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The original documents are located in Box 61, folder "1976/09/08 - Dr. James Fletcher" of
the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 61 of the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 8, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR:
TERRY O'DONNELL
FROM:
GLENN
SUBJECT:
FLETCHER MEETING WITH THE
PRESIDENT
We now have confirmation that the following
people will be attending the meeting with
Dr. Fletcher in the Oval Office:
Jim Cannon
Jim Fletcher
Bill Hyland (for General Scowcroft)
Bill Gorog (for Bill Seidman)
Alan Lovelace
Jim Mitchell (for Jim Lynn)
H. Guyford Stever
CC: Jim Cannon
MEETING WITH PRESIDENT AND
DR. FLETCHER
2:00
Wednesday, September 8, 1976
4:00 12:15 p.m.
Oval Office
30 minutes
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 7, 1976
MEETING WITH DR. JAMES FLETCHER
Wednesday, September 8, 1976
12:15 p.m. (30 minutes)
The Oval Office
From: Jim Cannon
Jan
I. PURPOSE
Part I (5 minutes) - to permit (1) Dr. Fletcher to present
you a model of the Space Shuttle and (2) you to announce
your request to Fletcher -- and his acceptance -- of
a proposal to name the first shuttle orbiter the
"Enterprise."
Part II (about 25 minutes) - to permit Dr. Fletcher
to (1) report on NASA accomplishments, and (2) express
his concerns about the space program.
II. BACKGROUND, PARTICIPANTS, AND PRESS PLAN
A. Background - Part I
The first important visible effort in the Shuttle
program -- the roll-out of the first orbiter for the
Space Shuttle -- occurs on September 17 at Palmdale,
California. Your advisers have recommended (and Dr.
Fletcher has agreed to accept) a request from you to
name the orbiter the "Enterprise," -- a proposal made
by thousands of "Star Trek" fans.
Background - Part II
1. Dr. Fletcher would like to report briefly on NASA
accomplishments and plans, particularly on the
Viking landings on Mars and the Space Shuttle.
2. He will also mention his concerns that U.S. space
capabilities have eroded and that the NASA program
has been cut too deeply. He had asked for an
opportunity to present his concerns before decisions
were made on 1978 Budget planning ceilings. Since
planning ceilings have been set, he will be reluctant
to stress his concerns now and probably will propose
a later meeting for this purpose.
-2-
Dr. Fletcher's principal concerns are summarized at
Tab A. His June 4, 1976 letter requesting a meeting
is summarized at Tab B. The full letter is at Tab C.
The 1978 planning ceiling given NASA provides only
for run-out costs of current commitments (including
inflation). The overall NASA program would be reduced
because there is no provision for new starts or re-
placements for programs being completed.
While unknown to NASA, OMB has counted in its own
planning totals an additional $90 million in BA
(about 2-1/2 percent of ceiling) and $40 million in
outlays to initiate some 1978 new starts (e.g., space
telescope). This will be welcomed by NASA but will
not answer NASA's basic desire for a longer term
commitment to program growth that would permit planning
and executing a balanced space program.
B. Participants
Part I - Dr. Fletcher
Part II - Dr. Fletcher and his Deputy Alan Lovelace
- The Vice President, Guy Stever, Jim Cannon,
Jim Lynn, Bill Seidman and Bill Hyland
C. Press Plan
Part I - Press photo opportunity; sound on film
Part II - White House photographer
III. TALKING POINTS
Part I - Presentation: See Tab D.
Part II - Substantive Meeting:
Jim and Alan, I'm looking forward to hearing more
about your accomplishments on Mars and your progress
on the Shuttle. Would you go ahead.
I have your letter with your views on the space
program and budget. I understand your concerns.
We must hold a tight rein to achieve a balanced
budget in 1979, but I want to be sure we consider
your proposals. If we are able to accommodate
some new starts in 1978, what would you select
for highest priority?
TAB A
TAB A
POINTS THAT DR. FLETCHER PROBABLY
WILL MAKE ORALLY DURING THE MEETING
The space program has gained new public support with
Viking successes.
NASA's overall program level has been held roughly
level in current dollars since 1972; a reduction
in constant dollars. Growth in the Space Shuttle
program has meant cuts in other programs.
NASA has received OMB assurances that future years'
budgets would, as a minimum, provide for a balanced
space program -- in addition to the Shuttle. But
each year NASA has been cut below this level. NASA's
1978 budget of $3.7 billion is $1 billion below level
OMB projected in 1972.
