His involvement wasn't confined to the literary space, either. He was in charge of the Reagan administration's Citizens Advisory Council on National Space Policy, and momentarily worked with former U.S. Representative Newt Gingrich. In the last years of his life, he was also a frequent commentator on technology issues. He was a frequent guest on the TWiT network's technology podcasts, for example.

Pournelle wasn't without controversy. He was both praised and criticized for helping to spark the military sci-fi genre, rather than embracing a more hopeful view of the future. However, there's little doubt that he played important roles in not only popularizing sci-fi, but linking that passion to real-world advocacy.