Differences in FAA/AST funding presage NASA funding battle

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a pair of fiscal year 2014 appropriations bills on Thursday, including one that funds the FAA. The Senate bill includes $17.011 million for the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. That’s significantly more than what the House’s version of the same appropriations bill provided for the office: $14.16 million, a […]

House bill would reduce funding for FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation

An appropriations bill marked up earlier this week by a House appropriations subcommittee would reduce funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) office responsible for oversight of the commercial space transportation industry. The bill, approved by the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee on Wednesday, would give the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) […]

Nelson warns of partisan “chaos” regarding NASA authorization

Immediately after the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee wrapped up its hearing on a draft NASA authorization bill Wednesday morning, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) offered his views on the subject at a Space Transportation Association luncheon on the other side of Capitol Hill. Nelson, chairman of the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, said […]

House hearing reveals concerns about proposed NASA authorization

When Wednesday’s hearing by the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee on a proposed 2013 NASA authorization act appeared on the calendar last week, many observers speculated the hearing might be the official introduction of the bill, setting the stage for a markup of the bill by the full committee and then consideration by the House […]

Asteroid mission plans in the House’s crosshairs

Members of the House of Representatives will discuss, and likely make plans to formally introduce, a NASA authorization bill later today in a hearing by the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee. A key element of that discussion will be a provision in a draft of the bill that has been circulating in the space community […]

Tweaking the proposed export control reforms for hosted payloads and suborbital vehicles

Last month, as previously noted here, the Obama Administration released a draft version of the revised Category XV of the US Munitions List (USML), which covers satellites and related components. The release of the draft version started a comment period that lasts until early July, after which officials will review the comments before making any […]

House hearing next week on new NASA authorization bill

The House Science Committee’s space subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for the morning of Wednesday, June 19, titled “NASA Authorization Act of 2013.” The two scheduled witnesses are familiar faces for the committee: retired Lockheed Martin executive Tom Young and Cornell University planetary scientist Steve Squyres, who also chairs the NASA Advisory Council. The House […]

The National Academies wants you(r thoughts)

The National Academies’ Committee on Human Spaceflight is continuing its congressionally-mandated study on the US human spaceflight program, with meetings of two of its panels planned for next week in California and Washington, DC. (The public and stakeholder opinions panel meeting in DC next week is primarily closed to the public, likely for good reason […]

NASA operating plan adjusts commercial crew, planetary science funding

Space News reported Friday that a long-awaited fiscal year 2013 operating plan for NASA will make some funding adjustments for several key programs, including commercial crew development and planetary science. The plan, not publicly released yet by NASA, would fund commercial crew at $525 million, effectively undoing the effects of sequestration and rescission on the […]

House Science Committee to take up education reorganization

The full House Science Committee will host a hearing today at 2 pm EDT to examine the Obama Administration’s proposed restructuring of federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, consolidating programs at NASA and other agencies. Among those slated to testify at the hearing is Leland Melvin, NASA’s associate administrator for education.

When NASA […]