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Politico
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Missing in Action: The National Space Council
WELCOME TO POLITICO PRO SPACE. We've made it through another surprisingly busy summer week. But, hey, one lucky buyer snagged the biggest Mars meteorite to ever land on Earth. In more serious news, the Senate and House united in opposing major NASA cuts. Now it's up to the White House to decide whether it will listen. And rumors are flying around the space industry about whether anyone actually wants to lead the National Space Council. Do you want to helm it? Email me at sskove@ with tips, pitches and feedback, and find me on X at @samuelskove. And remember, we're offering this newsletter for free over the next few weeks. After that, only POLITICO Pro subscribers will receive it. Read all about it here. The Spotlight No one wants to run the National Space Council, if you follow the rumors rocketing through space circles that at least three people have declined the job. The reality is … more earthly. I broke the news in early May that the White House would restaff the council, which coordinates space policy across the federal government. The group is viewed as influential, in part because by statute the vice president chairs it. Two months after the decision, the administration still hasn't made any staffing announcements. The White House did not respond to my request for comment on what progress it has made in standing up the council, which consists of an executive secretary and several officials. Rumor mill: Industry circles have filled the void with all manner of speculation. Four industry officials, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, said they had heard that former Space Force Gen. Jay Raymond, ex-National Space Council executive secretary Scott Pace, and former Office of Space Commerce head Kevin O'Connell all declined the position. So I asked them. The gossip appears to have been just that. Raymond said he had not been offered the job and had no plans to return to government service. O'Connell said he had not been approached. Pace said he had no plans to go back. Status check: It's quite possible the White House simply hasn't started the process of choosing an executive secretary. The National Space Council, and space in general, is usually pretty low on the agenda of new administrations. Chirag Parikh, the executive secretary for the Biden administration's National Space Council, didn't assume the role until eight months after former President Joe Biden took office. The attention of the executive branch is also focused on other pressing issues, from Ukraine to the recent passage of President Donald Trump's reconciliation bill. There's also the matter of choosing a full-time NASA administrator. Give us a sign: The swirl of rumors may have more to do with the space industry's eagerness to believe the White House cares about space. Many in the space sector are supportive of reviving the National Space Council. O'Connell, the former Office of Space Commerce head, said he hoped it would get going soon so officials could tackle issues such as the Golden Dome missile defense shield and advancing the space economy. The House appropriations subcommittee that covers civil space voted this week for almost $2 million in funds for a council. But even if the search for staff is in full swing, it's a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Any candidate must have experience with space issues, be ready to defend the administration's controversial space policy, be willing to forgo a lucrative private sector job, and have no ties to Trump's adversaries. That list includes Democrats, Elon Musk, and former Vice President Mike Pence, who headed the Space Council under the first Trump administration. For now, space enthusiasts may just have to cross their fingers and wait. Galactic Government ALL TOGETHER NOW: Both the House and Senate issued a clear 'no thanks' to steep White House cuts to NASA, presaging a political battle if the White House tries to bully its version through. The administration has proposed a nearly 25 percent cut to the agency. But the Senate appropriations subcommittee voted along partisan lines on Thursday to fund NASA at $24.9 billion, or the same as in 2025. The split was due in part to a disagreement over a bill provision unrelated to NASA. Chair Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) told me last week that the bill would be a 'normal' appropriation. Ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said it would fund NASA science programs at $7.3 billion, the same as in 2025 and a rejection of the White House's proposed $3.4 billion cut. The House subcommittee that oversees NASA also voted this week for a budget on par with previous years at $24.8 billion. The House budget differs from 2025 in that it would boost space exploration by $2 billion and cut science funding by $1 billion. Democrats voiced opposition to the cuts to science programs. What next: What happens now is anyone's guess. The White House could seek to push the cuts through anyway. But that would pick a political fight with the administration's Republican allies, most notably NASA supporter Ted Cruz(R-Texas) — a potentially bruising battle for a few billion dollars. Military EYE IN THE SKY: Commercial satellite companies, take heart. The House Armed Services Committee this week voted to increase funding for a Space Force program that uses the businesses' spy photos. The Space Force effort, dubbed the Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking Program, supplies commercial imagery to deployed forces and was used to help soldiers evacuate from Niger in 2024. The House National Defense Authorization Act would raise its funding by $10 million, and turn the pilot program into a more permanent $50 million one. Why it matters: Commercial satellite imagery companies, in a rare public outcry, protested proposed White House cuts to National Reconnaissance Office contracts for the companies' imagery. This is particularly key to Ukraine, which relies on U.S. commercial satellite pictures for its battle plans. But even if the companies lose clients as part of the White House cuts, they could gain some funding through the Space Force program. The Reading Room Musk's SpaceX Plans Share Sale That Would Value Company at About $400 Billion: Bloomberg. Lawmakers Want DoD Briefings on Nuke Propulsion, VLEO, Commercial PNT: Payload Space Force sets guidelines prioritizing military missions as launch demand surges: SpaceNews The ISS is nearing retirement, so why is NASA still gung-ho about Starliner? Ars Technica Event Horizon MONDAY: NASA will hold a news conference on the joint U.S.-Indian Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite. TUESDAY The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics's ASCEND 2025 conference starts in Las Vegas. The Space Foundation holds the 'Innovate Space: Global Economic Summit.' The Mitchell Institute hosts a webinar with Space Force Brig. Gen. Jacob Middleton. Making Moves Andrew Lock has joined the public policy team at Project Kuiper, Amazon's constellation of low-earth orbit satellites. He most recently was principal at Monument Advocacy, and was a staffer in both the House and Senate. Photo of the Week
