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 (find previous space policy roundups here):

• Schedule:
  • What’s Happening in Space Policy January 3-9, 2021 – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Biden space:
  • Joe Biden has an opportunity to bolster how we view Earth from space | MIT Technology Review
  • Editorial: Space exploration is surging, as are Earthly rivalries – SFChronicle.com
• Trump space:
  • Scott Pace Departing White House National Space Council Today – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• 2020-2021 perspectives:
  • Opinion: My 2020 in a review – by Bassam Alfeeli – SpaceWatch.Global
  • Opinion: 2020 – A Preview of the Decade to Come? – SpaceWatch.Global
  • Year in Review: Mars missions, Lunar Samples, Crew launched from the US, and Starlink – NASASpaceFlight.com
  • The state of the global rocket industry in the 21st century – Behind the Black
  • 2020 in review: Top space stories of the year | Fox News
  • Space in 2020: Many reasons to celebrate in an otherwise terrible year – CNET
  • A triumphant year in space despite a difficult 2020, and Florida was at the center of it all – Orlando Sentinel
  • Space events coming in 2021 from NASA, SpaceX, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos – The Washington Post
  • The 11 biggest space missions of 2021 | MIT Technology Review
• NASA launch:
  • Ten companies bid for NASA small launch vehicle contract – SpaceNews
• Lunar programs:
  • NASA-Canadian agreement demonstrates how Artemis is an international moonshot | TheHill
• NASA programs:
  • The Planetary Society Praises the Start of Mars Sample Return – The Planetary Society
• Congressional space:
  • Senate Joins House in Overriding Trump Veto of FY2021 Defense Authorization Bill – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Commercial space:
  • Will Axiom Space provide a commercial space station replacement for NASA’s ISS? | TheHill
• Planetary protection:
  • White House releases planetary protection strategy – SpaceNews
  • White House Releases Implementing Strategy for Planetary Protection – SpacePolicyOnline.com
    • National Strategy for Planetary Protection – The White House National Space Council (pdf)
  • Report: Protecting the Moon’s Scientific Potential – Leonard David
    • Report Series: Committee on Planetary Protection: Planetary Protection for the Study of Lunar Volatiles | The National Academies Press
• Regulation/Spectrum:
  • Viasat asks FCC to perform environmental review of Starlink – SpaceNews
• Space law:
  • China’s Chang’e-5 mission: flagging the moon for conflict? | The Strategist
  • President Signs Law Protecting Lunar Heritage Sites – SpacePolicyOnline.com
  • New law is first to protect Apollo sites from future moon missions | collectSPACE
  • Bill Announcement [S. 1694, the “One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act,”… ] – The White House
• Space traffic & environment issues:
  • Opinion: “Houston, we have a Space Traffic Management Pilot program” – SpaceWatch.Global
  • ESA Clean Space tackles space junk one component at a time – SpaceNews
  • Japan developing wooden satellites to cut space junk – BBC News
• US states space:
  • Welcome to Texas, Elon Musk – Washington Examiner
  • Houston Spaceport Slated to Become Home to the World’s First Commercial Space Station Builder
  • A triumphant year in space despite a difficult 2020, and Florida was at the center of it all – Orlando Sentinel
  • 2021: Florida’s rapid rocket launch cadence is likely here to stay – Florida Today
  • Final [Georgia] spaceport decision coming – The Brunswick News
• US Defense space:
  • Launch:
    • SpaceX wins $150 million contract to launch Space Development Agency satellites – SpaceNews
  • Opinion: Rethinking the Inevitable: Why We Need to Stop Hoping, and Prepare for Space Warfare – SpaceWatch.Global
  • The Air Force’s Solar-Beaming Spacecraft | Solar Power From Space – Popular Mechanics
  • NSTXL’s contract to manage Space Force technology projects on hold pending review – SpaceNews

