Opinion section includes op-eds, columns, commentaries and editorials on all things related to the global space business enterprise.

U.S. commercial remote sensing regulations will be put to the test by new ventures, such as EarthNow, a Bill Gates-and-SoftBank-backed venture that aims to distribute live video of the Earth. Credit: NASA’s Epic camera aboard DSCOVR Satellite

Op-ed | We’ll need more than Trump’s Space Policy Directive to fix commercial remote-sensing regulations

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At the rate the commercial sector is innovating, regulatory practices will need to be agile, evolving quickly while still providing needed order and protections.

From the Magazine Commercial spaceSpace Policy Directive 2
U.S. President Donald Trump holds the signed copy of Space Policy Directive 2 in the Oval Office May 24 along with Vice President Mike Pence, National Space Council Executive Secretary Scott Pace and Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the National Space Council Jared Stout. Credit: White House Official Photo

Op-ed | Regulatory reform is not a one-off event

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The American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act takes a number of important steps to provide regulatory certainty for emerging commercial space applications; and to implement the United States’ international obligation to provide authorization and supervision for its private sector actors.

From the Magazine regulatorySpace Policy Directive 2
This image from the ISS shows strong tropospheric storm clouds pushing up against and being blocked at the tropopause, illustrating the decoupled and isolated nature of the stratosphere from the troposphere below. This relative isolation allows rocket emissions to accumulate in the stratosphere. Credit: NASA

Op-ed | Time to clear the air about launch pollution

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Combustion emissions from launch vehicles present the space industry with a concern comparable to orbital debris that we can begin to address now, before it grows and becomes a potential impediment to space access.

From the Magazine emissionslaunch pollution
SpaceOrder

Why the United States needs a Space Force

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Military professionals who concentrate on space needed their own organization to truly focus their efforts on a singular task — to protect and defend U.S. and allied interests in space.

Policy & Politics Space Force
In this European Space Agency illustration, a satellite breaks up, adding to the growing population of orbital debris. Debris-clearing spacecraft the U.S., China and others have in the works could easily double as anti-satellite weapons. Credit: ESA

Trump’s Space Force announcement could propel us to deal with space ‘Pearl Harbor’

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Those who loathe or love a Space Force “separate but equal” to the Air Force must think and act decisively and quickly. Regardless of whether the Space Force actually materializes, deliberation alone could finally spring us into action to deal with the looming threat of space Pearl Harbor.

Policy & Politics ChinaRussiaSpace ForceTrump
“We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the Space Force. Separate but equal. It is going to be something,” President Donald Trump said during a June 18 meeting of the National Space Council. “I’m hereby directing the department of Defense and the Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That’s a big statement.” Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

What would the mission of the United States Space Force be?

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Trump’s proposal derives from a growing debate inside military and political circles about how to best meet the threat posed to American space assets by potential enemies: Russia and China, to be precise.

Policy & Politics Space ForceTrump
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A on May 21, 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA

Foust Forward | For commercial space, fewer-stop, not one-stop, shopping

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For an administration that likes to play up even the smallest space policy milestone, the signing of Space Policy Directive 2 on May 24 almost flew under the radar.

From the Magazine Commerce Dept.regulatorySpace Policy Directive 2
SPD-2 signing ceremony

Op-ed | The next space age

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Outer space is the last frontier of human exploration. Unfortunately, the glory days of landing men on the moon are now a distant memory. So too are the memories of watching space shuttles rumble to life and roar to space fading away. That is poised to change and America is ready to lead the way.

Policy & Politics Commercial spaceHouseSenateSpace Policy Directive 2
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at U.S. Northern Command headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Credit: DoD

On National Security | On matters of space, Congress keeps up pressure as it demands change

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Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are not letting up on efforts to keep the Air Force and the Pentagon focused on space issues.

From the Magazine Jim MattisSpace Force
ESA was planning the most ambitious debris removal demonstration: capturing its 8,000-kilogram Envisat environmental-monitoring satellite in 2023 and performing a controlled atmospheric reentry. Now, ESA is exploring synergies between on-orbit servicing and debris removal spacecraft. Credit: ESA

The Trump self-defense doctrine for the new space era

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In the face of emerging novel threats and vulnerabilities, whether the self-defense doctrine allows us to counter the threat before the attack occurs can make the difference between peace and war.

Missions Policy & Politics anti-satelliteMilitary Spacesatellite servicing
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine watches the May 5 launch of NASA’s InSight spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

An open letter to NASA’s administrator: Let’s beckon the future together

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We stand ready to support you and your tenure at NASA and look forward to continued advancements in American leadership in space as we beckon the future together.

From the Magazine Jim BridenstineNASA
DARPA Director Steven Walker. Credit: U.S. Air Force Photo by Michael Pausic

On National Security | Big hurdles for small satellites in the military market

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The Pentagon’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, wants to disrupt the military space business.

From the Magazine DARPAMilitary Space
During an ‘industry day’ held May 8 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine asks commercial companies to help get the agency back to the moon as quickly as possible. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

An open letter to NASA’s administrator: Democratizing America’s space enterprise

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In 50 years American citizens will look back on today and thank NASA for bringing all of us along with them as America expands into the solar system.

From the Magazine Jim BridenstineNASA
This computer-generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight, with an area including Gale Crater beginning to catch morning light. Curiosity was delivered in 2012 to Gale crater, a 155-kilometer-wide crater that contains a record of environmental changes in its sedimentary rock. Credit: NASA JPL-CALTECH

Foust Forward | What do we want? Mars! When do we want it? Uhhh…

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Few in Congress are bigger proponents of sending humans to Mars than Ed Perlmutter, and he has the bumper sticker to prove it.

From the Magazine Mars
The value of smallsats will be fully realized when the disorganized flock is transformed into a carefully orchestrated constellation. Credit: NASA illustration

Op-ed | NewSpace 2.0: Moving beyond the Minimum Viable Product

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Owing partly to the emergence of small satellites, NewSpace startups are disrupting commercial space by addressing these and other questions on shoestring budgets compared to government programs.

From the Magazine NewSpaceSmallsat

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