On September 3, 2025, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, convened a full committee hearing titled “There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race.”
Mike Gold, Redwire’s President of Civil and International Space Business, testified as a key witness. He provided historic testimony on the importance of the International Space Station (ISS) for breakthrough microgravity research and America’s return to the moon. During his testimony, Mike emphasized the transformational capabilities we are seeing in pharmaceutical research on the ISS that could lead to the development of enhanced drugs with better efficacy, longevity, and fewer side effects:
“There is no question in my mind that microgravity manufacturing will transform the pharmaceutical and biotech fields. The only question is, will those benefits be enjoyed in China or here in the United States?”
“Without the funding of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and explicit action by NASA within the next few months, we run the risk of reducing the number of American astronauts on the ISS from four to three, and then down to two. If this Committee’s directives are not followed, for the first time in history, there will be more Chinese astronauts in space than Americans. This should be unacceptable. Unacceptable to Congress, to NASA, and to this nation.”
Mike also spoke on the critical benefits of Gateway in cislunar space:
“With Gateway and full commercial logistics services, the Artemis program can support lunar surface operations for 60-90 days, enabling robust activities and transforming the dream of lunar resource extraction and utilization into reality. Without Gateway, lunar surface activities will be limited to 5-7 days, dramatically curtailing the very nature of NASA’s operations.”
“Moreover, Gateway is critical for projecting American power not only in space but on Earth. Over 60% of the Gateway’s costs are being born by our international partners, representing billions that have already been spent building hardware. Turning away from Gateway now, would squander this unprecedented global investment in Artemis and force our international allies to seek partnerships with America’s geopolitical rivals.”
Thank you to Committee Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Cantwell for their critical leadership in keeping America ahead of China and the opportunity to have Mike testify.
Watch the full hearing recording below:
The written testimony can be found here:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/79EB2C7F-124A-47F3-B96C-EF9E1988CE44
