President Trump sent a memo to Secretary of Defense James Mattis today directing him to stand up a unified combatant command, U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM).  Such a command existed from 1985-2002, but was disbanded as part of a reorganization of combatant commands after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  Mattis also was directed to recommend to the President officers to serve as Commander and Deputy Commander of USSPACECOM.  They will require Senate confirmation.

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The much anticipated one-day bonanza of space launches fizzled today when all four were scrubbed for weather or technical reasons.  Three were U.S. and one was European. Anyone who follows space launches knows a lot of things can go wrong and delays are not surprising, but, still, for not one to take place was a disappointment.  At the moment, all are planning to try again tomorrow and there will a fifth rocket on a  pad — an Indian GSLV — so it is conceivable there could be an even bigger trove than what was expected today.  What came to be hashtagged on Twitter as #ScrubTuesday could turn into #LaunchWednesday — or not.  Tomorrow will also see three ISS crew members return home. That, at least, should take place on time. (UPDATE: See below for details, but basically it was another bust for U.S. launches, but the two international launches occurred as scheduled. The three ISS crew members landed safely.)

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The space business is hopping as 2018 comes to a close.  Following fast on the heels of the Virgin Galactic and Rocket Lab launches in the past four days, Blue Origin will make another test flight of its New Shepard rocket tomorrow (Tuesday).  That’s on top of two other U.S. launches scheduled for tomorrow by established launch service providers SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA).  The multiple launches underscore the diversity of rockets now available to customers seeking access to space. That’s not counting international competitors like Europe’s Arianespace, which also will be launching tomorrow. [UPDATE: As noted below, things did not go as planned today, but it may just mean that the launch bonanza is delayed one day.  Stay tuned.]

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the rest of the year, December 16-31, 2018, and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate will be in session at least part of this week.  As of today, both plan to be in recess the following week for the Christmas holidays, but that may change depending on the outcome of budget negotiations.

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Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters today that a decision on whether the Space Force should be a separate military department or part of the Air Force has been made, but he is not ready to reveal the answer.  He also continued to hint that a U.S. Space Command announcement might be made by the end of this year and offered a progress report on other aspects of the Trump Administration’s plan to restructure how DOD manages and executes space activities. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee reiterated his opposition to a Space Force.

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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) took two pilots above 50 miles (80 kilometers) in altitude today, which some consider the demarcation between air and space.  The FAA, which licensed the flight, does use 50 miles and said it will award commercial astronaut wings to the pilots.  Others use 62 miles (100 kilometers).  Regardless of whether SS2 reached “space” today, the flight marks an achievement that has been more than a decade in the making and moves Richard Branson’s company one step closer to flying passengers on suborbital flights.

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Vice President Mike Pence visited NASA today and received a briefing on the agency’s efforts to accelerate a return to the Moon, spur innovation with commercial partners, and ensure exploration is sustainable in the long-term.  He later met with employees, praising them for their hard work and encouraging them to “get used to this pace” because much more work lies ahead.  He also said he will be at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) next week for the launch of the first new generation GPS III.  The launch is scheduled for December 18.

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Two Russian cosmonauts took an almost 8 hour spacewalk today to literally uncover the other side of a hole that was discovered in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft that is docked to the International Space Station (ISS).  Soyuz MS-09 will return three ISS crew members to Earth next week and the hole is in a segment of the spacecraft that does not return to Earth. Any questions about how the hole got there must be answered before it undocks.

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NASA will form a Task Force to look at updating the planetary protection guidelines promulgated by the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).  The action comes in response to recommendations from a NASA Advisory Council (NAC) committee that were debated over the past two days and to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  Both acknowledged that much has changed since the last time the guidelines were modified, including the growing interest of the private sector in exploring and utilizing Mars and other solar system bodies.

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Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for December 10, 2018: water on Bennu, wind on Mars, Voyager 2 goes interstellar.  Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.

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