彭斯副總統重申美國在太空占主導地位計劃但沒有提供新細節
Vice President Mike Pence is in Houston, Texas, Thursday to reaffirm the Trump administration’s plans to establish an American Space Force by 2020, return Americans to the moon, and set its sight on Mars and beyond.
During a speech at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Pence said that recent Pentagon reports have shown that China is "aggressively weaponizing space" and that Russia is developing weapons to "counter America’s space capabilities."
Pence said the Department of Defense is moving forward to "strengthen American security in space" and that the administration will work with Congress to secure funding and authorization to establish Space Force as a new and separate branch of the armed forces.
Pence also highlighted efforts to move the Lunar Orbital Platform, formerly known as the Deep Space Gateway, from proposal phase to production.
NASA, the main U.S. agency for space exploration, and several of its partners, have been developing plans for this lunar-orbit space station that would be used as a staging point for lunar exploration and would have several gateway-to-space features, including a propulsion system, a habitat for the crew, and docking capability.
There is little new detail in Pence's speech other than reiterating the administration’s vision for "American dominance in space."
Space Force has been mentioned by Pence on several occasions, and a theme that President Donald Trump often returns to, including during his rally in Charleston, West Virginia, on Tuesday.
Trump first announced the creation of Space Force at the White House in June. He pledged to reclaim U.S. leadership in space, framing it as a national security issue, and saying he does not want "China and Russia and other countries leading us."美國副總統彭斯星期四在德克薩斯州休斯頓重申了川普行政當局在2020年之前建立一支太空部隊、再次將美國宇航員送上月球並着眼於探索火星以及其它星體的計劃。
彭斯副總統在休斯頓的美國國家航天航空局約翰遜太空中心的講話中說，五角大樓最近的報告顯示，中國正在“大力發展太空武器”，俄羅斯也在研發“抗衡美國太空能力”的武器。
彭斯說，國防部正在努力“加強美國的太空安全”，聯邦政府將與國會共同努力確保得到建立太空軍的資金和授權。太空軍將是美國武裝力量中一個新的獨立軍種。
彭斯副總統還說，原先稱爲“深空門戶”月球軌道平臺計劃正在從建議階段轉向實施。
美國政府負責太空探索的航天航空局與若干合作伙伴一道制定建立環月太空站的計劃。這個太空站將作爲月球開發的立腳點，同時具備開發太空門戶站的若干功能，包括一個推進系統、宇航員住處和與航空器對接的能力。
美國國家航天航空局在2019年的預算案中要求爲這個項目獲得5億零400萬美元的撥款，目前還有待國會批准。
彭斯副總統除了強調川普行政當局在太空保持美國主宰地位的設想以外沒有提供細節。
彭斯在幾個場合提到了川普總統經常提到的太空軍。川普總統星期二在西維吉尼亞州查爾斯頓的一個競選集會上講話時也提到太空軍。
川普總統最早今年6月在白宮提出建立太空軍的想法。他宣稱要重新建立美國在太空的領先地位，稱之爲國家安全問題。川普總統說，他不想讓“中國、俄羅斯和其它國家超越美國”。
