Farms across the U.S. and Nebraska, many that count on satellite’s to get their work done, have the attention of Nebraska’s newest representative in Washington.

Sen. Pete Ricketts (NE, R): “We rely heavily on satellite technology to run our harvesting machines, tractors, and so forth. In fact, one farmer told one of my staff members that if it wasn’t for satellite technology, he was worried that his equipment would be useless.”

Ricketts comments coming as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to China for talks apparently ranging from Taiwan to Ukraine.

But during a hearing on Capitol Hill, noting a recent US threat assessment, Ricketts voiced his concerns that China’s space footprint is also a major worry.

Ricketts: “China is steadily progressing toward its goal of becoming a world class space link with the intent to surpass the United states by the year 2045 and China has counter space weapons capabilities intended to target the US and our allies.

Ambassador Cynthia Kierscht: “As Secretary Blinken has said China represents the most consequential geopolitical challenge of our time and as diplomats we're going to be facing this around the globe.”

Adding to the China worries down on the farm, Ricketts has noted that the Chinese have signed a $1 billion dollar deal with the East African country of Djbouti, as a launch site for Chinese space craft.