International space

• Canada:
  • NASA-Canadian agreement demonstrates how Artemis is an international moonshot | TheHill
• China:
  • Nation’s space achievements out of this world – Chinadaily.com.cn
  • China’s Chang’e-5 mission: flagging the moon for conflict? | The Strategist
  • China Moon Samples: Processing and Analysis – Leonard David
  • Scientists review how they study lunar samples – Xinhua
  • China, Italy celebrate 50 years of ties with their sights on space, trade and the Olympics | South China Morning Post
  • Is SpaceX versus China the only space race that matters? — Quartz
• Europe
  • EU Space Policy: It’s not all about rocket science – The Parliment Magazine
• India:
  • In Conversation With Dr Rajeswari Rajagopalan, Head Of Space And Nuclear Policy Initiative At ORF – AnalyticsIndiaMag.com
  • Reusable Satellite Launch Vehicle In ISRO’s 10-Year Plan | NewsGram
  • Mars, Moon & a fresh pair of eyes in the sky — the big space missions planned for 2021 – ThePrint.in
  • Isro hints at virtual launch & satellite control in future – Times of India
  • Cabinet Okays India-Bhutan MoU On Outer Space Co-op; To Make ISRO, DoS Working Group – IndusDictum.com
• Italy:
  • China, Italy celebrate 50 years of ties with their sights on space, trade and the Olympics | South China Morning Post
• Nigeria:
  • Nigeria’s space research agency defends employment of staff without scientific or technical skills | International Centre for Investigative Reporting
• Russia:
  • Roscosmos creates special directorate for lunar missions – TASS
  • Roscosmos chief says NASA’s response to his message about sanctions was evasive – TASS
  • Russian space agency expects Vostochny to start operating at full capacity next year – TASS
  • Russian cosmonauts’ team gets four new members in 2020 – TASS
• UAE
  • Opinion: My 2020 in a review – by Bassam Alfeeli – SpaceWatch.Global
• UK:
  • Is the UK about to have liftoff in the global space industry? – The Guardian

Webcasts:

** Episode 28 – What’s Hot 4th Quarter 2020 – Michael Listner/Space Law & Policy Solutions – Space Thoughts – YouTube

** The Space Show – Jan.3.2020 – Dr. Robert (Sam) Wilson of the The Aerospace Corporation talked about “his paper [Leveraging Commercial Space for National Security (pdf)] on commercial space applications for national security and DOD space”.

** The Space Show – Dec.29.2020 – Thomas A. Olson returned for his annual end-of-the-year show to review commercial space for 2020 and [look] ahead to 2021.

** China Aero & Space Weekly News Round-Up – Episode 14 (28th Dec. 2020 – 3rd Jan. 2021) – Dongfang Hour – YouTube

Topics discussed included:

1) Deep Blue Aerospace Completed Wet Dress Rehearsal & gives Hints on its 2021 Calendar
2) OTT Airlines Maiden Flight
3) China and Italy Celebrate 50 Years of Diplomatic Relations
4) Not China-Related, but significant

** Best Space Moments of 2020!!! – Everyday Astronaut

** Big Tech, Spectrum Utilization and Space Force’s 1st Anniversary – Constellations Podcast

For the last episode of 2020, we sit down with Jeff Rowlison to go over major events of 2020 including the impact of COVID on the space industry, the success of SpaceX, big tech entering our industry, and C-band relocation. Jeff also takes a look back at Space Force and its vision for enterprise satellite communications and how the Guardians will operate within the SATCOM environment. He briefly goes over what it has accomplished since its establishment a year ago. Finally we ask Jeff to get his crystal ball out and share his predictions for 2021: what technology will arise and is there a particular company or individual we should keep our eyes on?

** Space Café WebTalk – SUMMIT with Markus Payer – 10. December 2020 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s first Space Café Summit “Anarchy in Space?”, Prof. Kai-Uwe Schrogl and Ntorina Antoni discussed a variety of topics on space security and space safety.

** Space Café WebTalk – Stephan Hobe – 8. December 2020 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Prof. Stephan Hobe, Director at Institute of Air Law, Space Law and Cyber Law, University Cologne, Cologne, Germany talked about the future design of the legal order for human activities in outer space.

Prof. Hobe discussed some questions of the future design of the legal order for human activities in outer space.

This included economic space activities like the use of outer space through satellites, coordination via Space Traffic Management, and the use of resources from celestial bodies. Also future forms of the military use of outer space are discussed.

There will be a crucial focus on the question how the legal order for the commercial uses of outer space pays tribute to the main requirement of the Outer Space Treaty to allow a general participation of all countries in the use of outer space and its benefits.

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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 (find previous space policy roundups here):

