Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: September 11-24, 2023

Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: September 11-24, 2023

Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last two weeks, September 11-24, 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 September 24-30, 2023

September 24, 2023.  Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 24-30, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate will be in session beginning Tuesday as the clock ticks down to the end of FY2023.

Bonanza of Asteroid Riches Lands in Utah

September 24, 2023.  Seven years after it left Earth, a capsule landed in Utah today delivering the biggest bonanza of pristine asteroid material in the history of the space program. The approximately 250 grams of regolith from the asteroid Bennu took more than two years to make the trip home where scientists are eagerly awaiting the moment when they get to see exactly what’s inside.

Mars Sample Return Scientifically Critical, But Eye-Poppingly Expensive

September 21, 2023.  An Independent Review Board assessing the status of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return mission has concluded that although the mission has tremendous scientific value, it is poorly managed and designed with unrealistic budget and schedule expectations. The program has a “near zero” probability of meeting the existing launch readiness dates and would cost $8-9.6 billion, requiring more than $1 billion per year for at least three years beginning in FY2025. On the good news front, the IRB suggests alternatives that would still achieve the end result, but later in the 2030s and they may cost more.

Rubio Hits 365-Day Mark, Eager to Get Home

September 21, 2023.  Today Frank Rubio becomes the first U.S. astronaut to spend one year in space. Others have come close, but the 365-day mark has been met by only four other humans until now, all Russians. Two more Russians are joining the list along with Rubio, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. The trio arrived on Soyuz MS-22 last year and had to stay an extra six months after that spacecraft suffered a technical failure and had to be replaced, with a resulting change to the crew rotation schedule.

FAA Proposes Upper Stage Disposal Rule to Limit Space Debris

September 20, 2023.  The FAA is proposing a new rule requiring commercial space companies to dispose of their rocket upper stages to limit the creation of more space debris. Five disposal methods are allowed: a controlled or uncontrolled deorbit within certain time limits, putting the stage into a less congested orbit or sending it into an Earth-escape orbit, or retrieving it. A 90-day public comment period will begin once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.

What’s Happening in Space Policy September 17-24, 2023

September 17, 2023. Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of September 17-24, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

New Soyuz Crew Arrives at ISS — Six Months Later Than Planned

September 17, 2023.  A new Russian-American crew has arrived on the International Space Station as part of a rather unusual crew rotation. The three people aboard Soyuz MS-24 were supposed to launch six months ago on Soyuz MS-23, but that spacecraft had to be launched empty because of a technical problem with Soyuz MS-22 already docked at ISS. They are finally aboard, but unlike most crews that arrive and leave together, this time the American will return as usual after six months, but the two Russians will stay for a year.

Germany Joins Artemis Accords

September 14, 2023.  Germany became the 29th country to sign the U.S.-led Artemis Accords today. The Accords set non-binding governance principles for operations on the Moon. The heads of NASA and Germany’s space agency heralded the event as furthering international space cooperation and opening opportunities for industry as well as science.

NASA Wants UFO Discussion to “Shift from Sensationalism to Science”

September 14, 2023.  NASA released the report of its year-long analysis of unclassified data about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, today. Government interest in UAPs has skyrocketed in recent years after reports by a several military pilots of sightings they cannot explain. The government is less concerned about extraterrestrial aliens than adversaries fielding advanced technologies that might threaten national defense. NASA wants to “shift from sensationalism to science” and appointed a director to continue NASA’s open and transparent UAP research.

NASA’s “Severely Underfunded” Biological and Physical Sciences Program Needs Tenfold Increase

September 12, 2023. Grand plans for long-term human exploration of space require extensive research into how humans adapt to the space environment and that means increased funding for biological and physical sciences research at NASA. That is the bottom line of a new Decadal Survey released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today recommending priorities for the next 10 years of biological and physical research. The “severely underfunded” program needs a tenfold infusion of money if national goals are to be met and U.S. leadership maintained.

Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: September 4-10, 2023

September 11, 2023.  Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com last week, September 4-10, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.

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