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Space industry companies urge Congress not to cut funding to space commerce office
Space industry companies on Monday urged Congress not to cut funding to the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) in multiple letters. 'We write today on behalf of more than 450 U.S. space, satellite, and defense companies to urge the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science to provide sufficient funding for the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill – specifically funding OSC at $65M, the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriated level,' Monday letters signed onto by multiple space-oriented organizations reads. 'We also urge the Subcommittee to ensure continued execution of funds appropriated to OSC in Fiscal Year 2025,' the letters continue. According to the OSC's website, it 'is the principal unit for space commerce policy activities within the Department of Commerce' and the office's 'mission is to foster the conditions for the economic growth and technological advancement of the U.S. commercial space industry.' The letters were addressed to Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), as well as Reps. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) and Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), 'One of OSC's most important functions is to provide space traffic coordination support to U.S. satellite operators, similar to the Federal Aviation Administration's role in air traffic control for the U.S. airline industry,' the Monday letters read. 'Helping the U.S. space industry operate safely in an increasingly congested space domain ensures space-based services like broadband internet and weather forecasting are available to the American people.' The Hill has reached out to the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Moran's office, Van Hollen's office, Rogers's office and Meng's office for comment.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump layoffs hit key 'air traffic control for space' unit
By Joey Roulette and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration this week fired employees who were building a system to manage satellite traffic in space, weakening a badly needed effort championed by the U.S. space industry and the president's first administration, according to people familiar with the move. Roughly a third of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 25-person Office of Space Commerce, a little-known body relied heavily upon by the space industry, were given a few hours' notice of their termination on Thursday by acting NOAA chief Nancy Hann and were forced out of the office by the end of the day, two of the sources said. Their termination, the sources said, threatens to undermine efforts to complete what is essentially an air traffic coordination system for space, currently operating in a trial phase as growing global demand for crucial satellite services sharply increases the number of spacecraft in Earth's orbit. A NOAA spokesperson declined to comment on personnel matters. The layoffs were among hundreds of employees fired Thursday at NOAA, which also provides the U.S. government's weather forecasts and hurricane warnings. The chief of the Traffic Coordination System for Space, Dmitry Poisik, was among the employees fired, according to one of the sources. He could not be reached for comment. Cutting staff from the space traffic program, which currently alerts satellite operators of potential collisions with debris or other spacecraft, complicates a years-long effort to migrate those alerting duties out of the Pentagon and could cause confusion among early users of the system, two of the sources said. Donald Trump, as president in 2018, released a space policy directive calling on the Office of Space Commerce to create its own traffic management system, acknowledging an increasingly congested orbital environment. Elon Musk's government efficiency effort has led to thousands of layoffs in the federal government, disrupting government operations across the country. Musk, who leads space company SpaceX, has long criticized space regulations for being too slow and outdated. "These are like air traffic controllers for space, they handle space traffic coordination to prevent collisions," one of the sources said, adding the layoffs come at a bad time given the number of collision notices sent out. A collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide with another object in space. "We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands," the source said. "It's like a game of chicken up there." The layoffs also upend the agency's core function of licensing commercial imagery satellites. By Friday, companies seeking licenses or asking regulatory questions by email were met with a response stating all those communications will be handled by NOAA lawyers, according to an email seen by Reuters. "This is a temporary arrangement to address continuity of operations as no senior personnel remain in the office due to ongoing reductions in force," the email read. The firings at one of the most important U.S. space-licensing agencies hit at a particular dire time for a booming U.S. space industry that has long pushed for more nimble and simplified satellite regulatory processes, a bipartisan push echoed by lawmakers and agency heads. But the sources and other individuals across the space industry and U.S. government who spoke with Reuters said these layoffs are likely to trigger major delays in getting spacecraft approved for launch. The Federal Aviation Administration, which signs off on rocket payloads, cannot approve the launch of a satellite requiring a NOAA license if it has not obtained it.
