| | | | | |  | | By Bryan Bender | | | | — The U.S. performed only so-so in an internal Pentagon ranking of small satellite competitors. — Why space may ultimately receive little funding in efforts to secure trillions for infrastructure. — A House committee chair has ambitious plans for revamping the FAA's role in space. 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 bbender@politico.com with tips, pitches and feedback, and find us on Twitter at @bryandbender. And don't forget to check out POLITICO's astropolitics page for articles, Q&As and more. PROGRAMMING NOTE: POLITICO Space is taking a two-week hiatus and will return on Friday, July 9. Have a terrific Juneteenth and Fourth of July.
| | | THE SMALLSAT OLYMPICS: A set of briefing slides put together by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is making the rounds and ranks countries on their prowess when it comes to commercial small satellites. And it is setting off alarms. The categories, for which NGA awarded countries gold, silver and bronze medals, include best panchromatic resolution; synthetic aperture radar; video; multispectral imaging; shortwave and midwave infrared; and hyperspectral imaging. Also ranked were the revisit times for electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar satellites. The results: The U.S. tops out in pan resolution, or black and white images, as well as synthetic aperture radar. But China holds the gold and silver medals for video and wins the gold and bronze in hyperspectral imaging, according to NGA. China also won the gold to the United States' silver in electro-optical persistence, or the ability to revisit a spot on the ground. "We kind of invented this and now we're losing it," said Charles Beames, chair of the SmallSat Alliance who was briefed on the NGA research, which was based on public information. As for midwave infrared, "we're not even in the ranking," he added. The slides were briefed at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing, an interagency group run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Why do they matter? "The reason why it's a big deal is because now you have the credibility of an intelligence agency basically publicly saying this," Beames said. "In 10 to 15 years almost all satellites are going to be small satellites. That is the future of the space industry." One analogy serves as a warning, he added. "It could go the way of the drone industry in 10 years. It may not all go to China, but it could go outside the U.S."
| | | LOST IN SPACE? It's a big question this summer: Will the space sector get a slice of an infrastructure bill if Congress agrees to pass one? The betting odds are not great. "It remains unlikely that Congress will appropriate new infrastructure money for space," said Tim Chrisman, co-founder and executive director of Foundation for the Future, an advocacy group that is "leading the advance of the United States' space infrastructure development by unifying civil space agency and federal policy objectives." What gives? For one, Chrisman believes "there is a lack of constituency" like in other areas where federal dollars might be steered to upgrade facilities or invest in research and development and manufacturing. And one reason is the big players on the federal scene don't lack for major sources of federal dollars. "The primes have contracts with NASA and the Defense Department, and high net worth individuals make a big splash," he said. "There isn't a model for infrastructure investment in space like there is on the ground." What's needed? The foundation and other advocates are pushing for a few things that could change the calculation, including the creation of an "infrastructure development bank," along with federal appropriations to capitalize it, and an expansion of the mandate of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation so it can invest in space infrastructure. Another proposal: "Creating an infrastructure development corporation that can serve as a public-private partnership for long term infrastructure investments," Chrisman said. "Right now there is broad interest in Congress to leverage space in the U.S.' economic competition with China," Chrisman told us. "However, space remains a novel domain for congresspeople, making it a risky place for them to spend time or attention on." And that could mean "our adversaries have a chance to make big bold investments unchallenged." And speaking of our future, the foundation also announced this week it has put forward a series of recommendations to Rep. Betty McCollum, who oversees the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, "including recommending an inter-agency committee of Department of Defense, Labor, Education, and NASA develop a defense workforce agenda that highlights the inclusion of space and defense-related career skills in K-12 and college curriculums."
