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February 21st, 2018
Vice President Pence Leads the Second Meeting of the National Space Council, “Moon, Mars, & Worlds Beyond: Winning the Next Frontier”
Credit: Inside Outer Space/Screen Grab
The National Space Council held its second meeting today, orchestrated at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
To view the full video of the event, go to:
Vice President Pence Leads the Second Meeting of the National Space Council, “Moon, Mars, & Worlds Beyond: Winning the Next Frontier”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=ctcZxfpF0fI
Policy recommendations
The White House released today policy recommendations from the National Space Council to President Trump to streamline the regulatory environment for commercial space companies.
At the second National Space Council Meeting, the council agreed on the following four recommendations to reform the commercial space regulatory frameworks at the Departments of Transportation and Commerce:
RECOMMENDATION 1: The Secretary of Transportation should work to transform the launch and re-entry licensing regime.
The Department of Transportation would require a single license for all types of launch and re-entry vehicle operations and transform the launch and re-entry regulatory process from one of prescriptive requirements to a performance based licensing regime.
Revision of the licensing regime would be in coordination with members of the National Space Council.
This action should be completed no later than March 1, 2019.
RECOMMENDATION 2: The Secretary of Commerce should consolidate its space commerce responsibilities, other than launch and reentry, in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce.
The Department of Commerce should develop a legislative proposal to create an Under Secretary of Space Commerce, who would be responsible for all commercial space regulatory functions.
The Secretary of Commerce would also coordinate with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and as appropriate the Federal Communications Commission and the NASA Administrator to streamline the existing commercial remote sensing operation licensing regime, and address new issues such as radio frequency spectrum surveys, rendezvous and proximity operations and docking maneuvers.
The Secretary would propose legislative changes that would further enable the rapid, efficient, and predictable permitting of commercial remote sensing activities.
This legislation proposal would be completed no later than July 1, 2018.
RECOMMENDATION 3: The National Telecommunication and Information Administration should coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission to ensure the protection and stewardship of radio frequency spectrum necessary for commercial space activities.
The protection of radio frequency spectrum necessary for commercial space activity should not adversely affect national security or public safety.
The Department of Commerce would take an active role in working with U.S. Industry and members of the National Space Council to develop and advocate, and to the extent possible, implement spectrum management policies that make U.S. space-related industries more competitive globally.
RECOMMENDATION 4: The Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, in coordination with members of the National Space Council, should initiate a policy review of the current export licensing regulations affecting commercial space activity.
The recommendations of the policy review should be completed and presented to the National Space Council by January 1, 2019.
Users advisory group
Lastly, the White House has issued a list of selectees for the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group. They are:
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut
Tory Bruno, President and CEO of United Launch Alliance
Wes Bush, CEO of Northrop Grumman
Dean Cheng, Scholar at the Heritage Foundation
Eileen Collins, 4-time Shuttle astronaut, first female shuttle commander
Steve Crisafulli, Former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Mary Lynne Dittmar, President and CEO of The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration
Adm. Jim Ellis, Retired 4-star Admiral, former head of STRATCOM, and member of the Space Foundation Board of Directors
Tim Ellis, CEO of Relativity Space
Newt Gingrich, Author, former Speaker of the House
Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation
Homer Hickam, Author of the book “Rocket Boys” and former NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center engineer
Governor Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama
Fred Klipsch, Founder and Chairman of Hoosiers for Quality Education
Les Lyles, Retired 4-star Air Force General and member of the NASA Advisory Council
Pam Melroy, 3-time Shuttle astronaut and former Deputy Director of the Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of the Boeing Company
Fatih Ozmen, CEO of the Sierra Nevada Corporation
G.P. Bud Peterson, President of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Jack Schmitt, Apollo 17 Astronaut and former Senator
Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX
Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin
Eric Stallmer, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
David Thompson, Founder and CEO of Orbital ATK
Pamela Vaughan, Board Certified Science Teacher
Mandy Vaughn, President of VOX Launch Company
Stu Witt, Founder of Mojave Air and Spaceport, former Navy pilot, former Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
David Wolf, 4-time Shuttle astronaut and physician
Pete Worden, Former Air Force General and NASA Ames Center Director
For the White House release on this advisory group, go to:
For the prepared statement by Vice President Pence in opening the second meeting of the National Space Council, go to:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/moon-mars-worlds-beyond-winning-next-frontier/
Posted in Space News
