NASA confirmed today that the risk of orbital debris penetrating the International Space Station has doubled because of Russia’s recent antisatellite test. Shards from the destroyed Russian satellite careened towards the ISS, forcing the seven crewmembers, including two Russians, to secure in place for a day until the immediate threat passed. But the long-term threat … Read more
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for December 13, 2021: FAA ends commercial space astronaut wings program, Axiom gets second tourist flight to ISS, Starliner OFT-2 perhaps will fly in May 2022. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events. FAA Ends Commercial … Read more
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 28-December 4, 2021 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week. During the Week It’s another one of those weeks where Congress must pass and the President must sign legislation by an imminent … Read more
SpaceX took another step forward in the development of its Starship system to take people and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Today’s static fire test of the Starship second stage with all six engines was successful according to SpaceX founder Elon Musk. SpaceX’s two-stage Starship space transportation system stacked for the … Read more
NASA is targeting a two-week window in February 2022 for Artemis I, the uncrewed test flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. A lot of work remains to be done, including a dress rehearsal planned for January, so the timeframe is tentative, but the announcement is a sign that the long-awaited launch is … Read more
The Senate Appropriations Committee released the FY2022 appropriations bill that funds NASA today, skipping over subcommittee and full committee markups as it did last year. The Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill provides $24.837 billion for NASA, almost the same as the request. While it adds $100 million for a second lunar landing system, it is not enough … Read more
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has issued another in a series of reports reassessing what restrictions are needed to preserve the chance of unambiguously determining if indigenous life exists or existed on Mars. As more countries and companies want to explore the planet, and knowledge grows about the most likely places to … Read more
NASA is reassigning two astronauts scheduled to fly on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission instead. Starliner’s debut is delayed indefinitely as the company troubleshoots a valve issue that arose just hours before an uncrewed test flight in August. NASA said it still has confidence in Boeing, but it was time for … Read more
Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for September 20, 2021: The FAA wants your comments on draft Starship environmental review, NASA chooses second round of human lunar lander contestants and robotic lunar rover landing site, Vande Hei gets another 6 months on ISS. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) … Read more
NASA will get an extra $4.4 billion if Congress agrees with draft legislation proposed by the House committee that oversees the agency. While generous, it is far short of what NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is seeking and does not include any money for a second lunar lander for the Artemis program. The committee is also … Read more