What’s Happening in Space Policy June 17-23, 2018 – UPDATE
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of June 17-23, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in the session this week.
Today’s Tidbits: June 15, 2018
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for June 15, 2018: Peggy Whitson retires; Rubio adds his support for Kavandi to be NASA Deputy Administrator. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Today’s Tidbits: June 14, 2018
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for June 14, 2018: Senate appropriators approve NASA/NOAA bill; JAXA’s Hayabusa2 closing in on Ryugu; China’s Queqiao reaches destination. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
NASA Concerned but Hopeful for Oppy’s Future
A dust storm on Mars is threatening NASA’s intrepid rover, Opportunity, but its human operators are hopeful that the 15-year-old robot will make it through. For now, Oppy, as it is fondly known, is asleep, waiting until it detects that it has enough power from its solar arrays to wake up and phone home.
Senate Appropriators Add Money for NOAA Polar-Orbiting Weather Satellites
In its actions on the FY2019 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill today, a Senate subcommittee added funding for NOAA’s next three polar-orbiting weather satellites. It also fully funded NOAA’s development of new geostationary weather satellites. The full Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up the bill on Thursday morning.
Senate Appropriators Join House in Boosting NASA’s Budget, Rejecting Trump Cuts
The Senate Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee approved its FY2019 bill today, allocating $21.3 billion for NASA. Although that is somewhat less than the $21.6 billion approved by its House counterpart, it is still significantly higher than the Trump Administration’s request. Among its actions, the Senate subcommittee rejected Trump proposals to eliminate four Earth science programs, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), and programs funded in NASA’s Office of Education.
BRIDENSTINE ROOTING FOR JANET KAVANDI TO BE HIS DEPUTY
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said today that he is advocating for Janet Kavandi to be Deputy Administrator. A former astronaut, Kavandi is now Director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. President Trump has not nominated her yet, however.
Today’s Tidbits: June 11, 2018
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for June 11, 2018: NASA MSFC Director Todd May is retiring; NASA releases lunar payloads RFI; Mars rover Opportuity hunkering down in dust storm. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Culberson Supports WFIRST, But…
Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) expressed support for NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) at a meeting on Capitol Hill on Friday, but added that he hopes NASA can come up with a less expensive design. The Trump Administration wants to cancel WFIRST. Culberson chairs the House subcommittee that funds NASA and rejected that idea, but provided only about half of the money needed to keep the project on schedule.
What’s Happening in Space Policy June 10-16, 2018
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of June 10-16, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.