NASA’s renowned planet-hunting Kepler space telescope has reached the end of its lifetime.  It has run out of fuel and no longer can point itself at stars to determine if planets are in orbit around them (exoplanets).  The announcement comes as no surprise.  Kepler worked more than twice as long as expected, revolutionizing scientific understanding of planetary system formation along the way.  Scientists will continue to study the data it returned and from newer spacecraft.

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Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for October 29, 2018:  Epps not sure why she was bumped from ISS mission; Hubble back in business; ESA ministers endorse future vision. 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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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of October 28-November 3, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in recess (except for pro forma sessions) until after the elections.

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As we reported, yesterday’s Space Council meeting focused on the Space Force, but other topics were discussed as well.  Here are some tidbits from Space Council members NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, representatives from the Department of Commerce and Department of State, and the chairman of the Council’s Users’ Advisory Group.

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Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told the White House National Space Council today that DOD is “moving out” on the Space Force.  Shortly thereafter, the Council unanimously approved six recommendations to the President offered by Shanahan to take the next steps forward. The Trump Administration’s goal is to create a sixth military service, the Department of the Space Force, by 2020.

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It is not back to normal operations yet, but NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is on the road to recovery.  The legendary telescope needs three gyroscopes to point it in the right direction to study the universe, but only two are working right now. Engineers have made progress in getting a balky third gyro back in operation, though they want to do a few more tests before Hubble resumes scientific observations. Meanwhile, progress is being made on Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as NASA and Northrop Grumman deal with the latest cost overruns and schedule delay. [UPDATE, OCTOBER 27, 2018:  NASA just announced that Hubble resumed normal operations with three functioning gyros late yesterday and completed its first science operations (since October 5) at 2:10 am ET this morning.]

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of October 21-27, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in recess (except for pro forma sessions) until after the elections.

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The National Space Council meeting on Tuesday will feature three speakers from varying backgrounds:  Doug Loverro, Mark Sirangelo, and Lt. Gen. James “Kevin” McLaughlin (Ret.).  All three will offer their perspectives about national security space.  The Space Council meeting is focused on progress made so far and future steps toward President Trump’s proposed Space Force.

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James Morhard was sworn in as NASA Deputy Administrator today.  He was nominated by President Trump on July 12, approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on September 5, and confirmed by the Senate on October 11.

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The National Space Council released a few more details today about its upcoming meeting on October 23.  As Vice President Mike Pence tweeted last week, the focus is on progress made and next steps to implement President Trump’s intention to create a Space Force as a new military department.

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