Connecting the Dots | Speeding up the satellite regulatory machine
The quadrennial wait for updating global spectrum rules stands in stark contrast to the rapid pace of change now sweeping through space and terrestrial communications.
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The Rest of 2022’s Notable Nine
Ukraine and Elon Musk weren't the only big stories of 2022. These seven commanded our attention with actions that will reverberate well into 2023.
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Dark clouds, silver linings: Five ways war in Ukraine is transforming the space domain
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine was the biggest story of 2022. Aside from reviving Cold War fears of nuclear war and playing havoc with energy markets, it’s been a black swan event for a space industry still adjusting to a black swan called COVID.
Video: Flight control, space weather and debris: What an astronaut needs to know
Recently, Andreas Mogensen, now getting ready for his "Huginn" mission to the ISS in 2023, stopped by ESA's ESOC mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany, to meet with some of the experts who keep our satellites flying.
Andreas usually works at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston as an ISS "capcom," and we don't often see him in Europe. A few months back, while returning to Germany for some training at ESA's Astronaut Center in Cologne, we seized the opportunity to ask him if he'd like to stop over in Darmstadt for a look behind the scenes at mission control, and he immediately answered, "yes!"
Andreas studied aeronautical engineering with a focus on "guidance, navigation and control of spacecraft" and we thought he'd be delighted to meet with the teams at mission control doing precisely that sort of work for our robotic missions.
We figured he'd also enjoy meeting colleagues from our Space Safety program, especially the ones working on space debris and space weather, as these are crucial areas that influence the daily life of astronauts on the ISS.
Senate passes orbit debris cleanup bill
The Senate passed legislation that would direct NASA to establish a program to remove orbital debris, but supporters of the bill will have to try again in the next Congress to enact it.
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Congress adds $1.7 billion for U.S. Space Force in 2023 spending bill
The 2023 omnibus spending package includes $26.3 billion for the U.S. Space Force, nearly $1.7 billion more than the Pentagon requested
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NASA begins construction on asteroid-detecting space telescope
Construction is set to begin on NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor, a space telescope designed to search for hard-to-find comets and asteroids that approach the area near Earth.
The NEO Surveyor passed a technical programmatic review and will now move into the construction phase.
"The mission supports the objectives of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA He Op-ed | Hazards don’t stop at the Kármán line
To ensure the safety of spaceflight travelers from launch to landing, the United States should consider the continuity of a single executive agency overseeing commercial human spaceflight activities.
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Hickenlooper Bill to clear space junk, protect space exploration, passes Senate unanimously
U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper applauded Senate passage of his Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act, a bipartisan bill to establish a first-of-its-kind demonstration program to reduce the amount of space junk in orbit. The bill passed the Senate unanimously.
"From satellite communications to rockets carrying humans into deep space, space debris is a massive threat to space operations," said NASA explores a winter wonderland on Mars
When winter comes to Mars, the surface is transformed into a truly otherworldly holiday scene. Snow, ice, and frost accompany the season's sub-zero temperatures. Some of the coldest of these occur at the planet's poles, where it gets as low as minus 190 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 123 degrees Celsius).
Cold as it is, don't expect snow drifts worthy of the Rocky Mountains. No region of Mars g 
