Closing In on a NASA Administrator, and the Impact of the Space Economy

Closing In on a NASA Administrator, and the Impact of the Space Economy. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted 19-9 on Wednesday to advance the nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA. The nomination now moves to the full senate for a final vote.

Isaacman, 42, has traveled to space on two occasions on private missions aboard SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, and conducted the first EVA to be performed by a non-NASA astronaut.

In making the case to move the nomination forward to the full senate, Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX), cited Mr. Isaacman's commitment to NASA's Artemis program and a return to the Moon.

"Existing law directs NASA to establish 'sustained human presence in cis-lunar space, or on the Moon.' Federal law explicitly calls the moon a 'stepping stone to reaching Mars.' In other words, our path to predominance in space begins with the Artemis missions."

If confirmed by the full senate, Isaacman will face budgetary challenges to advance the Artemis missions. And while NASA's SLS will carry the next humans into a lunar orbit, the agency is relying on the SpaceX Starship as a lunar lander, and that system has yet to achieve orbit.

Isaacman was not present for the vote.

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With the Atlantic hurricane season beginning in less than six weeks, the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) is encouraging policy and lawmakers to continue considering the vital role satellites play in providing communications and other important services before, during and after a natural disaster. The Association summarized the various services satellites can provide both before and after an emergency, plus recent industry disaster response initiatives, in its newly updated SIA Report titled, “Natural Disasters – Satellites to the Rescue”.

SIA president Tom Stroup said that satellites provide critical links during natural disasters.

"We provide an opportunity for early response because our infrastructure is in space. And so when other systems go down, there is an ability to provide continuity of communications. In some instances it's for the first responders, they may have lost access to their communications systems, cell systems may have gone down, and there's an ability to provide communications. There's also the opportunity to be able to provide remote sensing information. Because again, there's an opportunity to be able to use optical imagery to be able to identify what roads are available, the level of damages. Even during the event, there's the opportunity to use other remote sensing techniques to be able to identify problems."

Stroup says for lawmakers and policymakers, advance planning is the key.

"You don't want to start trying to identify who has infrastructure, who the satellite providers are offering various kinds of service after the disaster has occurred. It is really reaching out to establish relationships and know what systems are going to be available in advance."

The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs for six months beginning on June 1st. Preliminary forecasts project a slightly above average number of named cyclones for 2025.

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An Atlas V rocket carrying the Kuiper-1 mission for Amazon's Project Kuiper lifted off Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Kuiper 1 launch marks the beginning of full-scale deployment of the Kuiper constellation and a new chapter in the commercial launch industry as Amazon partners with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to deliver a majority of its advanced satellites in low