Space Politics

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Morris leaving Office of Space Commercialization

November 18, 2008 at 8:42 am · Filed under Other

Ed Morris, the director of the Office of Space Commercialization within the Commerce Department, will be leaving that post at the end of this month. Morris made the announcement during a speech in an otherwise off-the-record panel session at a space law and policy conference Friday in Washington organized by the University of Nebraska law school (which has a space and telecom law program). The decision is not unexpected since the position is appointed by the president. What will be interesting to watch is how long it takes the new administration to appoint a successor, and what different roles, if any, it will play.

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7 Comments »

Rand Simberg wrote @ November 18th, 2008 at 4:58 pm

He wasn’t there all that long, was he? The administration took years to even fill the position, IIRC. It will be interesting to see how important a job the Obama administration considers it.

Vladislaw wrote @ November 19th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

Rand, he was appointed in Jan of 2006, if you look at his background with Orbital you can see where his interests are:

“Prior to his appointment with NOAA, Ed worked with Orbital Sciences Corporation from 1991 to 2006. His most recent position was Senior Director of the Washington, D.C. Operations, responsible for development and implementation of White House, federal agency, and legislative strategies supporting company space technology, missile defense and tactical weapons programs.” Space Commerce

Rand Simberg wrote @ November 19th, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Rand, he was appointed in Jan of 2006

Right, it took them five years. Let’s hope that Obama is quicker.

Ferris Valyn wrote @ November 21st, 2008 at 3:53 pm

Its worth noting that Obama has appointed Richardson as his Commerce Secretary. That being the case, I am hopeful that it might happen sooner.

Jeff Foust wrote @ November 21st, 2008 at 5:46 pm

Ferris: Richardson is, at this time, only a leading candidate. He has not been officially nominated (not appointed) for the position just yet.

Ferris Valyn wrote @ November 21st, 2008 at 5:54 pm

Jeff

Sorry, I wasn’t paying close enough attention when I wrote that. Thanks for the correction.

Still, I remain optimistic.

Library: A Round-up of Reading « Res Communis wrote @ November 24th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

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