Politico reports that the National Space Council may return under the second Trump Administration after it was believed dead, thanks to lobbyists from SpaceX. However, its scale and goals are unknown given the White House’s new focused mission on space exploration.
Expand Expanding Close
According to Reuters, SpaceX lobbyists might have successfully convinced the newly sworn-in President Trump to shutter the National Space Council. SpaceX seems to believe the council was a “waste of time,” and the White House might think it’s too much bureaucracy.
Expand Expanding Close
At a meeting of the National Space Council in Washington, DC, Vice President Kamala Harris announced an international astronaut will land on the Moon through Artemis before the end of the decade.
Expand Expanding Close
This week we saw new contracts from NASA, Rocket Lab’s groundbreaking design for Neutron, SpaceX pizza, and oh yeah there was an email from Elon Musk about Starship. Catch up on this week’s top stories below.
Expand Expanding Close
During Wednesday’s meeting of the National Space Council (NSpC), the Department of Defense officially came out against the use of anti-satellite (ASAT) tests.
Expand Expanding Close
On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris chaired her first meeting of the National Space Council (NSpC) of the new administration. Before this meeting, we were unsure how Biden’s NSpC would work, but it’s clear now it will continue the work President Trump forged – but now also climate change.
Expand Expanding Close
Vice President Kamala Harris heads up her first National Space Council meeting since the Biden administration took office in January. Learn more about the meeting here.
Expand Expanding Close
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Chirag Parikh to serve as the executive secretary of the National Space Council. Parikh most recently worked as senior director of Microsoft’s Azure Space division. As executive secretary of the National Space Council, Parikh is well-positioned to influence space policy across the government.
Expand Expanding Close
The National Space Council which was reestablished in 2017 by President Trump to plan the United State’s space policy is being renewed by President Biden. This comes after a several months’ wait to hear the fate of the council and the User Advisory Group.
Expand Expanding Close
A team has started applying the “Launch America” logo onto the side of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new art celebrates NASA’s now-operational Commercial Crew Program and return to crewed flight from U.S. soil after the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
Expand Expanding Close