What's Happening in Space Policy July 28-August 1, 2014 – UPDATED

Here is our list of upcoming events for the week of July 28-August 1, 2014 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate will be in session this week.

During the Week

The House and Senate do not currently have any space policy-related hearings or actions on their public agendas during this last week of legislative work before their August recess.  The “August” recess actually extends until September 8, so it’s a full five weeks.   Despite early rumors last week that they would take up a FY2015 Continuing Resolution (CR) before the break, House Speaker John Boehner made it absolutely clear on Thursday that he would not bring a CR to the House floor until they return in September.  He said the CR would last until early December.  

The memories of last year’s 16-day government shutdown have not faded and a lot of people are hoping the same scenario does not play out again.  Many politicians are saying they don’t want a shutdown, but whether they will feel the same way after five weeks with their constituents is the big question.  Analysts of last year’s shutdown argue that one factor that fueled it was constituent angst — primarily over Obamacare — directed at their representatives during the August break. (A lot of people blame Congress for not working hard enough and point to the number of days they are in session in Washington.   It is important to remember that most of the time they are not in Washington, they are still working, just back in their districts.  The August “recess” doesn’t mean they are on vacation for five weeks.  Indeed, in this election year, they will be interacting with the people whose votes they need and listening carefully to their concerns.)

In any case, for space policy aficionados, most of the action will be in Cleveland, OH with the AIAA’s Propulsion and Energy 2014 Conference, or Hampton, VA at NASA’s Langely Research Center where the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) and its committees are meeting.  All of the NAC meetings are available via WebEx and telecom.  Instructions are provided in the individual entries on our calendar. 

In Washington, NASA’s Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) meets Tuesday-Thursday (available via WebEx/telecom).  Also on Thursday, American University (AU) and Explore Mars Inc. are holding an interesting panel discussion at AU on “Is It Time To Search for Life on Mars?”  Thought we were already searching for life on Mars?   Go to the panel and find out why they titled their event as they did.  They’ve got a great lineup of speakers — and a reception afterwards.  It appears as though it will be webcast (there’s a Ustream link on the event’s website).

Here’s the list of events we know about as of Sunday afternoon.

Monday-Tuesday, July 28-29, 2014

• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), Hampton, VA
• NAC Human Exploration and Operations Committee, LaRC, Hampton, VA
• NAC Technology, Innovation and Engineering Committee, LaRC, Hampton, VA

Monday-Wednesday, July 28-30, 2014

• AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2014 Conference (including the Joint Propulsion Conference), Cleveland, OH

Tuesday, July 29

• NAC Aeronautics Committee, LaRC, Hampton, VA, 8:00 am – 2:45 pm ET
• NAC Institutional Committee, LaRC, Hampton, VA, 8:00 am – 3:00 pm ET

Tuesday-Wednesday, July 29-30   

• NOAA Science Advisory Board, David Skaggs Research Center, Boulder, CO

Tuesday-Thursday, July 29-31

• NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG), Washington Marriott at Metro Center Hotel, Washington, DC

Wednesday-Thursday, July 30-31

• NASA Advisory Council, LaRC, Hampton, VA

Thursday, July 31

•  Is It Time to Search for Life on Mars?(American University/Explore Mars Inc.), American University, Ward 2 conference room, Washington, DC, 5:00 pm ET

 

Correction:  An earlier version of this article had incorrect dates for the meeting of the NAC Human Exploration and Operations Committee.  The correct dates are July 28-29 (not July 29-30).