The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Commerce has selected 17 space industry professionals to serve on a federal advisory committee that will provide NOAA with independent recommendations on matters related to commercial space policy and regulations.
NOAA said Friday the inaugural Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space, or ACES, will look at key issues associated with the leadership, sustainability and growth of U.S. commercial space activities.
ACES is set to hold its first public meeting in Washington, D.C., over the next two months, allowing the members to set priorities and develop strategies to address the issues facing the commercial space sector.
NOAA plans to name additional members to the advisory panel in 2025 to create a staggered cycle of two-year terms.
The 16 ACES members who have accepted to serve on the committee for two years are:
- Al Tadros, Redwire
- Alex Gilbert, Zeno Power
- Audrey Schaffer, Slingshot Aerospace
- Blake Bullock, Northrop Grumman
- Brien Flewelling, ExoAnalytic Solutions
- Caryn Schenewerk, Georgetown University
- Chris Kunstadter, Triton Space
- Clare Martin, Astroscale U.S.
- Danielle Pineres, Planet Labs PBC
- Dave Cavossa, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
- David Gauthier, GXO
- El Gardner, Aperio Global
- Kalpak Gude, Amazon Kuiper
- Mary Lynne Dittmar, Axiom Space
- Michael Nicolls, SpaceX
- Tony Frazier, LeoLabs
Schenewerk and Gauthier will serve as the committee’s chair and vice chair, respectively.
NOAA is also in the process of naming Jared Hautamaki to ACES as a 17th member. He will serve as a space law expert in his personal capacity.