Here are our tidbits for January 10, 2018: Japanese astronaut apologizes — did not grow 3.5 inches after all; JWST optical system passes tests; NASA’s SWIFT telescope renamed in honor of Neil Gehrels. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Here are our tidbits for January 9, 2018: China’s quantum communications satellite sparks interest at HASC hearing; Japanese astronaut grows 3.5 inches in 3 weeks on ISS [but note the update below]. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell issued a statement this morning reasserting the company’s position that its Falcon 9 rocket was not at fault for whatever happened to the Zuma satellite. Publicly, the fate of the mysterious satellite remains unknown.
Here are our tidbits for January 8, 2018: GOES do-si-do; Lightfoot to receive 2018 National Space Trophy. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Zuma satellite launched by SpaceX last night has failed. The mission is highly classified and reporters are quoting anonymous sources, making it difficult to determine what may have happened.
As the 1st session of the 115th Congress ended, nominations for NASA Administrator, NOAA Administrator and other Trump Administration positions important to the conduct of the U.S. space program were in abeyance. Here’s a quick status report on where they stand as of 4:00 pm ET on January 8, 2018. [UPDATE: at 5:15 pm ET January 8, the White House announced it had sent a long list of renominations to the Senate, including Bridenstine for NASA and Myers for NOAA.]
Here are our tidbits for January 7, 2018: legendary astronaut John Young passes away; Zuma finally launches. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Here is our list of space policy events for the week of January 7-12, 2018 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes that space observations are crucial to understanding how the Earth is changing and achieving that understanding is critical for humans to thrive upon it. “Embracing this new paradigm of understanding a changing Earth, and building a robust program to address it, is our major challenge for the coming decade and beyond.”
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will release its new Decadal Survey on Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS) at an event on Friday, January 5. The much-awaited study will lay out priorities in space-based earth science research for NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey. The event will be livestreamed.