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A personal email from former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin to friends expressing his views about the Augustine committee report found its way onto some space-related websites last week. SpacePolicyOnline.com decided to wait for Dr. Griffin's official views as expressed in his testimony today to the House Science and Technology Committee. They are much the same. His key argument is that the best option is to restore funding for the Constellation program rather than set off on a different course. He adds that, if necessary, development of the Altair lunar lander could be postponed and the Ares V/Orion combination could embark on some of the "Flexible Path" missions discussed in the Augustine report until funding for Altair becomes available.


A SpacePolicyOnline.com summary of the hearing will be available soon.

Two days of congressional hearings on the Augustine committee report on the future of the human space flight program begin this afternoon.

• House Science and Technology Committee, today (Sept. 15), 2:00-4:00, 2318 Rayburn -- Witnesses: chair of the Augustine committee, Norm Augustine; former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin; chair of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Joe Dyer.
• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Science and Space, Wednesday (Sept. 16), 2:30 pm, 253 Russell Senate Office Building -- Witness, Norm Augustine.

Haven't had time to read the Augustine committee's report? Read our 1-page summary.

George Washington University's Space Policy Institute will hold a half day seminar looking at the Augustine committee's report on options for the human space flight program: September 28, 8:15 am -12:30 pm, 1957 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 7th floor conference room. Seating is limited so an RSVP is required (spi@gwu.edu). See the agenda below.

8:15 A.M. Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 A.M. Welcome and Introductory Remarks

• DR. SCOTT PACE, Director, Space Policy Institute

9:20 A.M. Panel 1: Setting the Context for NASA

• GEN. LESTER LYLES (invited)
• MR. A. THOMAS YOUNG
• DR. DOUG STANLEY, Georgia Institute of Technology
• MR. "JT" JEZERSKI, Office of Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX)

10:20 A.M. Coffee Break

10:40 A.M. Panel 2: Science and International Relations

• DR. PAUL SPUDIS, Lunar and Planetary Institute

• DR. TOM JONES, Planetary scientist, former astronaut

• DR. JOHN LOGSDON, Space Policy Institute

• DR. ALAIN DUPAS, Coll ge de Polytechnique

11:30 A.M. Panel 3: Security and Commerce

• MR. BRETT ALEXANDER, Commercial Spaceflight Federation

• MR. CARLOS MONEJE, Office of the Governor of Florida

• MR. ROBERT READ, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (AT&L)

• MR. JOHN KARAS, Lockheed Martin

12:20 P.M. Closing Remarks

• DR. SCOTT PACE, Director, Space Policy Institute

12:30 P.M. Lunch

As reported on NASAWatch, Assaf Ramon, son of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, was killed in the crash of a fighter jet in Hebron, Israel yesterday. Ilan Ramon perished in the space shuttle Columbia tragedy in 2003, Now his son, Assaf, has died in the crash of an F-16 plane he was piloting; an investigation is underway.

After many years of discussion, China has begun construction of a new space launch site in Wenchang city on the island of Hainan according to China Daily. At 19 degrees north latitude, it will be the southern-most of the country's space launch facilities. China is building a new launch vehicle, the Long March 5, that is expected to make its debut at Hainan in 2014.

The Long March 5 (CZ-5) will have a 25 ton to low Earth orbit (LEO) payload capability -- in the same class as the U.S. Delta 4 Heavy, space shuttle, and Ares I (under development). China Daily reported that the Hainan launch site would be used for geostationary launches, space station launches, and launches of deep space probes. It also could be used for Chinese human spaceflight launches beyond LEO.

Currently, China has launch sites at Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert, used for China's Shenzhou human spaceflight missions and most spacecraft launches to high inclination orbits; Xichang, near Chengdu, used for launches to geostationary orbit; and Taiyuan, south of Beijing, for polar orbit launches.

Don't have time to read the Augustine committee's report before the hearings this week? Read our concise 1-page fact sheet summarizing its key points. Find it on our left menu under "Our Fact Sheets and Reports" or click here.

The fact sheet is authored by Laura M. Delgado who has just begun writing for SpacePolicyOnline.com. Laura is pursuing her M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute. For more on Laura, see her bio on our "About Us" page on the left menu.

Armadillo Aerospace succeeded yesterday in completing the necessary flights to qualify for a $1 million prize in NASA's Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge according to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

Two other companies plan to compete for the prize before the October 31 deadline, so Armadillo has not yet officially won. Nonetheless, its Scorpius launch vehicle did what was needed to qualify as a winner: ascend to a height of 50 meters, translate to a pad 50 meters away, land safely on a rocky surface after at least 180 seconds of flight time, and then repeat the flight. The prize is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges program and is managed by the X-Prize Foundation.

Armadillo won Level 1 of the challenge last year (which required 90 instead of 180 seconds of flight time), winning $350,000.

We have just updated three of our fact sheets to reflect recent congressional and other actions:

• Major Space-Related Legislation in the 111th Congress: A Checklist
• FY2010 Funding for Selected DOD Space Programs
• NASA's Project Constellation

All are available from our left menu under "Our Fact Sheets and Reports."

NPR's Science Friday interviewed Lawrence Krauss yesterday. He is the author of the provocative New York Times op-ed arguing for sending astronauts on one-way trips to Mars. His premise is that historically people traveled to new lands with no expectation of returning home and this should be no different. It would save money and one need not worry about their surviving the damaging health effects of cosmic radiation. Dr. Krauss is author of The Physics of "Star Trek," and Director of the Origins Institute at Arizona State University.

The following events may be of interest next week. See our calendar for more information. Note: dates, times and witnesses for congressional hearings are subject to change. Check the committee's website for up-to-date information.

AIAA Space 2009 Conference and Exposition

• Monday-Thursday, Sept. 14-17 Pasadena, CA

Hearings on the Augustine Committee Report

• Tuesday, Sept. 15 2:00 pm House Science and Technology Committee 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC
• Wednesday, Sept. 16 2:30 pm Senate Commerce subcommittee 253 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington DC

Mark-up of the Satellite Home Viewer Reauthorization Act (possible)

• Wednesday, Sept. 16 House Judiciary Committee Washington, DC

Note: The committee has a markup session scheduled on Wednesday (time and location not listed). Congress Daily (subscription required) reports that it will include markup of the Judiciary Committee's version of the Satellite Home Viewer Reauthorization Act, however it is not currently included on the list of items for consideration on the committee's website.