Space Policy Events March 2-8, 2014 – UPDATE 2

UPDATE, March 3, 2014, 9:30 pm ET:  NASA has decided to hold its FY2015 budget briefing as a telecom rather than an event at Goddard Space Flight Center tomorrow (Tuesday) because of the weather.   It will be streamed on NASA’s news audio website.  Still at 2:00 pm ET.

UPDATE, MARCH 3, 2014:  Federal government offices in the Washington, DC area are, indeed, closed today, Monday, March 3.  However, the Space Studies Board’s (SSB’s) Space Science Week will go on according to a tweet from the SSB (@SSB_ASEB).   A limited number of WebEx connections are available to LISTEN to the plenary session this afternoon.  See the meeting agenda (link below) for instructions.

ORIGINAL STORY, MARCH 2, 2014: The following space policy events may be of interest in the week ahead, but be forewarned that Washington D.C. is forecast to get a MAJOR winter storm beginning tonight (Sunday) and lasting throughout the day Monday.  If the forecast holds, the government is very likely to be closed tomorrow with disruptions to government and non-government activities alike.  Be sure to check with the host organization before heading out to any Washington-area meetings on Monday and perhaps even Tuesday.   The House and Senate are scheduled to be in session, but no space-related hearings are scheduled Monday.

During the Week

This is it!  Budget week.   It’s a month late, but President Obama is scheduled to submit his FY2015 budget request to Congress on Tuesday.  Many agencies, including NASA, as well as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) typically hold press briefings the day the budget is released to explain the key issues they foresee.  NASA’s is scheduled at 2:00 pm ET Tuesday.  Curiously, it will be held at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center instead of NASA Headquarters.  It will be broadcast on NASA TV.  Some NASA center directors are holding their own briefings later in the afternoon.

The submittal of the budget kicks off budget season in Washington and all the congressional hearings that go with it.   Hearings on the Pentagon’s budget begin this week including a posture hearing on U.S. Strategic Command.

Apart from the budget, this week has other notable events, including the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board’s (SSB’s) Space Science Week.   Over three days (Monday-Wednesday), the SSB’s four standing committees — Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, Committee on Solar and Space Physics, Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space, and Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science — will meet separately as well as in a  particularly interesting plenary session tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.  For the first time, a public lecture on Tuesday night is also planned.  The meetings are at the National Academy of Sciences building on Constitution Avenue (NOT the Keck Center on 5th Street).   The plenary session on Monday includes a panel discussion with representatives from NASA and its counterparts in Japan, Europe and China.  Hopefully that event will be able to take place despite the ice and snow — be sure to check the SSB’s website for up to date information.   A limited number of listen-only WebEx connections will be available for this session and for Sara Seager’s public lecture on Tuesday night.  Instructions for how to listen in are on the agenda, which is posted on the SSB’s website. 

Also of great interest, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) will hold its annual Goddard Memorial Symposium Tuesday-Thursday at the Greenbelt Marriott in Greenbelt, MD near Goddard Space Flight Center (Tuesday is an evening reception; sessions are Wed-Thurs).  This perfectly-timed meeting includes talks by NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and the four NASA Mission Directorate Associate Administrators — Bill Gerstenmaier (Human Exploration and Operations), John Grunsfeld (Science), Jaiwon Shin (Aeronautics) and Mike Gazarik (Space Technology) — who should be able to shed more light on NASA’s FY2015 budget request as well as the status of ongoing activities.  Lots of other interesting speakers are scheduled for the two days as well. 

And last, but certainly not least, the annual “space prom” will be held Friday night — the National Space Club’s Goddard Dinner at the Washington Hilton (as usual).

Here’s the complete list of events that we know about as of Sunday morning.   As we said, for events scheduled in Washington, DC on Monday and Tuesday, check with the organization to see if they are still on track.  This storm is supposed to be whopper — lots of ice overnight and then 8-12 inches of snow on top of it falling throughout the day.

Sunday-Saturday, March 2-8

• IEEE Aerospace Conference (actually began yesterday), Big Sky, Montana

Monday-Wednesday, March 3-5

• Space Studies Board’s Space Science Week, National Academy of Sciences Building, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC
  FREE, BUT ADVANCE ONLINE REGISTRATION HIGHLY RECOMMENDED   
  • Monday-Wednesday, see agenda for meetings of the four separate committees (some sessions are closed)
  • Monday, plenary session, 1:00-6:00 pm ET
  • Tuesday, public lecture by Sara Seager, 6:30 pm ET (see Tuesday’s listing)

Tuesday, March 4

• Obama Administration Submits FY2015 Budget Request to Congress
  • NASA Administrator Bolden’s press briefing, CHANGED TO TELECOM BECAUSE OF WEATHER.  LISTEN AT NASA’S NEWSAUDIO WEBSITE. 2:00 pm ET
  • Some center directors will hold briefings later in the day.  KSC’s Bob Cabana’s will hold a telecom at 3:30 pm ET
• HASC Posture Hearing on U.S. Strategic Command (and Pacific Command), 2118 Rayburn, 10:00 am ET
• SSB Public Lecture by MIT’s Sara Seager on “Exoplanets and the Search for Alien Life,” National Academy of Sciences Building, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 6:30 pm ET (FREE, BUT ADVANCE ONLINE REGISTRATION HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

Tuesday-Thursday, March 4-6

• AAS Goddard Memorial Symposium, Greenbelt Marriott, Greenbelt, MD.  (March 4 is an evening reception; symposium sessions are March 5-6)

Wednesday, March 5

• SASC Hearing on FY2015 DOD Budget Request, 216 Hart, 9:30 am ET
• Senate Appropriations-Defense Subcommittee (SAC-D) Hearing on National Security Space Launch Programs,  192 Dirksen, 10:00 am ET

Thursday, March 6

• HASC Hearing on FY2015 DOD Budget Request, 2118 Rayburn, 10:00 am ET

Friday, March 7

• Mitchell Institute Mtg of Value of Space to the Warfighter:  PNT, Reserve Officers Association, One Constitution Ave., N.E., Washington, DC, 8:00-9:00 am ET
• National Space Club Goddard Dinner, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC, 6:30 pm ET