The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing on October 21, 2021 on “International Collaboration and Competition in Space: Oversight of NASA’s Role and Programs.”

Despite the title, no current NASA officials were among the witnesses. Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and former NASA Associate Administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships Mike Gold (now with Redwire Space) were at the witness table along with Mary Lynne Dittmar from Axiom Space and Patricia Sanders, chair of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP).

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on October 21: “Senate Committee Told U.S. Space Leadership Requires Continued Presence in Low Earth Orbit.“

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing on May 20, 2021 to consider the nominations of Pam Melroy to be Deputy Administrator of NASA and Rick Spinrad to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of NOAA.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on May 20: Melroy, Spinrad Sail Through Confirmation Hearing.

The Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on May 19, 2021 on NASA’s FY2022 budget request even though President Biden had not yet submitted his complete request, only a “”skinnny” budget with top-line numbers.  The full budget is expected to be available on May 27, but the appropriations committee needs to move forward with hearings on NASA and other agencies so they can get the bills done in a timely manner.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was the only witness at the virtual hearing.  SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary on May 19: Nelson Sees Jobs Bill As Solution to HLS and Other Funding Needs.

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing on April 21, 2021 to consider the nomination of Bill Nelson to be NASA Administrator.

Nelson is a former Senator (2001-2019) and highly regarded by his colleagues. He represented Florida and for the final 8 years of his tenure did so alongside Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. Rubio introduced Nelson at this confirmation hearing along with former Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican from Texas with whom Nelson worked closely on space issues for many years. The strong Republican support for this Democratic former Senator, nominated by a Democratic President, was echoed by other Republicans on the committee.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on April 21:  Nelson Greeted with Accolades at Nomination Hearing.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a hearing on NASA on September 30, 2020.  The hearing was about a variety of NASA programs, not specifically its FY2021 budget request that is still awaiting action in the Senate.  A major topic was the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024.  NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was the only witness.

SpacePolicyOnline.com summarized the hearing on September 30: Another Senate Hearing, But Still No Clue on Likely Fate of Artemis Funding

The Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on NASA’s FY2021 budget request on September 23, 2020.  The hearing was delayed for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  (The House Appropriations Committee did not hold a NASA budget hearing this year for the same reason.)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was the only witness.  SpacePolicyOnline.com published two articles summarizing the hearing:

• Senate Hearing Offers No Hint on Prospect for Artemis Funding
• Key Senator Questions NASA-Estée Lauder Deal

The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on May 6, 2020 to discuss the impact on the GPS system of the FCC’s approval of an application by Ligado for a 5G system that will use spectrum close to that utilized by GPS.  SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on May 6: DOD Wants FCC To Reverse Ligado Decision.

Witnesses were:

• Dana Deasy, DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO)
• Mike Griffin, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD/R&E)
• Gen. John (Jay) Raymond, Chief of Space Operations, and Commander, U.S. Space Command
• Adm. Thad Allen (Ret.), chair, National Space-Based Postioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board

The House Science, Space, and Technology’s Space Subcommittee held a hearing on space situational awareness (SSA) on February 11, 2020.  The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee held a hearing the next day, February 12, on three topics, one of which was SSA (the others were space weather and planetary defense).

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the House hearing and the SSA-related portions of the Senate hearing on February 12:  Office of Space Commerce Seeks Budget Boost to Accelerate SSA Work.

The Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a hearing on November 13, 2019 on “Keeping Our Sights on Mars Part 2: Structuring a Moon-Mars Program for Success.”

Witnesses were Gemini/Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford, who currently chairs NASA’s International Space Station Advisory Committee, and NASA and aerospace industry veteran Tom Young, who chairs many independent reviews of military and civil space programs that go awry.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on November 13, 2019.

The Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on October 16, 2019 on “NASA’s Proposal to Advance the Next Moon Landing by Four Years.”  That plan, announced by Vice President Pence on March 26, 2019, is now called the Artemis program.

Witnesses were NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and NASA Acting Associate Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Ken Bowersox.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on October 16: Serrano Worried About Who Will Pay for Accelerating the Moon Program.