NASA « Space Politics

Bolden emphasizes the need of commercial space

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 10 at 7:35 am ET

NASA administrator Charles Bolden made a surprise appearance Wednesday morning at the 14th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference at the Washington Convention Center. Bolden was not on the conference agenda, but he was squeezed in between FAA administrator Randy Babbitt and keynote speaker Robert Bigelow. Given the audience, Bolden focused his remarks on […]

House appropriators plan a budget cut for NASA

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 10 at 4:54 am ET

House appropriators announced Wednesday a list of proposed spending cuts they are planning in a continuing resolution they plan to introduce soon to fund the federal government for the remainder of FY2011. The list includes a cut of $379 million for NASA (relative to the administration’s FY11 proposal), which would bring NASA down to $18.621 […]

Human spaceflight versus Earth sciences?

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 9 at 7:04 am ET

A letter signed by several members of Congress is the latest evidence that a new battle line is forming over NASA funding: human spaceflight versus Earth sciences. In a letter to House Appropriations committee chairman Rep. Hal Rogers and CJS subcommittee chairman Frank Wolf, six Republican members of Congress asked the appropriators to prioritize NASA […]

March Storm 2011 starts to take shape

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 8 at 6:57 am ET

March Storm, the annual citizens space lobby effort by ProSpace, has released its plans for the 2011 event scheduled for March 13-15. This year’s effort will support one major initiative, “The Zero-Gravity, Zero-Tax Act of 2011″. Specific details of the proposed legislation are not included in the announcement beyond “creating a tax holiday on the […]

Briefs: letters, amendments, and agreements

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 8 at 6:48 am ET

In a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asks the president to follow the guidance of last year’s NASA authorization act when requesting funding the space agency. “As we approach the rollout of your FY 2012 budget request, I look forward to a plan that is consistent with the NASA Authorization […]

House appropriations committee to review NASA this week

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 6 at 3:17 pm ET

On the schedule this week for the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee is a hearing on the oversight of NASA and the NSF, featuring the inspectors general of the two agencies. According to The Hill, this hearing is one of “hundreds” planned by House appropriators to look for places to […]

The budget squeeze tightens

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 4 at 5:56 am ET

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) told the Huntsville Times this week that some hard decisions are coming for federal spending, including cuts in defense spending. “I think national defense is probably going to lose some ground,” he told the paper’s editorial board, although he wasn’t sure how it would affect agencies and companies in Huntsville. One […]

Briefs: Palazzo visits Stennis, recalling NPOESS missteps

By Jeff Foust on 2011 February 2 at 7:19 am ET

Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) paid his first visit to NASA’s Stennis Space Center as chairman of the space subcommittee of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on Tuesday. Palazzo indicated he’d be looking out for the center, located in his district, while in Congress. “We have the infrastructure here to be able to do […]

Could Congress shortchange commercial crew funding?

By Jeff Foust on 2011 January 31 at 8:49 pm ET

When the Obama Administration released its FY2011 budget one year ago Tuesday, the proposal called for spending $6 billion over five years on commercial crew development. After the extended debate on the subject the near-term spending on the program was trimmed in the authorization bill to $1.3 billion in 2011-2013, compared to $3.3 billion over […]

White House and NASA, speaking in harmony

By Jeff Foust on 2011 January 28 at 6:55 am ET

On Thursday the White House issued a statement by the president on NASA’s Day of Remembrance, the agency’s recognition of those who lost their lives in space exploration. An excerpt from the president’s statement:

Fifty years ago, a young President facing mounting pressure at home propelled a fledgling space agency on a bold, new […]

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