Reviewing Griffin’s tenure at NASA

By Jeff Foust on 2009 May 6 at 12:23 pm ET

While we await the NASA budget tomorrow and a potential announcement of a review that could put the future of Constellation (at least in its current configuration) in question, it may be useful to look back at Griffin’s nearly four years as NASA administrator. A reader pointed me to a new white paper, Launching a […]

Filed under: NASA | 3 comments

That long-awaited Constellation review

By Jeff Foust on 2009 May 6 at 4:37 am ET

It appears that a review of NASA’s Constellation program that had been anticipated by many for weeks, if not months, will finally be moving forward. The Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday afternoon that the White house will officially order that review later this week, perhaps when the detailed NASA budget request for FY2010 is released on […]

Filed under: NASA, White House | 31 comments

ITAR confusion

By Jeff Foust on 2009 May 5 at 7:24 am ET

An Aerospace Daily article Monday claims that export controls “could prevent commercial space operators from taking non-U.S. citizens on spaceflights”. “Reforming ITAR will allow us to fly a Canadian citizen into space without his getting a security clearance,” claimed Marc Holzapfel, senior counsel for Virgin Galactic.

But wait a moment. Wasn’t this issue resolved last […]

Filed under: Other | One comment

Eilene Galloway, RIP

By Jeff Foust on 2009 May 5 at 6:56 am ET

Eilene Galloway, one of the pioneers of space law and policy in the United States, passed away on Saturday in Washington at the age of 102. She was working as a national defense analyst at the Library of Congress in 1957 when she was asked by then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson to serve a staff consultant […]

Filed under: Other | 3 comments

Briefly noted

By Jeff Foust on 2009 May 4 at 1:53 pm ET

A few policy-related items published in the last few days worth mentioning:

• It’s not surprising that, after the series of articles it did on Space Florida, the Orlando Sentinel called for a shakeup of the agency in an editorial Sunday. The paper called on the state’s governor and lieutenant governor to “clean house at […]

Filed under: Congress, Lobbying, NASA, States | One comment

Space Florida dodges a budget cut

By Jeff Foust on 2009 May 1 at 12:04 pm ET

An entanglement with a space tourism training venture that hired a former state employee, running afoul of state ethics rules? Not much of a problem. Spending millions on a new launch facility that doesn’t have any customers? A needed investment. But spend money on lobbyists? That was a bit too much for one Florida lawmaker […]

Filed under: Lobbying, States | 4 comments
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