Space Politics
Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway…
Archive for January, 2005
January 31, 2005 at 7:02 pm · Filed under Congress
The full House Science Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday morning (10am, Rayburn 2318) on “Options for Hubble Science”. The witness list currently stands as follows:
- Dr. Lou Lanzerotti, Chair, Committee on the Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope, National Academy of Sciences;
- Dr. Steve Beckwith, Director, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD;
- Dr. Colin Norman, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University;
- Dr. Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., James S. McDonnell, Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Princeton University;
- Mr. Gary Pulliam, Vice President, Aerospace Corporation; and
- Dr. Paul Cooper, General Manager, MD Robotics.
A notable omission is any representative from NASA. This is not surprising: the agency doesn’t want to be forced to tip its hand (and face stiff questioning about it) in advance of its February 7 budget release, allowing NASA to describe its plans for Hubble on its own terms.
January 31, 2005 at 6:12 am · Filed under Other
Undergrads who are looking for a summer job and have an interest in space policy should check out the Space Policy Internship sponsored by the National Academies’ Space Studies Board. The intern will have the opportunity to work on one or more projects over the summer, ranging from “future human exploration of space” to “a decadal strategy for Earth science and applications from space”. The application deadline is February 18.
January 28, 2005 at 8:23 pm · Filed under Congress
CongressDaily (via GovExec.com) offers some more details Friday about a potential reorganization of the House appropriations subcommittees. The report confirms that the VA-HUD subcommittee, which includes NASA, would be eliminated under the DeLay/Lewis plan, with NASA and NSF being reassigned to the Energy subcommittee. This would have the effect of making NASA a much bigger fish in a smaller pond: instead of being a $16-billion agency in a $90-billion appropriation, NASA would be an appropriations bill of about half that size. The article also notes that, not surprisingly, the Senate is in no rush to make similar changes in its own appropriations committee structure.
Meanwhile, News 10 Now, a cable news channel in upstate New York, reports that Rep. James Walsh (R-NY), the current chair of the VA-HUD appropriations subcommittee, confirmed that a reorganization that would eliminate his committee is being considered. Walsh said he believes he would remain a chair of a subcommittee, although he did not know which one. He said a decision about his future—and presumably of the reorganization plan—will come in about a week.
January 27, 2005 at 8:13 pm · Filed under Congress
One of the most common complaints by space advocates is that, in the House and Senate appropriations committees, NASA is placed in the same subcommittee as the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, as well as independent agencies like the NSF and EPA. (Not to mention the American Battle Monuments Commission.) NASA, the argument goes, is then forced to battle veterans programs, low income housing, and the environment to win its funding. There are new signs that this may be changing, but not without a fight.
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January 26, 2005 at 7:40 am · Filed under NASA
One of the primary goals for Sean O’Keefe when he took the reins of NASA a little over three years ago was to reform its finances to restore its credibility with Congress and others. While O’Keefe made considerable progress towards that goal, as he leaves there appears to be considerable work left for his successor. The GAO included NASA’s contract management system in its comprehensive list of “high-risk” government programs. (Turn to page 74 for the discussion about NASA; see also this Orlando Sentinel article.) The GAO notes that the agency has made progress in recent years, but still must do more to fully implement its integrated financial management system, get more information from contractors on the performance on their contacts, and improve cost estimation processes. One thing to keep in mind before putting too much blame on O’Keefe for not fixing all the problems: he had only three years to address a problem the GAO first identified as high risk back in 1990.
January 25, 2005 at 7:16 pm · Filed under Congress
Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD), whose district includes NASA Goddard, issued a press release Monday about the possibility of no funding for a Hubble repair mission in the FY06 budget. Hoyer said he was “very concerned” about those reports, adding that “I will fight to ensure that a new servicing mission is adequately funded and supported.” One interesting note: Hoyer said that he “worked to include a provision” in the FY05 omnibus spending bill that provided nearly $300 million for Hubble repair mission efforts “that would prevent the use of these funds to de-orbit Hubble.” Of course, that spending bill also gives NASA considerable flexibility regarding how it will spend its money, and as Space News reported a couple weeks ago, NASA was planning to spend only $175 million on Hubble work in 2005.
January 24, 2005 at 7:46 am · Filed under Other
Since Friday’s Space News report that NASA will offer no funding for a Hubble robotic repair mission, there have been a few additional reports about the subject, including articles by the Washington Post, New York Times, and Baltimore Sun. These reports don’t offer many new details, instead mainly confirming the original report that, by the time the proposed FY06 budget is released two weeks from today, NASA will announce that it will provide no additional funding for a repair mission. As these articles note, this is a decision likely to raise the ire of astronomers and politicians. Indeed, late Friday Hubble’s most ardent backer, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), issued a very brief press release saying the she will “lead the fight again this year” for a servicing mission. The House Science Committee has also been planning a hearing tentatively scheduled for next week with Louis Lanzerotti, who chaired the National Research Council study that argued for a shuttle servicing mission, among those scheduled to appear. That hearing should be especially interesting…
January 22, 2005 at 11:57 am · Filed under Other
The Suborbital Institute is planning a two-day lobbying effort on Capitol Hill on February 8 and 9 (immediately before the FAA/AST Forecast Conference in Washington.) The Usenet message describing the event is scant on details; contact Andrew Case for more information.
January 21, 2005 at 5:43 pm · Filed under NASA
Space News reported Friday afternoon that NASA plans to effectively kill a proposed Hubble robotic mission by not including any funding for it in its proposed FY2006 budget. Instead, NASA plans to request funding to develop a module that can attach to the spacecraft robotically to deorbit the spacecraft at the end of its life. As the article notes, you can be sure this decision will not go over well with many members of Congress, particularly those who opposed NASA’s announcement a year ago to cancel the SM4 shuttle servicing mission…
January 21, 2005 at 8:04 am · Filed under Other
A quiet week in space policy, but even during the quietest times you can count in people to say some odd things:
- At a pre-inaugural event in Washington on Tuesday, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) introduced Buzz Aldrin as “as the second man to walk on the moon, following ‘Neil Young,’”, the Washington Post’s lukewarm gossip column reported. Feeney later admitted he made a gaffe, but claimed that, “Some of his [Young's] later work leads me to believe he spent some time on the moon.” Sure…
- In a syndicated column, Chris Adamo reveals the real cause of the Columbia accident: “the blindness of liberal ideology.” Um, ok…
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