SpaceX and the FAA are at odds over the next test of a Starship prototype at the company’s Boca Chica, TX facility. SpaceX was ready to do the test two days ago, but did not have the FAA’s permission. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to chastise the FAA’s commercial space launch office, but now a complex story has emerged about why the company is under increased scrutiny.
NASA will conduct a second Green Run test of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage and its four RS-25 engines after an earlier attempt aborted about one minute into the eight minute test. The second test will take place at the end of February, which almost certainly will delay the first launch of SLS, Artemis-1, into 2022. It most recently was scheduled for November 2021 after years of delays.
The top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Kay Granger, released the names of the Republican members of the 12 subcommittees today. The Democratic members were named by committee chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro earlier this week. Although all congressional committees have important roles to play, it is only appropriators who have discretionary money to spend and these highly coveted assignments are among the most powerful in Congress.
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for January 26, 2021: Axiom names private astronaut crew, new date for Starliner OFT-2, OSIRIS-REx to take another peek at Bennu, a tip for finding space policy documents from the Trump Administration. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
The entire Colorado delegation to the U.S. Congress sent a letter to President Biden today asking him to reconsider President Trump’s decision to locate the headquarters of U.S. Space Command in Alabama rather than Colorado. The surprising decision was announced in the final days of the Trump Administration.
The House Appropriations Committee officially announced its new subcommittee chairs today. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) will take over the gavel of the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee, which funds NASA, from José Serrano, who retired. Cartwright recently endorsed the Artemis program, but has been critical of the 2024 deadline in the past.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 24-30, 2021 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House will meet only in pro forma sessions.
Just hours after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States, NASA announced the arrival of three Biden appointees along with confirmation that Steve Jurczyk is now Acting Administrator. He succeeds Jim Bridenstine, who posted a heartfelt farewell video. But perhaps the biggest space news today is that Biden has a Moon rock in the Oval Office.
NASA said today that the early termination of the Space Launch System (SLS) hot fire test on Saturday was due to the conservative parameters imposed to prevent damage, not because of an underlying flaw. The test lasted only 67 seconds instead of 485. Officials said prior to the test that it needed to run for at least 250 seconds to get the data they needed. No decision has been made, but NASA is considering skipping a retest in order to maintain schedule, but such a decision would be quite controversial.
With only days left before the Trump Administration ends, the White House issued yet two more space policy-related documents. These are not from the National Space Council, though. One is a chapter in the annual report of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) advocating for public-private partnerships and property rights in space. The other is a research and development plan for orbital debris from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).