Space Politics
Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway…
Archive for April, 2006
April 28, 2006 at 7:02 am · Filed under Other
The Pentagon announced yesterday that Lt. Gen. Kevin Chilton will become the new commander of Air Force Space Command, succeeding Gen. Lance Lord, who retired a month ago. Chilton will earn a promotion to general in the process, ensuring that the command remains led by a four-star general: there had been concerns that the Air Force would allow a three-star to lead the command, with a corresponding decline in its prestige and importance. If the name sounds familiar, Chilton is a former NASA astronaut, having flown on three shuttle missions between 1992 and 1996, including commander of STS-76 in 1996.
April 28, 2006 at 6:57 am · Filed under Other
Reuters reports that the lower house of the Mexico’s Congress has approved the formation of a national space agency for the country. The Mexican Space Agency, with an initial budget of only $2 million, would “coordinate research and work with universities and the private sector to launch communication and weather satellites.” (For $2 million, that won’t allow for much coordination.) Backers of the proposal hope that the agency will help development of high-tech industries in the country. While the article treats the agencu as a bit of a novelty, a number of countries not traditionally associated with space now have national space agencies, including NASDRA in Nigeria and GISTDA in Thailand.
April 27, 2006 at 5:58 am · Filed under Congress
Yesterday’s hearing on the NASA budget by the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee was attended by two members: chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and ranking member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). (Cynics would note that these two should be identified as Sens. Shelby (R-MSFC) and Mikulski (D-GSFC/STScI).) While it was clear in the questioning of NASA administrator Michael Griffin that they were looking after interests in their own states, they also made it clear that they thought NASA needed more money. For example, during a line of questioning by Shelby about science funding, Griffin noted that the planned science budget increases of up to 7% could not be sustained when NASA’s budget as a whole was growing at 2.4%. “I agree with you, we need more money,” Shelby said.
“I did not say that,” Griffin responded.
“Well, I say it,” Shelby said.
“Yes, sir,” Griffin said.
In a press release after the hearing, Mikulski said that she “called on the Bush Administration to increase funding for NASA in the federal budget, which cuts billions from science programs.” In the hearing itself, Mikulski was asking Griffin how much money it would take to speed up the CEV so it would be ready as soon as possible after the shuttle is retired when Shelby stepped in. “Sen. Mikulski, if you’ll yield, it’s obvious that we need more money to fund NASA,” he said.
“I think that’s it, Mr. Chairman,” she responded.
“You’re absolutely right,” he said.
Comments off
April 27, 2006 at 5:40 am · Filed under Congress
X Prize founder Peter Diamandis will be in Capitol Hill today, but he won’t be there primarily to talk about commercial spaceflight or space tourism. Instead, he will be one of the witnesses of a House Science Committee hearing this morning on “H-Prize Act of 2006″ (HR 5143), legislation recently introduced by Congressman Bob Inglis (R-SC) to establish a series of prizes to encourage development of “transformational technologies that can lead to commercialization of hydrogen.” Diamandis’ X Prize Foundation is now moving beyond its origins as a space prize, with plans to run prizes in various other disciplines, including alternative energies.
April 26, 2006 at 6:16 am · Filed under Other
Just a day after Reuters reported that final government approval for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) might come in the next several weeks comes word that one of the partners in the EELV joint venture might be having second thoughts. The Washington Post and Reuters report that Lockheed Martin will revisit the ULA in a board meeting on Thursday, according to comments made by company executives in an earnings conference call Tuesday. “[A]t that time, we’re going to review with the board the status (of the deal), and have the appropriate discussion,” Lockheed CFO Chris Kubasik said. Reuters notes that this “lukewarm approach” is different from remarks earlier this year when both Boeing and Lockheed Martin reaffirmed their commitment to the ULA despite regulatory delays.
April 26, 2006 at 6:06 am · Filed under Congress
Yesterday’s relatively brief, congenial hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee on NASA covered the usual topics: the transition from the shuttle to the CEV and concerns about the length of the gap between the two programs, aeronautics funding, and miscellaneous issues. (For some general coverage, check out SPACE.com, Florida Today, and the New York Times.) Unlike their colleagues in the House, the committee brought up China only briefly, near the end of the hearing, without the doom-and-gloom of the House appropriations subcommittee hearing last month.
