Executive order establishing National Space Council is 'imminent'

An executive order to re-establish a National Space Council is "imminent," a senior space policy adviser to President Trump's transition team said this week.

Bob Walker, a former congressman from Pennsylvania, has advocated for the creation of a new National Space Council chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. He said during a May 1 event on Capitol Hill the executive order is ready and that "it's a matter of timing."

"It's imminent," he said. "Everything is in place."

The last National Space Council, created in 1989 during George H.W. Bush's presidency, disbanded in 1993. The council had little military participation, but Walker told Inside Defense in December that the Defense Department could be mandated to participate with Pence at the helm. Walker and others have claimed that a council would provide much-needed national leadership in space on issues like launch and human space travel.