WEEKLY ROUNDUP FOR SPACEPOLICYONLINE.COM: September 25-October 1, 2023

Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, September 25-October 1, 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 October 1-7, 2023

October 1, 2023. Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of October 1-7, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

Shutdown Averted, Government Funded Until November 17

September 30, 2023. In a dizzying day of developments, the House and Senate approved a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded at current FY2023 level until November 17, averting a shutdown at midnight tonight. The bill does not provide additional funding for Ukraine, a priority for many on both sides of the aisle, but a non-starter for ultra-conservative Republicans. But it also doesn’t impose draconian spending cuts as those ultra-conservatives wanted. The legislation also reauthorizes the FAA and continues a prohibition on new commercial human spaceflight regulations for three months.

Shutdown Showdown Coming to a Head

September 30, 2023. With only 12 hours remaining in FY2023, the question of whether the government will be fully open tomorrow remains up in the air.  Neither the House nor the Senate has passed a Continuing Resolution to provide temporary funding while work continues on the 12 regular appropriations bills. Two efforts in the House failed in recent days and the Senate is still deciding exactly what will be in their bill.

Rogers Demands Air Force IG Investigation of USSPACECOM HQ Decision

September 28, 2023. The long simmering feud between the Alabama and Colorado congressional delegations over the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters erupted again today at a House Armed Services Committee hearing. Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) bitterly condemned the process by which President Biden decided to keep it in Colorado instead of moving it to Alabama as promised by then-President Trump. Rogers wants another Inspector General investigation akin to the one the Colorado delegation demanded following the Trump decision two years ago.

FAA Closes Blue Origin NS-23 Investigation, Company Says Will Fly Again “Soon”

September 27, 2023. The FAA closed its investigation into Blue Origin’s New Shepard-23 launch failure today. The flight carried a variety of scientific payloads but no people when it lifted off just over a year ago. The capsule detached from the rocket as programmed after computers detected a problem and landed safely, but the rocket was destroyed. Blue Origin has not conducted any launches since then.

Frank Rubio Back on Terra Firma After Record-Setting 371-Day Spaceflight

September 27, 2023. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two Russian colleagues landed in Kazakhstan this morning after 371 days in space, a new record for a U.S. astronaut. The duration was a surprise. They were supposed to come home after six months, but the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft that took them to the International Space Station a year ago lost all its coolant and was deemed unsafe to bring them back. A replacement spacecraft, Soyuz MS-23, was sent up for today’s return, causing a change in the crew rotation schedule and a one-year mission for the trio.

Charity Weeden is NASA’s New Space Policy Chief

September 25, 2023. NASA announced today that Charity Weeden is the new Associate Administrator for the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy. Weeden is well known in Washington space policy circles, most recently as the head of policy and government relations for Astroscale.

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

September 25, 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.