Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), whose district surrounds NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, expects the House to vote on FY2022 appropriations bills beginning in June regardless of when President Biden sends his request to Congress. He anticipates continuing bipartisan support for Moon and Mars exploration, and increased oversight of the FAA’s human spaceflight regulations by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee after Congress deals with Biden’s infrastructure package.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of April 4-10, 2021 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.

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NASA’s Inspector General estimates that the financial impact of COVID-19 on NASA programs could reach $3 billion. As of the end of FY2020, it was $1.6 billion, with the remainder a tentative estimate of impacts into the future. NASA stressed that the figures are not an assessment of the ability of any particular project to meet its milestones. Those are being determined on a case-by-case basis.

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed today what many in the space community have come to realize over the past two months — the space program is one area where President Biden and former President Trump actually share common ground.

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The first spaceflight crew with no professional astronaut training is now complete. Jared Isaacman, the philanthropist underwriting the Inspiration4 mission, introduced the final two members of his four-person crew today and revealed their launch could come as soon as September 15, earlier than expected. At the same time SpaceX unwrapped a new feature of the Crew Dragon spacecraft they will fly — a large window for a better view.

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SpaceX suffered its fourth Starship test failure in a row today, but company founder and chief engineer Elon Musk remains undeterred, tweeting plans for the next test. He is expanding operations at his Starbase test facility in Boca Chica, TX and encouraging people to move there to work for SpaceX.

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The Biden Administration has decided to retain the White House National Space Council. Its fate has been the subject of much speculation since Biden took office. The Council was created in a 1989 law, but presidents can choose whether or not to staff or fund it. The Biden Administration will be the third to do so.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of March 28-April 3, 2021 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess (except for pro forma sessions) for two weeks.

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NASA revealed today that the first flight of Ingenuity, the tiny helicopter delivered to Mars with the Perseverance rover, is targeted for April 8, although the actual date could move a little earlier or later.  The first vehicle to make a powered flight on another world, it carries a piece of fabric from the plane flown by the Wright Brothers in 1903.

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President Biden’s budget request for FY2022, the first of his administration, reportedly will be released next week. At least part of it. Media reports today say the request for discretionary spending — the portion that goes through the congressional appropriations process — will be sent to Congress next week while the rest will be submitted later. The action would allow appropriators to get started with their annual deliberations on the budgets for NASA, DOD and other government agencies.

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