Space acquisition still broken

The Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing this afternoon on “space system acquisitions and the industrial base”. One of the witnesses scheduled to testify, Josh Hartman, the Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, gave a preview of his planned testimony yesterday in […]

Lyles (officially) out of the running

The Dayton Daily News reports today that retired Air Force general Lester Lyles has removed his name from consideration for the NASA administrator job. Lyles, in Dayton for a meeting of a company on whose board of directors he serves, said that it would be “too big a financial penalty” for him and his family […]

Budget resolution: symbolic victory, or more?

Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas issued a press release (not yet posted on her web site but available here) Tuesday triumphantly announcing that the House-Senate compromise version of the FY 2010 budget resolution includes $2.5 billion for NASA in FY 2011 for shuttle operations, should the remaining shuttle flights not be completed by the end of FY10. […]

Shuttle retirement, NASA leadership vacuums, and more

Some space policy commentary and news from around the web:

In a column in Monday’s Florida Today, reporter John Kelly warns of schedule pressures of adhering to a September 30, 2010 deadline for shuttle retirement, likening it to the schedule pressure for completing the station that existed prior to the Columbia accident. While this argument […]

Scolese and the appropriators

The Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on NASA this Wednesday morning, the 29th, at 10 am. Appearing before the committee will be acting administrator Chris Scolese. (Thanks to a reader for pointing out this upcoming hearing.)

Nelson: someone is “slow walking” NASA administrator nomination

Sunday’s Florida Today features its own take on NASA’s present situation, including a lack of non-acting administrator, including some choice comments from Sen. Bill Nelson, who has arguably played a major role in this situation. “There is some political center that is slow walking this, and I don’t know what it is, who it is […]

Does NASA need a new administrator? Yes, but…

It’s become increasingly clear in recent weeks—indeed, even in recent days—that NASA and the White House will need to make some major decisions in the very near future about the agency’s future direction. At the end of the month NASA will be free to resume preparations to retire the shuttle as a provision in the […]

Upcoming hearings

A couple of upcoming hearings by the House Science and Technology Committee:

Today at 10 am the energy and environment subcommittee is holding a hearing on “Continued Oversight of NOAA’s Geostationary Weather Satellite System”. The hearing will discuss a new GAO report on the progress of the next-generation GOES-R satellite program, and feature witnesses from […]

A small victory for export control reform

Often export control seems like the weather: everyone talks about, but no one seems to be able to do anything about it. ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the export control rules that govern the US space industry, are a frequent target of complaints, criticism, and calls for reform, such as recent efforts by Congressman […]

Griffin takes on the OMB

I wasn’t at the Goddard Memorial Dinner last Friday night (a black-tie affair well above my pay grade). However, by Monday I had received a few copies of the speech that former NASA administrator Mike Griffin gave in acceptance of the Goddard Trophy awarded to him at the event. Griffin, who had been keeping a […]