Sen. Ted Cruz Issues Warning About “Space Pirates”

CNET reports:

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, alluded to space pirates in opening remarks for a hearing on “The Emerging Space Environment: Operational, Technical, and Policy Challenges” before the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation and Space.

Cruz referenced how the ancient Greeks and subsequent nations have called on naval forces to “protect water-borne travel and commerce from bad actors.”

“Pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space,” Cruz said. “In this same way, I believe we, too, must now recognize the necessity of a Space Force to defend the nation and to protect space commerce and civil space exploration.”

Yahoo News reports:



Although armed Somali pirates terrorized the waters off the horn of Africa a decade ago, their activity has diminished in recent years thanks to a robust military response from several nations, including the United States.

Venezuela’s descent into political chaos is partly blamed for a rise in Caribbean piracy. Yet none of those threats possess the resources to — as yet — mount a credible threat beyond the confines of Earth’s atmosphere. Nor is there any interplanetary commerce to present a lucrative target for pirates.