Policy
Stories about space regulations and policy, and what they mean for companies.
Launch Costs, SSA, and Threat Sharing: FY24 NDAA Highlights
After weeks of negotiation, Congress unveiled its compromise defense authorization bill for fiscal 2024 last week, with the wide-ranging conference report weighing in at 3,000+ pages.
The Space Industry’s Climate Impact: Part 1
Space technology benefits humanity every day, from scientific understanding to the nuts and bolts of supporting the systems that enable life as we know it, but some advocates worry regulators are not paying enough attention to the potential downsides of a bustling space economy.
Lawmakers Keep the Lights On Until Early 2024
While a shutdown seemed increasingly likely only a week ago, lawmakers have passed another last minute agreement to keep the government open, at least for now. The details: The Senate overwhelmingly approved a stopgap funding bill late Wednesday night, just one day after the House passed the same proposal on Tuesday. Funding the government under…
House Space Bill Stalled Until Post-Thanksgiving
Hours after the White House released its plan for regulating novel commercial space activities, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee considered its own proposal—and to the surprise of no one, the plans look pretty different.
White House Releases Spectrum Strategy
The Biden administration released a National Spectrum Strategy on Monday to ensure that both federal operators and private companies can have adequate access to the finite resource.
Bulgaria to Join Artemis Accords
Bulgaria will become the 32nd nation to join the Artemis Accords during a signing ceremony on Thursday in DC, NASA announced yesterday. NASA chief Bill Nelson, Bulgarian officials, and representatives from the US State Department will participate in the ceremony at NASA HQ. Accords 101: The US rolled out the Artemis Accords in October 2020…
Slovenia Applies for Full ESA Membership
Slovenia is seeking to become a full member of ESA after seven years of holding associate member status, the central European nation announced yesterday.
House GOP Introduces Commercial Space Bill
House Republicans introduced a bill this week to give the American commercial space sector a boost.
Senate Passes Orbital Debris Legislation
The Senate unanimously approved a bill on Tuesday to encourage government investment in tech to clean up space.
Senate Confirms Mike Whitaker as FAA Administrator
The FAA finally has a permanent leader after an 18-month vacancy.
Space Travel Needs More Time to Take Off, Companies Argue
SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic may get to space differently, but they agree on one thing: the industry needs more time in the so-called “learning period” on commercial spaceflight that is set to expire Jan. 1.
Congress Considers Learning Period Extension Alongside CR
Congress is considering a stopgap funding bill that would also buy it more time to figure out whether to extend the moratorium on establishing regulations for commercial spaceflight. The Senate’s continuing resolution introduced Tuesday by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, would keep the government funded through Nov. 17. It would…
FCC Opens Spectrum For Commercial Launch
The FCC adopted a new rule on Thursday that will ensure commercial launchers have access to the spectrum they need to communicate with the rocket during and after liftoff. The successful vote to approve the rule represents the conclusion of a multi-year push to set aside specific spectrum bands for commercial launch after FCC Chairwoman…
