With help from Adrienne Hurst and Gregory Hellman
PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING
SCOOP: SPACE FORCE LEGISLATION COMING IN JANUARY, PANEL CHAIRMAN SAYS. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who chairs the strategic forces panel on the House Armed Services Committee, tells POLITICO he aims to propose a bill in January to stand-up a separate military Space Force, a controversial idea that has stirred a fierce debate in recent weeks.
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“This is going to happen. That’s what I want to emphasize,” Rogers said in an interview Wednesday. “I know there are still some antibodies in this town that want to figure out a way to slow this down so they can figure out how to kill it. We’re not going to let that happen.”
The legislation, which would carry out a top priority of President Donald Trump, will come early in the new year so it can be rolled into the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization, Rogers added.
An interim Pentagon report on space organization is due to Congress next week, with the final report set to be completed by the end of the year.
But for now, the Pentagon will get a new space headquarters. The final version of the fiscal year 2019 defense bill that passed the House this week calls for a new military headquarters for space operations.
The U.S. Space Command will be led by a four-star general but fall under the U.S. Strategic Command. It will include active and reserve personnel from across the military and be responsible for space strategy, training and budgeting, according to the House-Senate conference report for the legislation that sets defense policy for the upcoming fiscal year. The Senate is expected to consider the bill next week.
The Pentagon previously had a Space Command but in 2002 folded it into the Nebraska-based Strategic Command, which has the primary mission of overseeing the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
Other major space provisions in the final defense bill:
—The military must consider reusable launch vehicles in all competitions beginning in March and notify Congress if that’s not possible;
—The Pentagon cannot duplicate launch licensing requirements in place at the Department of Transportation without a waiver from the Air Force secretary; and
—It withholds half of the annual funding for the Joint Space Operations Center Mission System until the Air Force secretary confirms a contract has been awarded for commercial software to track space objects.
JAMES WEBB MONEY PIT WILL DRAIN OTHER PROGRAMS. Lawmakers expressed their anxiety in separate hearings this week with NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush that some programs will be short-changed to cover the ballooning costs of the James Webb Space Telescope, which now needs to be reauthorized by Congress after jumping to $9 billion, nearly eighteen times the original estimate, and is more than a decade behind schedule.
Most members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee seemed willing to stick with the replacement for the Hubble given the scientific discoveries it will make possible — despite the “truly staggering” costs, in the words of Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the committee chairman. But some said the anticipated scientific gain isn’t the only factor worth considering in deciding whether Congress should pony up.
“The question is, ‘is it worth all those other projects we have been unable to fund in this committee because you have failed your job’?” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) admonished Bush on Thursday...
The breach of Congress’ $8 billion cost cap by $803 million “could fund nearly every one of NASA’s science funding shortfalls from fiscal 2013 and 2016,” Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) told Bridenstine on Wednesday.
Bridenstine insisted the program doesn’t need more money right away because NASA can apply some unspent funds from last year as well as money it planned to use to operate the telescope once in orbit. The first time NASA will need more funding will be in fiscal 2020, he said, ahead of the telescope’s planned launch in 2021
But the rising costs could “absolutely make us cannibalize” other programs, Bridenstine acknowledged. One candidate would be the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, which Bridenstine recommended only move forward once the James Webb Space Telescope is in orbit.
Bush explained that the telescope, which will travel a million miles and try to unlock the mysteries of the early formation of the universe, requires a level of technical complexity that lends itself to some human error. He maintained the company has put in place several checks to ensure mistakes are caught quickly, including empowering employees to speak up if they see something amiss.
Northrop’s CEO also said he’s willing to put all the money the company has received into a separate account it will not access until the telescope is operating in orbit.
WELCOME TO POLITICO SPACE, our weekly briefing on the policies and personalities shaping the new space age in Washington and beyond. Email us at bbender@politico.com or jklimas@politico.com with tips, pitches and feedback, and find us on Twitter at @bryandbender and @jacqklimas. And don’t forget to check out POLITICO's space policy page here.
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SPACE Q&A
MORE SPACE STARTUPS LIFT OFF FROM SILICON VALLEY. That’s the view from Silicon Valley Space Center in Palo Alto, established in 2012 to connect the smaller “new space” start-ups with venture capital.
"What billionaires can do as entrepreneurs is different from what mere mortal entrepreneurs can do," Sean Casey, the center's co-founder and managing director, told us this week. "More importantly, in my mind, are the mere mortal entrepreneurs.”
