Policy & Politics
NASA looks for ways to keep Artemis on track regardless of budget outcome
As the fiscal year 2020 appropriations process approaches its endgame, NASA leadership says it will find ways to keep efforts to return humans to the moon by 2024 on track even if the agency doesn’t get all the funding it’s requested.
House preparing to introduce new NASA authorization bill
A House committee is finalizing its version of a NASA authorization bill that will cover many of the same topics as a Senate bill, but do so in different ways.
Space Force proponents in Congress warn Air Force: ‘We will watch you like a hawk’
Reps. Jim Cooper and Mike Rogers were the original proponents of a space service. It was not Trump's idea.
Barrett: Air Force to ‘move out smartly’ on Space Force
Barrett said the Air Force is reviewing the NDAA conference agreement and discussing next steps
NDAA conference agreement establishes U.S. Space Force, directs major overhaul of space acquisitions
The NDAA also establishes an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy as the senior civilian in the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Air Force leaders enthused as Space Force legislation heads to House floor
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett: "It is time for us to move forward with the Space Force.”
Kacific, with SpaceX launch imminent, borrows $160 million for satellite refinancing
Kacific said it recently secured $160 million from the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank and GuarantCo, a European- and Australian-government backed infrastructure investment organization, along with other financiers.
Bridenstine asks Congress to fully fund lunar lander program quickly
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine used a Dec. 5 speech on Capitol Hill to implore Congress to finish a fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill for NASA as soon as possible to give the agency funding to proceed on a lunar lander program.
Luxembourg expands its space resources vision
Étienne Schneider is undaunted by early setbacks as he continues work to make Luxembourg a hotbed of entrepreneurial space, a scope that has expanded beyond, but has not abandoned, space resources.
Why Cloud Constellation turned down $100 million
In December, Cloud Constellation was finalizing receipt of a $100 million investment that would help the startup deploy a ring of secure data-storage satellites in low Earth orbit. By spring, Cloud Constellation had walked away from the deal, citing a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, as one of the reasons.
Eutelsat OK with FCC’s C-band auction plan provided satellite operator costs are covered
In a Nov. 21 letter to the FCC, Eutelsat told the commission that some proceeds from the spectrum sale should go toward covering costs satellite operators will incur moving out of the band, and to provide “incentive” payments to expedite the spectrum transition to new 5G users.
FCC announcement unlikely to be the final decision about C-band spectrum
The announcement this week by the head of the Federal Communications Commission that he will seek a public action of satellite C-band spectrum is unlikely to be the final word in that debate, industry officials believe.
ITU sets milestones for megaconstellations
The International Telecommunication Union on Nov. 20 said the world’s spectrum regulators had reached consensus on milestones for constellations of satellites outside of the geosynchronous arc to preserve their spectrum rights.
Air Force: SSA is no more; it’s ’Space Domain Awareness’
SDA is the new term replacing Space Situational Awareness, according to an Oct. 4 memo from Air Force Space Command.
HASC Chairman: Legislation to create a Space Force in 2020 ‘still possible but by no means guaranteed’
Chairman Adam Smith said House-Senate divide is deepening over the establishment of a Space Force
NASA warns budget uncertainty could slow exploration programs
A NASA official warned that extended delays in finalizing a fiscal year 2020 budget for the agency could have implications for its ability to stay on schedule for returning humans to the moon in 2024.
