National Security, Substance Abuse, Drug Cartel, Space, Big Pharma, Military, Climate Agreement, Caregivers,

The Senators requested an unclassified assessment on threats to U.S. national security resulting from escaped ISIS prisoners
Source: Senator Benjamin L.Cardin (D - MD)
November 5, 2019
In their letter to Acting Director of National Intelligence Admiral Joseph Maguire, Senators Collins and Warner requested that he produce an unclassified assessment with a classified annex regarding how the escape of ISIS detainees in Syria could impact the security of the United States and our allies following the pullback of U.S. troops and subsequent incursion by Turkey. Senator Collins is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senator Warner is the Vice Chairman of the Committee.

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CORTEZ MASTO, ROSEN APPLAUD GRANT FUNDING FOR YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAMS
Source: Senator Cathrine Cortez Masto - (D - NV)
November 5, 2019
“Educating our youth about the dangers of substance abuse is an important step towards ensuring the health and safety of Nevada’s communities. We’re especially thankful for federal funding programs like Drug-Free Communities that promote collaboration with local agencies and coalitions, and we’ll continue to fight to get our kids the resources they need to make healthy choices and stop substance abuse before it starts.”

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Sen. Cramer Delivers Floor Remarks on the Death of North Dakotans in Mexico Last Night
Source: Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
November 5, 2019
“What this family has experienced is the personification of evil in the form of this Mexican drug cartel. But we serve a God who personifies pure good, and the greatest response to pure evil is pure good,” said Senator Cramer. “I want to express as much as anything to those grieving that today their burden is our burden too.”

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Sen. Cruz: To Maintain U.S. Leadership in Space, We Must Inspire the Future Workforce
Source: Senator Ted Cruz (R - TX)
November 5, 2019
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation and Space, led a hearing with educators and industry leaders on the importance of hands-on learning opportunities for students in developing America's future space workforce. During his introductory remarks, Sen. Cruz highlighted the historic accomplishments of NASA during the Apollo Program and the crucial role a skilled, diverse workforce played, and the importance of inspiring children of all ages and background to become involved in science, technology, engineering, and math:

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Durbin: NAFTA 2.0 Is A Trojan Horse Giveaway To Big Pharma
Source: Senator Richard J. Durbin (D - IL)
November 5, 2019
“For all the President's talk, this provision in this trade agreement is a Trojan horse giveaway to Big Pharma at the expense of American patients,” Durbin said. “I guess we shouldn't be surprised, but I'll say this: if Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, are listening to the people they represent back home about the cost of prescription drugs, they won't fall for this new pharma fleece.”

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Ernst Blasts Democrats for Blocking Military Funding
Source: Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
November 5, 2019
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), the first female combat veteran elected to the U.S. Senate and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, blasted her Democratic colleagues who blocked a measure simply allowing a debate on defense funding. On the floor of the Senate, she called on Democrats to put politics aside and to uphold one of the most important duties of the oath of office—and provide our men and women in uniform with the resources they need to do their jobs.

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Feinstein, Cardin, Colleagues Introduce Resolution Urging President Trump to Keep the United States in the Paris Climate Agreement
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
November 5, 2019
Monday, November 4 is the first day President Donald Trump can formalize his threat to withdraw the United States from this historic international agreement. Parties to the Paris Agreement pledged to reduce carbon pollution in an amount and manner determined by each nation that puts the world on a strong trajectory to address climate change.

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(See Also:
Heinrich Statement On Administration’s Withdrawal From Paris Climate Agreement

Gillibrand Unveils Bipartisan Legislation To Support Family Caregivers
Source: Senator Kirsten E.Gillibrand (D-NY)
November 5, 2019
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand unveiled the bipartisan Credit for Caring Act, legislation that would support family caregivers by helping to alleviate some of the financial challenges they may face. Family caregivers are family members who take care of a loved one that has a medical or behavioral condition or disability. Gillibrand’s new push comes after hosting roundtables and meetings across New York with older adults and disability rights advocates and hearing directly from them about their specific needs. According to the most recently available data, there are 2.6 million unpaid caregivers throughout New York State.

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At Homeland Security Hearing, Harris Questions FBI Director on Rudy Giuliani, Foreign Election Interference, Witness Intimidation
Source: Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)
November 5, 2019
U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, on Tuesday questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray about potential threats to the United States, including foreign interference in U.S elections, witness intimidation in ongoing investigations, and Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. Wray could not say if the FBI has told the president whether Giuliani is a potential counterintelligence threat or whether Giuliani holds any security clearance of any kind.

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Senator Hassan Addresses Foreign & Domestic Terrorist Threats, Ransomware Attacks at Homeland Security Committee Hearing
Source: Senator Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH)
November 5, 2019
Senator Maggie Hassan questioned several of the nation’s top security officials about the rising threats of ISIS affiliates, growing domestic terrorism threats, and cybersecurity during the Senate Homeland Security Committee annual Threats to the Homeland hearing. Senator Hassan and other members of the Committee questioned FBI Director Chris Wray, Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis David Glawe, and National Counterterrorism Center Acting Director Russell Travers.