OMB's 1978 budget planning ceiling for NASA is far too
tight and may force additional slippage in the Shuttle
program.
NASA appears to have been treated less favorably in
the budget than other agencies.
NASA has a major economic "leveraging" effect and a
major employment impact in several areas, including
California, Texas, Florida, and Long Island.
The NASA-Industry-University team is an important
technological resource that should be preserved and
utilized.
U.S. technological leadership is at stake; the U.S.
is falling behind in space (USSR) and in aeronautics
(Western Europe).
While his letter calls for a 10 percent increase in
real program growth, he will indicate satisfaction
with a lower percentage.
TAB B
TAB B
PRINCIPAL POINTS IN DR. FLETCHER'S LETTER AND ITS ATTACHMENTS
Letter
Over the past 5 years, NASA has "not been permitted to
maintain the program breadth or momentum necessary for
continued contributions to national security, international
policy, and technological progress.'
NASA has been held below its "critical threshold" with
the risk of foregoing "future benefits in international
prestige, military spinoffs, economic and industrial
stimulation, and constructive non-inflationary employment." "
NASA has reached a "breaking point," is losing much of its
government-university-industry team, and the U.S. is in
danger of losing leadership as a space power.
NASA's activity must be expanded or the civil space program
will be irreparably damaged.
An initial 10 percent of real growth in program can make
the difference.
Attachment 1 - Space and Aeronautics: Challenge and Opportunity
Cites major benefits of the aerospace program:
- Element of international policy -- communications,
weather services, earth and ocean resources and
conditions.
- Advanced technology for civil and military purposes.
- Develop "high" technology -- with productivity and
international trade benefits.
- Inspiration for younger generations; forward looking
technological problem solving.
Summarizes four potential major program thrusts detailed
in Attachment 2.
Attachment 2 - NASA Five-Year Planning
Expansion of national services from space:
- Global resource information system -- involves
expansion of experimental LANDSAT (earth resources)
program to provide regularly information on food,
energy and other mineral resources; environmental
quality, weather; and climate.
-2-
-
Advancement of space communications -- to avoid
loss of U.S. leadership in telecommunications
technology to state-supported industries in Japan
and Europe.
Beneficial occupancy of space -- as the next major
manned space thrust beyond the Shuttle, a permanently
manned center to:
- Service new commercial devices and industrial processes
possible only in unique space conditions (weightlessness;
near-perfect vacuum).
- Assemble, test and maintain large orbital structures
for information, communications and solar energy.
- Provide space research facilities, including tests
needed to consider space colonization and long-
duration planetary expeditions.
Integrated scientific exploration of the universe --
including:
- New steps in remote exploration (e.g., orbital telescope)
and direct exploration (e.g., planetary; atmospheric
and surface sampling).
- Use of knowledge about other planets better to
understand and manage the earth.
Reestablish U.S. dominance in aeronautical techonolgy
including:
- Energy-efficient technology to improve new models
of current aircraft.
- Regaining from Europe lead in supersonic transports,
helicopters and short-haul transports -- to capture
civil aircraft markets.
TAB C
NASA
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Washington, D.C.
20546
Office of the Administrator
June 4, 1976
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
RH
Dear Mr. President:
I have had the honor to serve as the Administrator of your
National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the past
five years. During that time, this exciting and dynamic
agency has realized many proud accomplishments -- but these
have come about largely as the consequence of earlier in-
vestments in science and technology.
As a matter of conscience and duty, I must inform you of the
steady erosion of the United States space capabilities and
of the dangers this poses. Over the past five years, we have
not been permitted to maintain the program breadth or momentum
necessary for continued contributions to national security,
international policy, and technological progress.
If the civil program continues to be held below its critical
threshold, we run a real risk of foregoing rich future bene-
fits in international prestige, military spinoffs, economic
and industrial stimulation, and constructive noninflationary
employment -- as well as in critical new space capabilities.
I feel we are also risking what may be the single most impor-
tant potential for inspiring America's future generations. I
have recently mentioned these problems to the Vice President,
Brent Scowcroft, and Jim Cavanaugh among others. I believe
they all were surprised at the serious loss of our abilities
to compete, cooperate, or advance in space.
In my view, we have reached a breaking point: We have already
lost much of the capability of our unique government-university-
industry aerospace team, and are in danger of losing even more.
