NASA officials refer to this as Asteroid Autumn and they’re not kidding. Today they revealed the first samples that were just returned from the asteroid Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft while at the same time getting ready to launch the Psyche mission to a very different type of asteroid tomorrow. Those are just two of several asteroid missions in development, operations or analysis at the agency right now as scientists continue their quest to discover how the solar system — and life — formed.

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Russia’s newest International Space Station module, Nauka, began leaking coolant from a radiator today. This is third Russian radiator to spring a leak in less than a year. The Nauka radiator actually has been in space for over a decade waiting for Nauka to arrive so whether there is any commonality to the failures is difficult to assess. Roscosmos acknowledged the leak, but said the module itself is working fine and there is no cause for concern.

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Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, October 2-8, 2023, 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 week of October 8-14, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in recess except for pro forma sessions. The House schedule is uncertain.

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Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos has concluded that Luna-25 failed because the onboard control system did not receive required data from the accelerometer to trigger an engine shutdown at the correct time. Russia’s first lunar probe in almost 50 years, Luna-25 was trying to lower its orbit around the Moon in preparation for landing two days later, but instead crashed into the surface.

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Elon Musk thinks Starship has a “decent chance” of reaching space on the next launch after he changed the design of how the first and second stages separate. On the only launch attempt so far, the stages failed to detach from each other contributing to the loss of the vehicle about four minutes into flight. SpaceX is awaiting regulatory approval to try again. Musk also forecasts an uncrewed Starship landing on Mars in about 4 years and hopes to keep the “tiny candle of consciousness that is humanity” burning.

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A small group of ultra-conservative House Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy as their party leader today. Eight House Freedom Caucus members joined all Democrats in voting in favor of a motion offered by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to remove McCarthy. Historically each party chooses its own leader and while theoretically some Democrats could have voted for McCarthy, none did, so the decision was left to the Republicans themselves. The vote was 216-210 to remove him.

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The Federal Communications Commission issued a fine today for violating space debris requirements. The DISH satellite television company must admit liability and pay $150,000 for not properly disposing of its EchoStar-7 satellite at the end of its lifetime. It is the first time the FCC has taken an enforcement action regarding space debris.

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Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, September 25-October 1, 2023, 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 week of October 1-7, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

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