NASA « Space Politics

Human spaceflight study co-chairs to appear before House Science Committee

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 22 at 10:50 am ET

Three weeks after releasing their final report on the future of human space exploration, the co-chairs of the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Spaceflight will speak at a hearing of the House Science Committee this week. Purdue University president and former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, and Jonathan Lunine from Cornell University, will testify before […]

Shelby reiterates his support for commercial crew pricing language as Nelson seeks changes to it

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 19 at 6:36 am ET

As debate on the Senate floor startedâ€”slowlyâ€”Wednesday on several appropriations bills, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill that funds NASA, one senator defended language in the report accompanying the bill about commercial crew cost data while another senator hinted he would seek to change that language before the bill becomes law.

At issue […]

White House, Washington Times both criticize Senate commercial crew language

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 17 at 12:17 pm ET

It’s rare to get the Obama Administration and the conservative editorial page of the Washington Times in agreement on something. Yet, both have spoken out in opposition to report language in the Senate’s Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations billâ€”due to be considered by the full Senate this weekâ€”regarding cost and pricing data for commercial […]

Commercial space advocates rally against Senate report language

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 14 at 10:10 am ET

Next week, the Senate is expected to take up the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved earlier this month. The CJS bill may be combined with two other appropriations bills in a “minibus” on the Senate floor.

What has attracted the most attention about the bill is not […]

As KSC maps out its future plans, Rubio worries about commercial competitiveness

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 13 at 10:26 am ET

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is embarking on a long-range master plan that, over the next two decades, foresees major changes to the center as it evolves from one that primarily supported the Space Shuttle to one that is a “multi-user” spaceport. The master plan includes, among other features, a proposed second runway and as many […]

NASA emphasizes near-term exploration systems progress, but long-term questions remain

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 12 at 5:56 pm ET

At a Capitol Hill luncheon Wednesday, NASA officials provided a standing room only audience with an update on the development of key elements of the agency’s exploration plans: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket, and ground systems to support those vehicles. And while officials gave the message that development of all three […]

House approves NASA authorization bill

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 10 at 7:44 am ET

A NASA authorization bill that sailed through the House Science Committee in April passed the full House Monday by nearly a unanimous vote. After a brief floor debate where no members expressed opposition, the House passed HR 4412 on a 401-2 vote, far above the two-thirds threshold needed for passage under suspension of the rules. […]

SOFIA feeling “very hopeful” about future

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 7 at 9:14 am ET

Three months after the White House’s budget proposal appeared to spell doom for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)â€”a funding cut that would have likely required mothballing the telescope in 2015â€”project officials are optimistic enough about the observatory’s future that they are moving ahead with plans for future observation cycles and maintenance of the […]

Examining the Senate’s NASA funding bill

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 6 at 12:28 pm ET

As expected, the NASA funding levels in the Senate’s Commerce, Justice, and Science funding bill are broadly similar, but not identical, to those in the bill the House passed last week. From the report accompanying the bill, here’s how the Senate’s funding levels compare to those in the House and the President’s budget request (PBR):

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NASA and Congress like the NRC report, for very different reasons

By Jeff Foust on 2014 June 4 at 9:07 pm ET

Wednesday morning’s briefing on the Committee on Human Spaceflight’s report largely followed the key points laid out in the report and discussed here. That included the decision to make Mars the “horizon goal” for human space exploration, a discussion of some of the exploration architectures included in the report, and other issues about public sentiment […]

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