Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: April 17-23, 2023

Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com during the week of April 17-23, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on the titles to read the entire articles.

What’s Happening in Space Policy April 23-29, 2023

April 23, 2023.  Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of April 23-29, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

FAA Monitoring SpaceX’s Clean-Up After Starship Launch

April 21, 2023. Videos of the explosion of SpaceX’s Starship rocket over the Gulf of Mexico captured everyone’s attention yesterday, but today the focus is more on what happened to those billowing clouds of dust and debris that erupted from the launch pad four minutes earlier. Local residents are dealing with a layer of dust-like material. The FAA said there have been no reports of public damage or injuries, but it will ensure SpaceX complies with regulations developed through environmental reviews prior to launch.

NASA Wins Accolades From House Appropriators Worried About Space Race with China

April 20, 2023. House Republican leadership may be proposing dramatic funding cuts for agencies like NASA, but the Republicans — and Democrats — on NASA’s appropriations subcommittee seem much more concerned about staying ahead of China. At a hearing on NASA’s FY2024 budget request, the praise for NASA and the agency’s Administrator, Bill Nelson, could not have been more glowing. What it all means for how much money NASA ultimately gets will be interesting to watch.

Starship Lifts Off, But Ends in a RUD

April 20, 2023.  SpaceX’s Starship rocket left the launch pad this morning, but ended in a fireball a few minutes later when the first and second stages failed to separate. The combination exploded — what is humorously referred to as a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly or RUD. Nevertheless, SpaceX cheered the milestones they did achieve — getting off the launch pad and through a critical point called maximum dynamic pressure or Max Q. The FAA says it will oversee the investigation into what went wrong and determine when Starship can return to flight from a public safety perspective.

Mars Sample Return in Financial Bind Already

April 18, 2023.  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told a congressional subcommittee today that he learned just two weeks ago that the Mars Sample Return mission needs an additional $250 million in this current fiscal year, FY 2023, and another $250 million on top of what is requested for FY2024, to stay on track for launch later this decade. Senators queried Nelson about cuts they are seeing to other NASA science projects to pay for MSR.

No-Go For First Launch of Starship

April 17, 2023. SpaceX scrubbed the first launch of the Starship/Super Heavy rocket today because of a pressurization issue on the first stage. Elon Musk tweeted they will try again “in a few days.” Another SpaceX official said it is a minimum 48-hour turnaround.

Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: April 10-16, 2023

April 17, 2023.  Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com during the week of April 10-16, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on the titles to read the entire articles.