MAJOR GARRETT: As our coverage continues, I believe we have worked out our communications snafu. Florida Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos joins me now. He represents the district, as I mentioned before, where this launch is taking place, and has to be among the most excited people for what’s about to happen. So tell me what you’re feeling.
– Well, I couldn’t be more excited, Major. This is a monumental day for not only Brevard County, the entire United States of America. It is America at its finest. Bipartisanship. People coming together to see us go around the Moon for the first time since 1972. We’ve come a long way since we lost the shuttle, and we could not be more excited about the mission that is about to take place. These four brave astronauts leading the way as we’re going to make our way back to the Moon in just a couple of years.
MAJOR GARRETT: You mentioned that unity part. I think that’s worth focusing on because as Rob Marciano, my colleague, was reporting, folks have been coming from all over the country. This is a bipartisan experience. Americans feel unified about this, hopeful, excited, and they have a sense of anticipation about an American mission. Not a Democratic mission, not a Republican issue, not a Trumpian issue, just an American mission. Do you feel that?
– It is definitely an American mission, Garrett. And this is what’s so exciting. And I think it’s so important that we do come together as a country, that too many things are going on in Washington that divide us. One thing that truly gets unified is our space program. And so I could not be more thrilled that we are moving forward in this direction.
MAJOR GARRETT: And what has it meant economically for your district this week or so leading up to this?
– Well, what has been a huge win for us is the fact that you’re going to see 400,000 people assemble here, over $130 million of impact today. But most importantly, it’s been a boon for our community as not just NASA, but SpaceX, Blue Origin, and many other companies are coming here to create the jobs of the future. Our goal is to make sure we beat the Chinese back to the Moon, and we establish a base on the Moon, where we can have the opportunity to develop energy solutions and eventually, go off to Mars.
MAJOR GARRETT: Bill Harwood, my colleague, mentioned that competitive part of this story, the Chinese. Saying back in the ’60s, we were competing with the Soviets to get to the Moon first. We got there, and we’re sort of like, well, did that. Don’t need to do any more. Now, the Chinese want to get there. Oh, we better get there again. But we just want to get there. We want to stay, and that’s the part of this that I think could use a little bit more explanation. Talk to my audience about the staying part and what we get out of staying if we do.
– Well, the staying part is important because the energy needs that we need in this country. We’re moving more towards nuclear. There’s a product called helium three that’s, of course, on the Moon’s surface. Also on the Southern port, meaning the South Pole, there is water. That’s H2O. Of course, hydrogen being a key component that will propel not just this rocket, but future rockets out into deep space.
And so our belief is if we establish this Moon base, we can not only, of course, defeat the Chinese, which is important, but the most important thing is the scientific potential that will have on the Moon. And eventually, if we really want to go to Mars, we can go there a lot easier if we launch from the Moon. Because the big problem when you talk about these huge engines– just to give you a feel for the power of these engines, it’s 130,000 NASCAR engines are propelling this rocket up today. It’s a lot easier. You don’t need that engine power if you’re building off the Moon because you’re not having to break through the Earth’s orbit.
And so this is about science, technology, and also, national security, because the Chinese have been doing nefarious things in space already. We want to make sure we beat them to the Moon so they don’t corrode– because it’ll have the same concern for the environment like we do. They might corrode that water source or do the right thing with helium three. And so America has always been about a team sport.
And remember, Artemis is a team sport. It is not just the USA, but it is a truly global mission. Remember, one of those four astronauts is actually from Canada.
MAJOR GARRETT: That’s right. Jeremy. Let me ask you this before I let you go, Congressman. NASA also relies on support in Congress. Do you believe if things go as planned today, when you get back to Washington a week and a half hence, the conversation about the future of NASA will be different?
– Well, the good news is that we have been showing huge support for NASA. The president actually created the Space Force, and we put record numbers into NASA this year. We had a full budget of $24 billion, and we added almost $10 billion in the Big Bill that we passed last July, so that’s $34 billion.
But the linchpin is today. We need success with Artemis II today. We need to have that success going around the Moon for the first time since 1972. And as our fabulous new leader of NASA, Jared Isaacman, has a plan where we’re going to be launching a much better cadence, meaning we’re going to have that muscle memory necessary, so that we can have success and get back to the Moon in 2028.
And I’m confident that Republicans and Democrats can come together and fund this needed program so that America stays space dominant. Because it’s not just about commercial adventure. It’s also about the military realities that we face because we need to have this strong space network. That’s where you have GPS and make sure men and women in the military have the best information possible should we ever get into some type of conflict around the world.
MAJOR GARRETT: Republican Florida Congressman Mike Haridopolos. Thank you very much, Congressman. I appreciate the time.