Senate
Widespread support for Nelson nomination to lead NASA
President Joe Biden’s nomination of former senator Bill Nelson as the next administrator of NASA has won widespread support from both members of Congress and the broader space community.
Perseverance landing wins broad political praise
President Biden and other political figures congratulated NASA for the successful Perseverance rover landing, but the bigger challenge may be turning that support into funding for the agency’s exploration programs.
Sen. Angus King to chair subcommittee that oversees DoD space programs
Angus King (I-Maine) was named chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces.
Democratic senators ask White House to continue Artemis lunar lander program
Eleven Democratic members of the U.S. Senate have asked President Joe Biden to maintain “robust funding” of NASA’s Human Landing System program given uncertainties about how the agency will proceed with that effort.
Biden’s Defense nominee embraces view of space as a domain of war
President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for defense secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed the view that the competition with China and Russia extends to outer space.
Congress overrides Trump’s veto and passes the National Defense Authorization Act
The U.S. Senate voted 81-13 on Jan. 1 to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
Senate passes NASA authorization act
The Senate unanimously approved a NASA authorization bill Dec. 18, a largely symbolic move intended to set up work on a new version of the legislation next year.
Senate passes defense bill, sets up showdown with Trump
The Senate on Dec. 11 voted 84-13 to pass the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, adopting the compromise defense policy bill by a large enough margin to override a presidential veto.
White House asks Congress to remove Europa Clipper SLS requirement
The White House is asking Congress to remove language from an appropriations bill that would direct NASA to launch the Europa Clipper mission on the Space Launch System as a long-running dispute on how to launch the mission nears its conclusion.
Senate committee advances NASA CFO nomination
The Senate Commerce Committee voted Dec. 2 to advance the nomination of Greg Autry to be NASA’s chief financial officer, a position that he may only fill for several weeks.
Space traffic management bill clears Senate committee
A Senate committee approved a bill Nov. 18 that gives the Commerce Department authority for civil space traffic management (STM), but it still faces significant obstacles to win passage in Congress this year.
Horn eyes space role in Biden administration
The outgoing chair of the House space subcommittee says she would be interested in taking a position in the incoming Biden administration involving space, including at NASA.
Senate bill offers NASA only a fraction of requested lunar lander funding
A Senate appropriations bill would provide NASA with only a small fraction of the funding it requested for lunar lander development, putting any chance of returning humans to the moon by 2024 in jeopardy.
Senate defense appropriators take issue with agencies that buy launch services directly from providers
Senate defense appropriators criticized the practice by some agencies of procuring launch services directly from commercial providers.
Key senator raises doubts about 2024 human lunar return
A key senator says she will continue to push for passage during a lame-duck session of a NASA authorization bill that supports the Artemis lunar exploration program, but not necessarily the agency’s goal of return humans to the moon by 2024.
