Vice President Mike Pence will convene the first meeting of the reconstituted National Space Council on Thursday, which will begin its deliberations at 10am EDT in Chantilly, Virginia. Titled "Leading the Next Frontier," the event will allow key leaders of the civil, commercial, and military space communities to discuss the key issues facing their sectors. The overall aim of the council is to ensure that all three of these sectors work together to advance the nation's interests in space.

Pence's office has not yet published a roster of speakers, but Ars understands that there will be three panels during the meeting. According to sources, chief executives or presidents of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Orbital ATK will speak during the civil space panel; representatives of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Sierra Nevada Corporation will speak on the commercial space panel; and Air Force and Navy officials will speak during the military space panel.

During each panel, the participants are likely to address what they see as some of the key issues facing current and future US spaceflight efforts. Among those concerns are a licensing regime for commercial space missions, space traffic management, space debris mitigation and remediation, and coordinating national goals in space, such as military's desire to assert itself in low Earth and higher orbits and establishing a civil policy that keeps NASA at the forefront of exploration.

More bureaucracy?

The space council could play a key role in crosscutting across these agencies, or it could simply add another layer of bureaucracy, experts said. "I have been an advocate of the space council," Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College, told Ars. "But I have lately come to feel that a Space Council will add another layer of bureaucracy between leadership and those supposedly 'in charge' of agencies such as NASA and NOAA and yet have little or not enough authority to actually impact the military or intelligence policies or architectures."





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According to Johnson-Freese, in order for the space council to really be effective, some key players would have to give up some of their hard-fought-for power over space policy and, perhaps more importantly, acquisition. It is difficult to see that happen unless Pence—who under the Trump administration is the critical decision maker on space policy—bestows that authority on the space council.

That seems like it could happen. By several accounts, Pence and his advisers have taken the space council initiative seriously and talked extensively with stakeholders. Pence has already visited NASA's three key human spaceflight centers in Florida, Alabama, and Texas. He also has visited military space facilities. "I'm optimistic," said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. "The VP's staff has been incredibly engaging."

A useful forum

At its best, a space council would serve as a mechanism for integrating space policy across these disciplines and bring guidance to some key policy questions. For example, now that SpaceX and Blue Origin are demonstrating the potential of low-cost, reusable spaceflight, how much should the military and civil space efforts invest in and adopt these ideas? Also, should NASA focus on the Moon, Mars, or somewhere else as a human destination?

So far, the aerospace industry is encouraged by Pence's efforts, said Mary Lynne Dittmar, executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, an alliance of space industry businesses and advocacy groups. During Thursday's meeting, she's hoping to see signals of concrete intent and policy guidance, although she acknowledges that the initial gathering is likely to be mostly an information-gathering session for the participants.

However, in the near term, Dittmar said the council can really help the country by developing policy that advances the US space enterprise in several ways. For example, she said, the space council should support government programs in civil space exploration, space science, planetary protection, and Earth observation; support development of private capabilities that reduce risk and cost where appropriate; and develop a sound policy for "space security" that encourages collaboration in the peaceful use of space and establishes a "code of conduct" across the entire domain, akin to maritime rules.

Clearly, there is a full menu of issues that the new space council could address. Everyone in the aerospace industry will be watching closely (the event will be webcast) for any signs of what the new council will focus on, whether they're serious about it, and the policy directions they choose.