First of all, I want to thank Ty McCoy and Frank Seitzen of STA for sponsoring this important event today. I also want to thank Administrator O’Keefe, Director Teets, Director Sega, Admiral Ellis and General Lord for their hard work and the great service they provide to our nation.
Today we are discussing synergy between NASA and the Department of Defense. Something that I think is useful and critically important to the strategic and economic interests of our nation. Of course I see the DOD and NASA working together on a daily basis. In my district, Cape Canaveral Air Station is separated from Kennedy Space Center only by the Banana River. The Eastern Test Range, run by the Air Force, supports the Shuttle and all unmanned NASA missions flying off of the Cape Canaveral side.
Also, Air force and NASA have joined hands to develop a single base operations contract to support both the NASA and Air Force missions at the Cape.
However, historically there has also been a healthy degree of separation between the Pentagon and NASA especially in the research and development area. Both entities have, for the most part, divergent missions. At times, there have been attempts at cooperative efforts when there were shared requirements and objectives. Unfortunately, not all efforts were successful and that has left some unease about future joint programs.
I would like to remind everyone of what I think many consider the most successful X-vehicle ever, the X-15. The X-15 was unparalleled in its capabilities and we are still learning things from the data those missions obtained. I also hasten to add that the X-15 was a joint NASA-DoD program. My friends, there is precedent.
Space, from low earth orbit and outward, can be viewed as the final strategic “chokepoint.” It remains, for the most part, underutilized in its potential as the venue of supreme strategic importance. We and other nations have been conducting all kinds of activities in space now for forty-five years. America, as the leading spacefaring nation, has not optimized our space abilities. History is replete with nations who seized the strategic high ground and remained vibrant, or failed to act and soon diminished.
The United States of America must stake firmly its claim to space. It is absolutely ludicrous for a nation as space-dependent as we are to cede this strategic imperative. We must develop the ability to enhance our access to space and if needed, deny access to space by those who threaten our economic and strategic interests.
Even developing nations, like India and Pakistan, see the value in space capabilities and are working to obtain a toehold in earth orbit.
Both NASA and the Defense Department have a requirement for low cost, routine access to space for a variety of missions. There is clearly some synergy between these two organizations and I hope that synergy can be exploited so as to improve our national security as well as at the same time provide NASA enhanced capabilities to efficiently explore the cosmos.
I commend your efforts here today and I look forward to seeing the products of your work together. You can count on my support in Congress as we all work toward a comprehensive, overarching strategic space policy.
Thank you.
