Sen. Cory Gardner,
R-Colo., believes in taking special precautions to protect the United
States against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of his proposals
is to pump more money and attention into the space race to prevent China from taking hold of the final frontier in an effort to enhance its own power and harm American citizens.
China
has been criticized for various nefarious actions on the international
stage in the past several years -- the biggest and most recent being its
delayed response to the coronavirus outbreak and its opaque behavior with regard to the virus's possible origin.
Gardner,
who represents the swing state of Colorado and is up for reelection in
November, isn't the only lawmaker or political leader to specifically
criticize China's record on human rights, censorship, monetary
manipulation and shakedown tactics.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been vocal about the Chinese government's attempts to infiltrate American schools
and localities in an effort to gain communist sympathizers who would
harm the country from within. Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Rick Schott,
R-Fla., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark.. have all been threatened by China's state-run media for speaking out against the government's actions.
Gardner
said it's vital America be vigilant with regard to aerospace technology
and innovation -- as scientists, the government and private industry
continue to tackle projects related to Mars, the moon, satellite
technology and deep space exploration.
In your opinion, how does the United States keep pace with China with regard to the space race?
First
of all – China sees U.S. space superiority as a significant threat to
their attempt at domination. Economically, they certainly know it’s a
threat from a national security standpoint and so they have worked hard
for decades now to overcome U.S. space superiority. They’ve done that
both from a standpoint of advancement and innovations within China’s
space program and the military-industrial complex. But they have also
done that by taking advantage of U.S. companies. Either explicitly or
illicitly trying to take U.S. technologies – IP innovations – and
forcing the transfer of those technologies through purchase or
agreements on market access. The U.S. is basically now complicit in
enabling Chinese advancements in Aerospace.
Should the
U.S. be working closely with companies like SpaceX? How do they come
into play here – and how deep are China’s ties in the private sector?
China
doesn’t just have ties to the private sector, they have anchors in the
private sector. It is a spider web of lucrative interests that China has
with U.S. space companies. That’s why we are working hard right now to
stop the infiltration. If you look at China for instance – the
universities – they have numerous cooperation agreements, joint
partnerships with foreign universities, firms and organizations. They
are leveraging their technologies and their research trying to vacuum
all of that information. They are circumventing U.S. exclusionary space
policy. They’re getting around it by collaborating with firms that
maintain close relationships with NASA.
They are building bridges
that transfer tech back to China. We know there are companies in the
United States that have money flowing through them. Money flows through
WeChat and Tencent, which is the same thing that’s backing TikTok. So we
should at least have the same concern for our space industries as we
have for TikTok.
Talk more about your plans to
counterbalance the private infiltration you’re sounding the alarm about –
How can the U.S. tangibly deal with this issue?
We need
disclosure and we need NASA’s ability to act on it. And by disclosure I
mean finding out, what does China have? What are they doing? Do they
have ownership, are they investing, do they have a joint agreement? Do
they have money at stake or is there some kind of cooperation? Then NASA
should be able to consider those kinds of investment and venture
capital arrangements when it is rewarding -- or working with – a space
company. I’m not saying they can’t and I’m not saying it’s necessarily
bad, but we sure as hell better know.
They’re talking about a
building outer space apparatuses. They’re talking about Earth-to-space
technologies – space to space technologies. Their capabilities are
immense and they’re using us to defeat ourselves.
How far
do you think we can get in space in our lifetime -- What are the short
term goals and what is being sought after so badly, that a cold war
atmosphere has once again developed between the world's superpowers?
We
have to maintain our space superiority. If we do that, it will maintain
economic superiority and national security with regard to satellites,
space-based missions and many other aspects. The moon is going to be a
launching point. It’s the space base that we have to have for every
other mission beyond lunar orbit and beyond the lunar mission itself.
Whether it’s mining for critical minerals on the moon or whether it’s
the next phase to Mars, we can’t fall behind.
China knows that. If
China can take out our communication satellites and disable our
communications equipment and intel satellites, they’re sure as hell
going to beat us to the moon.
What you’re discussing
sounds like science fiction, like Ian Fleming’s "Moonraker." It’s more
akin to the plot of a James Bond film than reality. Is there still a
romantic “The Right Stuff” feeling and sense of patriotism linked with
space travel and exploration -- or has China’s investment in Hollywood
turned the tide?
And what do you say to those who say your ideas are outdated or just another piece of a bloated federal budget?
I
love the movie “The Right Stuff” and “From the Earth to the Moon." It
was an HBO series narrated by Tom Hanks. When I was growing up in the
'80s you had things like “Space Camp” about turning a tilt-a-whirl
amusement park ride into a spacecraft. All we wanted to do was go to
space. I remember my parents describing to me that when they looked up
and saw Sputnik, it was as if someone had invaded their backyard and
intruded on their most intimate moments. That Russian spycraft – that
Soviet spycraft – that was over their home, over their town. And the
weight that they knew they needed to pull together for America, to stop
the Sputnik encroachment.
Now, you’ve got China manipulating space
companies and Hollywood. You can’t even show the God dawn Taiwan flag
on the back of Maverick’s jersey in Top Gun. We know what they want to
do. Imagine the next rocket launch that takes place without that U.S.
flag painted on it. What is that saying? China’s got one hell of a PR
machine, we shouldn’t be so gullible as to fall for it. We need NASA to
have their eyes open as we continue to make incredibly important
investments in our future exploration.
What do you think of Elon Musk?
I
think he’s been one of the most innovative thinkers in the country. Let
me rephrase that – he’s been one of the most innovative thinkers in the
world, with his talent and capabilities. Imagine if the Wright Brothers
had said, we can’t do this in the U.S. and moved out of the country. We
need to make sure that the next leap that leads to the next innovation
and job growth is here not somewhere else.
Do
you think there will be added benefits for civilians and accidental
discoveries to help the general population if more money is pumped into
researching and exploring space?
Science happens and it happens sometimes where you least expect it -- and when you
least expect it. If you’re not doing the science, you'll never know.
Sometimes the big picture, the big idea, the main reason for the
experiment isn’t even the biggest reward in the outcome. Space is one of
those areas where we are a pioneering nation. Our next wave of
pioneering isn’t to find more westward expansion – it’s up. It’s the
heavens above. That’s where we need to go. The knowledge that it will
bring, will be unparalleled in the USA and in human history.
We
know what China wants to do. You can see it in Hong Kong. You can see it
with their threats against Taiwan. You can see it in their
militarization of the South China Sea. You can see it with the
internment camps they’ve placed people in. This is not a nation that is a
responsible actor.
