What's Happening in Space Policy: May 5-9, 2014 – UPDATE

UPDATE:  The House Appropriations Committee markup of the FY2015 CJS bill on Thursday has been added (it was announced today, May 5).

Here is our list of space policy-related events for the upcoming week and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session.

During the Week

Activities in Congress will certainly be interesting, but meetings organized by other groups may grab the headlines.

In Congress, the House Armed Services Committee will markup the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday.  Its subcommittees did their own markups last week (the Strategic Forces subcommittee made some interesting space-related recommendations), but generally speaking the real action takes place at full committee markup, often a marathon session lasting hours and hours.  Entirely separately, on Friday, the Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) Committee will hold a hearing on Space Traffic Management and how to avoid what happened in the fanciful (but entertaining) movie Gravity.  They’ve got a real life (former) astronaut as one of the witnesses — George Zamka, who is now a top official at the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

In other events, to pick just two:

• on Thursday from 2-4 pm ET, the Secure World Foundation will look at the Malaysian airplane (MH370) disappearance and the role satellites could play in increasing aviation safety in the future, and
• earlier that day (12:30-1:30 pm ET), the American Security Project will discuss threats to U.S. space systems and how “quick launch capabilities” can help mitigate them.

But those are just samples.  A list of what we know about as of Sunday evening (with an update on Monday afternoon) is provided below.

Monday-Friday, May 5-9, 2014

• AIAA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory 13th International Conference on Space Operations, Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, CA

Tuesday, May 6

• MSBR Luncheon Featuring NOAA’s Mary Kicza, Martin’s Crosswinds, Greenbelt, MD, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Wednesday, May 7

• HASC Full Committee Markup FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building, 10:00 am ET
• STA Luncheon Featuring NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, 385 Russell Senate Office Building, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm ET

Wednesday-Thursday, May 7-8

• FAA COMSTAC, NTSB Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, DC

Thursday, May 8

• House Appropriations Committee Markup FY2015 CJS Bill (includes NASA and NOAA), 2359 Rayburn, 10:00 am ET
• Asymmetric Threats and Space: China, Russia, Non-State Actors and the Need for Quick Launch, 1100 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 12:30-1:30 pm ET
• Beyond MH370: Role of Satellites in Aviation Safety, 1779 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 2:00-4:00 pm ET

Friday, May 9

• House SS&T Subcmte Hearing on Space Traffic Management: How To Prevent a Real Life “Gravity,” 2318 Rayburn, 10:00 am ET