The sky is not falling: Why Trump may not need the space council anyway – Breaking Defense

Since
the
inauguration
of
President
Donald
Trump
to
his
second
term,
close
observers
of
American
endeavors
in
space
seem
to
be
wringing
their
hands
over
the
potential
dis-establishment
of
the
National
Space
Council.

The
council,
established
in
the
late
1980s
but
dormant
for
many
years
before
its
2017
revival
by
an
executive
order
by
Trump
and
continued
through
the
Biden
years,
was
designed
to
“[synchronize]
the
nation’s
civil,
commercial,
and
national
security
space
activities
to
advance
the
broader
priorities”
of
the
United
States
in
space,
according
to
a
Biden-era

fact
sheet.

But
media
rumors
suggest
Trump
could
ax
the
council,
egged
on
by
lobbying
from
Elon
Musk’s
SpaceX,
according
to

Reuters.

That,
in
turn,
has
prompted
concerns
related
to
how
“we
need
a
National
Space
Council
to
chart
our
future
in
outer
space.”
There
are
several
layers
to
this
argument,
but
the
long
and
short
of
it
is
that
it’s
overblown.

It
may
be
the
case
that
Trump
simply
does
not
need
a
space
council
to
pursue
his
administration’s
strategy
for
American
space
leadership
for
the
next
four
years.

Here’s
why:

The
President
already
has
the
policy
framework
and
strategy
for
American
spacepower
from
his
first
term.

The
second
Trump
administration
does
not
need
another
year
long
space
posture
review
to
decide
where
we
are
going
when
we
have
the
National
Strategy
for
Space
and
all
the
SPDs
developed
during
the
2017-2021
first
term.

It
can
be
argued
that
the
National
Space
Council
has
already
met
its
objectives
for
the
administration,
and
now
its
up
to
the
President
and
his
new
team
to
execute
these
directives
and
strategy
across
civil,
commercial,
and
national
security
space
as
soon
as
possible.

RELATED:

Space
Force
zeroed
out
funding
for
in-space
mobility
in
FY26
budget
request,
sources
say

The
National
Strategy
for
Space
was
never
fully
implemented,
neither
were
the
Space
Policy
Directives
(SPDs).
These
should
provide
the
framework
for
American
excellence
in
space
and
all
departments
and
agencies
tasked
within
these
should
be
held
accountable
with
timelines
and
budgetary
support
from
OMB
and
Congress.

That
will
be
hard
enough
dealing
with
Congressional
opinions
and
ideas
despite
having
majorities
in
both
Houses.
No
need
to
bury
the
president
in
excess
policy
discussions
when
that
homework
has
been
done.

The
existence
of
a
National
Space
Council
will
not
prevent
“rogue
agencies
doing
what
they
want.”

I
know
this
from
experience.
In
the
last
Trump
administration,
there
were
many
departments
and
agencies
that
would
use
the
implementation
guidance
coordination
process
as
means
of
“resistance”
to
the
president’s
strategy
and
policy
directives.

While
many
people
complain
about
how
the
president
is
looking
for
senior
appointments
to
run
the
departments
and
agencies
who
are
“loyal”,
the
fact
is
that
each
of
these
people
serve
at
the
pleasure
of
the
president,
and
their
jobs
is
to
execute
his
policies,
once
the
discussion
period
is
complete.

To
avoid
providing
additional
means
for
resistance
to
policy
directives
from
continuing,
recruiting
those
who
are
of
the
same
mind
is
key.
It
might
be
that
some
at
the
highest
levels
think
that
the
time
for
discussion
is
over
and
the
time
to
move
out
is
now.
I
for
one
believe
this
to
be
the
case.

The
relationship
between
Trump
and
Elon
Musk
has
not
“politicized
space.”

I
have
written
on
this
topic
of
“politicizing
space”
before.
The
reality
is
space
policy
has
always
been
a
political
undertaking,
both
nationally
and
internationally.
Apollo
was
a
geopolitical
decision
by
John
F.
Kennedy.
Not
everyone
in
the
US
government
was
on
board
and
did
what
they
could
to
kill
the
effort.

The
Space
Shuttle
and
space
station
were
both
political
decisions.
Many
have
argued
that
if
the
Russians
weren’t
engaged
for
the
International
Space
Station,
NASA
might
not
have
had
a
vote
to
continue
the
project.
Cancelling
the
Constellation
project
to
send
astronauts
back
to
the
moon
and
to
Mars,
started
by
President
George
W.
Bush,
was
a
political
decision
that
even
President
Barack
Obama’s
own
party
members
in
Congress
were
not
totally
happy
with.

RELATED:

‘Changes’
expected
in
ISR
satellite
operations
to
sort
NGA,
Space
Force
roles,
official
says

Decisions
in
the
future
regarding
civil
and
national
security
space
will
continue
to
generate
political
mobilization.
It
is
an
area
of
great
emotion,
passion,
and
strategic
need.
Space
is
only
politics
free
in
science
fiction.

Musk
is
a
very
outspoken
proponent
of
going
to
Mars.
This
is
not
a
new
thing.
Musk
was
a
huge
advocate
of
this
when
Obama
was
in
office
as
well
as
during
the
Biden
administration.
The
difference
between
Trump
and
Obama
with
the
Biden
administration
is
while
Obama
and
Trump
sought
to
enable
commercial
space
technology
such
as
SpaceX
for
commercial
crew,
cargo,
and
other
capabilities,
the
Biden
administration
was
perceived
as
overly
restrictive.
While
some
regulation
is
vital
to
safety
of
property
and
the
environment,
too
much
is
hindering
to
American
leadership
in
space.

It
only
makes
sense
that
Musk
would
ally
with
Trump
given
his
stated
position
to
extend
American
“manifest
destiny
among
the
stars.”
Given
that
is
Musk’s
dream
as
well,
this
is
a
not
an
unusual
business
and
personal
relationship
between
an
industry
figure
and
the
president.
There
are
other
voices
included
in
the
space
policy
world,
Newt
Gingrich,
Bob
Walker,
Jared
Issacman,
and
many
more
are
also
part
of
this
discussion
and
will
be
joining
the
Trump
administration’s
space
policy
team,
in
the
case
of
Issacman.

Keeping
all
these
realities
in
mind,
might
help
people
understand
that
while
a
national
Space
Council
is
something
that
should
be
supported,
there
is
some
sound
logic
behind
why,
at
least
in
the
Trump
administration,
such
an
institution
is
not
necessary
for
the
second
term.

The
objective
now
is
to
get
moving.
Get
the
Space
Force
armed
and
ready
to
defend
the
nation’s
critical
space
infrastructure
out
into
cis-lunar
space,
and
to
see
the
“stars
and
stripes
planted
on
the
planet
Mars.”
Let’s
get
going!

Christopher
Stone is
Senior
Fellow
for
Space
Deterrence
at
the
National
Institute
for
Deterrence
Studies
in
Washington,
DC.
He
is
the
former
special
assistant
to
the
Deputy
Assistant
Secretary
of
Defense
for
Space
Policy.
The
thoughts,
opinions
and
analysis
presented
here
are
his
own
and
do
not
reflect
the
position
of
his
employer
or
the
Department
of
Defense.