Scott Pace Departs National Space Council

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

With the Trump Administration winding down, Scott Pace has left his position as executive executive of the National Space Council and returned to his previous post in academia.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in my capacity as Executive Secretary of the National Space Council,” Pace said in a statement. “The leadership of the president in reviving the National Space Council and the active chairmanship of the Vice President have made the past four years among the most ambitious and productive years for the Unite States space enterprise.

“I am so proud of the team here and the work we’ve done to set a foundation for continued progress and advancement in the civil, commercial and national space sectors. I look forward to my return to the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University and to educating future space leaders,” Pace added.

Pace was appointed executive secretary of the revived council in July 2017. The council had lain dormant for 25 years.

The Trump Administration placed a major emphasis on improving the U.S. space program. Its actions have included:

• updating the National Space Policy,
• accelerating NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon by four years to 2024,
• streamlining commercial space regulations,
• creating a separate U.S. Space Force,
• issuing a policy on space traffic management,
• developing a strategy for space cybersecurity,
• publishing a strategy for the use of space nuclear power and propulsion, and
• formulating a strategy for planetary protection.

Below are links to the administration’s policy documents.

National Space Council Documents

• National Space Strategy
• Presidential Memorandum on Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems
• National Strategy for Planetary Protection

Trump Administration Directives, Fact Sheets, and Policy Documents

• Executive Order 13803: Reviving the National Space Council
  • Amendment to E.O. 13803
• Space Policy Directive-1, Reinvigorating America’s Human Space Exploration Program
• Space Policy Directive-2, Streamlining Regulations on Commercial Use of Space
• Space Policy Directive-3, National Space Traffic Management Policy
• Space Policy Directive-4, Establishment of the United States Space Force
• Space Policy Directive-5, Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems
• 2020 National Space Policy (1.3 MB PDF)
• Space Policy Directive-6, National Strategy for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion