Stories from Payload’s weekly space policy newsletter, Polaris.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago this week catapulted EO tech into the spotlight, providing a bird’s eye view of everything from Russia’s build up of military equipment along the border to the theft of Ukrainian grain. Seeing the benefits of EO before and during the conflict, industry officials said other countries have been […]
“There’s no other way we’re going to get back to the surface of the Moon before the Chinese without the SLS. It’s not going to happen,” he said.
Amid the mile-a-minute news cycle that is 2025 so far, we can’t blame you if you’ve missed some of the space action on Capitol Hill. So here are five things we’ve been watching over the past week.
The council will work with lawmakers to help shape policy in a way that benefits the commercial sector on topics from acquisition to licensing to spectrum.
Regulators must find ways to balance safety and national security concerns surrounding nuclear systems and materials with the mandate for America to lead in space and the drive for a thriving commercial space economy, especially as nuclear technology becomes safer and less risky thanks to new advancements.
“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”
“Space is going to be the decisive domain. The ability of the entire joint force to project power depends upon our success in space,” he said in his final think tank engagement as Air Force secretary.
New leaders in DC and a booming space economy are likely to make 2025 an important one for space policy discussions on topics ranging from NASA’s long-term goals to federal funding levels to buying commercial to regulatory processes.
Rep.-elect Jeff Crank (R-CO) is excited about the future of space—especially, what he can do as a freshman lawmaker to help the commercial space community keep growing.
As the Space Force prepares to celebrate its fifth birthday this month—and its growth from a single Guardian to a uniformed force of nearly 10,000—Polaris chatted with Space Force Chief Master Sergeant John Bentivegna about how the service has changed in its half decade, and what’s next.
Let’s take a look back at the year in space policy, which included the finish lines for some initiatives—and the reopening of previously closed cases for others.
The trade association formerly known as the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is getting a new name, a concise mandate, and a way to support the politicians who support space.
