Nelson: NASA doesn’t want to “stir up the people” at KSC

On Monday several members of Congress, including Sen. Bill Nelson and Congressmen Tom Feeney and Dave Weldon, held a “workshop” on space issues Monday in Brevard County, Florida, where people are understandably concerned about life after the space shuttle. According to Florida Today, Nelson said that his subcommittee had proposed holding a field hearing this […]

CNN on space policy: the Chinese are coming!

In case you missed it, on Saturday CNN aired a brief report on space and the lack of attention it was getting on the campaign trail in this presidential election. While you’re unlikely to learn much new about the topic from the report if you’ve been reading this and other resources on the topic in […]

Feeney: target #1 in Florida

An AP article Saturday examines the reelection challenge Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) is facing for his House seat. Democrats have made Feeney “their top Florida target” and are playing up allegations of ethical improprieties by him. Feeney, the ranking member of the space subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee, is instead emphasizing his […]

Clinton introduces a familiar-looking Arecibo bill

Friday’s Orlando Sentinel reports that senator and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has introduced legislation designed to support the Arecibo radio observatory in Puerto Rico. The giant radio telescope is in danger of closing because of budget pressures on the National Science Foundation’s astronomy programs, much to the consternation of astronomers who use the facility […]

Obama wins IFPTE endorsement

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has won the endorsement of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a union that represents scientists, engineers, and other technical professions at various companies and organizations, including NASA. Space (or even more general science) policy did not factor into the IFPTE’s decision, at least according to the […]

Space policy and the campaigns: some recent reviews

“Although the MSM [mainstream media] has largely ignored Barack Obama’s plans for NASA, the issue is likely to bubble up during the general election campaign, if he’s the Democratic nominee,” claims Lee Cary in an essay in American Thinker, a right-leaning online publication. Cary never really explains why he believes this will happen: after all, […]

Soyuz and Congress

As noted here earlier, the space subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee is holding a hearing on the ISS this morning. While it’s not specifically mentioned in the hearing charter, one would expect that committee members would ask NASA’s Bill Gerstenmaier some questions about the Soyuz reentry Saturday that experienced what may be […]

Sierra County approves spaceport tax

The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News reports that voters in Sierra County, New Mexico approved a spaceport sales tax by roughly a two-to-one margin, much larger than the margin of victory last year in neighboring Doña Ana County. The quarter-cent increase will provide a modest amount of funding for New Mexico’s Spaceport America but also allow […]

Today’s big election (and it’s not in Pennsylvania)

While most people will be focusing their attention today on the Democratic presidential primary in Pennsylvania, the space industry, in particular the entrepreneurial NewSpace sector, will instead be paying attention a special election today in Sierra County, New Mexico. At stake: a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax in the county, with the proceeds going […]

He’s not acting anymore

Dr. George Nield, who had been the acting associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA since Patti Grace Smith retired in early February, can take “acting” off his job title. Nield was formally named as associate administrator today by (ironically) acting FAA administrator Robert Sturgell. Here’s a quote from Nield in the FAA […]