What’s Happening in Space Policy July 15-21, 2018
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com‘s list of space policy events for the week of July 15-21, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
JWST Prime Contractor Northrop Grumman Announces Leadership Transition
Northrop Grumman (NG) announced today that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wes Bush will step down in 2019. He will be replaced by Kathy Warden, currently the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). The move comes weeks after NG’s successful acquisition of Orbital ATK. It also is a time when the company is under scrutiny for its implementation of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), however. NASA has announced schedule delays and cost overruns for JWST because of “avoidable errors” at the company during JWST integration and testing.
Trump Will Nominate Senate Staffer to be Deputy NASA Administrator
The White House announced today its intent to nominate James Morhard to be NASA Deputy Administrator. Morhard is a Senate staffer currently serving as the Deputy Sergeant at Arms and has no known experience in aerospace. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has been publicly promoting Janet Kavandi, Director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center and a former astronaut, for the slot, but it appears he will not get his choice.
GAO Again Warns of More Commercial Crew Delays and No ISS Contingency Plan
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a new report today raising more warning flags about delays in the commercial crew program that could imperil NASA’s ability to ensure U.S. astronauts are always aboard the International Space Station (ISS). GAO made five recommendations to NASA. The agency agreed or partially agreed with four, but rejected a fifth that called for informing Congress about NASA’s own schedule analysis rather than just repeating estimates provided by the companies building the systems, Boeing and SpaceX. GAO is also concerned about inconsistencies in how different parts of NASA view the Loss of Crew safety metric.
NASA Assessing Options to Speed Up Mid-to-Large Lunar Landers
NASA is beginning a quick-look study of alternatives to its existing plans for sending mid-to-large size landers to the lunar surface. The one-month assessment is being run out of the NASA Administrator’s office rather than any of the mission directorates. Results are due early next month.
Today’s Tidbits: July 9, 2018
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for July 9, 2018: fastest-ever Progress docking with ISS; but is Russia’s space program entering the “dark ages”? Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
What’s Happening in Space Policy July 8-14, 2018
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 8-14, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
WSJ Says No to Space Force, While Trump Promotes it Again
President Trump may not have originated the idea of creating a Space Force as another branch of the military, but he certainly has become one of its most enthusiastic promoters. He works it into many of his speeches, including yesterday’s July 4 celebration at the White House. Not everyone agrees, however, and this morning the Wall Street Journal joined the ranks of the opponents.
Today’s Tidbits: July 3, 2018
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for July 3, 2018: no word from Oppy; the Moon from ISS; GRACE-FO satellites shoot at each other. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
New Approach to Planetary Protection Needed as More Players Engage in Exploration
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes that new approaches to setting and implementing planetary protection policies are needed. The report cites a changing landscape where more countries and private sector companies are planning missions to destinations like Mars, and sample return and human missions come closer to reality. The report urges NASA to create an agency-wide strategic plan to manage planetary protection policy development in this new environment that takes private sector views into account.