Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin proposed establishing a common defense system to counter space threats, one day after a meteorite explosion injured some 1,200 people in the Chelyabinsk region in Russia's Urals region. He said, "Humankind must create a system to identify and neutralize objects that pose a danger to the Earth."
Private business in America has demonstrated a resolve to establish the capability to monitor and manage Earth's near-space and is well on its way to doing so. We should demonstrate to Russia that the principles of freedom and democracy can help protect all of Earth's peoples.
We ask that President Obama encourage private American enterprise to meet Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin's chalenge.