The Washington Post, however, focuses on what wasn’t discussed at the hearing: the agency’s concern about the effect of Congressional earmarks on its budget. On the penultimate page of his full opening remarks, Griffin says that the growing size of earmarks—$568.5 million in FY06, compared to $74 million in FY97—is hurting the agency. “The growth of these Congressional directions is eroding NASA’s ability to carry out its mission of space exploration and peer-reviewed scientific discovery.” In his statement, he says that “NASA seeks the assistance of this Committee and Congress in reducing earmarks in the FY 2007 budget process.” However, Griffin did not read that section of his remarks at the hearing, and members of the committee did not bring it up. Griffin told the Post that he wasn’t trying to avoid a confrontation: “I feel about these earmarks the same way I always feel about earmarks.”
April 25, 2006 at 7:05 am · Filed under Other
Florida Today reports that the state’s House of Representatives have final approval Monday to legislation that would provide $50 million incentives for the state’s space industry, as well as consolidate the state’s numerous space-related agencies into a single organization. However, the House rejected several amendments by one Space Coast-area legislator, Bob Allen, who tried to increase the size of the incentives (he has offered a proposal for $500 million in incentives, with half the money coming from labor unions), and address some issues associated with the merger of the agencies. While the House rejected the amendments, they’re expected to come up again in the state Senate.
Comments off
April 25, 2006 at 6:58 am · Filed under Other
Some deals in Washington seem to take forever to close. A case in point is the sale of the Washington Nationals, the city’s professional baseball franchise that is currently owned by the league. Major League Baseball officials originally planned to sell the team to local owners within a few months of the September 2004 announcement that the franchise would be moving to the city from Montreal. The Nats are still owned by MLB, after the league blew past deadline after self-imposed deadline, although a deal could be done soon.
The same can be said for the United Launch Alliance, the Boeing-Lockheed Martin EELV joint venture. Next week will mark the first anniversary of the announcement of the ULA, but the deal has yet to close because of an ongoing government review. However, Reuters reported late Monday that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to approve the venture, with conditions, “within the next few weeks.” The terms of the conditions weren’t disclosed in the article, although the biggest concern appears to be safeguards to keep Boeing and Lockheed’s satellite manufacturing divisions from gaining an unfair advantage over other companies, notably Northrop Grumman. Keep in mind, though, that this deal has dragged on far longer than expected, so a “few weeks” could turn out to be much longer. After all, MLB president Bob DuPuy told Congress that the league would choose a new owner for the Nationals in the next two weeks—two and a half weeks ago.
Comments off
April 24, 2006 at 7:34 am · Filed under Other
It’s no secret that the space industry in general is unhappy with the effect that export controls are having on their ability to sell their products and services to, or even hold discussions with, foreign parties. At the Space Access ‘06 conference in Phoenix a few days ago, several people were sporting buttons with the slogan “ITAR delenda est”: ITAR must be destroyed.
However, as I pointed out in my summary of the conference for The Space Review, at least one person believes that a less confrontational approach is needed. In a presentation, Berin Szoka of the Institute for Space Law & Policy said that rhetoric like the above “will undermine efforts for reform.” Instead, what’s needed is to quantify the “perverse national security effects” ITAR is having on the industry by inhibiting innovation and encouraging foreign competitors to develop their own products. and then develop detailed reform alternatives: a process that will take three to five years, he believes. What sort of button would Szoka wear? “An ITAR that works for America.”
April 24, 2006 at 7:26 am · Filed under Congress
While most of the hearing activity in Congress this year about NASA has been on the House side, the Senate will be paying attention to the space agency this week. The science and space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon on “National Aeronautic and Space Administration Issues and Challenges”. The hearing, according to the committee announcement, “will review NASA progress in implementing provisions of the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-155) in the context of the Fiscal Year 2007 budget request. The hearing will also focus on ISS Research, the transition from the Space Shuttle to the CEV, NASA activities in science and engineering education, and contributions to U.S. technological competitiveness.” NASA administrator Michael Griffin is the sole witness listed.
Update: In addition to the Commerce subcommittee hearing, the Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science will hold a hearing on NASA’s budget Wednesday the 26th at 2 pm. Again, Griffin will be the sole witness.
Comments off
Next entries »
