What’s Happening in Space Policy January 7-14, 2024
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of January 7-14, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
UAE Will Build Airlock for Artemis Gateway Lunar Space Station
NASA announced this morning that the United Arab Emirates is joining the Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the Moon. The UAE will provide an airlock for the Gateway space station that will orbit the Moon. NASA once hoped Russia would provide the airlock as part of a continuation of the multilateral partnership that built and operates the International Space Station, but not after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now the UAE has stepped up in another expansion of its evolving space program. Sending a UAE astronaut to Gateway is part of the agreement.
Last Updated: Jan 07, 2024 11:55 am ET
Biden Administration to Consult with Navajo About Human Remains on the Moon
NASA said today the Biden Administration will consult with the Navajo Nation about its concerns that human remains are being placed on the Moon on landers developed through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The Moon is sacred to the Navajo and putting human remains there is a sacrilege to them. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is a commercial mission, however, and NASA has no control over non-NASA payloads that are aboard. The chairman of the company sending the remains, Celestis, insists it is a service of celebration, not desecration.
Last Updated: Jan 05, 2024 10:04 pm ET
Bumpy Road Ahead for the Remainder of the 118th Congress
The second session of the 118th Congress officially began today at noon although both chambers met only in pro forma sessions. They return for legislative business next week with an intense workload. Congress kicked the can down the road on almost everything, most notably appropriations. Election years like this are not known for productive legislating as members focus on campaigning. Add to that the slim majorities in the House and Senate and Republican in-fighting in the House, the outlook is not very promising.
Last Updated: Jan 03, 2024 11:53 pm ET
What’s Happening in Space Policy December 31, 2023-January 8, 2024
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next week plus two days, December 31, 2023-January 8, 2024, and any insight we can offer about them. Except for pro forma sessions, the Senate and House are in recess until January 8 and January 9 respectively.
Last Updated: Jan 12, 2024 10:54 pm ET
DOD’s X-37B Spaceplane Flies Again
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched DOD’s X-37B spaceplane into orbit this evening. Two reusable Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles exist and this is the seventh flight for the program. Little is known about what these super-secret missions do while they are in space other than demonstrating very long flight durations. Each flight has broken the previous record, which currently stands at 908 days. X-37B looks like a small Space Shuttle, but does not carry people like NASA’s Space Shuttle did in the past.
Last Updated: Aug 23, 2025 3:57 pm ET
What’s Happening in Space Policy December 24, 2023-January 7, 2024
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks plus a day and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.
Last Updated: Dec 27, 2023 3:07 pm ET
International Partnerships, Mission Authorization, Export Control Reform Highlight Space Council Meeting
Today’s third meeting of the Biden-Harris National Space Council was quick, lasting just over an hour. International partnerships were one focus of the gathering and the highlight was the opening speech by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, a member of the Artemis II crew. The White House’s proposals for regulating novel space activities — mission authorization — and export control reform were other key issues. …
Last Updated: Dec 21, 2023 12:21 am ET
Harris to Announce International Lunar Astronaut, Mission Authorization Framework At Space Council Meeting
Vice President Kamala Harris will lead a meeting of the National Space Council this afternoon that includes representatives of all 33 countries that have signed the Artemis Accords. Among other things, she will announce that an international astronaut will land on the Moon alongside American astronauts by the end of the decade. She also will release a policy framework on mission authorization as a companion to proposed legislation sent to Congress last month.
Last Updated: Dec 20, 2023 12:24 pm ET
Senate Approves Whiting, Guetlein Promotions, Extends FAA “Learning Period”
The Senate tonight approved two critical national security space nominations after months of delay while Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) blocked military promotions. Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting and Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein each were promoted to General. Whiting will be the new commander of U.S. Space Command. Guetlein will be Vice Chief of Space Operations. The Senate also passed a short extension to the FAA’s “learning period” for commercial human spaceflight as it gets ready to adjourn for the year.