Two separate news stories out of NASA have a common theme — asteroids. One set of scientists released findings from analysis of samples from the asteroid Bennu returned by the OSIRIS-REx mission, while another detected an asteroid, 2024 YR4, that has a tiny chance of colliding with Earth eight years from now.
Posts on social media this evening by President Trump and Elon Musk are raising questions about whether changes are in the works for returning Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth — and presumably the other two members of Crew-9. The situation is unclear and this article will be updated as more information becomes available. [See update below.]
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 26-February 1, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House is in recess except for pro forma sessions.
NASA awarded study contracts to nine companies today for lunar surface mobility and logistics concepts to support the Artemis program. Three days into the second Trump Administration, questions are swirling about the future of Artemis and other NASA programs. The surprise decision to appoint Janet Petro instead of Jim Free as Acting Administrator and yesterday’s directive to immediately eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) jobs and offices at NASA and throughout the government are adding to the atmosphere of uncertainty.
In a move that surprised even NASA officials, the Trump Administration has named Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro to be Acting Administrator. Ordinarily the job goes to the top civil servant in the agency, Associate Administrator, currently held by Jim Free. Petro is the first woman to serve as Acting Administrator.
In his inaugural address today, President Donald Trump fully endorsed the goal of putting American astronauts on Mars. His interest in human Mars exploration is not new and he did not mention a timetable or whether the Moon will be a steppingstone, but incorporating it in his remarks today suggests it may have a high priority during the next four years.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 19-25, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
The FAA is requiring Blue Origin and SpaceX to perform mishap investigations for their separate launch-related anomalies yesterday. Blue Origin’s New Glenn-1 mission successfully reached orbit, but the first stage did not land on a barge in the Atlantic as planned. SpaceX’s Starship Integrated Flight Test-7 ended when the second stage, Starship, disintegrated over the Caribbean near Turks and Caicos Islands.
Troy Meink, an experienced national security space professional, is President-elect Trump’s choice to be the next Secretary of the Air Force. Currently Principal Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, which works closely with U.S. Space Force, Meink will be in charge of USSF once confirmed. USSF is part of the Department of the Air Force.
SpaceX succeeded in catching its huge Super Heavy booster back at the launch pad for the second time today, but the Starship second stage was lost. After investigating what happened, they concluded a fire developed in the aft end of the vehicle resulting in a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly, or RUD. SpaceX asserts the debris fell within the prescribed hazard area in the Caribbean and is asking anyone who finds debris not to handle it and contact them or local authorities.