By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 24 at 8:45 pm ET Earlier this week the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the crew of Apollo 11 on the 40th anniversary of that historic landing. Well, a little later this week two senators introduced a resolution of their own, S.Res. 222, to honor an astronaut: not any members of the Apollo 11 crew, but Chris Cassidy, a member of the STS-127 crew currently at the station. Cassidy’s claim to fame, besides being an astronaut, is that he is considered the 500th person to fly in space, a somewhat arbitrary distinction since he is one of four rookies on this mission, and there had been 498 people in space before it.
Cassidy is from Maine, and the resolution was introduced by the state’s two senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. “As our nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the first man on the moon, Lieutenant Commander Cassidy’s journey to space marks a new era, with Chris becoming the 500th person to venture beyond earth’s gravity,” said Snowe in a statement. “I commend Chris for his heroic contributions and commitment to advancing science and human understanding.”
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 24 at 1:16 pm ET While Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got a lot of attention this week about her remarks on North Korea (and the North Koreans’… odd reaction) she also visited India and signed several agreements between the two countries. One of them, as described in a State Department press release, is a Technology Safeguards Agreement and “associated side letters” for US-licensed components on spacecraft to be launched by India. “Practically, the agreement will facilitate the launch of U.S.-licensed spacecraft components and safeguard protected technologies and data of both countries,” the release notes. “The side letters commit the United States and India to enter into consultations regarding the market for commercial space launch and satellite services.”
That last sentence is key: the agreement, as the joint US-India statement notes, covers only “civil or non-commercial satellites” with US components to be launched by India. That greatly reduces the practical impact of this agreement, although there have already been cases of Indian spacecraft launching with US components: the Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter did carry NASA instruments, for example. Before India can enter the commercial launch market for US payloads (or payloads with US components), a commercial launch services agreement is needed, something that there are still “major differences” on between the two countries, according to a report this week in The Hindu. This week’s agreement, though, is the latest in a series of moves over the last several years towards improved relations between the two countries in space.
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 23 at 1:14 pm ET It’s been known for some time that the administration is embarking on an overall review of national space policy, one that goes beyond the current Augustine committee review of NASA’s human spaceflight plans. That’s not unprecedented: previous administrations have done similar reviews and updates of national space policy, which can last for several years (in the case of the previous administration, stretching well into its second term.) With new NASA leadership finally in place, the space agency is now finally learning its role in that review. Aerospace Daily reported yesterday that new administrator Charles Bolden and deputy administrator Lori Garver went to the White House on Tuesday to meet with science advisor John Holdren to “establish their agency’s role in the White House review”. That top-level review is led by National Security Advisor James Jones—like Bolden a retired Marine Corps general—with no set date for its completion.
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 23 at 1:03 pm ET This week the House and the Senate passed HR 2245, the “New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act”, which awards Congressional gold medals to the Apollo 11 astronauts and, for good measure, John Glenn. (The legislation passed in the House on a 390-0 vote, and by unanimous consent in the Senate.) The House also passed on Monday H.Res. 607, a resolution honoring the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11; a copy of that resolution was presented to the Apollo 11 crew in a ceremony Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
While Congress may have been generous in its praise of the mission, at least one member got “dissed” by an astronaut, in the words of Roll Call. According to the article, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi approached Neil Armstrong for an autograph—and got turned down, as he does autograph requests in general. “The Speaker would go to the moon and back to try to get what her grandson asked for,†a spokesman for the speaker told Roll Call. “But he learned a valuable lesson: You can’t always get what you want.â€
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 20 at 12:20 pm ET Late Sunday the Review of US Human Space Flight Plans (aka the Augustine committee) issued a call for comments for a document called “Exploration Beyond LEO: Process and Progress”. (I had separately heard about this a little earlier Sunday from an alert reader.) The short document—just over two pages—is key because it hints at what the committee, or at least the subcommittee of the overall committee looking at exploration beyond LEO, is considering right now. The document states that the committee is looking at five scenarios, and has asked NASA to document the current program as another scenario. The key paragraph:
The first subcommittee-defined scenario, Lunar Base, is a close derivative of the current program, with some simplifications. Lunar Global is a scenario in which a base or outpost is not assembled on the Moon, but instead the Moon is explored by a coordinated series of extended duration human sorties and robotic exploration. In both these cases, implications for subsequent Mars exploration will be considered. Moon to Mars, or more completely Moon on the way to Mars, is a scenario in which the primary objective is Mars exploration, and all systems are designed for Mars. Only when it is beneficial to use the Moon as a true test bed for these Mars exploration systems will flights to the Moon be conducted. Mars First is a plan to exclusively pursue human exploration of the Mars as fast as possible, without using the Moon as a first destination. Finally, Flexible Path is a scenario that allows humans to visit a wide number of inner solar system bodies, objects and locations, but not go to the surface of those with deep gravity wells. Destinations besides Moon and Mars would include the Earth-Moon and Earth-Sun Lagrange points, near-Earth objects (NEOs) and the moons of Mars. There is nothing implied in this scenario that surface exploration might not follow, simply that exploration would first exploit all that could be done without landing on a planetary surface.
