Thank you, Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Cantwell,
distinguished members of the committee.
I'm honored and very grateful to be here before you today as
President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the National Aeronautic
and Space Administration. I've lived the American dream,
and I owe this nation a great debt.
I would happily serve President Trump in any capacity, but to
work alongside the people that have expanded the boundaries of
exploration and brought humanity closer to the stars would be the
privilege of a lifetime. Before I begin, I would like to
acknowledge my crew mates as you did earlier Senator, along with
my wife Monica and my 2 wonderful daughters that are
sitting behind me, Mila and Liv. I do recognize I am a newcomer
so I thought I would share a bit about my story along with my
understanding of the challenges and the opportunities that lie
ahead. I am an entrepreneur and my
journey began when I took a risk and left school at age 16 to
build a company in my parents basement.
Despite my unconventional start, I found success very early in
life and LED my company into a multi billion dollar enterprise
that employs thousands. I'm a pilot with an aeronautics
degree. Over the last 20 years I've
flown over 7000 hours in jets and ex military aircraft,
setting world records and performing in air shows.
My passion for aviation also led me to start another company,
this time a defense aerospace business.
As a company, we operated the world's largest private Air
Force. Our job was to fly fighter jets
as adversaries, executing enemy tactics and training American
war fighters. We managed hundreds of millions
in defense contracts and save taxpayers billions along the
way. I'm also an astronaut.
Alongside A talented team, I LED 2 record-breaking missions to
space. On my last mission, we tested a
new spacesuit while performing a spacewalk and orbited farther
away from Earth than any human is gone since the last time
Americans walked on the moon. Along the way, my 2 crewmates,
Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, became the women who've
journeyed farthest from Earth ever.
I'm an advocate for science. During these missions to space,
my crew and I performed approximately 50 science and
research experiments. I've also publicly supported the
Chandra X-ray Observatory and offered to fund a mission to
extend the life and capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope.
I care about the people back at home and our collective future
here on Earth. Myspace career did not burden
the taxpayers. They were privately funded and
aimed at inspiring and helping people all over the world.
One example is the over $250 million we raised to support
Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital and their critical work
to ensure no child dies in the dawn of life.
Alongside these efforts, I personally donated hundreds of
millions of dollars to charitable endeavors.
I share all this because I am not a typical nominee for this
position. I've been relatively apolitical.
I am not a scientist. I never worked at NASA.
I do not think these are weaknesses.
In fact, I believe President Trump found them to be
strengths. And if confirmed, I will bring
all my experience to the greatest adventure in human
history, the quest to discover the secrets of the universe.
On that note, NASA is the most accomplished and respected space
agency in the world. But for all NASA's historic
achievements, the agency is not without challenges.
Presidents have called for a return to the moon in a path to
Mars since 1989, and well over 100 billion has been spent
without the intended results. Most programs, new telescopes,
Rovers, X planes, entire spaceships are over budget and
behind schedule. And this is discouraging because
when people look up at the stars and wonder what is out there,
they want those answers today and not decades down the road.
And I know it is not lost on members of this committee that
we have geopolitical rivals moving at impressive speeds.
It's imperative for our national security, our pride, and all
that we stand to gain an exploration that we never come
in second place. If confirmed, and with his
support and guidance of President Trump and members of
Congress, we will reinvigorate a mission First culture at NASA
with the following objectives. First, American astronauts will
lead the way in the ultimate high ground of space.
As the President stated, we will prioritize sending American
astronauts to Mars. And along the way, we will
inevitably have the capabilities to return to the Moon and
determine the scientific, economic, and national Security
benefits for maintaining a presence on the lunar surface.
We will focus our technology development efforts on the world
S greatest engineering challenges, such as the
practical application of nuclear propulsion, so we can truly
unlock humankind S ability to explore among the stars. 2nd, we
will ignite A thriving space economy in low Earth orbit, but
working alongside international partners and industry, we can
unlock the true economic potential of space and
delivering deliver meaningful benefits the American people.
Potentially even charting a course for NASA to become a self
sustain A financially self-sustaining agency #3 NASA
will be a force multiplier for science.
We will leverage NASA's scientific talent and
capabilities to enable academic institutions and industry to
increase the rate of world changing discoveries.
We will launch more telescopes, more probes, more Rovers, and
endeavor to better understand our planet and the universe
beyond. If confirmed, I will work
alongside and recruit the most talented minds this nation has
to offer. And we will concentrate our
resources towards achieving the near impossible, the objectives
that no other agency, company or institution is capable of
accomplishing. We will do so knowing the risks
and the groundbreaking opportunities that lie ahead.
Because some risks, like exploring the world's beyond
ours, are worth taking. We will do this not just to
expand our knowledge or strengthen our national
security, but to improve all life here on Earth and inspire
the next generation to reach even further.
This is why America needs NASA, why the world needs NASA.
Because there is no more important investment than
inspiring our children to build a better and more exciting
future. And that, and the best way NASA
can do that is by delivering our mission and ushering in a new
golden age of science and discovery.
And we will not fail. Thank you.
Thank you, Miss Trustee.