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Space

Today's News about Space

Rep. Jason Crow Leads Letter Calling on U.S. Space Command to be Based at Buckley Air Force Base
Source: Jason Crow (D-CO, 6th)
April 24, 2019
“Colorado has a proud aerospace tradition and Buckley Air Force Base is a powerful testament to that. As a former Army Ranger and member of the Armed Services Committee, I know the threats facing our country in the 21st century and the role that space will play in our national security. Buckley - and Aurora - is the right place for U.S. Space Command. We have the right infrastructure, a talented aerospace workforce, and the community support to ensure the success of U.S. Space Command,” said Rep. Jason Crow. “Placing Space Command at Buckley Air Force Base would be an incredible gain for Aurora and the Denver metro area and a boon for our economy. Space Command would fuel job growth for decades to come and solidify Colorado’s role as the global aerospace leader.”

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New Space Policy Directive Calls for Human Expansion Across Solar System

By NASA




Washington, D.C. - December 12, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- President Donald Trump is sending astronauts back to the Moon.

The president Monday signed at the White House Space Policy Directive 1, a change in national space policy that provides for a U.S.-led, integrated program with private sector partners for a human return to the Moon, followed by missions to Mars and beyond.

The policy calls for the NASA administrator to “lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.” The effort will more effectively organize government, private industry, and international efforts toward returning humans on the Moon, and will lay the foundation that will eventually enable human exploration of Mars.

“The directive I am signing today will refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery,” said President Trump. “It marks a first step in returning American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use. This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints -- we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond.”

The policy grew from a unanimous recommendation by the new National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, after its first meeting Oct. 5. In addition to the direction to plan for human return to the Moon, the policy also ends NASA’s existing effort to send humans to an asteroid. The president revived the National Space Council in July to advise and help implement his space policy with exploration as a national priority.

"Under President Trump’s leadership, America will lead in space once again on all fronts,” said Vice President Pence. “As the President has said, space is the ‘next great American frontier’ – and it is our duty – and our destiny – to settle that frontier with American leadership, courage, and values. The signing of this new directive is yet another promise kept by President Trump.”

Among other dignitaries on hand for the signing, were NASA astronauts Sen. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, Buzz Aldrin, Peggy Whitson and Christina Koch. Schmitt landed on the moon 45 years to the minute that the policy directive was signed as part of NASA’s Apollo 17 mission, and is the most recent living person to have set foot on our lunar neighbor. Aldrin was the second person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Whitson spoke to the president from space in April aboard the International Space Station and while flying back home after breaking the record for most time in space by a U.S. astronaut in September. Koch is a member of NASA’s astronaut class of 2013.

Work toward the new directive will be reflected in NASA’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget request next year.

“NASA looks forward to supporting the president’s directive strategically aligning our work to return humans to the Moon, travel to Mars and opening the deeper solar system beyond,” said acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot. “This work represents a national effort on many fronts, with America leading the way. We will engage the best and brightest across government and private industry and our partners across the world to reach new milestones in human achievement. Our workforce is committed to this effort, and even now we are developing a flexible deep space infrastructure to support a steady cadence of increasingly complex missions that strengthens American leadership in the boundless frontier of space. The next generation will dream even bigger and reach higher as we launch challenging new missions, and make new discoveries and technological breakthroughs on this dynamic path.”

A piece of Moon rock was brought to the White House as a reminder of the exploration history and American successes at the Moon on which the new policy will build. Lunar Sample 70215 was retrieved from the Moon’s surface and returned by Schmitt’s Apollo 17 crew. Apollo 17 was the last Apollo mission to land astronauts on the Moon and returned with the greatest amount of rock and soil samples for investigation.

The sample is a basaltic lava rock similar to lava found in Hawaii. It crystallized 3.84 billion years ago when lava flowed from the Camelot Crater. Sliced off a parent rock that originally weighed 8,110 grams, the sample weighs 14 grams, and is very fine grained, dense and tough. During the six Apollo surface excursions from 1969 to 1972, astronauts collected 2,196 rock and soil samples weighting 842 pounds. Scientific studies help us learn about the geologic history of the Moon, as well as Earth. They help us understand the mineral and chemical resources available to support future lunar exploration.


See more headlines at The Ponder News Web Site

Booker, Sullivan Press FCC on Space Debris

Washington, D.C. - October 4, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), members of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to tackle the challenge of space debris – hundreds of thousands of pieces of orbital debris no longer in use that pose a serious threat to satellites and spacecraft.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the Senators asked the Commission to form a working group with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop a comprehensive policy on mitigating space debris. Collisions with debris as small as 10cm can catastrophically damage satellites, and debris as small as 1cm can disable spacecraft.

