Space policy regains bipartisan flavor under budget pressure

Boeing struggles with its terminal effort, while competitors weigh in with options

Last fall, a bill to block U.S. air carriers from participating in the EU's emissions trading system flew through the House of Representatives. Now it appears stalled there until after the Nov. 6 elections, industry and congressional sources say. The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), was approved by the Senate before the chamber adjourned for recess. Supporters had expressed hope that the House would consider the bill during its pro-forma session before the elections, but 435 members would need to say yes.

Brand flew on Apollo-Soyuz, commanded three shuttle missions

Base at Earth-Moon L-2 is attractive, details need work

David Barger, president and CEO of JetBlue Airways, has joined the Dallas-based ISTAT Airlink Advisory Council. Barger also is chair of the FAA's NextGen Advisory Committee and a member of the board of governors and treasurer of the Flight Safety Foundation.

Engineers at NASA, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne are making good progress on the initial version of the agency's planned Space Launch System (SLS) for deep-space human exploration, but it's the advanced configuration that may actually drive some innovation in the field. The first few flights will use the 70-metric-ton version (at left in illustration). But Congress wants the 130-metric-ton rocket (at right) for serious exploration, as well as mix-and-match versions in between to launch big space telescopes and other scientific hardware, and the U.S.

Humans will soon have new vehicles to reach orbit.