Here is our list of space policy events for the week of July 17-22, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess until September 6.

During the Week

The week starts off with a bang — of rocket engines firing — to launch the SpaceX CRS-9 cargo mission to the International Space Station at 12:45 am Monday. Today (Sunday), NASA will hold a briefing on what’s aboard the cargo ship at 3:00 pm ET and coverage of the launch begins at 11:30 pm ET. Watch both on NASA TV.

SpaceX plans to land the Falcon 9 first stage back on a pad at Cape Canaveral a few miles from the launch site. That feat has been done only once before. The other landings were on drone ships out at sea. The landing burn begins 7 minutes 38 seconds after liftoff (following boostback and entry burns), with landing shortly thereafter.

The bang of a gavel will occur later in the day as the Republicans kick off their presidential convention in Cleveland. The GOP has released its list of speakers, but it is just a list, not an agenda showing when each will speak. Perhaps of special interest to readers of this website is that former NASA space shuttle commander Eileen Collins is one of the speakers. If we learn the day and time, we will post it on our Events of Interest list.

Back-to-back conferences at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California this week will bring together experts interested in the scientific, robotic and human exploration of Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars (Monday-Tuesday), and then a broader group looking at human exploration of those celestial bodies as well as the Moon, Mars, and near-earth asteroids (Wednesday-Friday). Neither conference website mentions whether webcasts will be available, but such information often is made available only at the last minute.

The 40th anniversary of the landing of NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft on Mars is on Wednesday, July 20. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia will celebrate with a history panel on July 19 and a day-long symposium on July 20. NASA TV will broadcast some of the sessions.

July 20 is also the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. The Space Transportation Association (STA) and the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration will hold a meeting that afternoon where Orbital ATK’s Charlie Precourt (a former astronaut) will talk about progress in developing the Space Launch System (SLS). Orbital ATK is building the solid rocket boosters for SLS and recently completed a successful test firing.

The National Academies’ Space Technology Industry, Government, University Roundtable (STIGUR) will meet at the National Academy of Sciences building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC on Thursday. The agenda is not posted yet.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are shown below. Check back throughout the week for additions to our Events of Interest list.

Sunday, July 17

NASA Briefing on SpX-9 Cargo, Kennedy Space Center, FL, 3:00 pm ET (watch on NASA TV)

Sunday-Monday, July 17-18

Launch of SpX-9, Cape Canaveral, FL, 12:45 am ET (NASA TV coverage begins 11:30 pm ET July 17)

Monday-Tuesday

International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Monday-Thursday, July 18-21

Republican National Convention, Cleveland, Ohio (former astronaut Eileen Collins is on the list of speakers, date and time TBA)

Tuesday-Wednesday, July 19-20

Celebration of 40th Anniversary of Viking Landing on Mars, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

Wednesday, July 20

STA/Coalition for Deep Space Exploration Meeting Featuring Orbital ATK’s Charlie Precourt on Space Launch System Development, 2325 Rayburn, 3:30-5:30 pm ET

Wednesday-Thursday, July 20-21

NASA Advisory Council Astrophysics Subcommittee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC

Wednesday-Friday, July 20-22

NASA Exploration Science Forum 2016, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Thursday, July 21