20 Oct 2011: Congressional Record: Sen. Warner on Commercial Crew and NASA Wallops
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, today I wish to say a few words about the bill that we are currently considering and, in particular, a very worthwhile program funded by this bill that I believe is critical to moving our Nation forward.
One very important agency funded by the fiscal year 2012 Commerce-Justice-Science bill that has not been getting much attention in the debate this week is NASA. Senators Nelson, Hutchison, Rockefeller, and others worked incredibly hard to get a balanced reauthorization bill passed last year, and I commend them for their hard work in getting it signed into law. One aspect of that bill that I worked particularly hard on was ensuring that we are doing what we can to advance NASA’s mission while also promoting the development of the commercial space sector. In negotiations on that authorization bill, Senator NELSON and I arrived at what I believe is a fair compromise that will allow us to pursue advances in the commercial cargo and commercial crew fields and harness the innovation and cost savings that the private sector can provide. In a recently released study, in fact, NASA estimated that the Falcon 9 launch vehicle being developed by the private sector company SpaceX will cost less than half what it would cost for NASA to develop the launch vehicle itself. In the current fiscal climate, it is imperative that we partner with commercial companies to pursue the cost-effective innovation that can only be achieved through the competition that exists in the private sector. Supporting development of the commercial space industry will also help create steady, well-paying jobs and spur economic growth–not only in urban tech corridors, but also in more rural areas where launch facilities are located such as the Wallops Island facility in my home State of Virginia.
By appropriating funding at the authorized level of $500 million for the commercial crew development, CCDEV, program, I believe the fiscal year 2012 Commerce-Justice-Science bill honors the commitment we made in the authorization bill to move forward in that field. I commend Senator Mikulski for her leadership in that regard, and I am excited by the opportunities to come. While NASA develops our next heavy lift vehicle and a host of other important research duties, the private sector has the capability to quickly and cost-effectively deliver vehicles for our astronauts to access the International Space Station, ISS, and minimize our dependence on Russia for those trips. Given what we will be paying Russia for those trips to the ISS, there is the potential that we can actually save money in the long run by investing in commercial space to develop a competitive vehicle, rather than continuing to pay the Russians for seats on their vehicles.
Moving forward with the CCDEV program will also result in additional opportunities for development at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. I have supported the Wallops facilities in Virginia since my time as Governor, and from my recent visits, I can attest that they are making tremendous progress in developing their launch infrastructure. Providing funding for the CCDEV program at authorized levels, as we have done in this bill, will help us drive competition in the commercial space industry and will provide opportunities for facilities such as Wallops to further develop their launch infrastructure and provide steady, high-wage employment in areas that sorely need it.
