Here are our tidbits for January 3, 2018: two new Senators sworn in; NASA readies 60th anniversary celebrations; Zuma ready for launch — again. 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 TWO weeks, January 1-12, 2018, and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate will formally convene the 2nd session of the 115th Congress on January 3, but the House has only pro forma sessions scheduled for the first week.
Here are our tidbits for December 29, 2017 — our final edition for the year: Falcon Heavy’s fit check; a reunion of women astronauts; Angosat-1 lost, but now is found. 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 TWO weeks, December 25, 2017 – January 5, 2018, and any insight we can offer about them. Congress is in recess this week for the Christmas-New Year’s holidays and will return on January 3.
Here are our tidbits for December 23, 2017: a spectacular view of Washington, DC and Baltimore from the ISS; amazing view of the SpaceX Iridium launch from CBS TV in Phoenix; a farewell to Bruce McCandless. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.
Here are our tidbits for December 21, 2017: New York Times reports that Rep. Culberson’s congressional seat may be in jeopardy; Musk debuts Falcon Heavy. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.
Today the House passed a bill to avert a government shutdown tomorrow. It will keep the government, including DOD, NASA, and NOAA, operating until January 19, 2018. It also passed an $81 billion disaster aid bill that includes money to repair hurricane-damaged NASA facilities and NSF’s Arecibo radio telescope, which NASA uses. NOAA would also benefit from the disaster aid bill, with money to improve satellite ground services to better predict hurricane intensity and track. Action now moves to the Senate, which is expected to approve the government funding bill. The fate of the disaster package aid is less clear. [UPDATE: The Senate passed the bill to keep the government funded shortly after it was received from the House, 66-32. It now goes to the President for signature. The Senate did not take up the disaster aid bill and has left for the year, so it will have to wait until January.]
NASA selected two finalists for the next New Frontiers planetary science mission today (December 20, 2017). CAESAR, a comet sample return mission, would go back to the same comet visited by the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Rosetta spacecraft. The other, Dragonfly, would send a drone-like vehicle to explore the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan, which was briefly studied in 2005 by ESA’s Huygens probe as part of the NASA-ESA Cassini-Huygens mission. The new missions would build on what was learned earlier. NASA also will fund enhanced technology development for two other potential missions, one to land on Venus and the other to study Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Here are our tidbits for December 19, 2017: House passes four science bills; NASA to announce New Frontiers semi-finalists tomorrow; General Hyten to receive 2018 Goddard Trophy; Chris Kraft selected for Space Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee today rejected President Trump’s nominee to be President of the Export-Import (ExIm) Bank. All 11 Democrats and two of the 12 Republicans voted against confirming Scott Garrett for the position. Garrett is a former Congressman from New Jersey who steadfastly opposed the Bank’s existence while a member of the House and was unable to convince enough committee members that he now supports it.