The FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) met for the first time is more than a year on June 22, 2020.  The committee has a new charter, an updated membership roster, and a new chair — Charity Weeden of Astroscale.

One of the many topics discussed was the status of modernizing regulations for the commercial space transportation industry.  By White House directive, they were supposed to be released in 2019, but stiff industry opposition to the initial rewrite led to additional discussions.  The Department of Transportation (DOT), of which the FAA and its Office of Commercial Space Transportation are part, now hopes they will be out in September 2020.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the COMSTAC meeting on June 22, 2020:  FAA Shooting for September for Updated Commercial Space Launch Regulations.

The Space Studies Board (SSB) and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, held a joint meeting on June 9, 2020.  Among the many topics discussed was the status of the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024.  The acting head of NASA’s human spaceflight program, Ken Bowersox, and the Executive Secretary of the White House National Space Council, Scott Pace, both expressed concern about whether the money would be there to accomplish the goal.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of those portions of the meeting on June 9, 2020: Pace, Bowersox Worry About Artemis Funding.

The White House National Space Council held its 7th meeting on May 19, 2020 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.  It was a brief meeting, just over one hour, and no major announcements were made.  Among the highlights were NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine’s promise that an Orion spacecraft will go around by the Moon by the end of 2021 (another delay) and a ringing endorsement of NASA by the Director of the Office and Management and Budget, Russell Vought.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a brief summary of the meeting on May 19, 202o: Space Council Hears Good News About Civil, Commercial, National Security Space.

The NASA Advisory Council’s Regulatory and Policy Committee (NAC/RPC) met virtually on May 15, 2020 (amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which precluded an in-person meeting).

The committee discussed several issues, but the highlight was the unveiling of the Artemis Accords by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. They are a set of 10 principles the United States wants international partners to adopt if they want to participate in the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.  Bridenstine also used the opportunity to criticize China after debris from a Long March 5B rocket stage landed in Africa after an uncontrolled reentry from orbit.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published two articles summarizing those aspects of the meeting:

• NASA Unveils “Artemis Accords”
• Bridenstine Scolds China Over Long March Reentry Debris

The NASA Advisory Council’s Human Exploration and Operations Committee (NAC/HEO) met virtually on May 13-14, 2020 (amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which precluded in-person meetings).

The meeting discussed many aspects of NASA’s HEO portfolio, but SpacePolicyOnline.com focused its coverage on  presentations and discussion by the committee concerning the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024 and the commercial crew program.

• NASA Advisors Worry Agency is Spinning its Wheels on Artemis
• The Elephant in the Room — Can NASA Get Astronauts on the Moon by 2024?
• No Checkered Flag Yet, But Commercial Crew Closer to Finish Line

NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk and United Launch Alliance (ULA) President and CEO Tory Bruno were among the speakers at the first meeting of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory on February 28, 2020.

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of their remarks on March 1, 2020, including Jurczyk’s comment that the first launch of the Space Launch System with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft, Artemis I, will take place in mid-to-late 2021.  The date for that launch has been delayed many times and NASA had been insisting it would take place in 2020 even though that seemed very unlikely.  He also spoke about the acquisition strategy for the Human Landing Systems needed to take astronauts down to and back from the lunar surface.  Instead of building and owning the systems itself, NASA plans to contract for services from commercial companies, but it all must be done quickly to meet the Trump Administration’s goal of returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024 — the Artemis program.

Bruno spoke about his vision of a multi-trillion dollar cislunar space economy and said supporting Artemis is the first step towards realizing it.

The American Astronautical Society (AAS) held its annual Wernher von Braun symposium from September 10-12, 2019 in Huntsville, AL. A September 11 panel of NASA officials provided an update on NASA’s “Moon to Mars” efforts, including the Artemis program to return humans to the surface of the Moon by 2024.  Speakers were:

• Marshall Smith, Director, Human Lunar Exploration Programs, NASA HQ (Moderator)
• Lindsay Aitchison, EVA Strategy Lead for Advanced Exploration Systems, NASA HQ
• Dan Hartman, Program Manager, Gateway, NASA Johnson Space Center
• Michelle Rucker, Lead, Mars Architecture, NASA Johnson Space Center
• Lisa Watson-Morgan, Program Manager, Human Landing System, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the panel on September 11: NASA: Artemis on Track for 2024.

The White House National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, held its sixth public meeting on August 20, 2019 at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.   The full range of civil, commercial, and national security space issues was addressed.  SpacePolicyOnline.com published four articles summarizing different aspects of the meeting.

• White House Keeps Up the Pressure on NASA at Space Council Meeting
• Recommendations Adopted at the 6th National Space Council Meeting
• New Regs for Commercial Remote Sensing Almost Ready, But Space Launch Must Wait
• USSPACECOM Stands Up August 29, Ushers in New DOD/NRO Era

The White House National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, met in public session for the fifth time at Marshall Space Flight Center, AL on March 26, 2019.   This was a seminal event — Pence announced that Trump Administration policy is to land “the next man and the first woman” at the Moon’s South Pole by 2024, just 5 years away.  He also strongly criticized NASA and the contractor building NASA’s Saturn V-class Space Launch System (SLS), for repeated delays and overruns.  Though he did not name Boeing, it was clear who he meant when he said if the current contractor could not meet the new schedule, someone else would be found.  He similarly warned NASA that if the agency could not meet the date, NASA must change, not the schedule.  Other matters were discussed at the Space Council meeting, but the Moon-by-2024 announcement stole the show.

SpacePolicyOnline.com summarized Pence’s remarks and immediate reaction to it.

• Pence: Americans will Land at the Moon’s South Pole by 2024 (March 26 2019)
• Reactions Mixed to Pence’s Call for Astronauts on the Moon by 2024 (March 26, 2019)
• Moon 2024 Gets Cool Reception by House Committee Democrats (April 2, 2019)

The program was later named Artemis after Apollo’s twin sister in Green mythology.  SpacePolicyOnline.com provides continuing coverage of the Artemis Moon-by-2024 program.  Search “Moon 2024” or “Artemis” or similar terms to find additional articles.

Scott Pace, Executive Secretary of the White House National Space Council, spoke to a symposium sponsored by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) on April 23, 2019 to commemorate its 50th anniversary.  The Trump Administration’s plan to return humans to the surface of the Moon by 2024 was the focus of his remarks.  SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary on April 23: Pace: Ambitious Goal, Near-Term Results Needed for Lunar Exploration.