The document also includes a set of questions that need to be answered for each scenario, from how to coordinate human and robotic exploration to the strategy for engaging the commercial sector.
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 17 at 6:41 pm ET While there hasn’t been a formal release by NASA, multiple reports state that Charles Bolden and Lori Garver were officially sworn in this morning as NASA administrator and deputy administrator. (NASA does have an image of Bolden arriving at his new office.) There will apparently be a more formal ceremony or other event to welcome the two to their new jobs, although nothing has been announced beyond an address to NASA employees at noon EDT Tuesday (on NASA TV).
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 15 at 10:10 pm ET The US Senate confirmed Wednesday evening the nominations of Charles Bolden and Lori Garver as NASA administrator and deputy administrator, respectively. Acting on unanimous consent—which allows the Senate to expedite the process provided no one objects—the Senate confirmed the two early Wednesday evening. In today’s fractured media world, it’s no surprise that many found out about the confirmation in a series of tweets by Sen. Bill Nelson (or a staffer acting on his behalf), Bolden’s biggest backer in the Senate. “Charlie Bolden just confirmed by Senate as nation’s new space czar,” said the senator in one tweet. “He’s perfect to keep America leading in space, science and technology.”
A “senior administration official” told the Orlando Sentinel that Bolden and Garver could officially start work within a week.
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 15 at 7:15 am ET Both Florida Today and Orlando Sentinel report that the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to vote on the nominations of Charles Bolden and Lori Garver to be NASA administrator and deputy administrator as soon as this afternoon. The Sentinel says that the committee’s vote would take place this afternoon “in a room off the Senate floor.” (The committee has a busy schedule today, with a hearing in the morning and a nominations hearing for two FCC commissioners this afternoon.) Once the committee gives its endorsement, it will go to the full Senate for final confirmation. The hope is still to have the two confirmed this week.
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 14 at 6:49 am ET Some recent items of interest related to the Review of US Human Space Flight Plans (aka Augustine) Committee and its work:
By Jeff Foust on 2009 July 10 at 6:58 am ET Earlier this week the House overwhelmingly approved the “Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009″ (HR 2965). Included in the final version of the House bill was an amendment offered by Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) regarding small businesses and the end of the shuttle program, located in section 206 of the bill:
(2) SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM- Each agency required to establish a commercialization program under paragraph (1) and that carries out construction, assembly, or research and development activities with respect to the space shuttle program (also known as the space transportation system) shall include, as part of such commercialization program, activities to assist small business concerns affected by the termination of the space shuttle program to commercialize technologies through SBIR. Activities to assist such small business concerns may include activities described in paragraph (1) and other activities to assist small business concerns making the transition from work relating to the space shuttle program to work in related or unrelated industries.
The amendment was non-controversial and passed on a 427-4 vote. In a statement, she explained the amendment was designed to help companies working on the shuttle program make the transition to other work once the shuttle is retired. “The SBIR program has proven successful in helping innovative businesses find a market for their products, and my amendment will give Shuttle-related small businesses a leg up in the grants process.”
How Kosmas deals with the shuttle retirement and its economic fallout on the Space Coast will be a major factor in her political future. Already one Republican challenger has filed to run against Kosmas in 2010, citing the potential loss of thousands of jobs in the region as one factor. “I’m concerned about where we are in Washington,” Dorothy Hukill said this week. “We stand to lose thousands of jobs with the loss of the space program. These are policies that are not supported by the residents of district 24.”
|
|
