May 12, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
One of the resounding themes of yesterday’s Space Law and Policy 2010 symposium was that of the need for holistic solutions – that take into account the role of a variety of players- to solve the regulatory issues facing the space community.
May 11, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
A National Research Council (NRC) study committee reports that NASA’s basic research facilities are in a state of decline. Committee co-chair John Best says that it is “imperative that NASA restore and maintain its basic research laboratories” or...
May 11, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is in a tight primary race today. With anti-incumbent fervor shaping political races this year, Rep. Mollohan’s close to 30 years in the House may work against him rather than for him as would be typically true. He chairs the House...
May 11, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
UPDATE: Rep. Mollohan lost the primary. He will remain in Congress for the rest of this year, of course, but the extent to which his lame duck status affects the outcome of the debate on NASA’s FY2011 funding and the Obama plan for human space flight is an...
May 10, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
In a rare public appearance to talk about the future of the human spaceflight program, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, will testify to the Senate Commerce committee on Wednesday. Mr. Armstrong will be joined by fellow Apollo astronaut Gene...
May 10, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
The chair and vice-chairs of the 2009 National Research Council (NRC) study “America’s Future in Space: Aligning the Civil Space Program With National Needs” think the Obama plan for NASA makes the NASA program just as unbalanced as its...
May 8, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
The following events may be of interest in the coming week. For more details, see our calendar on the right menu or click the links below. Times, dates and witnesses for congressional hearings and markups are subject to change; check the relevant committee’s...
May 7, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
J. Walter (“Walt”) Faulconer, the Applied Physics Laboratory’s (APL’s) business area executive for civilian space, is leaving May 14 to start a consulting business, Strategic Space Solutions, with his wife, Cindy. After 26 years at Lockheed...
May 7, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
The much anticipated Pad Abort 1 test of the launch abort system for the Orion spacecraft was successful today. Conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the test lasted 135 seconds with the crew module landing about one mile away at 16.2 miles per...
May 6, 2010 | Capitol Hill News, Legislative Activity
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), chair of the House Science and Technology Committee’s Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, believes that there is a “third way” to resolve the dispute between the President’s plan for human space flight and the...