President Trump Re-Establishes National Space Council

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump signed a long-awaited executive order June 30 re-establishing the National Space Council.

At an event in the White House, flanked by several members of Congress and industry officials as well as Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Trump signed the executive order that re-establishes the council, last active at the end of the administration of President George H.W. Bush in 1993.

"Today we are taking a crucial step to secure America's future in space," Trump said, according to a press pool account of the signing ceremony. The White House did not broadcast the event live, and provided scant advance notice of the event, taking place shortly before the president left for the July 4 holiday weekend. "We are a nation of pioneers and the next great American frontier is space." [The First 100 Days: What Trump Has Done on Space So Far]

Trump had previously announced that Vice President Mike Pence would serve as the head of the space council once it is reestablished. Pence stated on several occasions, dating back to the signing of a NASA authorization bill in March, that the president would soon sign the order re-establishing the council, with Pence as chairman.

Pence also spoke at the signing ceremony prior to Trump's arrival, reiterating past statements that the council will be key to ensuring American leadership in space. "With the action he takes today, President Trump will bring a renewed sense of purpose to America's space policy," he said, according to the pool report of the event.

The text of the executive order indicates that the new National Space Council will be structured like its previous incarnation in the George H.W. Bush administration, led by the vice president with representatives from various cabinet agencies and NASA. The council will be responsible for reviewing space policy and providing recommendations to the president, as well as fostering "close coordination, cooperation, and technology and information exchange" among agencies and with the private sector.

The order establishes a "Users' Advisory Group" that is similar to the "Space Policy Advisory Board" that the previous National Space Council had that provides outside advice to the council on space issues. One difference is an emphasis by the Users' Advisory Board that "the interests of industries and other non-Federal entities involved in space activities, including in particular commercial entities, are adequately represented in the Council."

Among those in attendance at the event was Sandy Magnus, the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics who also served on the NASA transition team for the incoming Trump administration. "We appreciate the Trump Administration's efforts to strengthen our nation's space enterprise and view this as an opportunity to create an integrated strategic approach to U.S. space endeavors," she said in an AIAA statement.

Another person at the event was Tory Bruno, president and chief executive of United Launch Alliance. "I was honored to be there. This is a very exciting announcement," he tweeted shortly after the signing ceremony.

The White House did not announce additional details about establishing the council, including naming an executive secretary who will handle the day-to-day operations of the council. A former executive secretary of the council, though, was optimistic about the new council.

"Vice President Pence is ready and able to lead an active and energetic Space Council team and agenda to ensure U.S. space pre-eminence for decades to come, and do so faster and more efficiently than ever before," said Mark Albrecht, who was executive secretary of the council from 1989 to 1992.

Albrecht predicted a full slate of activities for the council when it starts its work. "The agenda for a White House coordinating body on space policy will be substantial and urgent, from rationalizing space launch, to fully integrating new privatized and commercial space capabilities into all national space activities, to fielding new and dominant space deterrence and warfighting capabilities and doctrine," he said.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.