NASA

WASHINGTON — A NASA authorization bill introduced in the Senate in the final days of the current Congress would have directed NASA to accelerate work on commercial space stations and address cost overruns on science programs. The NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2024 was formally introduced in the Senate Dec. 18 by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member of the committee. Other co-sponsors include Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), chair and ranking member of the committee’s space subcommittee, and Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). The bill would have authorized $25.478 billion for NASA in fiscal year 2025, slightly above the $25.434 billion in the Sen...

WASHINGTON — Delays in the completion of a new Crew Dragon spacecraft will extend the stay of astronauts on the International Space Station by a month, including two who have been there since June. NASA announced Dec. 17 that it was delaying the launch of the Crew-10 mission to the ISS, previously scheduled for February, to no earlier than late March. NASA, in its statement, cited the need to provide additional time to complete a new Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the mission. “Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” said Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, in a statement. “We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support...

TAMPA, Fla. — Rivada Space Networks remains confident it can reclaim priority Ka-band spectrum rights for nearly 600 proposed broadband satellites, more than two months after Liechtenstein’s telecoms regulator rescinded its license. “We continue to discuss the matter with the regulator, and we are confident that we can reach an agreement to use the Liechtenstein filings,” Rivada spokesperson Brian Carney said Dec. 13. Carney said Liechtenstein’s Office for Communications (AK) withdrew its spectrum filing at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations, over “a difference of opinion about the timing of the deposit of a performance bond with the regulator,” but declined to give details. AK director Rainer Schnepfleitner also declined to discuss what...

WASHINGTON — A defense authorization bill includes language to extend a “learning period” limiting commercial human spaceflight regulations as well as indemnification for commercial launches. House and Senate conferees released Dec. 7 the text of the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025 after negotiations to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. One section in the 1,813-page bill extends two existing provisions regarding commercial space transportation. One is the so-called “learning period” that limits the ability of the Federal Aviation Administration to enact safety regulations for occupants of commercial human spacecraft. That restriction, set to expire on Jan. 1, would be extended through the en...

WASHINGTON — The new European Union commissioner responsible for space says he will focus on improving European competitiveness and security in space, including passage of a long-delayed space law. Andrius Kubilius formally started his tenure as the European Commissioner for Defence and Space on Dec. 1 after members of the European Parliament confirmed him among a slate of 26 commissioners Nov. 27 for five-year terms. Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania, takes on a new portfolio that combines defense and space issues. Under the previous commission, space was handled by the commissioner for the internal market. “Europe must be part of this space revolution. However, we are confronted with a new set of challenges,” he said at a Nov. 6 confirmation hearing by committee of...