Bush Sets Up Panel to Coordinate Space Activities

President Bush Wednesday formally announced the establishment of a National Space Council that will be the “principal forum for coordination” of commercial, scientific and military activities in space.

The council will be headed by Vice President Dan Quayle, who Wednesday chose Mark Albrecht, an aide to Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), as the council’s executive director.

Establishing the council fulfills a campaign promise that Bush made in October, 1987, when he was first beginning his White House campaign.

In a move aimed at solidifying his support in parts of the South that depend heavily on space-related jobs, particularly Texas and Florida, Bush announced in a speech at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s space flight center in Huntsville, Ala., that he would set up a council to “develop a comprehensive strategy” for the U.S. space program. The council, Bush said, would increase efficiency in the space program by cutting bureaucratic red tape.

White House Announcement

According to the White House announcement Wednesday, the council will be made up of representatives from the State, Defense, Commerce and Transportation departments, NASA, the Office of Management and Budget, the CIA, the National Security Council and the White House staff. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the White House science adviser also will participate in council sessions.

Albrecht, who will head the council staff, grew up in San Diego and has served as an adviser to Wilson on defense and national security issues since 1982.

Albrecht was graduated in 1971 from UCLA with a history degree, received a master’s degree the next year and a doctorate when at the Rand Corp.’s public policy analysis institute in 1978.

Before joining Wilson’s staff, he had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and Science Applications Inc. He has written widely on national security topics and most recently served as chief of the staff that drafted the defense section of the Republican platform.