NASA « Space Politics

Briefly: Bolden, Dutch, and Garver

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 22 at 7:18 am ET

In case you missed it: the Orlando Sentinel reported Sunday that NASA administrator Charles Bolden is being investigated by the agency’s inspector general for a potential conflict of interest regarding a biofuels research program. Bolden reportedly sought the advice of officials at Marathon Oil, a company whose board Bolden previously served on, about a NASA […]

White House adds to NASA’s tab for economic development spending

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 19 at 9:22 am ET

In his speech at the Kennedy Space Center in April, President Obama announced that $40 million would be made available for economic growth and job creation in the Space Coast region of Florida around KSC. Since then a Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development, co-chaired by NASA administrator Charles Bolden […]

House committee demands NASA budget documents

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 18 at 6:33 am ET

Last week the House Science and Technology Committee asked NASA for more details about its Orion plans, including the cost and schedule of the “lifeboat” version of the spacecraft that the administration announced two months ago, as well as other elements of the agency’s revised plans. The committee asked for that information by the close […]

Battling for Constellation, and looking beyond

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 16 at 7:22 am ET

In a press conference yesterday, Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle made it clear he was not happy about the latest effort to cut back work on Constellation this fiscal year, let alone plans to cancel most of the program, given the impact it will have on his city. “It’s not a time to tell our citizens […]

The outline of a Senate NASA authorization bill forms

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 15 at 7:10 am ET

In a letter Monday to Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), chair of the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, outlined the key aspects of a NASA authorization bill his committee his drafting. The key elements of that bill, as described in that letter, include:

Support for extending operations of the ISS to […]

Waiting for the stars to align for Orion

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 11 at 6:36 am ET

Nearly two months ago, the administration revised its plans for Constellation by reversing plans to cancel the Orion spacecraft, instead electing to retain Orion as a crew return vehicle for the ISS. Since then, though, NASA has provided few details about how that lifeboat variant of Orion would be developed, and now Congress is getting […]

Congress reacts to NASA Constellation announcement

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 10 at 8:32 pm ET

When the Orlando Sentinel noted in its article about NASA’s memo about cutting back work on Constellation that the announcement “caps a bitter, three-month behind-the-scenes battle”, the first thought that ran through my mind on how Congress would react was a line from Animal House: “Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we […]

Briefly: Feinstein, ESA, and the search for compromise

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 10 at 5:39 am ET

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who doesn’t speak out much about space issues, issued a press release Wednesday congratulating SpaceX for last Friday’s successful launch of the first Falcon 9. Calling the launch “an enormous success” and “a glimpse of the future of space transportation”, she said it was a sign that “California will continue to lead […]

CAIB members clash on safety and Constellation

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 10 at 5:22 am ET

This week Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) distributed a “Dear Colleague” letter to fellow members that included a copy of a letter he received last month from Roger Tetrault, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). In the letter (published by the Huntsville Times) Tetrault argues that for crew vehicles “safety must be the […]

The latest round in the antideficiency battle

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 10 at 5:01 am ET

Few people would have predicted about four months ago, when the White House released its FY2011 budget proposal, that a major battle about the future of Constellation would revolve around a fairly obscure contracting provision. Yet that’s what has taken place as NASA and Congress have sparred about contract termination liability and the Antideficiency Act, […]

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