Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: July 24-August 6, 2023

Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last two weeks, July 24-August 6, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.

What’s Happening in Space Policy August 6-12, 2023

August 6, 2023. Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of August 6-12, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess until September except for pro forma sessions.

Chandrayaan-3 Reaches Lunar Orbit, Landing Soon with Russia, Japan and U.S. Close Behind

August 5, 2023.  India’s Chandrayaan-3 reached lunar orbit today enroute to a landing in less than three weeks. It is the country’s second attempt to land on the Moon. The success rate for small lunar landers is quite poor so far, but hope is high the tide will turn. As many as five more lunar landers are planned for launch this year from Russia, Japan and the United States as interest in the Moon skyrockets.

Rogers Threatens Subpoena for USSPACECOM Documents

August 3, 2023.  The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is threatening to subpoena DOD officials unless they provide documents relating to the decision to locate U.S. Space Command in Colorado instead of Alabama. President Biden finally made the decision to keep it in Colorado on Monday to the dismay of Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and others in the Alabama congressional delegation.

Northrop Grumman Reassessing Government Fixed Price Contracts After Loss on HALO

August 2, 2023. Northrop Grumman is reconsidering when to sign fixed price contracts with the government after experiencing a $36 million loss on NASA’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost. Company head Kathy Warden told reporters she will be ensuring fixed price contracts are used for commercial and production programs with stable requirements in the future.

Boeing’s Mulholland Urges Vocal Advocacy for ISS Amid Budget Gloom

August 1, 2023.  Boeing Vice President John Mulholland is urging International Space Station researchers to get busy advocating for the ISS to guard against budget cuts while Congress faces difficult funding decisions. Although Boeing agrees that commercial space stations are the future, ISS will be needed until they are ready. Increased funding is required to pay for a deorbit space tug and to ensure robust science results, including upgrading the 12-year-old AMS-02 cosmic ray detector.

Biden Decides on USSPACECOM HQ – Colorado Not Alabama

July 31, 2023.  President Biden has finally made a decision about the permanent location of U.S. Space Command headquarters. The issue pitted Colorado against Alabama. Colorado won, overturning the decision by President Trump days before he left office to move it from Colorado Springs to Huntsville.

What’s Happening in Space Policy July 30-August 5, 2023

July 30, 2023. Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 30-August 5, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are on summer break except for pro forma sessions. The Senate returns on September 5, the House on September 12.

Congress Leaves for Summer Break With Long To-Do List When They Return

July 29, 2023.  The House and Senate left town Thursday, a day earlier than planned, eager to begin their summer break. The Senate is gone for five weeks, the House for six. While both succeeded in passing their FY2024 defense authorization bills and getting the defense appropriations bills through committee, they will return in September with a hefty to-do list before FY2024 begins on October 1.

NASA and DARPA Pick Lockheed Martin and BWXT for DRACO

July 26, 2023. NASA and DARPA announced today that Lockheed Martin and BWXT will build a nuclear thermal propulsion demonstration vehicle called DRACO. NASA and DARPA joined forces earlier this year to develop a prototype NTP system that both NASA and DOD expect to revolutionize space propulsion.

Starliner Delay Costs Boeing Another $257 Million

July 26, 2023. Boeing reported today that continued delays to the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew program have cost the company another $257 million. Boeing is building Starliner under a fixed price contract so must absorb cost increases that had already reached almost $900 million and there is no clarity on when it might actually make its first launch with a crew aboard.

House Defeats Bill Over Concerns About FCC Space Safety and Debris Authority

July 25, 2023. The House defeated legislation today that critics said would have given the Federal Communications Commission “unprecedented authority” over space safety and space debris in a jurisdictional dispute between two House committees. The underlying bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee focused on streamlining the FCC’s satellite spectrum licensing process, but the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee persuasively argued the space safety and debris provision would harm the commercial space industry.

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

July 24, 2023. Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, July 17-23, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.