Harris Vows Leadership in Space if Elected

In accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for president tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed that the United States will lead the world into the future, including in space. Harris currently chairs the White House National Space Council that develops U.S. space policy across the civil, commercial, and national security sectors.

Space got only a one-word shout-out, but it’s notable.  She tied it to U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and staying ahead of China.

I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence, that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st Century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership.  — Kamala Harris

 

The remarks came about three-quarters of the way into her speech as she began to talk about foreign policy.

As chair of the National Space Council, Harris’s most visible contributions to date are in national security space and trying to develop new commercial space policy, though she also has been active in supporting NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.

In April 2022, she pledged the United States would not conduct destructive direct-ascent antisatellite (ASAT) tests and invited other countries to join the pledge.  As of November 2023, 36 countries had done so including all the members of the European Union, and 155 others indicated support by voting for a non-binding United Nations General Assembly resolution to that end.

In November 2023, she sent to Congress the White House plan for designating agency responsibilities for “mission authorization,”  although it has received a cool reception.

Harris also has been involved in encouraging countries to join the Artemis Accords. Initiated during the Trump Administration, the Artemis program seeks to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon. The Biden-Harris Administration embraced the Artemis program and the plan to include international partners. The United States and seven other countries developed the Artemis Accords as a statement of principles for responsible behavior on the Moon and invited other countries to sign. Harris has been involved in encouraging countries to join. The number is up to 43 now.

Along with President Biden, Harris also has met with the four astronauts — three American, one Canadian — who will fly around the Moon next year on the Artemis II mission.

As the Chair of the National Space Council, I am proud of our Administration’s work to continue the American legacy of space exploration.

Thanks to the leadership and ingenuity of the Artemis II crew, we are one step closer to returning to the moon. pic.twitter.com/oQRWLT6Hhl

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) December 19, 2023