Chirag Parikh will lead the White House's core space policy group, which is a veteran intelligence officer and senior director for Microsofts cloud-based space services. This was announced by Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday. Harris, the chair of the National Space Council appointed the veteran national security official as the head of the council's day-today activities, as the Biden administration faces increasing competition in space.Three months after Harris was confirmed by the White House as the chair of its space council, Parikh's appointment sets the stage for Biden's coordinated space priorities. Senior administration officials stated in May that Harris intends to add her personal stamp to the council. This could include a greater focus on cybersecurity and how to leverage satellites to aid in Biden's fight against climate change.The Trump administration revived NASA's space council in 2017. It had been defunct since 1993, four year after its formation by George H. W. Bush. Scott Pace was Trump's executive secretary for the space council. His space policy directives sought standards in international behavior in space. He also retooled the Obama-era space exploration program to become a commercial-focused sprint towards landing humans on the Moon.Parikh was the deputy national intelligence officer for technology and science for the US intelligence agency for two years. He then led the National Security Councils Space Policy wing for six more years during the Obama administration when the National Space Council was disbanded. Prior to his appointment as the head of Biden's space council operations, Parikh was a senior director at Azure Space, Microsofts cloud platform which links with satellites in orbit.Chirag Parikh was today appointed Executive Secretary of National Space Council by @VP Harris. I look forward working with you to ensure American leadership in space and a sustainable, safe future. August 2, 2021 by Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson).Space analysts welcomed Parikh's appointment. They believe his experience in leading a variety of space-related bureaucracies makes it a great fit for his new position. The space council brings together a variety of cabinet-level officials, including NASA administrator and director of national intelligence. They meet quarterly or biannually to discuss international and civil space issues.He looked almost like an interagency coordination, which is very similar in his new role as executive secretary to the National Space Council. Victoria Samson, space policy analyst, and Washington director for Secure World Foundation, stated that he was almost like an Interagency Coordinator. He will bring years of experience to the new position, which means he will be doing a lot of similar things.It wasn't clear whether the White House would keep the space council after Trump's election, two months prior to the confirmation by the Biden administration that Harris would be its head. The Obama administration created its space policy through the Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Security Council, under Parikhs space tenure. The May commitment of the vice president to lead the council was one of the rare occasions when Biden's White House aligned itself with Trump-era initiatives.Biden has supported NASA's Artemis program, a Trump-branded effort that aims to land humans on Mars by 2024, and to use its surface for training purposes. NASA will continue to be commercially-oriented in space under Biden. This includes its Commercial Crew Program, which Obama started, and core elements of Artemis, which was established under Paces' space council.Brian Weeden, a space policy analyst at the Secure World Foundation, stated that they have very different backgrounds. Perhaps Chirag [Parikh] has a slightly different focus early on in space security than the civil side. But the Biden administration has strong support for Gateway and the Artemis program. I don't expect that to be overlooked.
