NASA FY2008 budget review: other provisions

[Third in a series.]

Following up on my previous posts summarizing the budget and reviewing its various requests for reports and studies, there is some other language of interest in the appropriations legislation itself and its accompanying conference report:

Much to the consternation of The Mars Society and other human Mars exploration advocates, the bill […]

A structural shift in space policy?

Are the key participants in the national space policy debate, and the tools they use, undergoing change? That’s at the core of an article by Kathleen Connell in this week’s issue of The Space Review. Connell sees three “structural shifts” taking place that could reshape—for better or worse—the relative importance of space policy and the […]

Where the candidates stand – if in fact they’re standing

In today’s issue of The Space Review I have an article summarizing the positions the various presidential candidates have taken on space issues—assuming, of course, that they’ve taken any position at all. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you won’t get too many new insights in the article, given the lack of […]

NASA FY2008 budget review: reports and studies

[Second in a series.]

The conference report accompanying the FY2008 appropriations bill contains a number of provisions calling on studies, either by NASA or outside agencies, on various areas of concern to Congress:

The conference report states that the House and Senate appropriations committees are concerned that “NASA is not able to anticipate adequately technical […]

NASA FY2008 budget review: summary

On Wednesday President Bush officially signed the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008, which includes funding for a wide range of agencies, including NASA. Congress had passed the bill last week before recessing for the year. With the FY2008 appropriations process at an end (and it being an otherwise quiet time on the space […]

Export control relief on the horizon?

An article in Thursday’s issue of CongressDailyAM (not freely availably online, unfortunately) suggests that the Bush Administration may be close to making some changes to the export control process that could benefit the aerospace industry. The changes are believed to be based on recommendations made earlier this year by the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness. […]

A “daisy’s chance on the moon”

That’s the Orlando Sentinel’s assessment of the odds that Congressman Dave Weldon’s shuttle life extension proposal will be enacted in an editorial published Wednesday. The Sentinel finds faults with Weldon’s proposal in terms of both money and priorities. Getting that money—Weldon estimates that the total cost would be about $10 billion, assuming the shuttle can […]

Putting COTS selection on hold?

I haven’t had a chance to review the NASA-related language in the omnibus appropriations bill currently being considered by Congress, but Space News [subscription required] has found a provision that would effectively place the ongoing COTS selection process on hold, perhaps for months:

“[T]he Appropriations Committees note that one of the two COTS contracts is […]

Weldon’s grand plan for a shuttle “soft landing”

Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL) formally announced yesterday his legislation intended to keep the shuttle flying until Orion is ready to begin operations. A breakdown of what his bill would cost, according to Florida Today:

$1.6 billion to speed the development of the new Orion space capsules and Ares rockets. $819 million to reimburse NASA for […]

Weldon to introduce shuttle legislation today

Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL) will formally introduce legislation today to extend the life of the space shuttle during a press conference today at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. As first reported by the Orlando Sentinel earlier this month, Weldon is concerned about a long gap between the shuttle retirement around 2010 and the introduction […]