| | | | | |  | | By Jacqueline Feldscher | Presented by |  | | | With Bryan Bender
| | | — The Space Force chief talks acquisition and much more in a new POLITICO interview. — Why the rumors Bill Nelson had been tapped to lead NASA didn't go over well in the space community. — Congress asks why NASA is still buying Russian rides, but others insist there are good reasons. WELCOME TO POLITICO SPACE, our must-read briefing on the policies and personalities shaping the new space age in Washington and beyond. Email us at jklimas@politico.com or bbender@politico.com with tips, pitches and feedback, and find us on Twitter at @jacqklimas and @bryandbender. And don't forget to check out POLITICO's astropolitics page for articles, Q&As, opinion and more. | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: What if you could get a second chance in space? Revitalize a satellite when it's low on fuel? Or move a spacecraft to another location? In our mission to Define Possible in space, we've built a spacecraft that can do just that: MEV. | | | | | | 'DEMANDING CUSTOMER': Congress has ordered the Space Force to fix its sluggish acquisition system to keep pace with adversaries such as China, recently calling for hearings. Space Force chief Gen. Jay Raymond said he gets it. "Congress has been very clear on what they expect," Raymond told us in a wide-ranging interview. "I could not be more proud of the progress that we have made, but I would expect Congress to be demanding customers. We understand the need to go fast." The Space Force plans to soon report to Congress on an "alternate acquisition proposal" for the new branch, which is long overdue. The Space Force will also be rolling out in "the next couple weeks" its proposal for how it will stand up a new Space Systems Command. "This first year of the Space Force was all about establishing or inventing and building this service, and year two is about integrating the Space Force," Raymond said. "There was a language in the law that says we were to develop an alternate acquisition proposal which we've done. We're continuing [to] coordinate that throughout the government, and we'll deliver that to Congress when we get through that coordination." | 
"This first year of the Space Force was all about establishing or inventing and building this service, and year two is about integrating the Space Force," Gen. Jay Raymond said. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik | Other interview highlights: On why Space Force members are called Guardians: "In 1983, there was a contest that was done to [pick] the official motto of Air Force Space Command. The motto that was chosen was 'guardians of the high frontier.' We just thought that guardians was something that was tied to our history." On the timeline for new uniforms: "We have a team working on a new service dress, which is the coat and tie. I saw one prototype. We went back to the drawing board on a few items on that, and we're hosting our first uniform board in March. I would expect we'll have a new service prototype here in the next couple of months that we'll begin wear testing." On why there are no space admirals: "I think it's really important that [the rank structure] means something to folks inside the service and not so much Star Trek fans, although we do have a lot of Star Trek fans." JOIN US: Jacqueline is moderating a virtual "national security space 101" briefing for congressional staffers on Tuesday that's co-hosted by AIA and AIAA. Register here! | | | THE BRIDGE TO THE NEXT GENERATION?: The space community was "disappointed" by unsubstantiated rumors this week that the Biden administration tapped former Sen. Bill Nelson to be NASA administrator, says Eric Stallmer of Voyager Space Holdings. Even though White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that no decision had been made on who will lead NASA, many industry leaders still reacted poorly to the idea that the Biden administration would select a 78-year-old white man amid its push to make its Cabinet more diverse, Stallmer said. "I think a lot of people in the space community felt that a woman would be considered for NASA administrator, myself included. Because there are some fantastic women candidates out there that I think should be highly considered," he said. "The initial reaction to Sen. Nelson I think caught people off guard and left people wondering, what about people like Pam Melroy and Ellen Ochoa and Ellen Stofan and Laurie Leshin and others? I would really hope that they are considered in this decision." No woman has ever led the space agency. One space lobbyist reacted to the rumors about Nelson, a Florida Democrat who flew into orbit on the space shuttle, more bluntly: "Why wouldn't they have the vision to lean forward? I don't think he's a bridge to the next generation." A TICKET TO RIDE? Two top Republicans on the House Science Committee this week asked NASA to explain why it wants to send an American astronaut to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, even though it has the domestic capability to launch astronauts on SpaceX's Crew Dragon. "After spending billions of taxpayer dollars on developing capabilities to launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, it is important for Congress to understand NASA's existing agreements and future plans for accessing the International Space Station," Reps. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Brian Babin (R-Texas) wrote in the letter. The Russian backup has operational and diplomatic benefits , according to two experts. A technological issue could hamper America's ability to get to space, as evidenced by the long hiatus in spaceflight after the two space shuttle disasters. Having another way to get to space is critical, said Bruce McClintock, a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. NASA also wants American astronauts to be familiar with the Soyuz in case they need it for an emergency escape from the station. There's more nuance on the diplomatic front. Continuing to fly astronauts on the Soyuz maintains one of the few remaining avenues for U.S.