What's Happening in Space Policy July 13-18, 2014

Here is our list of space policy-related events for the upcoming week, July 13-18, 2014, and any insight we can offer about them.   The House and Senate will be in session.

During the Week

Hopefully this week will get off to a roaring start — literally — with the launch of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Orb-2 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).  Delayed a number of times, as of mid-afternoon today (Saturday) Orbital’s Antares rocket is scheduled to lift off from Wallops Island, VA at 12:52 pm ET tomorrow (Sunday, July 13) sending the Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS.  If the launch does, in fact, take place tomorrow, Cygnus should arrive at the ISS on Wednesday.  Follow us on Twitter @SpcPlcyOnline for up to date information on the launch.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will markup the FY2015 defense appropriations bill this week (subcommittee markup is on Tuesday, full committee on Thursday).  One of the more interesting space policy-related issues will be whether it allocates any funding for the Air Force to begin a program to develop an alternative to Russia’s RD-180 rocket engines.  The House version of the bill adds $220 million to do so even though the White House opposes the addition because it is “premature.”   The Senate Armed Services Committee recommended $100 million in FY2015 in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, but that bill has not passed the Senate yet.

U.S. dependence on Russian rocket engines is among the topics to be explored at a joint hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  The hearing on Options for Assuring Domestic Access to Space features witnesses from DOD, NASA, GAO and RAND, as well as the chair (retired AF Maj. Gen. Howard Mitchell) of a recent Air Force review of alternatives to the RD-180 and the very recently retired head of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion programs (Dan Dumbacher).  It’s somewhat interesting that NASA will be represented by Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot instead of Administrator Charlie Bolden, who would be closer in rank to the other agency witnesses:  Gen. William Shelton, Commander of Air Force Space Command, and Alan Estevez, Principle Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.  Lightfoot, however, is a former director of NASA’s rocket-building Marshall Space Flight Center so knows rockets inside and out.

Lots of other interesting events coming up this week.  The full list of events that we know of as of Saturday afternoon is shown below.

Sunday, July 13

• Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Launch of Orb-2 cargo mission to International Space Station (ISS), Wallops Island, VA, 12:52 pm EDT (5 minute launch window)  Follow us on Twitter @SpcPlcyOnline for the latest schedule information

Monday, July 14

• NASA panel on Search for Life Beyond Earth, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 2:00-3:30 pm EDT (watch on NASA TV)

Tuesday, July 15

• Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Markup FY2015 Defense Bill, 192 Dirksen, 10:00 am EDT
• The Lure of Europa (Planetary Society), 2318 Rayburn, 3:00 pm EDT

Wednesday, July 16

• Arrival of Orb-2 Cygnus spacecraft at ISS (assuming launch goes as scheduled on July 13), low Earth orbit, 6:37 am EDT
• Joint Senate Committee Hearing (Senate Commerce and SASC) on Launch Industry, 216 Hart, 9:30 am EDT
• NASA News Conference with Upcoming ISS Crew, NASA Johnson Space Center, 1:00 pm Central Daylight Time (2:00 pm EDT)
• American Astronautical Society 60th Anniversary Celebration, National Academy of Sciences building, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 6:00-9:00 pm EDT

Thursday, July 17

• Future Space 2014 (Future Space Leaders), 216 Hart, 8:00 am – 1:30 pm EDT  (NOTE THAT THE LOCATION HAS CHANGED FROM DIRKSEN TO HART)
• Senate Appropriations Full Committee Markup FY2015 Defense Bill, 106 Dirksen, 10:30 am EDT

Thursday-Friday, July 17-18

• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Heliophysics Subcommittee, virtual
  • July 17, 2:00-5:30 pm EDT
  • July 18, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm EDT