SpaceX is denying a report by CNBC today that it is violating environmental regulations at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Citing notices from the Texas environmental quality commission and the federal EPA, CNBC reports SpaceX is releasing pollutants into nearby waters from the deluge system used for Starship tests and launches. SpaceX insists it is in compliance. This morning the FAA canceled five public hearings about expanding SpaceX’s use of Starbase that were to begin tomorrow saying they are seeking additional information from SpaceX.

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Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com from July 28-August 11, 2024 including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next two weeks, August 11-24, 2024, and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess until September 9 except for pro forma sessions.

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NASA’s Office of Inspector General issued a highly critical report today on Boeing’s development of an upgraded version of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, Block 1B, and NASA’s oversight of the program. Block 1B will be able to launch much more mass to the Moon and is needed beginning with the 2028 Artemis IV mission. The OIG is skeptical that the date is achievable and estimates the cost will rise from $5 billion to $5.7 billion.

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NASA officials said today they expect to decide in mid-August whether Boeing’s Starliner capsule will bring two NASA astronauts back to Earth or return empty. The continued uncertainty is driven in part by the fact that for the first time the agency actually has the option to return them on a different vehicle, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Redundancy was exactly the reason NASA wanted two commercial crew providers. Now they are weighing risks differently and decisions can take longer than expected.

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NASA is delaying the launch of the next International Space Station crew exchange mission, Crew-9, as it continues to assess the health of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Framing the decision as allowing “operational flexibility,” the agency will hold a media teleconference tomorrow to provide an update. When Crew-9 does lift off, it will be the first SpaceX crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station next door to Kennedy Space Center.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of August 4-10, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess through September 9 except for pro forma sessions.

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The Government Accountability Office wants NASA to document and communicate a mass management plan for the Gateway lunar space station before the next program review in September. The first two Gateway segments are scheduled to launch together in 2027, but their combined mass exceeds allowed limits. GAO also illuminates concerns about the schedule and whether Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element will be capable of controlling the small space station when more massive vehicles are docked.

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In its quarterly earnings report today, Boeing acknowledged that delays in the Starliner program have cost it another $125 million. The company has had to spend more than $1 billion of its own money under a fixed-price contract with the government to develop the Starliner capsule to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The Crew Flight Test currently underway is a step towards certifying Starliner for operational flights, but technical challenges will delay the first post-certification mission at least until August 2025.

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Boeing and NASA put the Starliner spacecraft through its paces this weekend, successfully testing the thrusters and confirming the helium leaks are stable. But in a nod to the amount of work that lies ahead before NASA certifies Starliner for operational launches, the agency said a SpaceX Crew Dragon will be used for the February 2025 space station crew exchange, not Starliner-1.

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