General John Raymond, the commander of the American space and the commander of the air force of the Air Force, speaks at the Air, Space and Cybernetics Conference of the Air Force Association of National Harbor, MD, September 16, 2019.
Technology. Sgt. Armando Schwier-Morales | US Air Force
WASHINGTON – The nation’s chief general leading the U.S. military space mission said Wednesday he was excited about Wall Street investments and billionaires in the space industry, which have sparked renewed interest in space among Americans and strong recruitment to the youngest branch. of the Pentagon.
“America has space in every sector,” General John Raymond, chief of US Space Force operations, told CNBC about the progress of private space companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“We’ve talked about people knocking on our door wanting to join the Space Force in greater numbers than we have slots to fill. We’ve talked in the past about how universities see more students applying for space STEM diplomas, which I think that it will be great for our nation, “Raymond added.
“I am delighted with all this, both with what we are doing here in terms of national security and with what is happening in the commercial industry that we can take advantage of,” the four-star general said without specifically naming any company. .
“The US has always understood that we are stronger with a secure and stable space domain and all these sectors are playing into this,” Raymond said.
The US space force, the Pentagon’s youngest branch, has increasingly sought to partner with the private sector as companies and investors pour into the space industry. The Pentagon is closely following the progress of rocket builders such as Rocket Lab, Astra and Virgin Orbit, in addition to SpaceX.
Raymond’s comments came after the SpaceX heel, announcing this week that he will fly his first fully civilian crew to orbit later this year, a mission known as Inspiration 4.
The reference flight, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, aims to use space tourism to raise support for St. John’s Children’s Research Hospital. Jude. Three passengers to be announced will accompany Isaacman on the multi-day trip around the Earth, with two of the seats to be decided in this month’s online public competitions.
Raymond also called the NASA Crew-1 mission, which was the first operational launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
“If you look at what’s happening in the civilian sector with the launch of American astronauts and in this latest release a Japanese astronaut from US soil on a commercial launch vehicle, there’s a ton of excitement there,” Raymond said.
Raymond did not react on Tuesday to the test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which led to another explosive landing attempt.
The Starship SN9 prototype was successfully launched at about 33,000 feet, but, like the previous flight prototype in December, the rocket broke into the ground while trying to land.
Private investment in space companies set a new annual record last year, despite industry fears that the Covid-19 pandemic will end the momentum of the past decade, according to a Space Capital report last month. Rocket and satellite builders brought in $ 8.9 billion in 2020, with venture capitalists and angels continuing to pour funds into space business.