Tag: Politics
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Space shots: A tangled web of speculation surrounds Boeing, Blue Origin and Bezos
Seven BE-4 rocket engines have been installed on Blue Origin’s first New Glenn booster. (Blue Origin Photo) Is Boeing thinking about unloading some of its space projects? Is Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture a potential buyer? And in light of former President Donald Trump’s increasingly close relationship with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, how are…
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After sparking consternation at NASA, Trump campaign pulls ad featuring SpaceX launch
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken say farewell to their families before heading to the launch pad for a SpaceX launch to the International Space Station on May 30. (NASA via YouTube) An online advertisement that plays off last weekend’s historic crewed SpaceX launch to boost President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign drew a protest…
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White House lists security tech, AI, energy and space among R&D priorities for 2021
By 2021, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander should be ready to go to the lunar surface. Space exploration and commercialization are listed as priorities for federally backed R&D. (Astrobotic Illustration) Congress hasn’t yet approved a federal budget for the fiscal year that starts next month, but the White House is already setting an agenda for research and…
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Trump ushers in U.S. Space Command, with Space Force (or Corps) in the works
The official flag of the newly revived U.S. Space Command is unfurled at a White House Rose Garden ceremony, with Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary Mark Esper looking on. (White House Photo / Tia Dufour) President Donald Trump today hailed the revival of the U.S.…
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With a single tweet, President Trump stirs tumult over NASA’s plans to go to the moon
President Donald Trump shows off a flight jacket he was given after signing a NASA authorization bill into law in 2017. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) President Donald Trump put the space community on edge today with a tweet that downplayed NASA’s plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2024 as the first step…
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SpaceX files lawsuit against the federal government — but asks to keep the details under wraps
A recovered Falcon 9 rocket booster stands tall next to SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) SpaceX today filed a lawsuit against the federal government, apparently protesting a contract bidding process — but asked the court to keep the proceedings under seal and covered by a protective order. The California-based company…
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White House proposal to tap Pell Grant fund casts a pall over NASA’s moon plans
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, at left, discusses the plan to send astronauts to the moon by 2024 as three of his associate administrators — William Gerstenmaier, Jim Reuter and Thomas Zurbuchen — look on during a town hall at NASA headquarters. (NASA Photo / Joel Kowsky) Will NASA’s plan to land astronauts on the moon…
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White House budget proposal tightens the screws on science, from space to salmon
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Space Launch System in flight. (NASA Illustration) The White House’s $4.7 trillion spending plan for fiscal year 2020 aims to give a boost to the Space Force, but would dial down work on NASA’s Space Launch System, zero out the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, leave salmon in the lurch…
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Government shutdown is putting a damper on science in Seattle and elsewhere
Arata Expositions’ Jason Edwards puts down a “Welcome” sign for the American Astronomical Society’s winter meeting at the Seattle Convention Center. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) It’s been called the “Super Bowl of Astronomy,” but when the American Astronomical Society’s winter meeting plays out in Seattle this week, some of the stars won’t be taking…
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Trump authorizes revival of U.S. Space Command, with Space Force on agenda
Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (White House via YouTube) President Donald Trump today authorized the Pentagon to set up the U.S. Space Command as its own combatant command, in preparation for creating a Space Force as a separate branch of the military. The authorization for the Space Command came…