The United States stepped out of space travel limelight when the Space Shuttle program was shut down in 2011. While the country still has more than a handful of satellites in orbit around Earth as well as participation in the International Space Station, these are not enough for Ted Cruz.
Recently announced chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Space and Competitiveness, which oversees NASA, Cruz released a statement Wednesday urging the country to once again focus on the agency's main mandate, encouraging efforts at space exploration.
He cited former president John F. Kennedy's words from 1961, saying space exploration inspired a generation of Americans to dream, to reach for the stars and recognize that racing to the heavens was crucial to the fight for freedom. However, the U.S. has lost sight of that after over 50 years.
"Russia's status as the current gatekeeper of the International Space Station could threaten our capability to explore and learn, stunting our capacity to reach new heights and share innovations with free people everywhere," said Cruz.
He added that while the U.S. should continue working alongside its international partners, it must erase its dependence on them, once again leading the way in space exploration. NASA relies on Russia for ferrying American ISS astronauts, using their rocket engines as well when shooting satellites into orbit.
This focus on space travel is understandable for Cruz. Aside from simply heading the senate committee in charge of overseeing NASA, he is also from Texas. The state has a stake in space exploration, a major hub in the industry as it is home to the Johnson Space Center.
Texans and space industry thought-leaders echoed Cruz's sentiments.
Walter Cunningham, former Apollo 7 pilot and NASA astronaut, is pleased at the interest Cruz is showing in furthering the agency's core goals. Bob Mitchell, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership president, said that with Cruz's leadership, NASA will be able to move forward unimpeded towards taking humans to space. Jeff Bingham, former Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Space and Science staff director, added that as Cruz furthers NASA's goals, he will be effective in trimming unnecessary spending while ensuring wise government investment of taxpayers' funds.
Cruz also lauded the efforts of private companies like SpaceX for their contribution towards bringing the country back into the frontier of space travel.
"I am excited to raise these issues in our subcommittee and look forward to producing legislation that confirms our shared commitment to this vital mission," ended Cruz in his statement.
