During the recent American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics event in San Diego, Calif., Chris Shank, the Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office director, said the U.S. plans to establish a joint Space Development Agency to reinforce its space leadership, DoD said Tuesday.
Shank said the Pentagon will work extensively this year on the creation of the new agency as part of its efforts to rapidly prototype and field new space technologies. He noted that while the U.S. still has its edge, it’s losing ground especially with China and Russia having their own recent achievements in space.
“In the same week that they land on the moon, we are at the furthest reaches of the solar system at Ultima Thule,†he added.
NASA‘s New Horizons mission to the trans-Neptunian object 4B miles from the sun marks the farthest object ever explored in space.