What’s Happening in Space Policy July 23-29, 2023
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 23-29, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Pew Poll: Americans Want Space Program to Focus on Asteroids and Climate More Than Human Spaceflight
The latest poll from the Pew Research Center once again found that by a wide margin Americans want the space program to focus more on the threat from asteroids and understanding Earth’s climate than sending humans to the Moon or Mars. The results are consistent with a 2018 poll that also placed monitoring asteroids and climate at the top of the priority list.
Last Updated: Jul 21, 2023 8:21 am ET
Space Force To Add Third NSSL Lane 2 Provider, But Limited to 7 Launches
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command is modifying its procurement of future National Security Space Launch providers. Now three instead of two companies will be able to win contracts to launch the most expensive, most critical satellites. However, the third company will be limited to just seven launches over the 5-year procurement period.
Last Updated: Jul 19, 2023 10:58 pm ET
NASA-Marshall Center Director Jody Singer to Retire
Jody Singer, Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, announced her retirement today. Appointed in 2018, she is the first woman to lead the Huntsville, AL-based center where NASA’s most capable space transportation systems — from Saturn to the Space Shuttle to the Space Launch System — were developed. NASA will conduct a nationwide search for her successor.
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Last Updated: Jul 17, 2023 3:05 pm ET
Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: July 3-16, 2023
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com from July 3-16, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Last Updated: Jul 17, 2023 10:42 am ET
What’s Happening in Space Policy July 16-22, 2023
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 16-22, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session.
Last Updated: Jul 17, 2023 9:46 am ET
India’s Second Lunar Lander on Its Way
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s second lunar lander, Chandrayaan-3, is on its way to the Moon. ISRO is hoping for a better outcome than four years ago when they lost contact with the Chandrayaan-2 lander just before it reached the surface.
Last Updated: Aug 05, 2023 2:04 pm ET
ULA’s Vulcan to Launch By End of This Year
Tory Bruno, president and CEO of the United Launch Alliance, said today that the Vulcan rocket will be ready to launch by the end of the year. The root cause of a test failure of the Centaur V upper stage has been identified and fixes are underway. A launch date has not been set in part because one of the payloads is a lunar lander that can only be launched on certain days each month.
Last Updated: Jul 14, 2023 12:13 am ET
House and Senate Appropriators Keep NASA Basically at FY2023 Levels
House and Senate appropriators are moving forward with their FY2024 NASA funding bills. The Senate Appropriations committee approved the Commerce-Justice-Science bill today and the House will mark up their bill at subcommittee level tomorrow. In keeping with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, their totals are about the same as NASA’s current spending level, far less than President Biden’s request. While these are just steps in a lengthy process, they signal the difficult choices that lie ahead.
Last Updated: Jul 14, 2023 10:31 am ET
FCC Nominees Win Committee Approval
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved the nominations of three FCC commissioners and the agency’s Inspector General today. The next stop is a confirmation vote by the full Senate, but opposition voiced by some committee members suggests it will not be clear sailing.