Events of Interest: Week of June 13-17, 2011

The following events may of interest in the week ahead. For more information, see our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. Times and dates for congressional activities are subject to change; check the relevant committee’s website for up to date information.

During the Week

The House and Senate are both in session this week. Both will work on funding for the Department of Defense (DOD). The full House Appropriations Committee will markup the FY2012 Defense Appropriations bill on Tuesday. The Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the FY2012 DOD budget request on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on the authorization front, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) subcommittees and then the full commitee will markup their version of the National Defense Authorization Act during the week. The meeting of the Strategic Forces subcommittee (where most space programs are handled) and the full commitee are closed, so are not listed below, but for those who are interested, that subcommittee markup is on Tuesday at 10:30 am and full committee markup is Wednesday-Thursday, with Friday as an “if needed” date. The House passed the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act in May, but the Senate version is expected to be quite different.

Monday-Wednesday, June 13-15

• National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Evaluation of Space Radiation Cancer Risk Model, Keck Center, Washington, DC

Tuesday, June 14

• Alliance for Earth Observation Forum on Earth Observations V: Creating a National Strategy for Environmental Intelligence, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington DC, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm EDT
• House Appropriations Committee markup of FY2012 defense appropriations bill, 2359 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am EDT

Tuesday-Thursday, June 14-16

• NRC Heliophysics Decadal Survey Steering Committee, Boulder, CO
• NRC Committee on Planetary Protection Standards for Icy Bodies in the Outer Solar System, Irvine, CA

Wednesday, June 15

• Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on FY2012 DOD Budget Request, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 10:30 am EDT
• NASA press conference on black holes, NASA Auditorium, Washington DC, 1:00 pm EDT (watch on NASA TV)

Thursday, June 16

• NASA press conference on images of Mercury from MESSENGER, NASA auditorium, Washington, DC, 1:00 pm EDT (watch on NASA TV)
• Secure World Foundation panel discussion on First Year of the Obama National Space Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT

Thursday-Friday, June 16-17

• Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Lisbon, Portugal