Round Up: Presidential Candidates Talk Space

Space exploration has become a topic of interest in U.S. presidential debates for the first time in over 40 years. Seventeen individuals are running for president in the two major parties' primaries. Several of them have expressed opinions about space; but most, to our knowledge, have not spoken directly about space, or addressed it at all. Below are statements from the candidates and/or their campaigns.

from the article:

Duncan Hunter

“’China’s successful engagement of a satellite orbiting in space marks the commencement of a new era of military competition,’ said Congressman Hunter. ‘American military forces are dependent on information gathered from U.S. space assets and the capability to engage these resources represents a significant threat to our nation’s military power.

“’China’s actions and continued efforts to advance its technological capabilities require that all Department of Defense programs intended to preserve America’s space assets be reviewed for adequacy. Further, new programs to strengthen the protection, redundancy and reconstitution of U.S. space assets must be made essential. It is critical that we take these steps now to ensure our forces cannot be targeted through an adversarial space strike.’”

“Congressmen Hunter and Everett sent a letter to President Bush advising that a review of space programs within the Defense Department be initiated. Text of the letter follows:

“Dear President Bush,

“China’s recent test of an anti-satellite missile, destroying a satellite in low earth orbit, marks the commencement of a new era of military competition in space. The dependency of American warfighting capability, and the economy, on space assets compels our nation to take the necessary steps to ensure our forces cannot be targeted through an adversarial space strike.

“Space capabilities are integral to the daily execution of virtually every military campaign, operation, and exercise involving U.S. forces today. Therefore, a review of Department of Defense programs intended to preserve American space assets is warranted. Further, new programs which provide protection, redundancy, and reconstitution of space assets should be essential.

“Mr. President, it is important that substantial efforts are made now to avoid technological surprise. I look forward to working with you to strengthen our capabilities to protect America’s space assets.”

Source: House.Gov “Hunter: New Era of Military Competition Commences”

Campaign contact information:

Hunter For President, Inc.
9340 Fuerte Drive
Suite 302
La Mesa, CA 91941
(619)463-3896
http://www.gohunter08.com/inner.asp?z=3

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947217/posts?page=3#3
In conjunction with post 3:

http://blog.barofintegrity.us/2007/10/23/chinas-space-program.aspx

Excerpt:

We don’t really have a “space programme”, do we? After all, it’s not like we are pushing the technological frontiers and designing cutting-edge manned spacecraft.

No, to be more precise, we have an astronaut-training programme. Whoa, whoa, that is not true either. We didn’t train anyone; we paid the Russians to train our astronaut.

Oh, blow it all. That is still wrong. He is not an astronaut; he is a cosmonaut. The terms, according to Nasa, mean different things but, according to the Russians (and us), they mean the same thing.

Oh, this is all so confusing. All right, all right, let us start over again.

You might not know this, but there have been a lot of unhappy rumblings in Malaysian society regarding our paying the Russians buckets of money – the amount of which the Malaysian public is not 100% sure about – to train a bloke to be a spaceman (as accurate a definition I can think of, because he is a man and he is in space).

Yes, it is true. This wonderful achievement of the country – to find a handsome, clean-cut, healthy, intelligent fellow and pay someone else to get him into space – is being sneered at in some cynical quarters.

If you happen to be one of those people, I say to you: tsk, tsk, tsk. Where is your sense of patriotism? Where is your child-like optimism?

Going into space is a big deal. Just ask Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth, two space tourists who did not have the luxury of buying Russian jet fighters to contra the costs of their cosmic flights. Coincidentally, one of the nasty things people are calling our Malaysian spaceman is “space tourist”.

For your information, unlike the two gentlemen mentioned above, our spaceman is not a tourist. No, no, no. He is going to do experiments, important experiments.

(snip)

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