HOUSTON – Vice President Kamala Harris chaired the National Space Council Meeting in Houston Friday.
The Johnson Space Center meeting was composed of high-level government officials and some of the country’s top minds in space exploration. The group continued to loosely map out plans for America to lead the way into “The Final Frontier”.
Harris received a tour of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, where spaceflight crews and their support personnel receive training. She also toured Mission Control and had the special opportunity to speak to Expedition 67 NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins aboard the International Space Station.
They talked briefly about how their work on the ISS will impact us on earth in the future.
“We are honored and privileged... Making earth a better place,” Watkins said.
At the National Space Council Meeting, Vice President Harris announced a new coalition of space companies with Blue Origin, Boeing, and others. Those companies will need tens of thousands of new workers over the next decade, and many of the jobs will not require a four-year degree, Vice President Harris said.
“Today, I’m proud to say over a dozen commercial space companies are answering that call. In fact next month they will kick off three regional pilot programs,” Vice President Harris announced.
Those pilot worker-hire programs will take place in Florida, Southern California, and the “Gulf Coast,” the Vice President said.
It’s part of the administration’s focus to support space-related STEM initiatives to inspire and prepare the next generation of the space workforce.