Next foreign policy frontier is the stars — and West Valley stands to gain

Adolfo Gamez

Submitted photo/Adolfo Gamez

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OPINION — Artemis II’s crew inspired us all, flying farther than any humans before, looping the moon ahead of a future landing. Among them was Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the first non-American to reach the moon.

He likely won’t be the last.

“Foreign policy” conjures embassies and negotiating tables. But our era’s most consequential competition is unfolding in a domain without borders or rules. Space is not an afterthought, it is an arena of geopolitical power.

Beijing is expanding its Tiangong station, offering partner nations research slots and launch services with Belt and Road loans, financial credits by Chinese state-owned banks, attached.

Last year, Chinese satellites appeared to conduct the first refueling in geostationary orbit, a capability that could threaten American systems.

Almost no one in Washington noticed. Sen. Mark Kelly did. He raised China’s capabilities in Armed Services hearings. Arizona wisely sent an astronaut to the Senate.

Kelly leads the bipartisan Space RACE Act, creating a federally chartered National Institute for Space Research to coordinate microgravity research aboard the commercial stations succeeding the International Space Station. We “can’t afford to lose ground,” he said.

Timing is the point: The ISS nears retirement. A gap in access becomes a gap in discovery. The Institute would open orbit to researchers who are priced out today.

Kelly’s bipartisan LAUNCH Act would streamline launch licensing so the private sector can compete. Arizona already draws billions in chip investment. In Tolleson, I’ve seen what happens when advanced industry bets on a place. We should want that bet made here again.

Space no longer belongs just to America. But we can still claim first-mover advantage, and ensure that our values reach the stars first.

Adolfo Gamez is a Tolleson City Council member. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.