Friday, February 12, 2016

Shelby on Assured Access to Space

Shelby Questions Air Force Secretary James and General Welsh on Assured Access to Space


U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today questioned Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and General Mark A. Welsh, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, on the use of the RD-180 for critical national security launches and the importance of assured access to space.
“I was pleased to once again hear Secretary James and General Welsh’s expertise on the needs of the United States Air Force,” said Senator Shelby. “It is clear that we all agree that the U.S. should reduce its dependence on Russia as soon as possible, but that it is far too dangerous to implement imprudent policies that impact national security before a reliable American alternative is available.

I will continue to support the responsible approach in this important debate, which is to guarantee that we have assured access to space so that our men and women in uniform around the world are supported – not left blind on the battlefield because of misguided political decisions.” Key points made in today’s hearing by Air Force Secretary James:
“We think having access to a total of about 18 RD-180s is reasonable and prudent to maintain competition over these next few years.” “I worry that there would be a gap. I believe we need reasonable flexibility as we all work to get off of the Russian engine. I want to reaffirm, we’re very much interested and are working hard to get off that reliance on the Russian engine, but until we do, it is important that we have reasonable flexibility because of assured access to space.”
“It will be challenging. It’s a risky proposition to have it done by FY19, but it’s possible and that’s our objective. But, an engine alone is not a total capability, so even after we have a new engine developed, it has to be integrated with a rocket properly. It has to be tested and certified. So we project that it will be longer than FY19 before we have that total capability to power us into space.”

Senator Shelby always welcomes your comments. Contact him at this link.

_________________________________________

We are compelled  to pay for this Free Speech Zone - Please become our Partner and click the DONATE link below or contact the editor-in-chief [at] truthserumeditor@gmail.com
at