Posted on 06/07/2016 10:09:46 AM PDT by Sean_Anthony
The nation cannot afford to simply put all of that critical intelligence gathering “on hold” for several years
No matter which party wins the White House in November our next Commander in Chief will inherit a world far more unstable than at any point in recent history. From the rapid expansion of ISIS, to recent nuclear tests in North Korea, to the many problems in Afghanistan and Iraq, the very real threats to America and its allies have never been more evident. Roughly 150,000 U.S. troops are stationed in more than 150 countries around the world and they are the tip of the spear in keeping our country safe and secure.
That is why it’s deeply troubling that some in Congress are taking active steps that would harm the ability of our men and women in uniform to complete their missions and potentially deprive our country’s ability to monitor threats abroad. Over the next five years, our military and intelligence communities expect to launch at least 34 national security and intelligence gathering satellites into space. These highly sensitive, billion dollar payloads, will help replace aging satellite technology and modernize our systems in critical areas such as classified intelligence gathering, nuclear monitoring, intercepting terrorist communications, military communications and global navigation.
It’s a shame that we had to rely on RD-180 rocket engines from Russia in the first place.
Having cheaper Russian engines available undercuts the profitability of the US engine industry, and means it will be longer before we have the needed US-made engines.
We should also bar Chinese components in “US-made” engines, for national-security reasons.
SpaceX Falcon 9 is cheaper to orbit than any vendor in any country, including cheap China. The Falcon Heavy is tentatively planned for a test launch November 2016, although that may slip into 2017. When operational, which will take perhaps a year, there won't be anything like it for cost or payload capacity, by anyone. the Russians talk out of their asses about it, but they have no actual designs in development.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.