07 July, 2017
After 24 years the National Space Council is being revived and former IN governor and Vice-Pres.
Pence is touring the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is now under renovations to support Orion and Space Launch System Operations.
"American presidents from Eisenhower to Kennedy, from Johnson to Nixon, to George H.W. Bush, all turned to the National Space Council for assistance and advice", said Pence, noting that the Council has provided guidance on space exploration and national security matters involving space.
"It will help ensure that all aspects of the nation's space power - national security, commerce, global relations, exploration and science - are coordinated and aligned to best serve the American people", Lightfoot said Friday in a statement released by NASA.
Vice President Mike Pence will make his first visit to Kennedy Space Center Thursday afternoon since being named chairman of the newly reassembled National Space Council.
The money line in the Pence speech was, "Our nation will return to the Moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars".
"I'm particularly excited to see the increased collaboration with our bourgeoning commercial space industry, so much in evidence here at the Kennedy Space Center", he said.
That new focus on human spaceflight, he argued, was key to restoring USA leadership in space that he suggested was lacking today. "We will beat back any disadvantage that our lack of attention has placed and America will once again lead in space for the benefit and the security of all of our people in all of the world". Congress seems to be more willing to appropriate money for NASA, more so indeed than the Trump administration thus far. That includes more than $350 million in cuts in the agency's flagship human space exploration programs, the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.
Pence, in his remarks at KSC, emphasized the importance of the private sector in ensuring American leadership in space.
Space warfare is an area of increasing concern.
Follow live updates below while Pence tours Kennedy Space Center facilities.