• Schedule:
  • What’s Happening in Space Policy December 27, 2020-January 2, 2021 – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• 2020-2021 perspectives:
  • The Year in Space Travel – Editorial/WSJ
  • Opinion: 2020 – The Space Enterprise Is Moving Full Steam Ahead by Ken Hodgkins – SpaceWatch.Global
  • Opinion: Space world highlights 2020 and outlook 2021 by Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund – SpaceWatch.Global
  • Opinion: 2020 in Review: a Space Security Perspective – SpaceWatch.Global
  • 2020 Space Year in Review: Resilient and Robust Despite Pandemic – Josephine Millward/Seraphim Capital
  • Space Agenda 2021 – The Aerospace Corporation
• NASA Management:
  • Opinion: NASA’s aim shouldn’t be altered every time President changes | Walters/Florida
• SLS/Orion:
  • Foust Forward | A tale of two launch vehicle programs – SpaceNews
• Lunar programs:
  • NASA-Canadian agreement demonstrates how Artemis is an international moonshot | TheHill
  • Congress Comes Through for NASA Science, But Not Artemis – The Planetary Society
• Congressional space:
  • NASA receives $23.271 billion in fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending bill – SpaceNews
  • Omnibus spending bill funds Commerce Department space traffic management work – SpaceNews
  • Office of Space Commerce Wins Bigger Budget in FY2021, But Will Remain in NOAA – SpacePolicyOnline.com
  • Final FY2021 NASA Funding Provides Only 25 Percent of HLS Request – SpacePolicyOnline.com
  • Congress Passes Massive Omnibus Appropriations, COVID Relief Bill – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Space nuclear:
  • No bomb-grade uranium in space, says White House – Physics Today
  • Nuclear-Powered Rockets Get a Second Look for Travel to Mars – IEEE Spectrum
• Commercial space:
  • The space industry comes of age – Axios
• Space benefits:
  • The Value of Space Summit: Understanding Space’s Critical Role – The Aerospace Corporation
• ISS:
  • Replacing the International Space Station could be Biden’s big space challenge – The Washington Post
• Regulation/Spectrum:
  • Office of Space Commerce Wins Bigger Budget in FY2021, But Will Remain in NOAA – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Space law:
  • Elon Musk Will Run Into Trouble Setting up a Martian Government, Lawyers Say – Futurism.com
• Space traffic:
  • Op-ed | Building on the Artemis Accords to address space sustainability – SpaceNews
  • Omnibus spending bill funds Commerce Department space traffic management work – SpaceNews
  • ESA Clean Space tackles space junk one component at a time – SpaceNews
• US states space:
  • Local activist says new environmental research is past due on SpaceX | KVEO-TV
  • Alaska Journal | From the Last Frontier to the Final Frontier: An opportunity for Alaska – Alaska Journal
  • With Axiom, Houston Spaceport gets commercial space station tenant – HoustonChronicle.com
• Weather & remote sensing satellites:
  • Thousands of ocean fishing boats could be using forced labor – we used AI and satellite data to find them – The Conversation
• Space weather:
  • #SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Predict to win. How space weather forecasting will save billions on Earth – SpaceWatch.Global
• US Defense space:
  • Launch:
    • Lockheed Martin to buy rocket engine-builder Aerojet Rocketdyne – Spaceflight Now
    • Lockheed Martin to Acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, Strengthening Position as Leading Provider of Technologies to Deter Threats … – Dec 20, 2020
    • Russia Plans to Supply 10 Engines for Atlas V, Antares Carrier Rockets to US in 2021 – Sputnik International
  • Acquisition:
    • On National Security | Space acquisition reform awaits Biden’s Pentagon team – SpaceNews
  • Budget:
    • Defense bill prospects unclear as House prepares to override Trump’s veto – SpaceNews
    • Omnibus spending bill gives Space Force its first separate budget – SpaceNews
  • U.S. Space Force enters ‘Year 2’ with momentum and soaring expectations – United States Space Force
  • Op-ed | Not all space capabilities should reside in Space Force – SpaceNews
  • Space Development Agency to reevaluate proposals for missile-tracking satellites – SpaceNews
  • EXCLUSIVE: Space Is At Heart Of JADC2, Says Maj. Gen. Crider – Breaking Defense
  • Space Warfighting in the Modern Era – The Aerospace Corporation

International space

• Botswana:
  • The Monitor :: Botswana Launches Ambitious Space Orbit Programme
•  Brazil:
  • Big leap for India’s space diplomacy! ISRO’s PSLV to launch Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 in February 2021 – The Financial Express
• Canada:
  • Canadian astronaut to join NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission around the moon – Spaceflight Now
  • NASA-Canadian agreement demonstrates how Artemis is an international moonshot | TheHill
• China:
  • China to launch core module of space station in first half of 2021 – Xinhua
  • China launches new remote sensing satellite – Xinhua
• Egypt:
  • Egypt joins Moon Village for lunar exploration – SatellitePro ME
• Europe
  • ESA Clean Space tackles space junk one component at a time – SpaceNews
  • European Space Agency hoping for UK involvement in EU-funded space programmes – Irish Examiner
  • European space experts to study build of EU’s satellite-based connectivity system – SatellitePro ME
  • European space and digital players to study build of EU’s satellite-based connectivity system – Airbus
• France:
  • French military spysat set for launch Monday – Spaceflight Now
• India:
  • Isro to use green fuel for human space flight – Times of India
  • 14 Candidates qualify for final phase of second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme
  • Isro releases Chandrayaan 2 orbiter data, data from payload looking for water awaited – Hindustan Times
  • Big leap for India’s space diplomacy! ISRO’s PSLV to launch Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 in February 2021 – The Financial Express
• Israel:
  • Israeli satellite strays from path to prevent collision with NASA’s Terra – CTech
  • Scientists asked to submit experiments to be conducted by 2nd Israeli in space | The Times of Israel
• Japan:
  • Japan joins forces with U.S. Space Force – SpaceWatch.Global
• Russia:
  • Russia’s space chief is hopping mad over most recent US restrictions | Ars Technica
  • Roscosmos sues its subsidiary over satellite that stopped working in orbit – TASS
  • Launch of the Angara-A5 rocket went perfectly, Roscosmos Chief says – TASS
  • Russia Plans to Supply 10 Engines for Atlas V, Antares Carrier Rockets to US in 2021 – Sputnik International
• Thailand:
  • Thailand to launch a moon space programme to boost efforts to become a high-income economy – Thai Examiner
• Uganda:
  • How Ugandan Nasa scientist Catherine Nakalembe uses satellites to boost farming – BBC News
•  UK:
  • Brexit deal allows UK to continue participation in Copernicus – SpaceNews
  • European Space Agency hoping for UK involvement in EU-funded space programmes – Irish Examiner
  • Post-Brexit UK stays with European Space Agency, but projects struggle – CGTN

