[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                50TH ANIVERSARY OF AEROSPACE CORPORATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANE HARMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2010

  Ms. HARMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Aerospace 
Corporation's 50th anniversary.
  Fifty years ago the United States Congress had the foresight to 
create the Aerospace Corporation, a federally funded research and 
development center.
  The Aerospace Corporation doesn't make the things that orbit in 
space. It makes the things that orbit in space work properly, and helps 
get them there safely.
  The Aerospace Corporation has been involved in every Defense 
Department space program since 1960. From blueprint to launch and 
system architecture, the Aerospace Corporation is the Pentagon's 
technical conscience, its independent math checker.
  The Aerospace Corporation has played a key role in developing and 
maintaining the space systems Americans and people around the world now 
take for granted, like GPS and weather satellites. And it makes sure 
the launches of those satellites are safe and successful.
  Fifty years after its creation, we need The Aerospace Corporation 
more than ever.
  The United States is at a crossroads in space. China launched a shot 
across our bow in 2007 when it destroyed a satellite in low-Earth 
orbit. That sent me a very clear message. While the United States may 
still enjoy superiority in space, we're no longer the only player.
  We must protect our space assets, and build a constellation of 
robust, redundant, low-cost communication, navigation and 
reconnaissance satellites that can withstand an attack or a 
catastrophic accident. If we don't start now we are going to be too 
late.
  We not only need a new generation of spacecraft, we need a new 
generation of space engineers.
  Our space workforce is aging. Some 60% of aerospace workers are over 
age 50, and almost 26% are eligible for retirement this year. Not 
enough young scientists and engineers are signing up to take their 
place.
  While the United States graduates 70,000 engineers, a meager 15 
percent of our college graduates every year, China graduates more than 
half a million.
  China has decided the most important asset to a space program and its 
future as a super power is human capital--the scientists, engineers, 
and technicians that design and build satellites, rockets, and space 
vehicles.
  And while we struggle to educate enough engineers to keep up 
internationally, we're losing many of them to the sexy new world of 
Internet technology.
  It used to be that being a rocket scientist was synonymous with 
genius. Now it seems that mantle has slipped onto the shoulders of 
those who invented Facebook, eBay and Google.
  If we want to continue to be the world's leader in space, we have to 
get our young people to dream again--dreaming out of this world, 
literally. We need to inspire our young people the same way President 
Kennedy did nearly 50 years ago when he committed the United States to 
winning the space race.
  I've lived through a half century of U.S. space superiority. Only 
with sustained focus and leadership will my kids and grandchildren 
enjoy another half century of U.S. dominance. At this milestone, let us 
chart a path to that century.

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