Other « Space Politics

Assessing the Chinese space threat

By Jeff Foust on 2008 March 5 at 6:38 am ET

On Monday the Defense Department issued the 2008 edition of “Military Power of the Peopleâ€™s Republic of China”, an annual report that assesses Chinese military capabilities. There’s a brief section titled “Space and Counterspace” that offers a general overview, including a brief discussion of the January 2007 ASAT test and related developments. One sentence of […]

Florida considering spaceflight indemnification bill

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 28 at 6:44 am ET

The Florida Legislature, following the lead of Virginia, is considering legislation to provide liability immunity for suborbital commercial vehicle operators. The legislation, HB 737, was introduced in the Florida House of Representatives in January by Rep. David Simmons, an Orlando-area Republican, and is currently working its way through various House committees. The legislation would make […]

“A mission to Tallahassee”

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 20 at 6:56 am ET

Florida’s space industry will be trekking to the state capitol in Tallahassee next month to lobby for support as the industry approaches the post-shuttle era, Florida Today reported Wednesday. Space Day, on March 6, will feature meetings with over 100 state legislators as well as the governor and lieutenant governor. The article is scant on […]

Space and the liberal blogosphere

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 19 at 6:36 am ET

For some reason, the Houston Chronicle article about the policy differences between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, which include at least subtle differences on the issue of human spaceflight, got the attention of some high-profile members on the left side of the political blogosphere. Monday morning Matthew Yglesias of The Atlantic Online […]

What, um, impact will this have on the space weapons debate?

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 14 at 1:14 pm ET

AP: Pentagon to shoot down broken spy satellite. A press conference is scheduled for 2:30 pm EST to discuss this, with the deputy national security advisor, vice chair of the Joint Chiefs, and NASA administrator Mike Griffin in attendance.

UK tweaks its space strategy

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 14 at 6:15 am ET

The British National Space Centre released today a new vision to “stay at the forefront of space sector”. The policy largely calls for measures to improve existing strengths in areas like satellite communications, remote sensing, and space science. Included in the policy is the creation of an “international space facility” in the UK devoted to […]

Another attempt at a space weapons ban

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 12 at 7:34 am ET

Russia and China are planning to formally submit a space weapons ban treaty today at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva today. It’s not the first time, of course, that the two countries have tried to push for such an accord, and, as in the past, the US is expected to object to the treaty, […]

India-US space cooperation, and an anniversary

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 12 at 7:09 am ET

A commenter in a post yesterday requested that I “don’t allow your astute observations about the progress of Indiaâ€™s space program get lost in the mix!” This was a reference to another piece in Monday’s issue of The Space Review about changes in India’s space program and how it could affect relations with the US. […]

Sarko wants more than to go to Mars

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 12 at 6:43 am ET

Reuters reported Monday that French president Nicolas Sarkozy endorsed an international Mars exploration effort. The report is short on details, but Sarkozy, visiting the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, said that Mars exploration “can only be global”, with each nation participating “with their capabilities, their strengths and their choices.” It should be noted that […]

The gap between reality and expectations

By Jeff Foust on 2008 February 11 at 1:21 pm ET

Amidst all the recent sturm und drang associated with NASA’s implementation of the exploration vision, er, policy—be it sour grapes from losing contractors or sincere technical concerns—is a deeper question: why are people so riled up about this in the first place? In an extended article in this week’s issue of The Space Review, Bob […]

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