America recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. That event served to establish America’s preeminence in the space frontier and to declare to the world that, according to President John F. Kennedy, “This new ocean will be a sea of peace” instead of a “terrifying theater of war.” As we look back on this event with pride, we should also confront the fact that today our preeminence in space is quickly becoming science fiction.
Having ceded the edge in rocket development years ago, the U.S. is now on track to compromise its preeminence in space even further with partisan battles and special interests. The latest example is the House’s party-line passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 12, which includes costly and wasteful provisions despite warnings from the United States Air Force.