What’s Happening in Space Policy March 11-16, 2018

Here is our list of space policy events for the week of March 11-16, 2018 (yes, the fun begins TODAY– Sunday) and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

This very busy week kicks off today (Sunday) with two events of special note.   At 1:00 pm ET (12:00 pm local time in Austin), Elon Musk will participate in a question and answer session at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference.   It will be webcast.   (Hope you haven’t forgotten to change your clocks.  Daylight Saving Time has begun in United States — except Arizona and Hawaii, which don’t observe it.)

Meanwhile, up in Cambridge, MA, the day-long MIT New Space Age conference is underway today.  Most regrettably, there’s no webcast of that one, “new space age” notwithstanding.  An MIT media specialist told SpacePolicyOnline.com that it would not be webcast or recorded at “the request of some of the speakers.” Fortunately, Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) is there in person and is live tweeting it, which is almost as good as a webcast.

Tomorrow, the week-long Satellite 2018 conference begins in Washington, DC.  It is chock-full of really interesting sessions and special events including tomorrow’s SGx2018 sessions especially for young professionals sponsored by the Space Generation Advisory Council and Future Space Leaders Foundation.  Really looks great!

Also tomorrow, CSIS will have the Secretaries of the Air Force, Navy and Army participate in an hour-long panel discussion about the state of their services, defense strategies and key FY2019 priorities.  It will be webcast.

The American Astronautical Society’s Goddard Memorial Symposium is taking place this week (conference sessions are Wednesday-Thursday) in Greenbelt, MD, just outside Washington, DC.  Robert Lightfoot and other members of the NASA leadership will be on hand, along with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds NASA,  and many other luminaries.  And on Friday night, the annual “space prom” — the National Space Club’s Goddard Memorial Dinner — as usual at the Hilton Washington.  Super congratulations to the incomparable Jeff Foust (see above) from Space News who will receive the Club’s Press Award.

On the congressional front, three hearings about national security space look really interesting.  The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has one on Wednesday morning on “Space Warfighting Readiness: Policies, Authorities and Capabilities” with Todd Harrison (CSIS), Gen. Robert Kehler, Ret. (former commander of USSTRATCOM), and Doug Loverro (former DASD/Space Policy).   At exactly the same time unfortunately, the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee will hold its hearing on the Air Force FY2019 budget request with SecAF Heather Wilson and AF Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.  Both will be webcast so one can switch back and forth if watching on the Web, or watch the archived webcasts later.

On Thursday afternoon, HASC’s Strategic Forces subcommittee will hold its annual hearing in open session on national security space programs, with Gen. Jay Raymond (commander, AF Space Command), Betty Sapp (Director, NRO), and Kenneth Rapuano (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security).  It will be webcast.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are shown below.  Check back throughout the week for others we learn about later and add to our Calendar.

Sunday, March 11

• Elon Musk Q&A at SXSW Conference, Austin, TX, 1:00 pm ET (12:00 pm local)  Webcast
• MIT New Space Age Conference, Cambridge, MA, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm ET

Monday, March 12

• SGx2018 (in conjunction with Satellite 2018), Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm ET
• CSIS Discussion with Secretaries of the Military Departments, 1616 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Washington, D, 1:30-2:30 pm ET (webcast)

Monday-Thursday, March 12-15

• Satellite 2018, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC

Tuesday, March 13

• WSBR Flagship Luncheon and Silent Auction (in conjunction with Satellite 2018), Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm ET

Tuesday-Thursday, March 13-15

• AAS Goddard Memorial Symposium, Greenbelt Marriott, Greenbelt, MD (conference sessions Wednesday-Thursday

Wednesday, March 14

• HASC Hearing on Space Warfighting Readiness, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am ET (webcast)
• House Appropriations Defense Sbcmt Hearing on FY2019 Air Force Budget Request, H-140 Capitol, 10:00 am ET (webcast)
• “The Earliest Galaxies: Exploring Cosmic Sunrise with Hubble, Spitzer and JWST” Public Lecture by Garth Illingworth, National Air and Space Museum, 600 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 8:00 pm ET (webcast)

Wednesday-Thursday, March 14-15

• NASA Earth Science Advisory Committee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC (WebEx/telecon)

Thursday, March 15

• HASC Sbcmte Hearing on FY2019 National Security Space Budget Request, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building, 3:30 pm ET (webcast)

Friday, March 16

• National Space Club Goddard Memorial Dinner, Hilton Washington, 1919 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 6:30 pm ET