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Space Politics

Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway…

Senate hearing on foreign lunar missions

April 23, 2004 at 11:00 am · Filed under Congress

According to a source, the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing next Tuesday on unmanned lunar missions being planned, or are already in progress, by several other nations. The preliminary list of witnesses includes:

  • John Logsdon of GWU (discussing Japanese missions)
  • James Oberg (on Chinese plans)
  • Sven Grahn of Swedish Space Corp (on ESA’s SMART-1 mission launched last year)

The hearing information hasn’t been posted to the committee’s web site yet, but should be there soon.

2 Comments

  Harold LaValley wrote @ April 26th, 2004 at 1:11 pm

Update from web site and Webcast

International Space Exploration Program
Science, Technology, and Space Hearing
Tuesday, April 27 2004 - 3:30 PM - SR - 253

Description: Members will hear testimony on international space exploration programs. Senator Brownback will preside. Following is a tentative witness list (not necessarily in order of appearance):

Panel 1:

Mr. Sven Grahn
Vice President Engineering & Corporate Communications, Swedish Space Corporation

Dr. John Logsdon
Director, Space Policy Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Mr. James Oberg
Aerospace Operations Consultant, Soaring Hawk Productions, Inc.

Ms. Marcia S. Smith
Specialist in Aerospace and Telecommunications Policy, Resources, Science, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress

  Phil Smith wrote @ April 30th, 2004 at 9:45 am

Same old folks. Experts on space? Of course they are. Experts on how Indians and Chinese think? I think not. The latter point is not trivial. Nick Eftimiades, an expert on China and national security space issues, understands (insofar as a non-Chinese can) the Chinese culture and the meaning space has to them. The cultural impetus for space activities is much more important than the technologies employed.

That said, it might be more constructive to engage India and China directly on civil space cooperation rather than huddle up in a xenophobic manner and speculate that they may be up to sinister plans. I’m not suggesting this is what the panel is about or that the speakers will support this view, but it certainly is a palpable perception on the Hill.

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