Webcasts:

** China Aero & Space Weekly News Round-Up – Episode 13 (21st -27th Dec. 2020) – Dongfang Hour – YouTube

1) Long March 8 Launch (follow-up) …
2) News announcements regarding the calendar of the Chinese Space Station …
3) China Space News article on Moon resources …
4) China Satcom further verticalizing & pivoting to mobile broadband: Interview of Sun Jing (GM of China Satcom) …
5) Completion of the static tests of the Chinese MA700 regional jet …

** Space Café WebTalk – Claudia Kessler – 1. December 2020 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Claudia Kessler, Initiator, Founder, driving force of “Die Astronautin”, Bremen, Germany, talked inspiration and empowerment of woman for space.

Imagine: February, 2022: A space crew with only women astronauts docks to the Unity Node after having flown aboard a Space X Falcon 9 in the Crew Dragon Spacecraft, orbiting ever closer to rendezvous with their astronaut colleagues of the International Space Station.

It is a historic first. 4 Women 2 Space 4 Earth — Bringing with them the combined dreams, experience, insights, expertise and vision of millions of girls and women to access space, to take their place in the universe. Four Women to Space for Earth – one trip to Space, one voyage to the Universe to work together to obtain a safe, healthy mother-ship Earth.

The resulting inspiration, education, dissemination and implementation of the skills and knowledge, be it science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM); be it contextual, conceptual, cognitive thinking; be it experimental, experiential, exponential exploration will lead to a more equitable, sustainable, peaceful universe without gender, race, geographical or digital divide.

How are we going there? These was addressed by Claudia.

** Space Café WebTalk – MORIBA´S VOXPOPULI #2 – 03.December 2020 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this session of Space Cafè “Moriba’s Vox Populi #02/2020” Dr. Moriba Jah talked about topics of relevance to space safety, security, and sustainability with

Charity Weeden, Vice President, Global Space Policy, Astroscale U.S. Inc
Jenni Tapio, Chief Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment Finland
Dr. Regina Peldszus, Senior Policy Officer (Space Security, Space Surveillance) seconded to Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy
Prof. Thomas Schildknecht, Head of Astronomy Faculty at University of Bern.
Moriba’s Vox Populi is a disruptor in the current growing ocean of webcasts!

** Aerojet Rocketdyne – Historic Rocket Engine Maker Sold for $4.4 Billion – Scott Manley

Through the history of the US space program there have been 2 corporations which made most of the rocket engines for the boosters – Aerojet and Rocketdyne. Up until 10 years ago it was hard to find a space mission they hadn’t provided hardware for. Nowadays it’s hard to find a rocket booster which uses their engines. Aerojet-Rocketdyne was created in 2013 out of a merger of these and over the weekend it was announced that Lockheed Martin is buying this historic company. So I figured it’d be worth talking about these organizations and how important they’ve been to the space program in the past, and how they may be losing out in the booster market but still keep providing space hardware for other niches.

History of Aerojet Rocketdyne from their own site: https://www.rocket.com/who-we-are/his… Here’s a list of US rocket engines with their manufacturers: http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets/Spe…

** The Space Show – Dec.23.2020 – Dr. Ajay Kothari discussed “his lunar return plans, China, space importance and more“.

**The Space Show – Dec.27.2020 – In this Open Lines program, David Livingston discussed “multiple topics with multiple callers. We talked space solar power, Starship and Boca Chica, callers made lots of predictions for 20201, we covered our efforts to go to the Moon and much more.“.

** December 22, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

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