What's Happening in Space Policy July 20-25, 2014

This week’s list of upcoming space policy events starts with tonight — Sunday, July 20, the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.  At 10:39 pm EDT, NASA TV will replay footage of the historic moment of hatch opening and other events.  More commemorative Apollo 11 45th anniversary events are planned throughout the week, as listed below.

During the Week

Apollo 11 45th anniversary:   Commemorative events continue tomorrow (Monday) when the Operations and Checkout  building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) will be renamed in honor of Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, who passed away in 2012.  His Apollo 11 crewmates, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, will participate in the ceremony, along with Armstrong’s backup for the mission, Jim Lovell.   The event begins at 10:15 am EDT.  NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and KSC Director Bob Cabana — both former astronauts — also will be there, along with a live video hookup with the two NASA astronauts who are aboard the International Space Station (ISS) right now, Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman.  

On Thursday, July 24, the anniversary of Apollo 11’s return from the Moon, the House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) Committee will have a live video hookup with Swanson and Wiseman at 11:00 am EDT followed by an event that showcases ISS research and features a panel discussion with three leaders in the ISS research field (12:00-2:00 pm EDT).  Then, at 3:00 pm PACIFIC time (6:00 pm Eastern), NASA will hold a panel discussion at Comic-Con International in San Diego.  That features Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin, Jim Green, the head of NASA’s planetary science division, JPL’s Bobak Ferdowsi, best known as the “Mohawk guy” from the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, and astronaut Mike Fincke.  A media availability with the panel members follows the discussion.

Other Events:   On Wednesday, the Marshall Institute will hold a panel discussion on the national security launch industrial base.  Josh Hartman, who was one of the members of the “Mitchell panel” that recently reviewed options for dealing with the possibility that the supply of Russia’s RD-180 rocket engines for the Atlas V rocket could be disrupted, will talk about “issues and opportunities,” along with Scott Pace of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.  That’s from 9:00-10:30 am EDT at the Army Navy Club in Washington, DC. 

NASA’s Ames Research Center in California is the venue for the “Exploration Science Forum” from July 21-23, and NewSpace 2014, the annual conference of the Space Frontier Foundation, begins on July 24 in San Jose, CA.

Lots of other events are on tap, as listed below based on what we know as of Sunday afternoon, July 20.

Sunday, July 20

• Apollo 11 45th Anniversary Event:  NASA TV replays historic footage of Apollo 11 hatch opening on the 45th anniversary of that event, 10:39 pm EDT, along with other footage from that first human landing on the Moon

Monday, July 21

• Apollo 11 45th Anniversary Event: Renaming of Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and Checkout Building in honor of Neil Armstrong, NASA/KSC, 10:15 am EDT (watch on NASA TV)

Monday-Wednesday, July 21-23

• Exploration Science Forum, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Tuesday, July 22

• MSBR Luncheon Featuring APL’s Mike Rsychkewitsch, Martin’s Crosswinds, Greenbelt, MD, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm EDT

Wednesday, July 23

• National Security Space Launch and the Industrial Base (Marshall Institute),  Army-Navy Club, Farragut Square, Washington, DC, 9:00-10:30 am EDT

Wednesday-Thursday, July 23-24

• NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), Doubletree Hotel, Bethesda, MD

Thursday, July 24

• House SS&T Committee event with live video feed from the International Space Station, 2318 Rayburn, 11:00 am EDT
• House SS&T Committee event showcasing ISS research, including panel discussion with leaders in that field, 2325 Rayburn, 12:00-2:00 pm EDT
• NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT
• Apollo 11 45th Anniversary Event:  NASA Panel at Comic-Con International, San Diego, CA, 3:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (6:00 pm EDT)

Thursday-Saturday, July 24-26

• NewSpace 2014, San Jose, CA