-Russian cooperation, said Jeffrey Edmonds, a CNA research scientist and former director for Russia on the National Security Council. "Even during the Obama administration at the height of the policy of isolation following the annexation of Crimea, we recognized there was a carve out for areas we could work with Russia. Space has always been an area where we've sought to maintain some level of cooperation," he said. When will Starliner finally be operational? The calculation could change when the Boeing Starliner, which is expected to redo its uncrewed test flight in April, gives NASA another path on top of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. "The general feeling outside of NASA that we shouldn't rely on Russia for anything," he said. "That attitude might win the day if we have two redundant systems." | | | |   | | | A 'KINDERGARTEN-TO-ORBIT' PIPELINE: With the Biden's administration's "Build Back Better" mantra and expectations for a major infrastructure bill this year, there is a compelling case for leveraging America's space ambitions to create new high-skilled jobs, argues Tim Christman, founder of Foundation for the Future , an advocacy group dedicated to public-private partnerships to advance space infrastructure. Investment in space infrastructure is a promising way to reenergize American workers "because for the first time in decades their skills, from manufacturing to repair, from metalworking to mining, will be needed," he writes in a new POLITICO op-ed. "These skills will be needed in the foundries to make advanced materials like graphene; the factories to make space-qualified electronics; the machine shops to build rockets; and the skills to repair and maintain new homes and habitats in space," he explains. "No longer will space be the playground of governments and the rich. It will be a place the American worker may unleash their potential and build the future." What will it take? "It will require a kindergarten-to-orbit pipeline for workforce development. It will require leveraging the capital of Wall Street with the talent of Main Street in a sustainable, equitable fashion. In short, it requires a whole of society approach to venturing into the beyond." | | | EXPELLIARMUS: The U.S. military has a lot of options to defend space assets from the unforgivable curses … errr … threats in space, according to a report released Thursday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that is chock full of Harry Potter references about defending against the "dark arts" in orbit. Co-author Todd Harrison said the idea was to present the data in a way that would be accessible to a non-technical reader to help new staffers or officials get up to speed on ways to protect space systems, including having redundant constellations, putting filters on Earth-observation satellites to protect sensors from laser attacks, and hardening ground stations against cyberthreats. The report recommends improving the nation's ability to track objects in space. "If we can't understand what's going on in space, how can we possibly make an informed decision?" asked co-author Kaitlyn Johnson Harrison tells us there's a golden snitch hidden somewhere in the report. Let us know if you find it! | | | Redwire has hired Suzanne Gillen, most recently NASA's associate administrator for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, as its first vice president of government relations and business development. The space manufacturing company also added Spence Wise , previously at L3Harris Corporation, as vice president of national security space business development. Michael Gazarik, a vice president at Ball Aerospace, was appointed to a three-year term on the Technology, Innovation and Engineering Committee of the NASA Advisory Council, the company announced Monday. QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Congratulations to Byron Hood, senior vice president at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, for being first to correctly answer that John Glenn's first meal in space was applesauce. This week's question: Who was the longest-serving acting NASA administrator? The first person to email jklimas@politico.com gets bragging rights and a shoutout in the next newsletter! | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: Space missions have always lived on a fixed timeline. Satellites carry a limited supply of fuel, so it's always been accepted that they'll eventually have to be retired. But now that Northrop Grumman has created the revolutionary Mission Extension Vehicle, we've defined a new era of possible for your satellites. MEV provides propulsion, so expensive satellites no longer have to be decommissioned while they're still useful. MEV-2 | | | | | | — NASA's identity is changing amid the rise of private astronauts: Washington Post — Poll: Majority of respondents say sending astronauts to moon and Mars not a priority: Morning Consult — Space firms put aside rivalries to share threat data: Defense One — Relativity Space unveils 3-D printed reusable rocket to compete with SpaceX: CNBC — Blue Origin delays the maiden flight of its New Glenn rocket to 2022: Reuters — Boeing's Starliner still struggling to liftoff: Observer — U.S. is working with international partners to set norms of behavior in orbit: Space News — China's Tianwen-1 getting ready to lower rover to Mars: Space.com — South Korea announces its plan to invest $553 million in space projects in 2021: Space News — NASA's Perseverance rover had an inspirational hidden message on its parachute: CBS News — Meet the puzzle enthusiasts who decoded it within hours: New York Times | | | TODAY: Gen. James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command, speaks about defending the homeland on the last day of the Air Force Association's annual convention. TODAY: The Space Force Association hosts a conversation with Maj. Gen. Deanna Burt, commander of Combined Force Space Component Command. TODAY: The NASA headquarters building in Washington will be renamed to honor Mary W. Jackson, who played a critical role in America's early space program as depicted in the film "Hidden Figures." SUNDAY: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are expected to conduct a spacewalk to upgrade a solar array. MONDAY: NASA conducts a pair of briefings on SpaceX's crewed mission to the International Space Station, which is expected to launch no earlier than April 20. WEDNESDAY: The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing to consider the nomination of Polly Trottenberg to be the deputy secretary of Transportation. WEDNESDAY: Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond speaks at the National Press Club. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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