US Senator Ted Cruz irritated by the ridicule of "space pirate"

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US Senator Ted Cruz was ridiculed for arguing that the US Army needed a branch of the Space Force to defend itself against pirates.

"The pirates are threatening the open sea, and the same is possible in the space," Republican Texas said during a hearing in Washington this week.

After "Space Pirates" started following trends on Twitter, Mr. Cruz responded to critics.

President Donald Trump has called for the creation of a sixth branch of the US Army, called Space Force.

At a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation and Spaces on Tuesday, Mr. Cruz said: "Since the ancient Greeks began to sail, nations have recognized the need for naval forces and the maintenance of a superior capacity for protection of traffic and inland trade against bad actors.

"Pirates threaten open seas, and the same is possible in space.

"In the same way, I think we must also recognize the need for a space force to defend the nation and protect civil trade and space exploration."

After being mocked by Long John Silvers, an online galactic, he went to Twitter to sweep "sneaky leftists mocking my comments."

Mr. Cruz also said that countries such as China "have already developed and tested weapons to destroy satellites".

"May Space Pirates devour your liver," he tweeted to a skeptical MSNBC reporter.

The reaction was swift as members of the scientific community joined politicians and experts in criticizing Mr Cruz.

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, tweeted a pirate flag in response.

Republican Republican pollster Frank Luntz tweeted, "You're laughing now, but wait until it's 2350 and you realize Ted Cruz was right."

Oliver Willis wrote: "In the entire history of manned spaceflight, there has never been an attack by space pirates," Oliver Willis wrote.

Kevin Gill, a NASA software engineer, has published a Photoshopped image of a pirate schooner orbiting the Earth.

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