Space Policy Events for the Week of May 13-17, 2013
The following events may be of interest in the week ahead. The House and Senate are in session this week.
During the Week
Perhaps the most intriguing event this week is Thursday’s House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “Espionage Threats at Federal Laboratories: Balancing Scientific Cooperation While Protecting Critical Information.” No NASA witnesses are on the list, but it would be surprising if the agency is not a subject of discussion.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) made headlines earlier this year with allegations that a Chinese national, Bo Jiang, was stealing secrets from NASA’s Langely Research Center. Jiang was arrested, but later exonerated of a felony charge of lying to federal investigators. Wolf has raised concerns for some time about alleged improprieties regarding ITAR-controlled information at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Wolf chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA and works closely with House SS&T Committee chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) on this issue. They jointly sent a letter to the FBI and to the Department of Justice Inspector General about their concerns about NASA-Ames this spring (links to the letters are on Rep. Wolf’s website). Witnesses on Thursday are Chuck Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering (and President Emeritus of MIT); Larry Wortzel, chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (and former Asian Studies Center director at the Heritage Foundation); Michelle Van Cleave, Senior Research Fellow at George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute (she was the National Counterintelligence Executive in the George W. Bush Administration and once was a staffer on the House SS&T Committee); and David Major of the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies (a retired FBI agent, his company trains people in counterintelligence and related topics). Should be interesting!
Monday, May 13
- NASA Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Skylab, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 2:30 pm ET
- Soyuz TMA-07M Return with three ISS Crewmembers: undocking 7:08 pm ET; landing, 10:31 pm ET
Tuesday, May 14
- The Planetary Society luncheon on Future of Solar System Exploration, 2325 Rayburn House Office Building, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm ET
- ISU-DC Space Cafe Featuring NASA’s Dan Dumbacher, The Science Club, 1136 19th Street, N.W., Washington, DC, 7:00 pm ET
Tuesday-Wednesday, May 14-15
- FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC), National Housing Center, 1201 15th St., N.W., Washington, DC
Thursday, May 16
- Secure World Foundation Symposium on Legal and Policy Aspects of Space Cooperation Between Europe and the BRICS Countries, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Senate Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on Partnerships to Advance the Business of Space, 253 Russell Senate Office Building. 10:00 am ET
- Washington Space Business Roundtable Luncheon Featuring Conrad Lautenbacher, University Club, 1135 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
- NASA History Office Lunchtime Discussion Featuring Asif Siddiqi, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 12:00 noon ET
- House SS&T Subcommitee Hearing on Espionage Threats at Federal Labs, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, 2:00 pm ET
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