Is the additional shuttle mission in jeopardy?

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the additional shuttle mission approved by Congress in the recent NASA authorization bill could be in jeopardy should NASA’s budget be cut. The concern, voiced in the article primarily by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), is that fiscal conservatives, emboldened by victories in next Tuesday’s election that could shift control of […]

Brief notes

A few miscellaneous items:

NASA administrator Charles Bolden went to China and it was okay: In a statement this week, Bolden said his visit met its objectives, which including getting to know the Chinese space program and key officials as well as “reaching a common understanding of the importance of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit […]

Debating space in Alabama

Last week the two major candidates for Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, Republican Mo Brooks and Democrat Steve Raby, participated in a debate hosted by the AIAA in Huntsville. The two are vying to win the seat held by Democrat-turned-Republican Parker Griffith, who lost in the Republican primary to Brooks. Not surprisingly given the district and […]

Garver on commercial crew, compromise, cooperation, and China

When NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver started her keynote speech Thursday morning at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico, she said she thought for a moment before accepting the invitation to speak. “As you may be aware, I have a bit of a reputation for favoring those issues […]

Four goals and three suggestions for NASA’s human spaceflight program

In a luncheon speech Wednesday during the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico, George Sowers, vice president for business development at United Launch Alliance, discussed what he said could be considered a “logical” approach for the near-term future of NASA’s human spaceflight program. “Once we agree on the goals, […]

A look back at NASA’s Goldin age

Former NASA administrator Dan Goldin doesn’t speak much publicly about his tenure as NASA administration from 1992 to 2001, nor about space policy issues today. So it was a bit of a surprise to see him speak last week at a symposium last week on the 50th anniversary of NASA’s astrobiology efforts in the Washington […]

Bolden’s “exile”, more on Kosmas-Adams, and Hall’s ambitions

Is NASA administration Charles Bolden being pushed aside by the White House? That’s the claim of a Houston Chronicle article Saturday, cobbling together various events, ranging from controversy about his China trip to his now-infamous al-Jazeera interview, suggesting that the administration is considering replacing Bolden. (The article also claims that the administration slighted Bolden by […]

Endorsements for Kosmas and Posey, but not for Grayson

Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) and her Republican challenger, Sandy Adams, sparred in a debate earlier this week, with space policy as one of the topics, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Kosmas, according to the report, took credit for the additional shuttle flight included in the recently-signed NASA authorization bill, as well as support for an extension […]

More China complaints; Rubio gets a space policy briefing

Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) became the second member of Congress to speak out against NASA administrator Charles Bolden’s upcoming trip to China. In a letter to President Obama this week Culberson said he has “grave concerns about the nature and goals of China’s space program” and thus believes that there should be no cooperation between […]

No false alarm: NASA authorization bill expected to be signed today

Today may be a federal holiday, but that apparently won’t stop the president from signing into law the NASA authorization bill. NASA organized a last-minute telecon with agency officials and legislators to discuss the “anticipated signing” later this afternoon of the bill by President Obama. (How last minute? I didn’t receive notice about it until […]