What's Happening in Space Policy June 30 – July 18, 2014
This edition of “What’s Happening in Space Policy” covers THREE weeks rather than one since so many people — including Congress — are on vacation this coming week as the United States celebrates the July 4th (Independence Day) holiday and future activities have not yet been announced. Here is our list of events June 30 – July 18, 2014 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is scheduled to return for legislative business on July 7 and the House on July 8.
During the Weeks
There could be some particularly interesting launches in the next three weeks — or not.
Russia’s launch of its new Angara rocket was postponed in the final minutes of countdown on June 27. As of today (June 29), Russian government and news sources have been silent about what caused the abort or when a new attempt will take place. Angara is a family of launch vehicles that has been under development for about the past 20 years, since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The new vehicles of various capabilities are intended to replace many of the Soviet-era rockets. This suborbital test flight is of the smallest version and carries a dummy payload.
Here in the United States, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also experienced an anomaly during countdown on June 22. It was the latest delay in the launch of six next-generation communications satellites for Orbcomm. Like the Russians, SpaceX was not very forthcoming about what the problem was or how long it would take to fix. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said during a radio interview on The Space Show this past week, however, that the problem involves the first stage thrust vector control actuator and launch probably will not take place until at least July 14. That information is not posted on SpaceX’s website, however.
Also uncertain is when Orbital Sciences will conduct the next cargo run to the International Space Station (ISS), Orb-2. Orbital is investigating the failure of an AJ-26 rocket engine during a May 22 test at Stennis Space Center before deciding whether to clear the Antares rocket designated to take a Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS. The engine that failed is for a launch in 2015, but the company needs to determine whether the problem affects more than that one engine. The “no earlier than” launch date for Orb-2 at the moment is July 10. The launch was originally scheduled for May and initially delayed because a SpaceX cargo flight to ISS was postponed, but the May 22 engine test failure led to several additional delays.
One U.S. launch that is on schedule, as of today at least, is NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). Launch is scheduled for very early in the morning of July 1 (2:56 am Pacific time, 5:56 am Eastern). OCO-2 is a replacement for the original OCO, which was lost in a launch failure in 2009.
What’s on tap in Congress when it returns is up in the air. The House is passing appropriations bills, but the process in the Senate remains stuck. Whether any agreement will be reached to allow progress once the Senate returns on July 7 remains to be seen. The new fiscal year begins on October 1, which may seem a long time away, but Congress will be in recess all of August, so there are few legislative days available to get work done.
In short, the space business and the space policy business is in an uncertain period. Keep checking back here for updates!
Sunday, June 29
- NASA pre-launch press conference for Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) launch, 4:00-6:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT, 7:00-9:00 pm EDT), Vandenberg AFB, CA
Tuesday, July 1
- OCO-2 launch, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, 2:56 am PDT (5:56 am EDT), watch on NASA TV. A post-launch press conference will take place approximately 2 1/2 hours after launch.
Thursday, July 10
- ORB-2 launch to ISS, Wallops Flight Facility, VA (tentative)
Wednesday, July 16
- American Astronautical Society 60th Anniversary Celebration, National Academy of Sciences building, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 6:00-9:00 pm EDT (event is free, but RSVP is required)
Thursday, July 17
- Future Space Leaders 2014, G-50 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 8:00 am – 1:30 pm EDT
- Senate Appropriations Committee markup FY2015 Defense Appropriations bill, time and place TBA
Thursday-Friday, July 17-18
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