He sees Planet, which specializes in earth imaging satellites, as a good model. “I think Planet has done a great job of explaining to the investment industry what the value proposition is — the value proposition of small satellites and the capabilities of those technologies. There are a number of technologies that have large economies of scale — the technologies that are in your cell phone, deep learning, artificial intelligence, solar panels, radio communications.”
“The small satellite technology has lowered the barrier to entry,” he adds. “The commoditization of launch has allowed small satellites to possibly go from one launch provider to another. And those things have created a cost structure which is consistent with early stage, Silicon Valley investment.”
One such start-up caught our attention this week: Momentus, in Mountain View, which is building engines fueled by water plasma for deep space propulsion.
Casey also spoke about how he thinks it is still “to be determined” if the Pentagon and its major contractors can tap into the innovation in the Valley — including via the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental — and what he sees as the role for for Washington regulators.
“One of the things that Washington runs into trouble with is the time scale for innovation. For investors time is money,” he said. “Investors don’t want to see their investment realized over a 20 or 30-year time frame. Investors are still looking for returns on investment over a five to seven-year period. Read our full interview here.
** A message from The Boeing Company: Get ready. Space opens for business soon. The launch of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, will give humanity unprecedented access to the cosmos, turning low-Earth orbit into a mecca for commerce. The future of industry is built here— miles above Earth. Discover more at boeing.com/starliner and @BoeingSpace. **
IN ORBIT
“WHAT GIVES?” ON NASA'S MARS PLAN? Senators also browbeat NASA this week for failing to come up with its human exploration road map, which the 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act required, is supposed to lay out the plan to send astronauts to Mars and is seven months late.
“Without this step-by-step plan, we will be flying blind as to what comes next in our quest to have humans reach the Red Planet,” remarked Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) during a Space, Science and Competitiveness Subcommittee hearing on Thursday that featured former NASA officials and space industry leaders. Nevertheless, NASA “is moving on major acquisitions, like the development of a large lunar lander,” added Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). “What gives?”
NASA also needs “bolder” legislation, in the view of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the panel’s chairman, who said he wants the upcoming NASA authorization to shape “longer-term” policies and “reach further and be bolder in aspirations.” He asked the witnesses what should be included to help humans reach Mars by the 2030s.
“A vision that lasts more than one administration,” Peggy Whitson a former astronaut, advised. “Stability in the national goals and the funding associated with that,” said Tory Bruno, the president and CEO of United Launch Alliance. And Chris Carberry, the CEO of nonprofit Explore Mars, said there are “technologies we need to start working on pretty much immediately if we have any hope of landing humans on Mars in the 2030s.” Some key challenges will be withstanding the high levels of radiation astronauts will be exposed to in deep space and ensuring their their mental health on the long journey, Dava Newman, the former deputy administrator of NASA, told the panel.
SENATE BILL TAKES AIM AT SPACE REGS, KEEPS ISS UNTIL 2030. The proposed Space Frontier Act, unveiled Thursday by the bipartisan trip of Sens. Ted Cruz, Bill Nelson and Ed Markey, proposes new steps to modernize regulations for launch and reentry as well as earth observation satellites, including establishing a new high-level space position in the Commerce Department. If adopted, it also would require NASA to operate the International Space Station at least until 2030, effectively killing the Trump administration’s plan to privatize it by 2025.
HOUSE SPACE WEATHER BILL ADVANCES. The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee this week also approved the Space Weather Coordination Act, which seeks to compel the government to take better advantage of cutting-edge technology for space weather observation and for NOAA, NASA and the Air Force to work more closely together.
The legislation requires a pilot program “for the purchase of quality, value-adding space weather data from the commercial sector,” according to a summary of the bill, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Colorado Democrat, and Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican. The intent is so that “innovative, cost-effective strategies can be pursued, and that our burgeoning commercial space industry will be able to help address the challenges posed by space weather.”
NASA, LOCKHEED TAKE ORION JOBS PITCH TO PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE: Lockheed Martin this week shipped a test version of the Orion spacecraft it’s building for NASA from Florida to the White House lawn for a “Made in America” demonstration organized by the Trump administration. (NASA’s history office confirmed it was the first time a vehicle that has been to space has been displayed there).
The company estimates the Orion program, the Space Launch System rocket and the related ground components that make up NASA’s Deep Space Exploration System rely on over 3,200 suppliers in 50 states plus Puerto Rico — with 25 percent of the procurement dollars going to small businesses. Orion alone employs more than 4,500 contractors and government employees, the company. says.
