I just, again, want to point out that there is a 30 percent chance that there is a 5-megaton or so impact that is going to happen in a random location on this planet this century.

I think we need to get far more of the information... to the American public.

But what if they put it on one of their rockets in North Korea, sent it up at altitude, and exploded a nuclear weapon?

Space debris is really a problem. And I was struck several years ago, the deafening silence, lack of criticism of the Chinese when they launched their ASAT and blew up a satellite, adding tens of thousands of pieces of space debris that…

And we will want to know, Mr. DalBello, how you 'safe' your satellites when there is a solar flare.

And we want to get into how you are going to nudge it away. And we will get into that.

But about a month ago, there was some news that was more scary than exciting.

The threat from these near-Earth objects, as well as threats from space weather, debris, and more, deserves a closer look from this committee.

America will only stay ahead in space and thus capable of addressing economic, political, military and geostrategic risks and threats, by staying active.

Clearly, such a thing would be led by the country that has the greatest technological capability, which is the United States and NASA in particular.

There would be nothing like focusing the mind than survival with one of these things heading toward us.

A high-altitude/near-space explosion could have a very catastrophic effect on many of the satellites we rely on for weather, early warning, imagery, and other very critical functions.