What's Happening in Space Policy September 14-18, 2015

Here is our list of space policy related events for the week of September 14-18, 2015 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

As of today (Sunday), no space-related hearings have been announced for the coming week (although Rep. Honda is hosting a morning reception and exhibit on Earth and geoscience research on Thursday)  Whether any progress will be made on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government beginning October 1 or reaching a compromise on either the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act or the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act is anyone’s guess.  Stay tuned.

Off the Hill, there are a number of interesting events, starting tomorrow morning (Monday) with a press event at the National Press Club to mark the half-way point for Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko’s “year in space.”  Kelly will participate from the International Space Station (ISS) via videolink.   His twin brother, former astronaut Mark Kelly, will be at the Press Club in person along with astronaut Terry Virts who recently returned from ISS.  NASA TV will cover one hour of it, from 9:00-10:00 am ET.

Also on tap this week is the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, MD, just outside Washington, DC.  Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James is scheduled to speak tomorrow (Monday) from 10:30-10:55 am ET on “Reinventing the Aerospace Nation.”  She tweeted last week that it would be webcast.  Gen. John Hyten will speak on Tuesday at 2:25 pm ET on “Preserving our Space and Cyberspace Capabilities.”  Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will speak on Wednesday at 9:55 am ET.  Two commercial guys — Brett Alexander from Blue Origin and Antonio Elias from Orbital ATK — are on the agenda for Wednesday at 11:00 am ET speaking about “Space in the Commercial Sector.”  Not clear if those will be webcast.   We’ll add links on our calendar when and if they are made available.

Speaking of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos is going to make a “significant announcement” at a media event at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday morning, but everything is hush hush other than the fact that the event will take place beginning at 9:45 am ET.   We’re told a decision has not been made on whether it will be webcast.  If we get a link, we’ll add it to our calendar entry for the event.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday afternoon are listed below.

Monday, September 14

• National Press Club event with astronauts Scott Kelly, Mark Kelly and Terry Virts, National Press Club, Washington, DC, 8:30 – 10:30 am ET (NASA TV will provide coverage 9:00-10:00 am ET)
• Space Policy & History Forum Featuring Charles Miller, National Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC, 4:00 pm ET (RSVP required in advance)

Monday-Wednesday, September 14-16

• Air Force Association Air & Space Conference, National Harbor, MD (outside Washington DC).  Among the speakers are–
  • Monday, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, 10:30 am ET
  • Tuesday, Air Force Space Command Commander Gen. John Hyten, 2:25 pm ET
  • Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, 9:55 am ET
  • Wednesday, Blue Origin’s Brett Alexander and Orbital ATK’s Antonio Elias, 11:00 am ET

Monday-Friday, September 14-18

• Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week, Paris, France

Tuesday, September 15

• Blue Origin announcement, Cape Canaveral, FL, 9:45 am ET
• MSBR Luncheon Featuring NASA’s Steve Jurczyk, Martin’s Crosswinds, Greenbelt, MD, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm ET
• NASA History Seminar Featuring John Logsdon, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 12:00-1:00 pm ET

Tuesday-Friday, September 15-18

• Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveilance Technologies Conference (AMOS 2015), Maui, Hawaii

Wednesday-Thursday, September 16-17

• National Academies Cmte on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS), Beckman Center, Irvine, CA (some sessions may be closed)

Thursday, September 17

• Earth and Geoscience Research Briefing and Exhibit, 2168 Rayburn House Office Building, 8:00-10:00 am ET (panel 9:00-9:30 am ET)
• 4th AMOS Dialogue (Secure World Foundation), in conjunction with AMOS conference, Maui, Hawaii

Friday, September 18

•  How Engineers Design and Build Space Observatories Google+ Hangout (AAS & AAS), virtual, 3:00-4:00 pm ET

Editor’s note:  This article was updated Sunday afternoon to add the Earth and geoscience research briefing on Thursday and the Google+ Hangout on Friday, and on Monday morning adding Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s talk at AFA on Wednesday.