President Trump signed his Space Policy Directive 1 at a ceremony at the White House today at 3:00 pm ET.  He and Vice President Pence each made brief remarks surrounded by a group of about two dozen astronauts, former astronauts, NASA and other Trump Administration officials, and representatives of the commercial space sector.  Included in the group was Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt.  The event today took place exactly 45 years after he and Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan landed on the Moon, the last humans to do so.

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President Trump will sign an Executive Order at 3:00 pm today (December 11, 2017) that will send Americans back to the Moon and eventually to Mars.  Today is the 45th anniversary of the day that Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison (Jack) Schmitt landed on the Moon, the last humans to do so.  Schmitt is expected to be at the event, which will be livestreamed on the White House website.

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President Trump will sign Space Policy Directive 1 at 3:00 pm tomorrow (Monday, December 11) at a White House ceremony.  The directive apparently will make a human return to the lunar surface part of U.S. space policy. That will override the Obama Administration’s policy to eschew a return to the lunar surface in favor of focusing on sending humans to Mars with an encounter with an asteroid as an interim goal.

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Here is our list of space policy events for the week of December 11-15, 2017 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate will be in session.  [UPDATED to confirm White House event Monday, December 11, at 3:00 pm ET, and add YouTube link]

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Here are our tidbits for December 8, 2017:  SpaceX’s upgrade of SLC-40;  Apollo 1 Memorial in final NDAA; 45th anniversary of the Blue Marble photo.  Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.

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Here are our tidbits for December 7, 2017:  government shutdown averted for now; a new space race — between Boeing and SpaceX; today’s anniversary of the last Apollo mission to the Moon.  Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.

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Thomas Zurbuchen, the head of science at NASA, told a congressional committee today that he will initiate an independent review of the status of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in January.  JWST’s schedule recently slipped from October 2018 to March-June 2019.  He said he believes that schedule is achievable, but agreed with Tom Young, another witness at the hearing, that an independent review is needed.

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Here are our tidbits for December 6:  shutdown update; JAXA and ISRO plan joint robotic lunar polar mission; AIA calls for budget stability and BCA repeal. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.

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Here are our tidbits for December 5, 2017:  new Aerospace Corporation/Mitchell Institute report on major space policy issues;  SpX-13 launch delayed; government funding still on the brink.  Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.

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Here are our tidbits for December 4, 2017:  another blow for the Export-Import Bank; another nomination for Mike Griffin; U.S. Strategic Command stands up the new Joint Forces Space Component Command  (JFSCC).  Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter for more news and live tweeting of events.

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