Polaris
Stories from Payload’s weekly space policy newsletter, Polaris.
NASA Convenes at Climate Conference in UAE
NASA leadership is heading to Dubai this week for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (better known as COP 28), which begins on Thursday and runs through Dec. 12.
Industry Backs International ASAT Ban
More than two dozen companies from around the world signed onto a statement led by the Secure World Foundation on Tuesday formally applauding countries for agreeing to not conduct debris-causing anti-satellite tests.
How the 2024 GOP Candidates Approach Space
The Republican presidential candidates duking it out to be the party’s nominee are also vying for the chance to lead the nation when American boots next set foot on the Moon. Five Republican candidates will participate in tomorrow’s presidential debate in Miami. While space is unlikely to be high on a campaign’s list of priorities…
Italy Seeks More Cooperation With US Industry on Space
Teodoro Valente, the president of the Italian Space Agency, was in DC last week on a mission to look for additional areas of cooperation between the Italian space sector and American space companies.
China’s Pursuit of Space Superiority Through Soft Power
Beijing is increasingly using its space ambition to build a global coalition of international partners in orbit, according to a Pentagon report released last week.
Bill Spotlight: Space Force Legacy Guardian Recognition Act
Congress is trying to make sure troops who contributed to national security space missions before the Space Force existed are recognized as honorary members of the service.
Space Force Team Reps US at Lachs Space Moot
Three Space Force officers represented the service on the world stage in a new way last week: as the North American team at an international space law competition in Azerbaijan.
FCC Fines Dish Over Satellite Left In Orbit
The FCC has enforced consequences for the first time on a company that failed to stick to its deorbit plan, the agency announced yesterday.
Rep. Eric Sorensen on Space Travel, Safety and Shuttle Ties
A space leader on Capitol Hill is looking at how to eliminate gaps between the agencies that oversee human spaceflight over concerns about maintaining the highest safety standards. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL), the ranking member of the House space subcommittee, pointed out the multitude of groups that have a hand in regulating spaceflight, from the…
Americans Lobby Congress on Planetary Science Priorities
Joseph Diggs, a science teacher in Anne Arundel county, MD, was doing a different kind of educating (and in a much grander classroom) on Monday. Diggs was one of 130+ people who traveled to DC for the Planetary Society’s Day of Action, during which people lobby their representatives to support scientific exploration of the cosmos.…
A Busy Fall on Capitol Hill
As lawmakers settle back into DC following the August recess, Congress is facing a long list of space to-dos—but not a lot of time to tackle them. Members have a little over two weeks to tackle three major priorities with deadlines at the end of September: passing a fiscal 2024 funding bill, deciding whether to…
One-on-One with Richard DalBello
The process of moving the nation’s space traffic management mission from DoD to the Commerce Department has been slow—but Richard DalBello told Payload that’s very much on purpose. “There was an idea present when we started that somehow this would be simple,” DalBello, head of the Office of Space Commerce, said. “This is tremendously complicated….…
