What's Happening in Space Policy April 26-May 2, 2015
This week’s space policy related events begin today (Sunday) with many more coming up for the week of April 26-May 2, 2015. The House and Senate are in session.
During the Week
It’s another busy week in the space policy business that begins today and runs all the way through Saturday.
Tonight (Sunday), the CBS 60 Minutes program will air a segment on Air Force Space Command and threats posed to U.S. satellites. In a preview on the CBS website, Gen. Hyten, commander of Air Force Space Command, is asked if we will defend our satellites by force if necessary and he replies “That’s why we have a military. I’m not NASA.”
Hyten will have a different kind of appearance later in the week (Wednesday) when he and Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James testify to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee about the FY2016 budget request for military space programs. They will be joined by GAO’s Cristina Chaplain. That same day the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) will be marking up its version of the FY2016
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including recommendations on the military space program that were adopted by the HASC Strategic Forces
subcommittee last week.
Full committee markup is typically a lengthy affair with many
amendments debated. Check back here for a recap of any related to the
space program.
Speaking of NASA, Dava Newman’s nomination to be NASA Deputy Administrator is scheduled for debate and (hopefully) passage by the Senate on Monday beginning at 5:00 pm ET. The agreement between the parties is for 30 minutes of debate divided equally, so if all time is used, the vote would be at 5:30 pm ET. Later in the week (Thursday) and across the Hill, the House Science, Space, and Technology (SS&T) committee will markup a new NASA authorization bill. This one (no bill number yet) covers 2016 and 2017. The House already passed a bill for 2015, so together they would provide a three-year authorization for the agency. The Senate has not acted on a new NASA authorization bill, but indications are that they plan to do so, although the timing is not clear. NASA’s most recent authorization act covered only through FY2013.
Meanwhile, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation will learn how its FY2016 budget request fares in the House Appropriations subcommittee that provides its funding. The Transportation-HUD (T-HUD) subcommittee markup is on Wednesday morning.
Many more events are on tap, including one that is just plain fun. If you’re in the Washington, DC area on Saturday, you and your family can enjoy Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum downtown. This year it commemorates 50 years of spacewalks. Astronauts will be on hand to give talks and there are kid-friendly activities planned.
All the events we know about as of Sunday morning are listed below.
Sunday, April 26
- CBS 60 Minutes Segment on Air Force Space Command and Threats to US Satellites, check local listings for time (nominally 7:00 pm Eastern/Pacific)
Monday, April 27
- MSBR Luncheon Featuring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Univ. of Maryland Conference Center, Hyattsville, MD, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm ET
- Senate Vote on Dava Newman’s Nomination to be NASA Deputy Administrator, U.S. Senate (watch on C-SPAN), debate expected to begin at 5:00 pm ET, vote ~ 5:30 pm ET
Monday-Friday, April 27 – May 1
- NOAA Satellite Conference, Greenbelt Marriott, Greenbelt, MD
Tuesday-Thursday, April 28-30
- 43rd Space Congress, Cape Canaveral, FL
Wednesday, April 29
- House Appropriations T-HUD Subcommittee FY2016 Markup (incl FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation), 2358-A Rayburn, 9:30 am ET
- HASC Full Cmte Markup FY2016 National Defense Auth Act, 2118 Rayburn, 10:00 am ET
- SASC Sbcmte Hrg on Military Space Programs in FY2016 Budget Request, 222 Russell, 2:30 pm ET
Thursday, April 30
- House SS&T Cmte Markup 2016-2017 NASA Authorization Act, 2318 Rayburn, 11:00 am ET
- WSBR Luncheon Featuring Maj. Gen. Roger Teague, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm ET
Thursday-Saturday, April 30 – May 2
- Space Access 2015, Radisson Hotel Phoenix North, Phoenix, AZ
Friday, May 1
- Extreme Precipitation Google+ Hangout (AAS/AMS), virtual, 12:30 pm ET
Saturday, May 2
- Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Featuring 50 Years of Spacewalks, NASM, 600 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm (family day)
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