Events of Interest: Week of October 31-November 4, 2011
The following events may be of interest in the coming week. For more information, see our calendar or click the links below. The House and Senate both are in session this week.
During the Week
On Tuesday, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill, H.R. 2112, that combines three of the regular FY2012 appropriations bills: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS), and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD). It is referred to as a “minibus” appropriations measure because it has fewer than all 12 appropriations bills, which, when combined, is called an “omnibus.” The CJS bill includes NASA and NOAA; the T-HUD bill includes the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation. If the bill passes the Senate, it still must be considered by the House. The government is currently operating under a FY2012 CR that expires on November 18.
China will also be in the news this week. The Chinese have not officially announced a launch date for Shenzhou 8, but the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which has a payload aboard, said that the launch is scheduled for October 31 Central European Time (November 1 local time in China).
Whether or not that launch takes place this week, two House committees coincidentally have scheduled hearings on China-related issues. Though they may not necessarily directly involve space activities, they might be of interest to this readership. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) will hold two: “Efforts to Transfer America’s Leading Edge Science to China” on November 2, and “Congressional-Executive Commission on China: 2011 Annual Report” on November 3. Media reports last week stated that the Commission’s report asserts that China attempted to interfere with two U.S. satellites in 2007 and 2008. Separately, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on November 2 on the “China Democracy Promotion Act” to deny entry into the United States of certain members of the senior leadership of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and individuals who have committed humans right abuses there.
Monday-Tuesday, October 31-November 1
- NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee, NASA Headquarters, room 3H46
- Monday, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
- Tuesday, 8:30 am – 2:00 pm
Tuesday, November 1
- NAC Human Exploration and Operations Committee, NASA Headquarters, room 9H40, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
- NAC Information Technology Infrastructure Committee, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
- HASC hearing on Defense Industrial Base: Role of DOD, 2212 Rayburn, 3:00 pm (listed in National Journal’s Daybook, but not yet on the committee’s website)
- Women in Aerospace Awards Dinner, Ritz Carlton Pentagon City, Arlington, VA, 5:30 – 9:00 pm
Tuesday-Wednesday, November 1-2
- NAC Audit, Finance and Analysis Committee, NASA Headquarters, room 8D48
- Tuesday, 2:00 – 5:15 pm
- Wednesday, 9:00 – 9:55 am
Wednesday, November 2
- House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on American Science and China, 2172 Rayburn, 3:00 pm
Thursday, November 3
- Marshall Institute/Space Enterprise Council Seminar on Propulsion for the 21st Century, TechAmerica, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, North Building, Suite 600, Washington DC, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
- House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Congressional-Executive Commission on China: 2011 Annual Report, 2172 Rayburn, 10:00 am
- Mars Society and Planetary Society Capitol Hill Forum on NASA At A Turning Point, B-338 Rayburn, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
- Secure World Foundation Seminar on Russia’s Space Plans, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
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