Vice President Kamala Harris announced today that the United States will not conduct debris-generating direct-ascent antisatellite tests, leading by example to establish international norms of responsible behavior in space. The U.S. is one of four countries that have launched missiles to impact their own satellites to demonstrate they have the ability to destroy others. Russia conducted the most recent such test in November, imperiling the astronauts and cosmonauts in the International Space Station.

Read More Read More

NASA is still deciding how and when to proceed with the Wet Dress Rehearsal test for the Artemis I mission. The test was scrubbed three times. Now the agency has decided to bring the Space Launch System rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building while a contractor upgrades equipment to supply gaseous nitrogen needed to purge propellant lines. NASA conceded today that launching Artemis I in early June is no longer in the cards and is looking at the June 29-July 12 window instead.

Read More Read More

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of April 17-24, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess, except for pro forma sessions.

Read More Read More

NASA has decided to take the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew spacecraft for the Artemis I mission back to the Vehicle Assembly Building before making a fourth try at the Wet Dress Rehearsal test. The agency characterized the decision as taking advantage of a requirement by a supplier of gaseous nitrogen needed for the test to make upgrades to its system. The schedule for resuming the test is to be determined.

Read More Read More

The Shenzhou-13 crew returned home today (UTC) after 182 days in space, a record duration for China. During the mission, Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to make a spacewalk. The Chinese human spaceflight program proceeded at a measured pace over the past two decades, but with the launch of its first space station module last year and two more expected this year, that pace is accelerating.

Read More Read More

NASA’s third attempt to conduct a test countdown for the Artemis I launch was scrubbed today. The Space Launch System rocket, derived from the space shuttle, is getting ready for flight later this year. In preparation, NASA wants to fuel the rocket and practice countdowns. The so-called Wet Dress Rehearsal test began over a week ago, but has been bedeviled by one problem or another. Today was no exception.

Read More Read More

The European Space Agency took another step today towards ending cooperation with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In addition to terminating its role in the ExoMars mission, ESA now is withdrawing from three Russian robotic missions to the Moon and turning to NASA and commercial partners to get the ESA hardware to the lunar surface.

Read More Read More

As Russia celebrated Cosmonautics Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that sanctions imposed by other countries because of his invasion of Ukraine will not deter progress with the country’s space program. Speaking at Russia’s newest launch site, Vostochny, he singled out the Luna-25 mission and development of a new crewed spacecraft and space nuclear technologies as examples of future activities.

Read More Read More

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of April 10-16, 2022 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess for the next two weeks, except for pro forma sessions.

Read More Read More

The first crew to visit the International Space Station composed entirely of private citizens is on its way. Axiom-1 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center this morning on a 10-day mission. The four men will spend eight of those days on the ISS conducting experiments and seeing the sights, joining an international crew of seven professional astronauts already there. All together, the 11 astronauts and cosmonauts represent the United States, Russia, Germany, Israel, Canada and Spain.

Read More Read More