPlcyOnline for live-tweeting of events and other up-to-the-minute news.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of April 11-17, 2021 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
NASA continues to plan for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make its first flight on Sunday, though the date still could change. All the tests conducted so far indicate everything is ready for the technology demonstration to begin, but there is one more test tonight and winds on Mars could also trigger a delay. [UPDATE, April 10: the first flight has been postponed to no earlier than April 14 due to a problem during a test Friday night.]
Three more crew members arrived aboard the International Space Station (ISS) today, raising the complement to 10. It is just a temporary boost until next week when three of the long-term residents return to Earth, but for a facility about the size of a five-room house, it might seem a bit crowded.
President Biden is requesting a 6.3 percent increase for NASA in FY2022 compared to the level appropriated by Congress for FY2021. The $24.7 billion request, $1.5 billion more than FY2021, includes increases for the Artemis program, space technology research and development, earth science research, and STEM education.
Gen. Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations and head of the U.S. Space Force, announced today that the second Space Force field command, Space Systems Command, will stand up this summer. It is essentially a rebranding of the former Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. No specific date was set for its establishment. That will wait until a commander is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), whose district surrounds NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, expects the House to vote on FY2022 appropriations bills beginning in June regardless of when President Biden sends his request to Congress. He anticipates continuing bipartisan support for Moon and Mars exploration, and increased oversight of the FAA’s human spaceflight regulations by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee after Congress deals with Biden’s infrastructure package.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of April 4-10, 2021 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.
NASA’s Inspector General estimates that the financial impact of COVID-19 on NASA programs could reach $3 billion. As of the end of FY2020, it was $1.6 billion, with the remainder a tentative estimate of impacts into the future. NASA stressed that the figures are not an assessment of the ability of any particular project to meet its milestones. Those are being determined on a case-by-case basis.