White House « Space Politics

More obstacles ahead for export control reform?

By Jeff Foust on 2010 July 1 at 6:46 am ET

As noted here earlier this week, the new national space policy did not say that much when it comes to export control reform, and much of it was similar to the 2006 policy. Both policies contained short sections titled “Effective Export Policies”; the 2010 section notes that “space-related items that are determined to be generally […]

Reactions to the new national space policy

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 29 at 1:24 pm ET

It’s not surprising that NASA issued a statement about the national space policy on Monday, with administrator Charles Bolden noting that the agency “is pleased to be an integral part” of the new policy. But he was not the only administration official to speak out about the new policy. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates released […]

The new national space policy is out

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 28 at 3:09 pm ET

The White House released at around 2 pm EDT today the administration’s new national space policy, along with a fact sheet and a statement by the president about the policy. A quick glance through the policy (and comparison to the 2006 policy issued by the Bush Administration) reveals a few initial impressions:

The new policy […]

What will the new national space policy look like?

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 25 at 6:15 am ET

With all the debate about the future of NASA, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the administration has also been busy crafting its overall national space policy, taking into account commercial, civil, and national security issues. That process has been ongoing for months and appears to be nearing completion. As SpacePolicyOnline.com reports, Secretary of […]

Letters, we get letters

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 23 at 6:51 am ET

In a letter to President Obama earlier this week, 62 members of Congress have expressed their displeasure with plans to cancel Constellation. “If we continue with this new space policy, including the outright cancellation of the Constellation program,” they write, “we are concerned that other countries will forge ahead of us, challenging our space dominance […]

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 […]

Briefly noted: task force meeting, SpaceX support, and bringing in da noise for Constellation

By Jeff Foust on 2010 June 6 at 9:27 am ET

The same day that SpaceX was launching its first Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, the Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development held a public session a short distance to the west, in Orlando, with the task force’s co-chairs, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, in attendance. Little […]

Nelson officially begins push for additional shuttle flight

By Jeff Foust on 2010 May 26 at 10:05 pm ET

Several hours after the space shuttle Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center, ending its last scheduled flight, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) officially announced he would try to seek one more flight for that orbiter. In a letter to President Obama, Nelson said he would seek to include language for that flight in the NASA […]

Mikulski unhappy about NASA contact termination plans

By Jeff Foust on 2010 May 16 at 10:32 am ET

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is the latest member of Congress to raise issues about NASA’s approach to dealing with the potential termination of Constellation contracts. In a May 10 letter to OMB director Peter Orszag (reported by Space News and also independently received here from a third party), Mikulski said she was “deeply troubled” by […]

Holdren: astronauts support our plan, too

By Jeff Foust on 2010 May 13 at 10:39 pm ET

The video above is a response to a question about NASA’s new plan posed to presidential science advisor John Holdren at the AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy in Washington on Thursday, one day after he appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee to discuss the administration’s new human spaceflight plans. He outlined the […]

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