Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: June 26-July 2, 2023

Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com during the week of June 26-July 2, 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 July 2-15, 2023

July 2, 2023.  Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks, July 2-14, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess this coming week, returning the week of July 10.

ESA’s Euclid On Its Way to Study the “Dark Universe”

July 1, 2023.  ESA’s Euclid spacecraft is on its way to the L2 Lagrange point where it will spend six years collecting data to help scientists understand the nature of dark energy and dark matter — what some call the Dark Universe. Between them, they make up 95 percent of the universe, but scientists do not know any more than that and hope data from Euclid, NASA’s upcoming Roman Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes will provide some answers.

Virgin Galactic Scores Success With First Commercial Spaceflight

June 29, 2023.  Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic finally launched its first commercial SpaceShipTwo flight today. Galactic-01 took four Italians and two Americans across the threshold between air and space for a few minutes of weightlessness. Three of the Italians were mission specialists conducting microgravity experiments while the fourth was one of the pilots. The next commercial flight now is planned for August with monthly flights thereafter.

King Charles III Unveils Astra Carta at Space Sustainability Event

June 28, 2023. King Charles III unveiled his Astra Carta seal at Buckingham Palace today to underscore his interest in space sustainability. Astronauts, aerospace executives, scientists and environmentalists were among the participants. The Astra Carta takes a broader view of space sustainability than only ensuring that Earth orbit remains usable for future generations, but also the role space plays in a sustainable future on the planet.

ULA’s Vulcan Upper Stage Needs Mods Before First Launch

June 27, 2023.  The first launch of the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket will be further delayed because the Centaur V upper stage needs modifications. ULA had targeted May 4 for that inaugural launch, but a Centaur V test failure at the end of March disrupted the plans. An investigation determined that a portion of the Centaur V structure needs to be reinforced. Another test will be needed to verify the changes. A new launch date has not been set.

Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: June 19-25, 2023

June 26, 2023.  Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com during the week of June 19-25, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.