We are risking not meeting important expanding international
commitments. We are in danger of losing a critical national
resource as well as our leadership as a space power. Even the
2
usually conservative financial community is recognizing the
signs of a national technological crisis --- and the shrinkage
of the NASA program has been a major contributor to that crisis.
Mr. President, I wholeheartedly support your strong commitment
to fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets. However, I must
point out that NASA, the Executive Agency dedicated to creating
long-term future technological strength for the Nation, is in
critical difficulty. In blunt terms, if we cannot expand the
scope of NASA's activity, the civil space program will be
irreparably damaged.
I believe it is important to express my concerns directly to
you before the start of the normal budget cycle. I am writing
separately to Jim Lynn on this subject, and I will, of course,
be working with him during the fall. In my judgment, the
effort required to reverse current trends is relatively small.
An initial 10% of real growth in program content can make the
difference between a strong national program and one at or
below the threshold of survival.
If you could make some time available, I would be most pleased
to discuss the issue of NASA's future with you in detail.
Recognizing your extraordinarily full schedule, I am enclosing
two attachments which may help focus both the problem and
opportunity: the first is a short paper on the civil aero-
space program, and the second is a summary of a new five-year
plan for space and aeronautics currently being developed.
On a different but related matter, Don Rumsfeld and I hope
to meet with you later in the year to recommend a joint
approach to the procurement of the operational Space Shuttle.
Respectfully,
James + C. Fletcher
Administrator
2 Enclosures
CC: The Vice President
James T. Lynn
James M. Cannon
Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft
L. William Seidman
James H. Cavanaugh
SPACE AND AERONAUTICS: CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
A rational, productive aerospace program is a vital component
of the near- and long-term future of the United States -- and
of the world.
Space technology is an integral element of international
policy: the satellite has become indispensable to inter-
continental communications and to international weather
services; satellites are positive contributors to accurate
United States information on global earth and ocean
resources and conditions; aerospace programs provide the
United States powerful selective options for cooperation
or competition with advanced and developing nations.
Space technology -- and the concomitant of an advanced
and imaginative aerospace industry -- is critical to the
national defense posture of the United States. Civil
programs, because of their open, exploratory character,
generate broad technological advance that energize entire
industries as well as being directly employed for civil
or military ends.
Aerospace programs, by their nature, are at the cutting
edge of technological advance -- they demand and create,
above all, "high" technology. Technology of all levels is
recognized as a necessary major contributor to national
productivity; what is less well recognized is the enormous
economic leverage exercised by investment in and develop-
ment of "high" technology. Recent assessments indicate
that a dollar spent in NASA R&D creates a 14:1 return over
10 years in terms of increased productivity alone, and
that small but sustained changes in the levels of NASA
expenditures have a disproportionately large effect in
creating and sustaining permanent new jobs in the national
economy.
The challenge of space is an exciting inspiration to the
younger generations of America and the world. The nation
that meets this challenge boldly will strengthen and
enlarge the spirit of all its citizens and create the
drive for future progress and achievement.
2
The civil space agency -- NASA -- is the single Federal
instrumentality squarely focused on the future. NASA
has developed into the nation's most effective technical
problem-solving agency. It is an instrument available
for use; it should not be allowed to sag into mediocrity
or to dwindle away for lack of forward-looking assignments.
An immediate opportunity now lies before our country: to
mobilize its civil aerospace resources in pursuit of national
objectives. If action is not taken, the nation's ability to
mount effective programs will erode beyond repair, and the
international competitors of the United States will establish
commanding leads in such areas as permanent manned facilities
in space, planetary exploration, space communications, and
high speed intercontinental aviation. Aerospace objectives
of great value and importance are:
A global information service -- strengthening the United
States' posture at home and abroad with revolutionary
improvements in timely and accurate reporting on world-
wide economic and environmental conditions through the
organized use of space-based observation systems.
Permanent American occupancy of space -- guaranteeing
free access to space by all for peaceful purposes, pro-
viding a new and expanding dimension for United States
industry and commerce in exploiting the unique environment
and technology of space for new goods and services, and
opening new horizons for the human spirit.
The integrated scientific exploration of the Universe --
to find the answers to central questions of life, matter,
and energy.
Reestabli shment of American preeminence in aviation --
creating the commercial competence to compete effectively
in world markets with new aircraft using new designs,
materials, propulsion and technology.
The returns from investment in civil aerospace are power --
economic, scientific, and political. This can flow only from
a steady level of activity; research and development cannot
3
thrive or deliver its technological products in an environment
of uncertain commitment or sporadic support. Focused invest-
ments in high technology are significant national economic
tools in the search for prosperity without inflation.
