WASHINGTON - A number of American government and industry officials are seeking basic changes in the way Congress, the Pentagon and the White House oversee U.S. space activity. And they want these changes to be a high priority when the new American president and Congress take office in January.

David Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Orbital Sciences Corp. (NYSE:ORB - news) [ORB], Dulles, Virginia, said in a recent speech in Washington that the next presidential administrationÕs top priority should be shifting the responsibility for satellite export licenses from the U.S. State Department back to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act of 1999 categorized satellites as weapons and transferred jurisdiction over satellite exports from Commerce to State in the wake of allegations that sensitive U.S. missile technology was falling into the wrong hands through satellite exports.

"The new president should waste no time in working with the 107th Congress to effect the transfer of this responsibility back to Commerce," Thompson said at a speech to the Washington Space Business Round Table Dec. 7.

Thompson said the industry has lost more than $1 billion of new international satellite procurement opportunities in the past 18 months, along with an almost equal amount of canceled contracts previously awarded to U.S. suppliers.

Structural changes suggested

The next president also should consider reviving a national space council, Thompson said.

Texas Gov. George Bush has signaled that he would revive a body similar to the National Space Council, which was eliminated by U.S. President Bill Clinton's administration in 1993. Vice President Al Gore's advisers have said the president will direct space policy himself, Thompson noted. A space council would be able to resolve intra-agency disputes such as the satellite export law, he added.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Brian Arnold, director of space and nuclear deterrence in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, agrees that a space council or similar body is needed. The advantage, Arnold said, is that a White House-level council can monitor the numerous federal agencies involved in space issues.

The White House also should consider adding a special assistant for space to its National Security Council, Arnold said. This new position could oversee military and intelligence space issues, while the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy could focus on civil and commercial issues, he said.

Internally, the Pentagon should establish a Defense Space Council, headed by the deputy secretary of defense and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with participation from the director of central intelligence and others, Arnold said. The senior leaders would set a focused vision for the Pentagon's space operations, Arnold said.

Military space programs also would have a higher priority on Capitol Hill if Congress added an aerospace power subcommittee to one of its existing committees, Arnold said. The Pentagon would also benefit from a space power caucus on the Hill, which could advocate for space issues in the same way that existing caucuses support naval and air power, he said.

However, a Senate aide said that space already is a top priority for the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, and that a new subcommittee is unnecessary. While Senate members need more education on the importance of space programs, progress already has been made in this area and is expected to continue, the aide said.

A plea for modernization, funding

In addition to the organizational changes, the Pentagon needs more money for its space programs, Arnold said. The military has received increased funding for other emerging priorities in the past, such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War, he said.

The Department of Defense also needs to step up the pace of modernization of space systems, such as the Global Positioning System, said Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colorado).

"It is clear the Department of Defense has not adequately stepped up to modernization of key space systems," Allard said at a Dec. 7 Space Round Table sponsored by Arlington, Virginia-based ProSpace and The Space Frontier Foundation in Studio City, California.

Because military space systems often are expensive, they tend to be the first items cut from a budget. The next administration needs to recognize the importance of space systems to the military and fully fund them, he said.

Allard also said steps should be taken to keep qualified space specialists in the military as more personnel leave to take up careers in other industries.

"There's a need to strengthen the space career field and provide incentives for space specialists to remain in the field," he said at the ProSpace Round Table.

Money for Mars

Lori Garver, NASA associate administrator for Policy and Plans, said the agency is gearing up for a manned mission to Mars, but needs a consistent budget to pursue this goal.

"It's quite clear that [NASA] has set our sights on MarsÉwe believe that other exploration with humans must depend on a continued budget, however," Garver said at the ProSpace Round Table.

"NASA has in the area of human exploration been, I think, fairly consistent in our view that we should open up new frontiers, leaving behind those technologies and opportunities for the private sector," Garver added.

NASA will continue to move toward privatization of Earth-orbit enterprises, such as the space shuttle and International Space Station, while looking towards a Mars, Garver said.

Meanwhile, the next administration and Congress will have to wrestle with issues such as patents, licensing and intellectual property resulting from research derived from the space station, Garver said.

"Everybody believes in commercialization [of the International Space Station]. It's a question of how we do it," Garver said.