After rancorous confirmation fight, NASA’s Bridenstine mends fences with the Democrats who opposed him, USA Today “In a statement Wednesday to USA TODAY by the agency, Bridenstine made clear his desire to build the congressional relationships he’ll need to propel the Trump administration’s ambitious space agenda including returning astronauts to the moon. “NASA is one of America’s most storied agencies and has long had bipartisan support,” he said. “Just as […]
NASA Selects US Companies to Advance Space Resource Collection “NASA has selected 10 companies to conduct studies and advance technologies to collect, process and use space-based resources for missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA placed a special emphasis on encouraging the responders to find new applications for existing, terrestrial capabilities that could result in future space exploration capabilities at lower costs.” The first track is for one-year studies to […]
NASA Office of Inspector General’s Semiannual Report to Congress October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018 “NASA’s extensive portfolio of science-, space-, and aeronautics-related activities presents the Office of Inspector General (OIG) with a wide variety of issues to examine. Two topics we paid special attention to this reporting period: information technology (IT) governance and NASA’s efforts to resupply and fully utilize the International Space Station (ISS or Station).”
Streamlining Licensing Procedures for Small Satellites, FCC “In this document, the Federal Communications Commission proposes to streamline its rules to facilitate the deployment of a class of satellites known as small satellites, which have relatively short duration missions.” New federal policy would hike student spacecraft costs, threatening technology education, The Conversation “In a move that threatens U.S. education in science, technology, engineering and math, and could have repercussions throughout the […]
Pluto is not a planet – it’s a billion comets squished together https://t.co/sZ46zYqlu7 pic.twitter.com/p3XBngKClS — New Scientist (@newscientist) May 29, 2018 Sloppy or ignorant reporting @newscientist — Alan Stern (@AlanStern) May 30, 2018 What a wonderful way for a @NASA principal investigator to publicly interact with a major scientific news publication. This is a prime example of how prominent #NASA mission representatives should NOT publicly interact with the news media […]
NASA’s Management of Reimbursable Agreements “NASA has made improvements in the way it manages reimbursable agreements, but still cannot provide Congress and other stakeholders with fully accurate and complete information on their use. Specifically, half of the PAM and SIERA records we sampled contained substantial errors, such as incorrectly listing reimbursable agreement values and waived costs (i.e., costs incurred for which the partner does not reimburse NASA). For example, while […]
United Nations and China invite applications to conduct experiments on-board China’s Space Station “The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and China’s Manned Space Agency (CMSA) have invited applications from United Nations Member States to conduct experiments on-board China’s Space Station (CSS). In 2016 UNOOSA and CMSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to develop the space capabilities of United Nations Member States via opportunities on-board […]
Keith’s note: Sources report that Don Peterson has died. Details to follow. Bio
Remembering Alan Bean, Apollo Moon Walker and Artist, Astronaut Scholarship Foundation “Apollo and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth human to walk on the moon and an accomplished artist, has died. Bean, 86, died on Saturday, May 26, at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. His death followed his suddenly falling ill while on travel in Fort Wayne, Indiana two weeks before.” NASA Administrator Reflects on Legacy Record-Breaking Skylab, Apollo […]