A selection of space policy/politics related items:

• Rick Boozer, Monday, 1-27-14 – Thespaceshow’s Blog – Rick gives an update on the SLS/Orion boondoggles.
• NASA To Order More Soyuz Seats – SpaceNews.com – Those in Congress who set NASA budget prefer the agency buys Russian Soyuz services than US commercial transport services since the latter threatens SLS/Orion pork for their states and districts.
• Station Role In Earth Science Growing – Aviation Week – ISS provides a low cost platform for earth observation systems delivered by commercial cargo transports.
• NASA Planning for Mission To Mine Water on the Moon – SpaceNews.com
• We Need To Get More Comfortable With People Dying In Space – The Federalist
• Did We Break Space? – NationalJournal.com
• Dr. Paul Spudis, Sunday, 1-26-14 – Thespaceshow’s Blog
• The Other Sad Space Anniversary – Transterrestrial Musings
• India joins the space race  – USA Today
• Russian Space Agency Plans World’s Biggest Rocket – International Space Fellowship

Update:

• Florida Space Industry to Visit Capitol on March 12 [with] Former Astronaut Bob Crippen – Florida Space Day
• HASC Told China’s Counterspace Capabilities “Extremely Serious” – SpacePolicyOnline.com

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Rick Boozer will be back on The Space Show today at 2-3:30 pm PST (5-6:30 pm  EST, 4-5:30 pm CST). He will give an update on “his book from last year, The Plundering of NASA, his suggestions for programs other than SLS, and his work with the Space Development Steering Committee“.

Today’s selection of space policy/politics related links:

• Space Policy Events for January 27-31, 2014 – SpacePolicyOnline
• ULA signs deal to deliver three-dozen booster cores – Spaceflight Now
• This Week’s Book Review – Safe is Not an Option – Ricochet.com
• Space Property Rights: It’s Time, and Here’s Where to Start – Berin Szoka/Jim Dunstan – SpaceNews.com
• Editorial | Better Late than Never – SpaceNews.com
• WGS Sales to Allies Undermine U.S. Comsatcom Industry- SpaceNews.com
• Mars 2020: Its Origins, Science and Technology – SpaceNews.com
• Library: A Round-up of Reading – Res Communis
• The Space Review: 
  • Commercial crew’s critical year – Jeff Foust
  • Achieving cheap access to space: the foundation of commercialization (part 2) – Charles Miller
  • A brief look at the legal and political implications of Japan’s space debris removal plans – Michael Listner
  • Celebrating space – Ken Murphy
  • Review: Wheels Stop
• International Relations in Space – Visual.ly – A space policy infographic. (It shows the Moon Treaty as if it is comparable to the Outer Space Treaty but it has not actually been signed by any spacefaring countries. )

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