Today NASA released a report outlining its plans for sustainable lunar exploration and development and how it relates to the longer term goal of sending humans to Mars. The 13-page report to the White House National Space Council lacks specifics, but helps to connect the dots between the near-, mid- and long-term goals of the human spaceflight program.
NASA’s “worm” logo is back. Created in the 1970s and banned in the 1990s, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine revealed today that it will adorn the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that restores America’s ability to launch astronauts from American soil. The decision came as a surprise to the NASA community.
More than 12,000 people have applied to become NASA astronauts as the agency announces two new crew members for the first operational SpaceX Crew Dragon mission. NASA is projecting a business-as-usual image as it, the country, and the world deal with the coronavirus pandemic, offering a glimmer of optimism against the bleak landscape.
Gen. Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations, told reporters last week that establishing the U.S. Space Force is moving forward at “full speed” despite the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed, the Secretary of the Air Force has now announced 23 Air Force organizations whose space-related missions will transfer to the Space Force in the next three to six months.
Two organizations issued reports today that update earlier assessments of threats to U.S. space assets from other countries. One also illuminates what the United States itself is doing in developing counterspace systems. This is the third year that the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Secure World Foundation (SWF) have timed the release of their separate reports to coincide, providing a broad view of what can be discerned from non-classified sources about space security. …
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks, March 29-April 11, 2020 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in recess, except for pro forma sessions, until April 20. The House is in recess, except for pro forma sessions, also until at least April 20. …
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for March 26, 2020: successful first launch for U.S. Space Force, COVID-19 and Europe’s space program, Al Worden passes away. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
NASA is looking at ways to “vector” its expertise to assist in the fight to end the coronavirus pandemic. Ideas include assisting companies building ventilators, making masks and other clean-room equipment available to the medical community, and creating a “NASA at Work” challenge where anyone in the agency can offer ideas on where NASA can help. Meanwhile, the Senate passed its stimulus package just before midnight. It includes $60 million for NASA.
A parachute test for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon went awry today. While it was not a failure of the parachute itself, it could impact the schedule for the crewed flight test to the International Space Station, Demo-2, that the company and NASA hope to launch in May. It follows an engine failure on the most recent Falcon 9 launch that is under investigation.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is difficult to overstate. These are unprecedented times and the uncertainty can be demoralizing. Against this backdrop, NASA is trying to move forward with its programs to explore the universe and understand the Earth mostly via telework, and with perseverance — the name aptly chosen for NASA’s latest Mars rover a few weeks ago. The situation keeps changing, but here is a snapshot of where everything stands as of late evening March 23.