D.C. Memo: Amazon Exec to Head Chamber’s New Space Council? Nobody from SpaceX Around?

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Where’s Elon: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a new Space Leadership Council (SLC), “a strategic advisory board dedicated to maintaining U.S. leadership in space through private sector innovation and growth.” The press release did not mention Space X, Starlink or Elon Musk. In fact, the Chamber said the SLC’s top officer is going to be Amazon executive Brian Huseman, who is Vice President of Public Policy and Community Engagement. “Space is a great economic opportunity for our country. Through Project Kuiper, Amazon’s initiative to provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities with low earth orbit satellites, we are committed to maximizing the possibilities in the space industry,” Huseman said. For those keeping score, Starlink has deployed 6,992 low Earth orbit satellites and has about 1.4 million U.S. subscribers. Project Kuiper, while having big ambitions, has launched only two prototype satellites to date, with at least 3,000 more on the drawing board.