It’s a tried and true argument that usually resonates in Washington, where playing the jobs card is an effective way to maintain support of key oversight committees and rank and file lawmakers who may have concerns about cost or effectiveness, or who back an alternative approach. But it's also one that has a healthy share of skeptics who assert that such parochialism is used to mask shortcomings and waste in major acquisition programs.
In a new opinion article, NASA and Lockheed’s Orion program chiefs also argue the Orion program is also a model of international cooperation. “The European Space Agency builds the Service Module, a key component of the ship, using both American and international technologies,” write Mark Kirasich, NASA's Orion program manager, and Michael Hawes, who oversees the program at Lockheed Martin Space, write in POLITICO.
REVOLVING AIRLOCK: Ghaffarian Enterprises, a Colorado holding company that owns private space station developer Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines, which is applying the principles of human spaceflight to autonomous systems, has hired Clark Hill to lobby on “NASA international space station issues.”
The lobbyists working on the account include Kevin Kelly, a former senior Democratic Senate appropriations staffer; Lauren Lipin, a former aide to Maryland Democrat Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, and Jasper Thomson, who was was legislative counsel to GOP Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Kam Ghaffarian, who runs the holding company, earlier this year sold Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, a major NASA contractor.
Virgin Orbit and satellite launch firm VOX Space have also both hired Tom Spangler and Mike Tierney at Velos (previously Pinnacle Engineering and Management Solutions). Spangler is a former NASA and Pentagon engineer and Tierney was an aide to former Rep. Frank Kratovil, the Maryland Democrat who served on the Armed Services Committee.
TOP DOC: CBO costs out space management legislation. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost $127 million over five years for NASA to set up a new research facility and the Commerce Department programs for space traffic and situational awareness, and to carry out additional provisions in the American Space SAFE Management Act, which passed the House Science Committee last month.
The Commerce Department would be able to levy a fee from private companies for some of its “situational awareness” services, the CBO noted. But it “has no information on whether or how [Commerce] would collect any user fees, who might pay the fee, or when it would be imposed.”
TOP DOC II: Advice for space regulators at the Commerce Department: think big. The Aerospace Corporation is out this week with a new issue brief on the remaking of space regulations at the Commerce Department.
Our big takeaway: Plans to dramatically expand the space office at the agency will require officials to think out of the box. That’s because “its range of responsibilities will include far more than just regulatory reform and space traffic management, the two topics that dominate current planning,” writes James Vedda, a senior policy analyst at the federally-funded research and development center.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “For some reason, rich people love rockets. We’ll lease them the pad.” — President Donald Trump, July 23 at the “Made in America Product Showcase” at the White House.
WEEKEND READS
-- National Space Council to develop microgravity strategy.
-- NOAA weather satellite malfunctioning.
-- Boeing' astronaut capsule experiences lanomaly during test.
-- Bloomberg Businessweek's space blowout issue.
-- Space is open for business.
-- Facebook eyes Internet satellite.
-- What a ten-fold increase in satellites in orbit means.
-- NASA mission "to touch the sun" set for August.
-- Air Force, NASA to collaborate on deep space medicine.
-- Powering the first element of the lunar gateway.
-- Lake found on Mars, raising chances of alien life.
-- Signs of life may not be as difficult to find on Jupiter's moon Europa.
-- Check out these maps of potential dangerous asteroids.
-- Outer space may have just gotten a bit closer.
-- Star zooms past black hole, confirms relativity.
-- China wants to capture an asteroid and bring it back.
-- Russian space agency opens espionage probe.
-- India's private sector shift to space.
-- Meet Chris Ferguson, the astronaut-turned-citizen test pilot.
EVENT HORIZON
MONDAY: The Brookings Institution hosts a discussion on the pros and cons of creating a Space Force.
TUESDAY: The National Defense Industrial Association’s space division presents the Honorable Peter B. Teets Award to Lt. Gen. David Thompson, the vice commander of Air Force Space command and Antonio Elias, the former chief technical officer of Orbital ATK.
WEDNESDAY: The Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness holds a hearing on looking for life on other planets.
FRIDAY: NASA to announce first astronauts for Commercial Crew Program in Houston.
** A message from The Boeing Company: Soon the global economy will be a little more galactic in scale. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will be the first private U.S. vehicle to fly to low-Earth orbit and the ISS, making space accessible to more industries. Starliner is designed to be a reusable and autonomous spacecraft that’s built with 21st century innovations, much to the convenience of commercial space passengers. So, while space is devoid of sound, the boom in medical research, tourism and many other commercial endeavors will be resounding. Discover more at boeing.com/starliner and @BoeingSpace. **
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