Space Force Partners on Rocketry Challenge
“It represents exactly the kind of talent and passion we want to foster,” Maj. Bryan Davis, the Space Force’s chief of marketing, told Payload in an email.
Polaris
Stories from Payload’s weekly space policy newsletter, Polaris.
UN Releases Space Debris Primer
Decades ago, the UN was already thinking about the risks and liability concerns raised by debris falling out of orbit. Now, as falling space debris becomes a more common occurrence, the UN’s Office for Outer Space Affairs is reminding nations that it has a process for dealing with it.
Kelly Rallies Senators for NASA Science Fight
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is leading a letter asking appropriators to provide $9B for NASA’s science mission directorate.
Congress Examines NASA’s Planetary Protection Duty
NASA and academic officials will head to Capitol Hill this week to testify before Congress on what many Americans consider to be the agency’s top priority: making sure a giant asteroid whizzing through space doesn’t wipe out life on Earth.
International Partners Wrestle With Skinny Budget Fallout
The effects of the White House’s top level budget proposal are starting to ripple around the world.
House Panel Advances Three Space Bills
The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee approved three bills on Tuesday morning designed to increase astronaut safety, tap the private sector for scientific data, and maintain US leadership for the next generation of deep space exploration.
EOs, Commercial Cooperation, and Culture: A Recap of Polaris After Dark
The Trump administration has ordered the Pentagon to speed up its defense acquisition process. That will require trained staff to quickly get new commercial tech under contract, according to Col. Richard Kniseley, the senior materiel leader of Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office.
NATO Considers Reopening Space Policy Ahead of Schedule
“It’s not supposed to be even touched until 2027. Now they’re saying that’s probably too long. So let’s talk about—is now the time, based on what’s happening in the world,” Col. Jonathan Whitaker told Payload on the sidelines of Space Symposium.
What Will US Tariffs Mean For the Space Industry?
“In the aerospace industry, costs get passed along into the marketspace…Is the market going to bear that cost increase? Right now, it’s a lot of philosophical kinds of uncertainty,” said Ed Dodd, VP of business development at Cofactr, a procurement and logistics management startup.
Lunar Startup CEOs Push For ‘CLPS 2.0’
CEOs asked lawmakers to support block buys in CLPS 2.0 to give industry the opportunity to purchase materials in advance, providing certainty in both the supply chain and the workforce.
Former Astronauts Rally Behind Jared Isaacman
“Our nation is at a turning point where we face international competition from China, we have the opportunity to promote international cooperation with our partner nations, and we are witnessing radical change in the commercial space sector,” the 28 astronauts wrote in the letter, which was shared last weekend. “We believe that Jared Isaacman is uniquely qualified to lead NASA at this critical juncture.”
Industry, VC, DoD on Future of Space Conflict
“If you want private capital flowing into specific sectors, that’s a very good way to encourage it,” Morales said. “Just tell startups that if they build what you want, you’ll buy it and then buy it. It’s that simple.”