In this week’s Washington Outlook, the Pentagon acquisition chief defends procurement reforms; the FAA maintains a ban on flights over Ukraine; and insiders speculate who will lead Senate space policies.

Keep NASA pointed toward Mars, bring China into the fold and don’t let climate-change deniers kill Earth science.

Virgin Galactic test pilots have developed procedures that greatly improve takeoff and balanced field length performance of the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.

New NASA facility will simulate SLS launch loads, while planners study flight tests for secondary payloads.

Using rockets over and over like airplanes can hold down launch costs, but it will take a lot of launches to overcome the cost and weight penalties.

Two years after a fatal SpaceShipTwo crash, Virgin Galactic looks to move forward, confident about upcoming glide tests with an improved rocket motor.

In this week’s Washington Outlook: companies create new ways to contain potential battery fires; the hunt for new space policy champions; and a recommendation for changing remote-sensing regulations.

In this week’s roundup, the CH-53K is poised for production; an Indian and French company create a joint venture for helicopter maintenance; Embraer pays at least $205 million to settle corruption charges and a U.S. weather satellite breaks up in space.