| | | 'SERIOUS CONCERNS': The chair of the House Transportation Committee revealed on Wednesday that he has big plans to reform the FAA's oversight of the commercial space industry, beginning with ending the agency's mandate as both promoter and regulator of the growing industry. "It's time to end the FAA's dual mandate," Rep. Peter DeFazio said at a wide-ranging aviation subcommittee hearing with agency and space industry officials. He believes the time has come to end the promotion role as was done when the commercial aviation industry was maturing. "I intend to soon introduce legislation to do that," DeFazio said. "NASA can promote commercial space. The Commerce Department, you know, can promote it. The private sector can promote it themselves. It is not up to the FAA to promote commercial space and regulate at the same time, in the interest of public health and safety." Heather Krause, director of physical infrastructure at the Government Accountability Office, said the last time the agency formally reviewed the issue was in 2008, concluding there was no compelling reason to take away the industry promotion role. "It's important that both FAA and Congress remain vigilant, ensuring that there's no inappropriate role between the FAA and the commercial space industry," she testified. "We think taking another look at this issue may be warranted. DeFazio also wants to reexamine the FAA's role — or lack of it — in regulating the design of commercial spacecraft for safety, an authority that has been delayed until 2023. "The FAA had rightly given these initial commercial space operations wide berth," he said. But "I have serious concerns that some parts of the industry are talking about yet another extension of the moratorium." DeFazio also said he wants a more rigorous look at the implications of commercial space flight on airline traffic and the "environmental effects of so many rocket launches." What he wants to avoid: "I'm sorry your [airline] flight is going to be delayed, or you're going to be an hour and a half late and miss your connection because some millionaire or billionaire is going to experience 15 minutes of weightlessness. That's not right and I want to see that that does not happen." He called on the agency to double down on its " Space Data Integrator" program, which he described as "essentially real-time minimizing disruptions caused by commercial space activity." "I hope the timeline is very short," he said. Moreover, "commercial space launch vehicles emit a stunning amount of carbon dioxide," DeFazio said. "More carbon dioxide in a few minutes than an average car would in two centuries of driving."
| | | WHOSE JOB IS IT? Congress needs to make clear the military is responsible for planetary defense and preparing for the remote but catastrophic possibility of an asteroid threatening the Earth, according to a new paper published by the American Foreign Policy Council. Peter Garretson, a retired Air Force officer and space strategist who is now a senior fellow in defense studies at AFPC, points out that a 2001 commission recommended a "joint civil and military initiative to develop a core space infrastructure that will address emerging national needs for military use and planetary defense." "Unfortunately, the intervening two decades have not resulted in such a coordinated initiative, but instead the lack of legislative clarity has led to competing and often contradictory impulses," Garretson writes. It is time for Congress to fix that, he added. "Now that a Space Force and dedicated U.S. Space Command exist, it is appropriate for Congress to author legislation affixing these responsibilities to the agencies statutorily tasked to 'protect the interests of the United States in space' and conduct operations in, from, and to space to defend U.S. vital interests."
| | | SEARCHING FOR SKYLAB: Remember the first American space station, occupied from May 1973 and February 1974? A new documentary, "Searching For Skylab, America's Forgotten Triumph," is being released this summer that offers "never-before-seen footage revealing incredible feats of science and technology achieved by the space station and NASA astronauts," the producers tell us. "While Skylab is perhaps best remembered for its spectacular crash into the Australian desert in the summer of 1979," they add, "the missions themselves provided the scientific community with invaluable information about our planet, the sun, space, and the universe itself." The film, directed by Dwight Steven-Boniecki, is planning a watch party for Aug. 28, featuring a public screening and discussion with some of the astronauts. Get your tickets. Flashback: Our Q&A with Skylab astronaut Ed Gibson.
| | | No one correctly answered where Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter, got its name, although we got a variety of answers. Try again? Put another way, who was Ganymede? The first person to email bbender@politico.com with the correct answer gets bragging rights and a shoutout in the next newsletter!
| | | — Nelson asks Senate appropriators for more HLS funding: Space News — Pam Melroy is almost deputy NASA administrator: NASA Watch — NASA soliciting proposals for two private astronaut missions: Space News — NASA and Boeing progress toward July launch of second Starliner flight test: Madison Record — SpaceX Starlink mega constellation faces fresh legal challenge: Scientific American — Space Force to reuse Falcon 9 booster for GPS III launch: Air Force Magazine — Roscosmos chief seeks legal consequences for space debris: Aviation Week — NATO says attack in space could trigger mutual defense clause: Defense News — SpaceX vs. China: The quest for satellite internet: The Wall Street Journal — Searching for city lights on other planets: Scientific American — BOOK REVIEW: What's driving the pilots that will fly paying customers into space? The Washington Post
| | | TODAY: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing with Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond at 9:30 a.m. TUESDAY: The Secure World Foundation kicks off its three-day Space Sustainability Summit. WEDNESDAY: The House Science Committee will hold a hearing with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at 10 a.m. THURSDAY: The National Space Society's four-day virtual International Space Development Conference kicks off. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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