Policy Update (28 January 2026)

AAS Congressional Visits Day (CVD) 2026 applications are open until 11:59pm ET on 1 February, 2026. For more details, visit our webpage here. 

Two weeks ago, Congress finalized FY2026 spending for NASA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy (DOE). This funding package was signed into law by the President on 23 January. Take a few minutes today to thank your members of Congress for their support of the sciences in the FY2026 spending bills using our new Action Alert, and urge them to continue to provide robust and sustained support in the future. 

For a deep dive into the specific provisions affecting the astronomical sciences, check out our last blog post. Since then, the House has passed the remaining six spending bills, which includes funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A Senate vote is scheduled for Thursday, 29 January. As the 30 January spending deadline approaches, ongoing negotiations regarding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding levels remain a primary factor in the timely passage of the remaining bills. For more information on appropriations and science policy, see: 

• What’s Happening in Space Policy January 25-31, 2026 (SpacePolicyOnline) 
• The Week of Jan 19, 2026 (AIP FYI) 
• Shutdown risk grows as Democrats revolt after Minneapolis shooting (Politico) 

On 16 January, NASA Planetary Science Division (PSD) Director Dr. Louise Prockter distributed a letter stating that NASA will no longer formally support the PSD’s Analysis and Assessment Groups (AGs) after April 2026, noting a constrained budget. AGs create community-driven technical assessments and recommendations to the agency and serve as a crucial platform for scientists of all career stages to help influence NASA policy. 

AAS submitted a public comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to SpaceX’s authorization request to launch and operate 15,000 more satellites providing direct-to-cell services in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). In our comment, we urge the FCC and SpaceX to continue protecting frequency bands allocated to the Radio Astronomy Service, ensuring the sustainable use of VLEO for all users, and facilitating coordination efforts with the NSF to help mitigate impacts to astronomy. 

AAS also submitted a public comment to the FCC regarding the proposed overhaul of the satellite licensing process. We thanked the FCC for their continued recognition of astronomy as a public interest and for preserving existing coordination agreements between space operators and the NSF. We also thanked the FCC for adding new coordination agreements for operators beyond geosynchronous orbit (e.g., lunar, cislunar, and deep-space operations). We voiced apprehension about potentially reducing the public notice period for license application to 15 days. 

We also submitted feedback to the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) on their new mission authorization concept for novel space activities (e.g., space-based solar power, lunar activities, in-space assembly and manufacturing). Our feedback urges OSC to incorporate astronomical operations under the umbrella of national interests to consider during their certification process. 

Feel free to email [email protected] if you have any questions or comments.