Two heavy hitters in the aerospace industry with connection to Seattle will play a big role in our country's space exploration.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith were named to the new National Space Council Users Advisory Group. Blue Origin was founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
The group is charged to "foster close coordination, cooperation, and technology and information exchange" across the nation's space enterprises, according to a news release from Vice President Mike Pence's office.
Selection to the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group:
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut
Tory Bruno, President and CEO of United Launch Alliance
Wes Bush, CEO of Northrop Grumman
Dean Cheng, Scholar at the Heritage Foundation
Eileen Collins, 4-time Shuttle astronaut, first female shuttle commander
Steve Crisafulli, Former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Mary Lynne Dittmar, President and CEO of The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration
Adm. Jim Ellis, Retired 4-star Admiral, former head of STRATCOM, and member of the Space Foundation Board of Directors
Tim Ellis, CEO of Relativity Space
Newt Gingrich, Author, former Speaker of the House
Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation
Homer Hickam, Author of the book "Rocket Boys" and former NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center engineer
Governor Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama
Fred Klipsch, Founder and Chairman of Hoosiers for Quality Education
Les Lyles, Retired 4-star Air Force General and member of the NASA Advisory Council
Pam Melroy, 3-time Shuttle astronaut and former Deputy Director of the Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of the Boeing Company
Fatih Ozmen, CEO of the Sierra Nevada Corporation
G.P. Bud Peterson, President of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Jack Schmitt, Apollo 17 Astronaut and former Senator
Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX
Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin
Eric Stallmer, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
David Thompson, Founder and CEO of Orbital ATK
Pamela Vaughan, Board Certified Science Teacher
Mandy Vaughn, President of VOX Launch Company
Stu Witt, Founder of Mojave Air and Spaceport, former Navy pilot, former Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
David Wolf, 4-time Shuttle astronaut and physician
Pete Worden, Former Air Force General and NASA Ames Center Director