Former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler Gets Role as Senior Advisor After Being Blocked from Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources

Former Trump-era EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will serve as a senior advisor to Governor Glenn Youngkin after the Virginia Senate blocked Wheeler’s confirmation as Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources. Deputy Secretary Travis Voyles is acting secretary.

Wheeler was a controversial pick among Democrats both for his link to former President Donald Trump and for the policy direction the EPA took during Wheeler’s tenure. E and E News reported Monday that Wheeler said Democrats had planned to block a nominee even before he was announced.

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Commentary: Laser Communications Will Transform How Government and Industry Use Space

Space is definitely the high ground when it comes to many military, scientific and economic activities. As the world becomes more information-intensive, the ability to move data rapidly, reliably, and cheaply will be of enormous advantage. Governments, private companies, and scientific organizations are rushing to build large satellite constellations to enhance surveillance of the Earth, explore space, and improve the movement of data. Nations able to deploy robust space-based laser communications systems will reap military, scientific and commercial benefits.

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NASA Makes History with First Helicopter Flight on Another Planet

NASA Helicopter

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration made history Monday morning when it conducted the first ever powered and controlled flight on a different planet.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Ingenuity, a solar-powered helicopter, took flight on Mars for more than 39 seconds, reaching a maximum altitude of 10 feet, the agency announced. Hours after the flight, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California confirmed the success after it received data sent from the helicopter.

“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said in a statement Monday.

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US ‘Extremely Committed to Getting to Mars,’ NASA Administrator Says

by Alex Christy   NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is looking to the future of Mars exploration after NASA successfully landed its InSight Mars Lander on Monday. “This accomplishment represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners and it serves as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team. The best of NASA is yet to come, and it is coming soon,” Bridenstine said of the success of InSight’s landing on the Martian surface, according to a NASA press release Monday. Bridenstine addressed NASA’s future after receiving a congratulatory phone call from Vice President Mike Pence, according to Space. “You ask what’s happening next? Right now, at NASA there is more underway probably than since I don’t know how many years past. It’s like there’s a drought and all of a sudden all these activities at once. So, we’re busy. We’re going to be working through the holiday — a lot of amazing discoveries to be made, and we’re looking forward to them,” Bridenstine said. Bridenstine views the Trump administration’s priority of returning to the moon as NASA’s first step to an eventual manned mission to Mars, Space reports. Trump’s memorandum from December 2017 states America will go beyond…

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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Launch Was a Joyful Success

Patience was in short supply during the leg-jiggling, finger-tapping, tension-filled hours before the launch of the Falcon Heavy, which would, if successful, become the most powerful operational rocket on the planet. From thousands of miles away viewers obsessively checked Twitter for live updates from the hundreds of reporters and thousands of visitors who showed up to witness history.

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