Vice President Mike Pence congratulates General John Raymond after swearing him in as the first Chief of Space Operations
UPDATED: Space Foundation Confirms Symposium Postponed
WASHINGTON: The public meeting of the National Space Council slated for March 24 at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will now take place in DC, at the much smaller Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Vice President Mike Pence is still scheduled to chair, despite reports in national media that both he and President Donald Trump have been exposed to sufferers of the COVID-19 virus.
Up to now, Trump Administration National Space Council meetings have large public events; for example the last meeting was held at the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum in Virginia. According to the White House press release today, the meeting will be live streamed — “with additional details to come.”
UPDATE BEGINS: The Space Foundation just confirmed reports that began circulating yesterday that it is postponing until further notice the annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, probably the largest gathering of the national security space community, due to the pandemic.
“The Space Foundation is working with its partners, The Broadmoor, the City of Colorado Springs, and its members and other key stakeholders to identify future dates and details that will assemble the world’s space community again in Colorado,” the Foundation said in an email statement. UPDATE ENDS.
The decision comes only three days after the Space Foundation insisted it was going ahead with the trade show, but on the heels of the annual Satellite trade show aimed at satellite operators here closing one day early. The Satellite 2020 show at the DC Convention Center cancelled events on Thursday due to a declaration by the DC government advising that no gatherings of more than 1,000 people be held — an advisory that yesterday morphed into a declaration of a state of emergency and a ban on large gatherings by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
In addition, the annual Goddard gala awards dinner, sponsored by the National Space Club and nicknamed “Space Prom” because of its spring timing, was also postponed indefinitely on Tuesday. The Secure World Foundation postponed its planned June 2-3 Summit for Space Sustainability, which last year featured a number of high-level international diplomats and scientists, until September.
The rash of cancelations are not limited, obviously, to the space community. The Association of the US Army (AUSA) canceled its Huntsville, Alabama meeting slated for next week. New America, Arizona State University, and the Strategic Studies Institute at the Army War College scrapped April 28-planned Future Security Forum here.
Numerous DC think tanks — from the Brookings Institution to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) postponed meetings planned through the end of March. Major sports events, including basketball’s March Madness series, church services, and public school closings swept across the country. Indeed, the Council on Foreign Relations shifted their conference on the pandemic today to a virtual event.
The US clocked 1,215 confirmed cases and 36 deaths as of 4 pm on March 12, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. However, as has been widely reported, it is nearly impossible to document the actual number of cases due to the fact that tests are not available across wide swathes of the nation.
According to the CDC’s report yesterday, six states were not reporting any cases of COVID-19. Alabama, West Virginia, Wyoming, North Dakota, Mississippi and Idaho did not register any and that may be due to a lack of testing.
Trump’s rambling address Wednesday night about the crisis, and his announcement of a ban on travel to the US from Europe — with the exception of the UK, which while technically considered no longer part of Europe due to Brexit has experienced an outbreak — was followed by a nose dive from the increasingly volatile stock market.
The US military on Wednesday announced it is implementing a 60-day travel ban for service members and Pentagon civilians (including family members) to, and from, countries most affected by the virus.
“While directing this prudent action, I continue to delegate all necessary authority to commanders to make further decisions based on their assessments to protect their people and ensure mission readiness,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in the DoD statement.
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