April 20, 2017Cruz to Hold Hearing on Expanding American Free Enterprise in SpaceWASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, will convene a hearing titled “Reopening the American Frontier: Reducing Regulatory Barriers and Expanding American Free Enterprise in Space” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. This hearing will examine the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act signed into law in November 2015, potential regulatory barriers to address in future legislation, and ways to expand commercial opportunities for American firms in space.Witnesses: • Mr. Robert Bigelow, Founder, Bigelow Aerospace• Mr. Rob Myerson, President, Blue Origin• Mr. George Whitesides, CEO, Virgin Galactic• Mr. Andrew Rush, CEO, Made in Space * Witness list subject to change Hearing Details: Wednesday, April 26, 201710:00 a.m.Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness This hearing will take place in Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253. Witness testimony, opening statements, and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.
Is it just me, or did they forget to invite someone else involved in American commercial space enterprises...?
I am sure that it will be a good hearing without SpaceX.
I would want a satellite manufacturer and service provider/operator on that list. Why ignore 90% of the industry?
Blair Bigelow @BlairBigelow 2m2 minutes agoReady for the hearing @RobertTBigelow @blueorigin @RushSpace
This morning's Senate hearing on NewSpace is on my YouTube channel at youtube.com/watch?v=ttFBOp…. Removed the long wait on the official video.
One post-hearing note: Cruz said this is a first in a series of hearings on this topic; no timeframe yet for new legislation.
A lot of positive stuff was talked about, and they acknowledged that this was just a start. The important stuff I noticed:- The Outer Space Treaty needs to be revisited and revised to reflect that humanity is now ready to expand out into space. Being an international agreement this won't change quickly, and it will be interesting to hear how the Trump Administration approaches this, given Trump's attitudes about international agreements in general.
Quote from: Coastal Ron on 04/27/2017 03:06 pmA lot of positive stuff was talked about, and they acknowledged that this was just a start. The important stuff I noticed:- The Outer Space Treaty needs to be revisited and revised to reflect that humanity is now ready to expand out into space. Being an international agreement this won't change quickly, and it will be interesting to hear how the Trump Administration approaches this, given Trump's attitudes about international agreements in general.That's interesting -- I'd have expected Cruz et al. to advocate simply abrogating the Treaty. Was any hint given as to why they want to keep it at all?
I only wanted to convey that Cruz thinks the Outer Space Treaty needs to be revised.
"As we look to the future of American free enterprise and settlement in space, we should also thoroughly review the United Nations’ Outer Space Treaty, which was written and enacted in a very different time and era in 1967,” he said. “It’s important that Congress evaluate how that treaty, enacted 50 years ago, will impact new and innovative activity within space."