Pence outlines the future of intergalactic exploration in first National Space Council meeting
"America first" isn't just President Trump's infamous foreign policy anymore — it's his intergalactic policy too.
In the reinstated National Space Council's first meeting Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence declared that the U.S. had fallen behind in the space race, singling out how the U.S. has been hitching rides to the International Space Station with Russia while not sending its own astronauts below low-Earth orbit in 45 years. With Russia and China building anti-satellite technology that threatens U.S. military effectiveness, Pence vowed the Trump administration wouldn't let America fall behind again:
Trump resurrected the council in June and instated Pence as its leader. Several top White House officials and space council members were at Thursday's meeting, where they questioned national security experts and commercial space CEOs from the likes of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and SpaceX, who touted the commercial benefits of high-speed flights across the country and space tourism.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pence's introductory speech focused on professional, scientific space exploration, but the CEOs pushed a more populist view of space, emphasizing how they can bring space exploration to everyone — and boost the economy while they're at it. You can watch the council's whole meeting below. Kathryn Krawczyk
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 21, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - devilish decrees, biblical blunders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 carefully selected cartoons about the Trump-Daniels jury selection process
Cartoons Artists take on a stress-free life, rare peers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Loire Valley Lodges review: sleep, feast and revive in treetop luxury
The Week Recommends Forest hideaway offers chance to relax and reset in Michelin key-winning comfort
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why February 29 is a leap day
Speed Read It all started with Julius Caesar
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing
Speed Read If touchdown is successful, it will be the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Scientists create 'meaty' rice for eco-friendly protein
Speed Read Korean scientists have invented a new hybrid food, consisting of beef muscle and fat cells grown inside grains of rice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Race to the Moon: the manned missions to lunar surface
The Explainer China and US locked in battle for future dominance of Earth's satellite and its precious resources
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published