What’s Happening in Space Policy November 17-24, 2024
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 17-24, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Two Senate Space Leaders Call for Investigation into Musk-Putin Relationship
Two Democratic Senators with considerable influence over space program policy and spending are urging an investigation into reports that Elon Musk is in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite U.S. sanctions against Putin. They also are concerned about DOD’s “overreliance” on SpaceX for national security space activities.
U.S., Russia Disagree on Causes, Risks of Leaks on ISS
A U.S.-Russian Joint Commission that reviews safety on the International Space Station was not able to reach agreement on what is causing air leaks on the Russian segment of the ISS or the potential risks. Meeting in September in Moscow, Russian and NASA members of the Joint Commission saw the situation quite differently. NASA considers the risks to be much higher than Russia and is implementing preventive measures when the hatch to the area where the leaks are occuring is open.
A Second Round of Layoffs at JPL
JPL Director Laurie Leshin announced another workforce reduction today, the second this year. Cuts to NASA’s overall science budget due to the Fiscal Responsibility Act coupled with uncertainty about the future of the Mars Sample Return mission are deeply affecting the laboratory, but Leshin said she believes they will be at a “more stable” level now.
Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: November 4-10, 2024
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com from November 4-10, 2024 including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
What’s Happening in Space Policy November 10-16, 2024
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 10-16, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate return to work this week.
Congress Returns to Changed Political Landscape, But Same To-Do List
President-elect Trump’s decisive win on Tuesday and Republican advances in the Senate will usher in a changed political landscape next year. Which party will control the House is still up in the air, though Republicans seem likely to keep that chamber, cementing all three levers of power. But that’s next year. There’s still the rest of this Congress to go. On Tuesday, Congress returns to work with the same to-do list they had in September — passing FY2025 appropriations and other critical pieces of legislation.
Crew-8 Will Reveal Hospitalization Details “In Fullness of Time”
The three NASA Crew-8 astronauts who returned to Earth last month firmly declined to answer questions today about who was hospitalized and why after splashdown. Astronaut Michael Barratt, a physician and member of the crew, spoke for all three and insisted privacy considerations and processes that need to be followed preclude providing any more information now, but they will explain more “in the fullness of time.”
What Will A Second Trump Term Mean for Space Policy?
Last night’s election of Donald Trump to return to the White House four years after he left office could portend significant changes in U.S. space activities. Or not. One day after any election is too soon to guess what any politician will do and Trump’s alliance with Elon Musk throws a wild card into the mix, but speculation is rampant.
Engineers Ignored Warning Signs in Arecibo Telescope Collapse
A new report from the National Academies concludes that the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico collapsed in 2020 due to failures of cable sockets that supported the platform above the dish because of accelerated zinc creep. Structural engineers who inspected the cables and sockets missed warning signs, especially after winds from Hurricane Maria placed extra stress on the cables. The authors also speculate that the electromagnetic environment may have been a contributing factor.