The long-standing air leaks in a transfer tunnel on the Russian segment of the International Space Station have stabilized after recent Russian repairs. A NASA official said on Thursday that the leak rate now is “very small.” Testing to confirm the status of the leaks delayed the launch of the Axiom-4 private astronaut mission by almost two weeks last month. Axiom-4 is preparing to come home now as NASA’s Crew-11 gets ready to launch. At the briefing NASA also indicated they are leaning towards putting only cargo, not crew, on the next launch of Boeing’s Starliner to the ISS.

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The Senate Appropriations Committee met today to vote on three appropriations bills including the Commerce-Justice-Science bill that funds NASA. As presented by the CJS subcommittee, the bill would reject the deep cuts to NASA’s budget proposed by President Trump, but an unrelated matter — the location of the new FBI headquarters — prevented the bill from being approved. The committee recessed without taking a final vote so the bill is in limbo at the moment.

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Tonight President Trump named Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to serve as interim NASA Administrator.  Duffy said he is honored to take on that role: “Time to take over space. Let’s launch.” The appointment comes about 12 hours before the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the FY2026 appropriations bill that funds NASA.

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A coalition of space industry associations representing hundreds of companies is urging Congress to reject Trump Administration plans to kill the nascent Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). Developed through NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce, TraCSS began beta testing last fall to provide data to civil and commercial satellite operators to avoid collisions.  Just as the system is finally taking shape, it is targeted for elimination in the FY2026 budget request. The Senate Appropriations Committee takes up that proposal on Thursday when it marks up the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill that includes NOAA.

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As Congress begins marking up the FY2026 appropriations bill for NASA, leaders of the space and earth science community are urging Congress to reject deep cuts proposed by the Trump Administration. NASA’s total budget would drop by $6 billion, 24.3 percent. The science budget alone is cut by 47 percent. At risk are NASA space and earth science missions large and small, some already operating, others still in development, many with international partners.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 6-12, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week, the House is in recess except for pro forma sessions.

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The House passed the reconciliation bill today, the final step before sending it to President Trump’s desk in time to meet their self-imposed deadline of July 4.  Officially named the “One, Big Beautiful Bill Act,” H.R. 1 includes $150 billion for DOD, including $25 billion for Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense shield. The U.S. Space Force will get some of that money as well as funding to support operations in the Indo-Pacific.

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The House passed President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” this afternoon. Trump is expected to sign it tomorrow, July 4, a self-imposed deadline Republicans were determined to meet. Dubbed the “megabill” for its far reaching effects on federal spending and revenue, the reconciliation bill (its more common name) includes $10 billion for NASA programs the Trump Administration has proposed cutting in the FY2026 budget request. They include elements of the Artemis program, funding for the International Space Station, as well as $85 million to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to Texas.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of June 29-July 5, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate schedules are in flux.

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Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro and other top agency leaders held an internal Town Hall meeting on Wednesday to share what they know, and don’t know, about NASA’s future. Three are long-time NASA employees themselves now unexpectedly charged with downsizing their agency’s budget, infrastructure and workforce more perhaps than at any time in history. Certainly more than since the end of the Apollo program. While much remains uncertain, organizational restructuring and piercing budget and workforce cuts are in the offing.

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