A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest:

• Congressional space:
  • New House space subcommittee chair plans to address commercial space issues – SpaceNews.com
  • How Ted Cruz, NASA And SpaceX Could Get America Back To The Moon – Mark Whittington/The Daily Caller
• Trump space:
  • National Space Council Directives | Office of Space Commerce
• Commercial Crew Program:
  • Demo-1 Flight Readiness Review Begins – Commercial Crew Program
  • NASA to Provide Coverage of SpaceX Commercial Crew Flight Test – NASA
  • NASA and SpaceX will determine fate of Crew Dragon launch debut this Friday – Teslarati.com
  • SpaceX, Boeing design risks threaten new delays for US space program – CNBC
    • Even as NASA announces schedule for SpaceX Dragon test flight, anti-American forces at NASA work to block that flight | Behind The Black
  • NASA’s Commercial Crew Program on the Verge of Making History – Commercial Crew Program
• SLS/Orion:
  • After nearly $50 billion, NASA’s deep-space plans remain grounded | Ars Technica
  • Laura Seward Forczyk (@LauraForczyk) – Twitter – “Amount spent on SLS thus far: $14 billion
    Amount spent on Orion thus far: $16 billion
    FY2019 SLS/Orion budget: $4,093 up from $4,045 in 2018.
    And yet people within NASA are complaining about the lack of money for SLS/Orion.”
  • NASA Needs to Stop Spending Like a Drunken Cosmonaut – InsideSources
• Arianespace vs SpaceX:
  • Exclusif : SpaceX accuse Arianespace de concurrence déloyale – LesEchos.fr (“Exclusive: SpaceX accuses Arianespace of unfair competition” – Google Translation)
  • Ariane 6 rocket sees first commercial deals in race with SpaceX | Reuters
• Lunar missions:
  • NASA Selects Experiments for Possible Lunar Flights in 2019 – NASA
  • Moon racing – The Space Review
• Space mining:
  • Advancing Space Mining: Are New Policies Needed? – Leonard David
  • New Policies Needed to Advance Space Mining – Issues in Science and Technology
  • New space mining policy needed, says Colorado School of Mines – Mining Magazine
• Science missions:
  • NASA’s Lucy mission gets caught in a fight between rocket companies | The Planetary Society
• US military space:
  • EELV:
    • Air Force awards $739 million in launch contracts to ULA and SpaceX – SpaceNews.com
    • SpaceX’s Falcon 9 beats ULA launch costs by 30% in latest Air Force contracts – Teslarati
  • Space force:
    • Pentagon to pitch Space Force plan to skeptical lawmakers – SpaceNews.com
    • Trump signs Space Force policy directive, now comes the heavy lifting – SpaceNews.com
    • Trump Officially Directs Pentagon to Create Space Force, Within Air Force – Defense One
    • Lawmakers Petition Trump to Put New Space Force COCOM Headquarters in Florida | Military.com
    • Growing ASAT Threat Behind New Space Force – FreeBeacon.com
• State space:
  • Critics line up to oppose spaceport authority – The Brunswick News
  • Lawsuit claims Camden County withheld Spaceport documents from environmentalists, residents – ajc.com
  • Rep. Tyler Sirois Announces Launch of Space Caucus At Florida Capitol – SpaceCoastDaily.com
  • Space Florida envisions the state as the world’s commercial spaceport – Florida Politics
• International space partnerships:
  • France And Singapore Discuss Space Innovation And Economic Development Cooperation – SpaceWatch.Global
  • S. Korea and India agree to step up cooperation in military and space sectors – AJUDaily.com
  • France And The UAE Discuss Hyperspectral, Space Exploration Cooperation Plans – SpaceWatch.Global
• Canadian space:
  • The Next Three Important Dates For the Canadian Space Industry – The Commercial Space Blog
• Chinese space:
  • Xi meets Chang’e-4 mission representatives – Chinadaily.com.cn
  • PLA welcomes launches of private rockets- China.org.cn
  • China to launch first rocket for commercial missions in H1 -ecns.cn
• Israeli space:
  • SpaceX launches Israeli lunar lander along with high-flying satellites – GeekWire
  • Israeli Moon Lander Team Draws Inspiration from Country’s 1st Astronaut Ilan Ramon – Space.com
  • NASA Administrator Statement on Israeli Moon Mission | NASA
  • SpaceX Is About To Launch Israel’s First Ever Mission To The Moon – Forbes
  • With help from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Israel could become fourth country to reach moon – The Washington Post
• Japanese space:
  • Japanese spacecraft successfully touches down on an asteroid, grabbing a sample of dust – The Verge
  • Japanese space probe touches down on asteroid to collect samples | Reuters
  • Hayabusa2 has touched down on Ryugu! | The Planetary Society
• Russian space:
  • Egyptsat-A satellite put into designated orbit – Roscosmos – TASS
  • OneWeb Satellites Launch Could Be Postponed After Soyuz Emergency – Sputnik International
  • Putin orders government to create National Space Center in Moscow – TASS
  • Roscosmos signs new contract on flight of two space tourists to ISS – TASS
  • Space Adventures hopes for fruitful cooperation with Russia’s Roscosmos – TASS

Webcasts:

** “Watch This Space with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine with the latest from the Moon” – NASA update by the administrator –

** “Space Solar: Common Ground from Space” – The National Space Society posts this

9-minute TED talk on space solar power is presented by Paul Jaffe, PhD, of the Naval Research Laboratory Space Engineering Department. Paul does research in space solar and power beaming. The talk was given in October 2018 and published January 28.

** February 19, 2019 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast | Behind The Black