Keith’s note: According “Trump administration to revive National Space Council“ from Politico: “The council, which Trump also revived in 2017 after it had been dormant for 24 years, is chaired according to law by the vice president. A White House official, who was granted anonymity to discuss plans that had not been announced, confirmed that the White House was staffing the council.”
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Keith’s note: There was another National Space Council thing in Washington, DC. Big room, lots of flags, big expensive billboard-sized posters from Kinko’s, dramatic lighting – and did I mention lots of flags? Today’s big news was not “news”. VP Harris announced that an international crew member would be part of a mission to the lunar surface. Duh. We’ve all known that for a while. We still do not know what country they wil be from or who they are. NASA can’t even tell you what year they’ll be able to announce the year that humans will land on the Moon – much less who will be in the spaceship or the flag on their shoulder. The Vice President’s team just wants talking points with a sizzle reel. Only NASA OIG and GAO seem to care about NASA’s ability to do things at cost and on time. Artemis and Gateway, Mars Sample Return, ISS service life extension and disposal, commercial space station follow-ons – and all those other other shiny new things will not all fit in the existing budget box. But why worry that the budget required to do things at NASA – It’s showtime! These public things are just a dog and pony show that costs a lot of money three times a year to make the people in the D.C space bubble feel important as they enjoy their choir practice in an echo chamber. The real work goes on behind the scenes. This is just for PR. Just sayin’. Here are the talking points and fact sheets.
Keith’s 11 Dec note: There is a National Space Council meeting on Wednesday 20 Dec. Other than a simple release from the White House – emailed to some media but not others – no other information has come out. I asked NASA PAO if it will be webcast. No response. No start/end time is listed. No location. No agenda. Nothing. NASA+ and NASA.gov make no mention whatsoever. You can’t ask the National Space Council since there is no way to actually contact them via their website (no email contact, phone number). It is hard to see how anyone outside of the DC space bubble will even hear what is said. Based on the indifference that the NSpC has had with being open about its activities, it is obvious by now that no one there or in the VP’s office or OSTP actually cares. (see Yet Another Pointless NSpC Users’ Advisory Group Meeting) This is just another VP photo op wherein people read from a script. Hard to take their interest seriously. Beam me up.
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Keith’s note: It is June 2022. The last time the National Space Council poked its head out through the curtains was December 2021. Six months. Does anyone know what they are doing? If you go to the official National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group (NSpC UAG) page at NASA you are greeted with banner image of the Trump Administration’s UAG. If you go to the membership roster page it lists […]
Keith’s note: Today Vice President Harris is announcing the selection of Chirag Parikh as Executive Secretary of the National Space Council. Mr. Parikh is from Ohio and a veteran of the U.S government with over 20 years of experience. During the Obama-Biden Administration from 2010-2016, Mr. Parikh served as the White House Director of Space Policy on the National Security Council. In this position, he led the formulation and execution […]
NASA Federal Advisory Committees; Notice of Committees Re- Establishment Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Federal Register “The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has determined that the re-establishment of four (4) NASA Federal advisory committees under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) is necessary and in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed upon NASA by law. This determination follows consultation […]
Looks like Exec Dir job at Nat'l Space Council still in flux. @KendraSHorn thing is fading but Cedric Richmond @Richmond46 is still pushing political people with zero space background to the @VPOTUS for consideration. Real expertise – not politics – is what is needed at NSpC. pic.twitter.com/ACD7YFvuFe — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 19, 2021
Keith’s note: The usual suspects are telling me that the Biden Administration has decided to keep the National Space Council (NSpC). As to what its real role will be is still TBD. These same usual suspects also wanted to keep the Trump space advisory status quo in place – specifically the NSpC. They even sent the Biden White House a letter saying so (see “Big Aerospace Wants Biden To Keep […]
NASA Internal Memo: National Space Council UAG Update from Chair, ADM Jim Ellis, UAG “As you can see from the Transition Summary, activities of the UAG encompassed a broad range of space and space-related activities, bringing together broad representation from associations, manufacturers, educators, national security experts, and policy makers. Some of our efforts were directed at issues in direct support of NSpC activities; others were self-generated and represented original concepts, […]
NSC Memo May Spell End Of National Space Council, Breaking Defense “It is not quite clear what this portends for the National Space Council,” said Brian Weeden, head of program planning at the Secure World Foundation, echoing the sentiments of a number of space insiders. “It does seem like they are going with the NSC, as they mention NSMs will be used for national security and space policy documents, but […]
