What's Happening in Space Policy November 24-December 5, 2014

Here is our list of space policy related events for the next TWO weeks, November 24-December 5, 2014.   Congress is in recess this coming week for the Thanksgiving holiday and will return on December 1.

During the Weeks

The United States celebrates Thanksgiving this week (on Thursday), so after the launch and docking of three International Space Station ISS) crew members today (Sunday), there is nothing on the docket until the first week of December in terms of space policy. 

However, on November 29 (November 30 in Japan), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch its second asteroid sample return mission, Hayabusa2, which should be of great interest.  JAXA will provide live TV coverage of the launch and spacecraft separation.

The first week of December is chock full of events.  To pick just two to highlight, ESA’s ministerial meeting on December 2 will decide the future of European launch systems and participation in the ISS program through 2020, and NASA’s December 4 launch of a test version of the Orion spacecraft  (EFT-1) on a 4.5 hour flight is a step forward for the future of the U.S. human spaceflight program.  Not everyone may agree on the next destination for the U.S. human spaceflight program — President Obama’s Asteroid Redirect Mission still has not captured much enthusiasm — but Orion is likely to be the NASA spacecraft to take astronauts wherever it is they will go beyond low Earth orbit.

Under the current schedule, Congress will meet during the first two weeks of December and then bring the 113th Congress to a close, with the 114th Congress convening on January 3, 2015.   What’s going to happen in those two weeks is, as always, completely unclear, and the two weeks could stretch through the holidays and even into the first two days of January if need be (which happened in 2012-2013 with the “fiscal cliff” showdown for those who remember).

The FY2015 Continuing Resolution (CR) now funding the government expires at midnight on December 11.  Under the best of circumstances (in terms of fiscal solvency and the ability of agencies to know how much money they have for FY2015), Congress will pass an omnibus appropriations bill before then combining all 12 regular appropriations bills and fund the government through the end of FY2015 (September 30, 2015).   Republican angst over President Obama’s immigration executive order (EO) is a complication, however.  Some Republicans insist that Congress not appropriate funds that could be used to implement the EO, but the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Hal Rogers (R-KY), publicly explained that the immigration office that will implement the EO is funded by fees, not appropriations, so it is “impossible” (in his words) to do that.  Republicans could devise a surgical approach to defunding some part of the government to demonstrate their displeasure or hold up the entire bill or something in between.  The key is that not only must a bill get enough votes to pass Congress — the Senate remains in Democratic hands until January —  but the President must be willing to sign it, which would seem unlikely if it defunds something he deems of critical importance. 

It’s anybody’s guess as to what will happen.  Our best guess, for what it’s worth, is that Congress will pass a short term CR to carry the government through to mid- or late-January when the Republicans will be in control of both chambers rather than risk a government shutdown over the holidays because either Congress can’t pass a bill or it passes a bill the President won’t sign.   But we will keep our fingers crossed that an omnibus bill funding the government through September 30, 2015 is still a possibility.

Meanwhile, here is a list of all the events we know about for the next two weeks as of Sunday morning, November 23.

Sunday, November 23 (November 24 local time at the launch site in Kazakhstan)

• Launch and docking of Soyuz TMA-15M with three ISS crew: launch, 4:01 pm ET; dock, 9:53 pm ET. Watch on NASA TV.

Saturday, November 29 (November 30 local time at the launch site in Japan)

• Launch of JAXA’s Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return mission:  launch 11:24:48 pm ET (1:24:48 pm November 30 Japan Standard Time).  Watch on JAXA website.

Monday, December 1

• ISU-DC Space Café on astrobiology (note this is on a Monday, not the usual Tuesday), The Science Club, Washington, DC, 7:00 pm ET

Monday-Wednesday, December 1-3

• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC (some joint sessions with NAC Human Exploration and Operations Cmte)

Tuesday, December 2

• ESA Ministerial Meeting, Luxembourg (press conference TBA after the meeting ends around 10:30 am ET).  Watch press conference on ESA’s website.
• Astrobiological Significance of Studying Mars and Europa (Planetary Society), 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 2:00-3:30 pm ET
• New Faces of Exploration (Coalition for Space Exploration), Kennedy Space Center Press Site, 3:00-4:00 pm ET

Tuesday-Wednesday, December 2-3

• National Research Council Workshop on Sharing the Adventure with the Student, National Academy of Sciences Building, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC
• NAC Human Exploration and Operations Committee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC (some joint sessions with NAC Science Cmte)
• FAA Commercial Space Transportation Workshop on Industry Viability, Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center, Crystal City (Arlington), VA

Thursday, December 4

• Launch of Orion EFT-1 test flight, Cape Canaveral, FL:  launch 7:05 am ET (launch window is 2 hours 40 minutes); land approximately 4.5 hours later in the Pacific
• NAC Aeronautics Committee, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 9:00 am – 3:45 pm Pacific Standard Time (12:00-6:45 pm ET)
• NAC Technology, Innovation and Engineering Committee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm ET 

Friday, December 5

• DuPont Summit 2014 on Science, Technology and Environmental Policy, Historic Wittemore House, 1526 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm ET
• NOAA Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES), GWU Elliott School for International Affairs, Washington, DC, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm ET
• Women in Aerospace Luncheon Featuring DOD’s Frank Kendall, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Crystal City (Arlington), VA, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm ET