Heute entscheidet übrigens der US-Kongreß (in diesem Fall der Senat) darüber, ob der Betrieb der ISS über das bisher vorgesehene Raumstationenversenken im Pazifik im Jahr 2030 hinaus bis 2032 verlängert wird.

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March 4, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In his opening statement at today’s Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee executive session, Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) detailed how the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 delivers critical funding and a clear strategic direction to ensure the United States —not China—leads the next era of space exploration.

"Good morning. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will come to order.

“Today we are considering two consequential reauthorization bills: the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 and the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026.
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“Let me touch on a few highlights of the NASA Authorization Act. The bill —

Directs NASA to create a permanent “moon base” so we can get there before the Chinese;
Keeps American astronauts in space, extending the ISS through 2032 and requiring the launch of two independent commercial space stations before the ISS can be retired;
Protects against disclosure of NASA tech secrets to Chinese spies; and
Restores fiscal discipline while modernizing NASA’s workforce through public-private partnerships.

“Space is not just symbolic; it is strategic. The NASA Authorization Act ensures that America — not China — will lead the next era of exploration.

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https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2026/3/s...g-modernization

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Ozan Bellik@BellikOzan
Bridenstine trying to saddle NASA with the rocket the DoD is grounding because of explodey boosters suggests that maybe he never had the agency's best interests at heart...
8:07 AM · Mar 4, 2026

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https://x.com/BellikOzan/status/2029091467470487664

Noch zum obigen: Ist verabschiedet.

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The US Senate empowers NASA to fully engage in lunar space race

During a brief hearing on Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation spent only a few minutes “marking up” new legislation that provides guidance to NASA for its various initiatives, including the Artemis program to land humans on the Moon.

“Our bill authorizes critical funding for, and gives strategic direction to, the agency in line with the priorities of administrator Isaacman and the Trump administration,” said the committee’s chairman, Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas).

The duration of the hearing, however, seems to be the inverse of its significance.

Elements of the legislation, now branded as The NASA Authorization Act of 2026 (see full text), have undergone significant revisions since just last week. The sweeping changes follow NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s announcement on Friday that he was shuffling the Artemis program to ensure that the US space agency would beat China back to the Moon and establish a long-term presence at the lunar south pole. In large part, the Senate’s bill endorses Isaacman’s plan of action.

With the revised legislation, Cruz and the Senate committee have empowered Isaacman and NASA to make significant changes to the Artemis Program. The revised plan for the space agency will likely lead to more launches and a much greater emphasis on the lunar surface.

Among the key Artemis changes in the reauthorization legislation:

It notes the Space Launch System rocket “has not met” its intended flight rate and that the Exploration Upper Stage is “behind schedule and over budget.” It allows Isaacman to identify alternatives for a new upper stage and gives him a green light to “standardize” the SLS rocket to fly it more often. This effectively cancels future upgrades, as Isaacman sought.
The legislation does not mention the Lunar Gateway. Notably, a version of this legislation authored just last week said a lunar orbiting Gateway was “critical” for future deep space exploration in section 206. Now that language is gone, replaced by a request for Isaacman to brief Congress on plans for a “lunar outpost” in 60 days.
Later in the legislation, on page 34, it states, “The Administrator may repurpose, reprogram, reconfigure, or reassign existing programs, platforms, modules, or hardware originally developed for other programs.” Essentially, this allows Isaacman to use elements of the Lunar Gateway and a second mobile launch tower for other purposes.

The legislation contains a lot of other notable elements. For example, a provision championed by former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to cap the space agency’s ability to procure commercial launch services was stripped out. And the bill also extends the lifetime of the International Space Station until 2032 to give commercial space station providers more time to bring their private facilities online.

But the big picture here is that the US Senate has put out one of its most important pieces of spaceflight legislation in decades: Senators have instructed Isaacman to go fly the Artemis program with all due speed, to do so as he deems best, and to focus on building a Moon base rather than a space station in lunar orbit.

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https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/03/th...nar-space-race/

Wenn ich das richtig sehe, ist damit (zumindest auf absehbare Zeit) das Lunar Gateway, die Raumstation im langgestreckten Mondorbit als Zwischenstopp für den Abstieg zur Mondoberfläche erst einmal vom Tisch.