SENATE SPACE SHAKEUP? Democrats will now control the Senate but longtime space watchers are not predicting a major shift in spending or oversight priorities. "Democrats and Republicans work really well together , so there may be some reprioritization, and maybe some tweaking around the edges of things, but I think generally I would expect bills to continue to be moved in a very bipartisan way," said Jared Zambrano-Stout, the director of congressional and regulatory policy at lobby firm Meeks, Butera and Israel who previously worked in Congress and the Trump administration. The personalities who take over key committees could matter, though. "It's really not [about] the Senate, it is the space subcommittee of the Commerce committee," said John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. "Who is going to be that person in this Congress and how they approach their role are all at this point unanswered questions." Democrats leading key panels typically have the right of first refusal for the role of chair if it doesn't conflict with other committee assignments: Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the Commerce Committee that oversees NASA, is expected to move up to the top position. Companies such as Blue Origin, SpaceX and Aerojet Rocketdyne all have footprints in Washington state and she is a big booster for investing in space infrastructure. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is the ranking member of Commerce's space subcommittee. She has been a supporter of the space industry and is also a co-chair of the Space Force Caucus, but it's unclear if she'll take the leadership role, given that her position as the senior senator from her state could open opportunities on other committees. It's also not yet clear if Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a freshman and former astronaut whose platform primarily focused on gun control and climate change, will want to be on the panel. When it comes to the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing NASA, Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who has some contractors in her home state vying to be part of NASA's Artemis mission, is next in line. None of the lawmakers' offices responded to a request about their committee plans. While Richard Shelby, the outgoing Appropriations chair, must give up the gavel, Zambrano-Stout predicts he will remain a primary booster of United Launch Alliance, headquartered in his home state of Alabama. COMMERCE SECRETARY NAMED: President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday tapped Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to be Commerce secretary, a Cabinet post that has gained much more influence over space policy in the Trump administration. Over the past four years, the agency has been integral to space policy reforms, especially a presidential directive streamlining commercial space regulations. And if Biden maintains the White House National Space Council, Raimondo will have a seat on the inter-agency panel that helps set the nation's space policy. She could also have a say in whether the Commerce Department takes the lead on tracking space debris, a Trump administration proposal that has faced opposition on Capitol Hill. She doesn't have much of a track record on space issues. There are two mentions on her official Twitter feed: one in 2016 commending the Rhode Island School of Design for working on space suit design and another in 2019 congratulating a Rhode Island team of students for participating in the Zero Robotics International Space Station Programming Challenge. What about NASA? It's too soon to expect a pick to lead NASA, multiple sources said, even though the announcement was originally rumored to come this month. There historically has not been a rush to name a NASA administrator. Trump nominated Jim Bridenstine to lead the space agency in September 2017, more than eight months after taking office. And it took many more months before he was confirmed. The agency was run by Robert Lightfoot in an acting capacity from Inauguration Day until April 30, 2018. | 
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