Vice President Pence Congratulates Appointees to the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group
Vice President Mike Pence, Chairman of the National Space Council, released the following statement on the appointment of members to serve on the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group. Nominated by the Vice President, the members of the Users’ Advisory Group have been appointed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine for two-year terms. The Users’ Advisory Group serves to fulfill President Trump’s directive to “foster close coordination, cooperation, and technology and information exchange” across our nation’s space enterprise to ensure that the United States remains the world’s foremost spacefaring country.
“At President Trump’s direction, the United States set out to establish a new era of American leadership in space. Members of the Users’ Advisory Group will continue to provide valuable insight on space policy as the United States carries out the President’s vision,” said Vice President Mike Pence. “As chair of the National Space Council, I am honored to welcome these men and women to the UAG.”
The following individuals have been appointed to serve two-year terms on the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group:
Admiral James Ellis, Jr., USN, Retired* (Chair, Users’ Advisory Group)
Former Commander, United States Strategic Command, member of the Space Foundation Board of Directors
Dr. Buzz Aldrin, USAF, Retired
Apollo 11 astronaut
Tory Bruno
President and CEO, United Launch Alliance
David Calhoun
President and CEO, The Boeing Company
Dean Cheng
Scholar at the Heritage Foundation
Colonel Eileen Collins, USAF, Retired
Four-time shuttle astronaut, first female shuttle commander
The Honorable John Culberson
Former U.S. Congressman, Texas
Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar
President and CEO, Coalition for Deep Space Exploration
Eileen Drake
President and CEO, Aerojet Rocketdyne
Tim Ellis
CEO, Relativity Space
Homer Hickam
Board Member, U. S. Space & Rocket Center; former NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center engineer; Author of “Rocket Boys”
The Honorable Kay Ivey
Governor of Alabama
Dr. Bruce Jakosky
Professor of Atmosphere and Space Physics, University of Colorado
Fred Klipsch*
Board of Trustees, Marian University; Chairman and CEO, Klipsch Audio Technologies, Retired
General Les Lyles, USAF, Retired
Chairman, NASA Advisory Council
Colonel Pam Melroy, USAF, Retired
Three-time shuttle astronaut, former Deputy Director of the Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Honorable Jeanette Nuñez
Lieutenant Governor of Florida, Chairman of the Board, Space Florida
Fatih Ozmen
CEO, Sierra Nevada Corporation
The Honorable Harrison H. Schmitt
Former United States Senator, New Mexico; Apollo 17 astronaut
Gwynne Shotwell
President and COO, SpaceX
Dr. Robert H. Smith
CEO, Blue Origin
Eric Stallmer
President, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
James D. Taiclet, Jr.
President and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation
Pamela Vaughan
STEM Integration Specialist for the Arkansas Department of Education
Mandy Vaughn
President, VOX Space
Kathy Warden
Chairman, CEO, and President, Northrop Grumman Corporation
Stuart O. Witt
Former Navy pilot; founder, Mojave Air and Spaceport; former chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
David Wolf, M.D.
Four-time shuttle astronaut, Purdue University
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has appointed 28 members to serve two-year terms on the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group. Per the group’s charter, “The Chair of the Council, in consultation with other Council members, shall select the members of the UAG, who shall be appointed by the NASA Administrator to a two-year term, which may be renewed at the discretion of the Chair of the Council and the NASA Administrator.”
The National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group (UAG) was created by Congress in 1991, “to ensure that the interests of industries and other non-Federal entities involved in space activities, including in particular commercial entities, are adequately represented in the National Space Council.” On June 30, 2017, President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 13803 revived the UAG, whose members were appointed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in 2018. The UAG, chaired by Admiral James Ellis, has since established six subcommittees, and the full UAG has held four public meetings. The UAG is a federal advisory committee, and its charter was established pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
*These nominees were formally appointed for a two-year term on April 23, 2020.
