James delivered the keynote address at the Center for American Progress at an event marking the 50th anniversary of Air Force Maj. Ed White leaving his Gemini 4 spacecraft to become the first American to walk in space. “Space-based capabilities and effects are vital today to U.S. warfighting, homeland security and, indeed, to our way of life,” James said. “Space provides us with position, navigation and timing … [and] helps us with communications used in international banking, global commerce and remote sensing to deter against nuclear war.” And space is not only an enabler for other domains, the secretary said, but also directly affects the calculus of national security. Though for many years people largely perceived the space environment as peaceful, James warned that is no longer necessarily so. BUT OUR unmatched capability rests in museum--- per her words--- space capabilities critical to survival!!