NASA budget breakout: CR versus original request

A reader was kind enough to send me a comparison between what the House Appropriations Committee approved yesterday for NASA in its joint funding resolution (the official name for the year-long continuing resolution, or CR) and what the administration asked for almost exactly a year ago in its proposed FY2007 budget:

Area Joint Funding Res. […]

Does China want to replace the Outer Space Treaty?

Bloomberg published a somewhat cryptic article yesterday citing comments by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson suggesting that China wants “a new global treaty to govern the use of outer space.” The spokesperson offered no other details other than to say that Chinese representatives would be attending a UN COPUOS subcommittee meeting in Vienna next month.

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House: no budget boost for NASA

The House Appropriations Committee today approved a joint funding resolution for the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year that does not contain any additional funding for NASA. The plan, announced in December by the incoming chairman of the House and Senate appropriations committees, was to basically extend the continuing resolutions that had been funding much […]

Kyl criticizes White House on China ASAT test

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), speaking yesterday at the Heritage Foundation, criticized the Bush Administration for its “muted response” to the Chinese ASAT test earlier this month. “Key policy makers seem oblivious to the nature and the urgency of the threat,” the AP quoted Kyl as saying. Kyl blamed the response in large part on the […]

Beware of endorsements and bunnysuits

The Office of Special Counsel has issued what the Houston Chronicle calls a “sharp reprimand” to NASA administrator Mike Griffin for appearing to endorse then-Congressman Tom DeLay last year. In a March 2006 keynote speech at the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement event, Griffin said NASA “has had no better friend” than DeLay and […]

Sen. Kyl on Chinese ASATs

It’s a bit of a late notice, but for those of you in the DC area who are free at lunch today, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) will speak at a Heritage Foundation event titled “Chinese Anti-Satellite Weapons and American National Security”. According to the event announcement:

Experts quoted in the media have suggested that China […]

A brand new look

“Did you do something with your hair? Lose some weight? Get contacts?” Well, I’m glad you noticed*. I did spend some time this weekend performing the first real overhaul of this blog since I started it three years ago. I needed to move the site to a new server (since the deal I had on […]

Who benefits from the Chinese ASAT test

There’s been plenty of discussion of the potential negative effects of the Chinese ASAT test earlier this month, from the debris created by the test imperiling other satellites to the increased threat now faced by US low Earth orbit satellites. But who will benefit? An Aerospace Daily article earlier this week suggests that both missile […]

Appropriations committee assignments

Yesterday’s announcement of subcommittee assignments for the House Science and Technology Committee and Senate Commerce Committee is a reminder to look at the status of the key appropriations subcommittees. For the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, its membership is as follows:

Democrats: Chair: Alan B. Mollohan (WV) Patrick J. Kennedy […]

Senate Commerce Committee assignments

On the same day that the House Science and Technology Committee announced its committee membership and subcommittee assignments, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, announced its subcommittee structure and leadership assignments. The “Science and Space” subcommittee is now called the “Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences” subcommittee (other sciences are covered by the “Science, Technology, […]