February « 2006 « Space Politics

Priorities, priorities

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 22 at 6:51 am ET

I normally don’t pay much heed to letters to the editor, but this one from a Mr. Weaver E. Gore, Jr., which appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, caught my eye:

I notice that the government is sending a probe to Pluto at a cost of $700 million (“Unmanned NASA craft blasts […]

An experiment: space polcasting

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 21 at 6:33 am ET

As an experiment, I’m making available here recordings from some recent space policy-related events. I’ve started with a couple of breakfast events: a speech by OSTP associate director Richard Russell on commercial space transportation policy on February 9, and a speech by Rep. Tom Feeney on China’s space program on February 16:

Richard Russell (30:58, […]

Tom Feeney’s excellent Chinese adventure

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 17 at 7:15 am ET

Prior to yesterday’s House Science Committee hearing, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) spoke at a Space Transportation Association breakfast about his recent trip to China, including a rare visit to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Chinese manned spaceflight center that is typically off limits to Western visitors. (He noted in his talk that while […]

When a cut is not a cut (unless it’s a slash)

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 17 at 6:29 am ET

After reading the opening statements from yesterday’s hearing mentioned in a previous post, you’d think that science committee members were very upset about the planned cutbacks in NASA science programs. And indeed, some members expressed their concern about cuts, either in general or in specific programs of interest (aeronautics, SOFIA, etc.) Yet, later in the […]

N.M. spaceport funding approved

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 16 at 7:18 pm ET

In the final hours of its regular 2006 session, the New Mexico state legislature approved a spending bill that includes $100 million over three years for a new commercial spaceport in the southern part of the state. The legislature also approved a separate measure that allows cities and counties to impose gross receipts taxes on […]

Hearing roundup

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 16 at 7:01 pm ET

I haven’t had time yet to digest today’s hearing of the House Science Committee featuring NASA administrator Mike Griffin; that will have to wait until later tonight. In the meantime here are a few resources:

The committee’s hearing page with links to the opening statements by the Republican leadership as well as Griffin, the hearing […]

A different way to play the China card

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 16 at 5:58 am ET

I stumbled across yesterday an interview with Clint Curtis, a Republican-turned-Democrat who is considering running against Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), whose district includes KSC. It’s a wide-ranging, and somewhat odd, interview, although when asked what his top issues would be, Curtis mentioned several, including “Stop the gutting of NASA.” (Oh dear, there’s that evisceration theme […]

ITAR on The Space Show

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 16 at 5:39 am ET

One of the most popular punching bags in the space industry, both among established and emerging companies, is export control. Everyone, it seems, has a story of woe to tell about the difficulty and delays involved in complying with export control regulations for space products, and how such obstacles threaten the American space industry. There […]

Scientists are from Mars, remote sensing advocates are from Earth

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 15 at 7:12 pm ET

This week’s print issue of Space News includes a short article about a speech last Thursday by Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) at the U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Industry Conference in Washington (one floor up and around the corner from the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, taking place at the same time.) Udall has long advocated […]

An interesting Texas race

By Jeff Foust on 2006 February 15 at 7:01 am ET

CQPolitics.com notes that Rep. Tom DeLay is facing some competition in the Republican primary for the 22nd Congressional District, scheduled for March 7. Three candidates are running against him, one of whom, Tom Campbell, is running TV ads that indirectly attack DeLay. No one expects Campbell to upset DeLay, but it could pose another challenge […]

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