The Senators wrote: “As the Commission considers multiple requests for new LEO [low-Earth orbit] satellite constellations, we ask that you formally coordinate with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish an interagency working group on space debris and to develop a comprehensive domestic policy on space debris mitigation.”

Full text of the letter is below.

September 29, 2017

Mr. Ajit Pai

Chairman

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street SW

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Pai,

We are writing to express our concern for the growing challenge presented by low-Earth orbit (LEO) space debris. As the Commission considers multiple requests for new LEO satellite constellations, we ask that you formally coordinate with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish an interagency working group on space debris and to develop a comprehensive domestic policy on space debris mitigation.

We note that NASA, as stated in its own filings with the Commission, is conducting an internal parametric study on large constellations, which will be completed later this year. As part of your coordination with NASA on this issue, we ask that the Commission use any recommendations or best practices from this study to inform regulatory decisions on LEO constellation permitting.

As you may know, the U.S. Department of Defense Space Surveillance Network currently tracks nearly 22,000 pieces of orbital debris, defined as man-made objects in Earth’s orbit that no longer serve a useful purpose. This figure does not include hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris smaller than 10cm that are also orbiting the Earth. Collisions with debris as small as 10cm can catastrophically damage satellites, and debris as small as 1cm can disable spacecraft. Each collision exponentially increases the likelihood of another collision, creating a potential cascade that could severely inhibit future telecommunications, national security, and other space-based activity in the LEO environment.

In the last decade, two major satellite collisions dramatically increased the amount of fragmented debris currently in orbit. Model predictions suggest that even with nearly full compliance with existing mitigation measures, LEO space debris is expected to grow by an average of 30% in the next 200 years. A number of national and international studies have concluded that orbital debris may have already reached a tipping point.

Collectively, if approved, the applications pending at the Commission for new satellite constellations could drastically increase the number of satellites in LEO. In light of these pending requests, we remind you of the United States’ obligation to ensure that any licensed system will not operate near other systems in a way that could potentially create space new debris, endanger national and international assets, and threaten our future access to space.

We are extremely excited by the unique potential for these proposed satellite constellations to connect rural and underserved American populations to the internet. However, swift action to mitigate the collision risk associated with a growing number of constellations is critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of our space environment.

We stand ready and willing to support the Commission, NASA and FAA in establishing comprehensive regulatory policy to mitigate the space debris challenge. We appreciate your prompt attention to this issue and we look forward to discussing further.

Sincerely,

Three International Space Station Crewmates Safely Return to Earth

Source: NASA



Washington, D.C. - September 3, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who set multiple U.S. space records during her mission aboard the International Space Station, along with crewmates Jack Fischer of NASA and Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos, safely landed on Earth at 9:21 p.m. EDT Saturday (7:21 a.m. Kazakhstan time, Sunday, Sept. 3), southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

While living and working aboard the world’s only orbiting laboratory, Whitson and Fischer contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science, welcomed several cargo spacecraft delivering tons of supplies and research experiments, and conducted a combined six spacewalks to perform maintenance and upgrades to the station.

Among their scientific exploits, Whitson and Fischer supported research into the physical changes to astronaut’s eyes caused by prolonged exposure to a microgravity environment. They also conducted a new lung tissue study that explored how stem cells work in the unique microgravity environment of the space station, which may pave the way for future stem cell research in space.

Additional research included an antibody investigation that could increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment, and the study of plant physiology and growth in space using an advanced plant habitat. NASA also attached the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass Investigation (ISS CREAM) on the outside of the space station in August, which is now observing cosmic rays coming from across the galaxy.

The crew members received a total of seven cargo deliveries during their mission. A Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle launched to the space station in December 2016 delivering new lithium-ion batteries that were installed using a combination of robotics and spacewalks. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the station in April on the company's seventh commercial resupply mission. Three SpaceX Dragon spacecraft completed commercial resupply missions to the station in February, June and August. And, Russian ISS Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the station in February and June.

Whitson’s return marks the completion of a 288-day mission that began last November and spanned 122.2 million miles and 4,623 orbits of the Earth – her third long-duration mission on the station. During her latest mission, Whitson performed four spacewalks, bringing her career total to 10. With a total of 665 days in space, Whitson holds the U.S. record and places eighth on the all-time space endurance list.

Fischer, who launched in April, completed 136 days in space, during which he conducted the first and second spacewalks of his career. Yurchikhin, who launched with Fischer, now has a total of 673 days in space, putting him seventh place on the all-time endurance list.

Expedition 53 continues operating the station, with Randy Bresnik of NASA in command, and Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos and Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) serving as flight engineers. The three-person crew will operate the station until the arrival of NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, and Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos. Vande Hei, Acaba and Misurkin are scheduled to launch Sept. 12 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.