NASA

Floor Speech

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, this week President Obama is scheduled to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Many Americans expect the President to explain his vision for human space flight in the decades ahead. I would say this vision is long overdue.

One year after celebrating its 50th anniversary, as well as the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing, the White House has proposed a budget that will force NASA to abandon its historic role in space exploration. The administration has stated its intention to terminate NASA's Constellation Program, our Nation's flagship endeavor to return Americans to the Moon and beyond. After $9 billion invested over 7 years, the President would leave NASA adrift and without a mission. I hope the President will announce that he has thought better of that initial decision, and this morning I would like to take a few minutes to explain why I think he should do so.

Texas is proud of our close connection with NASA's human space flight program, and we recognize how it has helped transform the greater Houston area into a high-tech leader. Johnson Space Center has helped send astronauts into space for nearly four decades. We would love for the President to visit the Johnson Space Center and see how we have helped our astronauts complete their missions and return home safely.

We remember the region endured several years of challenges following the termination of the Apollo Program in 1974. We saw some of the brightest minds at the Johnson

Space Center end their careers. The future of the entire industry seemed uncertain.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was recently quoted as saying:

With all due respect to everybody who opposes the budget--

In other words, the cut of the Constellation Program--

a very serious and real concern is the jobs.

Now, he was correct in one way: the cancellation of Constellation, combined with the retirement of the space shuttle, could cost the region as many as 7,000 direct jobs, according to the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. With all due respect to General Bolden, Texas support for human space flight is not merely based on parochial concerns. We understand the local economic impact would be nothing compared to the strategic opportunity cost for the United States of America.

For one thing, the end of the Constellation Program will increase our dependence on Russia to transport Americans to the International Space Station--a space station built with billions of American taxpayer dollars. Earlier this month, NASA signed a $335 million contract with Russia that will cost our country nearly $56 million per seat on Russian spacecraft--or about $8 million more per seat than what NASA paid in 2007. So we are literally having to depend on Russia to transport American astronauts to the International Space Station. Many Americans are already concerned about this arrangement. Many Americans suspect the Russians will raise the price once the shuttle program is ended because we will be completely dependent on them to transport our astronauts. Indeed, the head of the Russian space agency recently stated his eagerness to renegotiate costs to access the International Space Station following the retirement of the space shuttle.

Soon, Russia will not be the only nation to surpass the United States in human space flight. The governments of China and India have also accelerated their investments. All of these nations are investing in human space flight not only because they want their flags to be the first on Mars but also because they know those investments will generate a good return.

Innovations that will help humans survive and thrive in space will likely create as many spinoff technologies in the 21st century as we saw in the first decades of the space age. If we do not incubate these life-supporting technologies here in America, our children will have no choice but to import them from other countries. Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell put it this way. He said the end of the Constellation Program ``will have catastrophic consequences on our ability to explore space and the spin-offs we get from space technology.'' He said: ``They haven't thought through''--talking about the administration's proposed cut in the Constellation Program--``the consequences.'' I think that is correct.

The White House has said it believes the private sector can play a larger role in space exploration, and I would say they are right--to a point. We certainly want to encourage private investment and public-private partnerships in the development of space technologies. We want to help NASA become an even better partner with aerospace entrepreneurs. Leveraging the potential of the private sector is no less an imperative in space exploration than it is in other fields of innovation. But NASA cannot pass the baton of human space flight to a runner who is still trying on its shoes. The private sector requires years of further development before it can send a human being to the Moon or compete with America's international rivals.

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel--a group of independent experts created by Congress--reported in January that:

No manufacturer of Commercial Orbital Transportation Services is currently qualified for human-rating requirements, despite some claims and beliefs to the contrary.

The panel has warned:

To abandon the [Constellation program] for an alternative without demonstrated capability or proven superiority is unwise and probably not cost effective.

NASA was assigned the constellation mission for the same reason it took on Apollo: It remains the only entity in our country capable of getting the job done.

So what should President Obama say when he visits the Kennedy Space Center this week? I would like to offer just a few thoughts.

First, I hope President Obama would recognize the tremendous uncertainty his administration has created by proposing to end the Constellation Program without identifying a viable alternative.

Second, he should make clear that Congress has the last word on the Constellation Program--which we do--and that NASA will follow the current law during this fiscal year and every year Congress continues to fund the program.

Third, I hope he would articulate a clear vision for the future of human space flight in our country, and that vision would include a clear exploration mission, a timeline, goals, and a destination. And I hope his vision would include a new commitment to the Constellation Program, which remains America's best bet to ensure America's continued leadership in human space exploration.

Fourth, I hope he would make a budget request that will fund this vision and that it will carefully be aligned with this exploration plan.

Just yesterday, a number of American heroes made clear what a vision for American space flight should look like. More than two dozen former astronauts and flight directors, as well as a former NASA Administrator, wrote an open letter to the President. They wrote, in part:

America's greatness lies in her people: she will always have men and women willing to ride rockets into the heavens.

America's challenge is to match their bravery and acceptance of risk with specific plans and goals worthy of their commitment.

NASA must continue [to be] at the frontiers of human space exploration in order to develop the technology and set the standards of excellence that will enable commercial space ventures to eventually succeed.

I hope President Obama listens to those words. I hope the President listens to Congress, which has given broad bipartisan support to the Constellation Program over many years. And I hope he listens to the millions of Americans who understand that human space flight represents our Nation's future, not merely its past.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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