The Air Force released its new service-wide guidelines on religious tolerance Monday, after a task force concluded in a June report that a perception of bias exists on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The new guidelines, developed under the guidance of Secretary of the Air Force appointee Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, discourage public prayer and urge commanders to be sensitive on matters of personal religious expression, but do not ban discussions between commanders and subordinates about religion. The guidelines emphasize that “abuse or disrespect” of airmen based on their religious beliefs is unacceptable.
NASA, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance are all preparing to launch their next-gen rockets from Florida’s Space Coast, two of them before the year is out. One is expected to liberate the U.S. launch enterprise from its reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines, while all three rockets could eventually carry astronaut crews.