Bill Gerstenmaier, the head of NASA’s human spaceflight program, expressed confidence that NASA will meet Vice President Mike Pence’s goal of putting humans aboard the lunar-orbiting Gateway, which is still in development, by 2024.  Most of the presentations at the meeting of a NASA advisory committee Monday shied away from specific dates, but he projected certainty on this point even though some committee members were skeptical.  The meeting continues today (Tuesday) with a focus on science and exploration missions in “cis-lunar” space on and around the Moon.

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Former astronaut Jim Voss raised sharp questions today about why a third crewmember will be aboard Boeing’s Starliner test flight unless it is essential. During a discussion at a NASA advisory committee meeting, NASA officials said that Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson, who is assigned to the test flight, is also in training for an extended ISS mission, but will fly whether or not he is needed on ISS.  Voss insisted there is no reason to risk a third crew member unless it is absolutely necessary to the continuity of ISS operations.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of August 26-31, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them. The House is in recess (except for pro forma sessions) until September 4. The Senate will be in session for at least part of this week.

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Vice President Mike Pence spoke at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) today.  He was in the Houston area for a fundraiser for Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) who is in a tight reelection race.  The speech offered no new policy pronouncements, but reiterated familiar themes about American leadership in space and offered reassurances that JSC’s best days still lie ahead.

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James Morhard and Kelvin Droegemeier seem to be on an easy path to confirmation as Deputy NASA Administrator and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) respectively.  Their confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today was uneventful.  The committee is scheduled to vote on the nominations next Wednesday.

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Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for August 22, 2018: Rogozin invites ISS partners to Russia for 20th ISS anniversary; China makes progress on its new space station; India’s PM touts human spaceflight by 2022.  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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Women in Aerospace (WIA) announced its 2018 award winners today.  Among them is Sandy Magnus, a former astronaut and former executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks, August 19-31, 2018, and any insight we can offer about them.  The House is in recess (except for pro forma sessions) until September 4.  The Senate is scheduled to be in session at least some of the time during this period, although its schedule is fluid.

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NASA posted a statement on one of its websites Friday that it has provisionally approved SpaceX’s “load-and-go” procedure for commercial crew flights of the SpaceX Crew Dragon.  That refers to fueling the rocket just before launch, after the crew is aboard. The idea has been sharply criticized by many experts, but apparently the company has won over at least some of those critics.

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Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for August 16, 2018:  VP Pence to visit JSC next week; two polls show lack of public support for Space Force; China’s Chang’e-4 far side lunar lander/rover to launch in December; still no word from Oppy.  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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