To provide for the future requires thoughtful and prudent
investments in the present. At stake are the leadership,
prestige, and power of the United States in a critical
technological domain affecting the life and livelihood of
every citizen -- and, through example and political extension
of that power, the future of all the world.
June 4, 1976
TAB D
NASA FIVE-YEAR PLANNING
INTRODUCTION
The management of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration is preparing a five-year plan to provide an
integrated framework within which policy and program recom-
mendations and decisions can be evaluated. While not complete
at this time, the basic structure of the recommended five-
year plan is outlined below.
One critical factor must be kept in mind: the lead-
times involved in the development of sophisticated space
technology are often such that individual projects may require
as much as five to seven years to be complete; in the case of
certain exploration missions to the far planets, flight times
of as many years are required before new information can be
received on earth. The planning context, therefore, has to
extend considerably beyond the next five years in order to
provide a solid base for the near-term decisions.
In addition, plans for the future must be carefully
integrated with the present ongoing program. It is important
to take maximum advantage of momentum and technical capabil-
ities in being, and to be ready to exploit new or enlarged
opportunities presented by the evolving scientific and tech-
nological environment.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The first generation of space and aeronautical activity
has come of age. Taken together, the growing maturity of
the existing technologies, the experimental successes of the
first tentative moves toward delivery of new services from
space, the preliminary investigations of important natural
phenomena, and the rapid expansion of space. and aeronautical
activities abroad, now require the United States to choose
the major directions for the future that will be pursued in
the national interest. These goals and objectives cannot,
and should not, be either all-encompassing or narrowly rigid;
they must, however, reflect a sense of national purpose,
provide a basis for measuring accomplishment, and offer a set
of unique and important values in their own right.
2
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has
identified four goals to characterize the national space
and aeronautics program for the next decade. These flow
naturally from the growing world consensus on the definition
of the major problems and questions confronting human society,
from the political and economic realities of today, and from
the ongoing programs of the United States and other nations.
1. A major goal is the rapid expansion of significant national
services from space. The past fifteen years have suffi-
ciently proven the capabilities of space systems for global
observation and communications; the challenge now is to
exploit fully these important capabilities for the United
States, recognizing that otherwise the advantages of time
and technology will pass to others.
a. One clear direction to follow is the immediate imple-
mentation of a global resources information system.
This represents a major policy decision with enormous
implications for the future of the United States.
Critical national decisions of international importance
depend on accurate, timely, and continuing information
about food, energy, environmental quality, and climate.
Space observations coupled with new computer tech-
niques would provide accurate bi-weekly forecasts of
global agricultural production for all crops of
major economic significance, geological assessments
related to the potential for mineral and petroleum
discovery and recovery, water quality status and
trends, ocean condition forecasts, and eventually
annual and long-term climate predictions.
This wholly new class of information services, already
being experimentally demonstrated in grain surveys,
would afford the United States a widely expanded
horizon for wise political and economic decisions in
areas ranging from agricultural commodity exports
through national resources management to avoidance
of climatic catastrophe. It behooves the United
States to have and to use these capabilities in
3
pursuit of domestic and international policy
objectives rather than have them developed by
others in opposition to United States aims.
The Next Five Years. The expansion of the current
Landsat experimental program would begin immediately,
allowing the inclusion of improved instruments and
relying on dual satellites to afford repetitive world
coverage every nine days. A new and complex ground
data handling system, to extract and disseminate
information from satellite data rapidly and incor-
porating forecasting and prediction models, would
be developed at the same time. Major milestones
tied to an investment of less than $100 million per
year would be:
-- By 1981, bi-weekly global wheat production
forecasts.
-- By 1983, begin production forecasts for rye,
oats, barley, rice, corn, soybeans, and sugar; and,
global geological resources assessments and ocean
condition prediction.
--- By 1985, using an expanded system combining low
and synchronous satellite observatories, and an
understanding of climate trends and mechanisms.
-- By 1990, routine delivery of the full range of
terrestrial, oceanic, and climatic information,
leading to climate prediction services.
b. Another clear direction to follow is the aggressive
advancement of space communications to assure United
States industrial superiority. Current assessments
indicate that, without a significant national program
in space communications technology, United States
industry will lose its present position of inter-
national leadership to the state-supported industries
of Japan and Europe. Already key elements of
4
international telecommunications services, partic-
ularly in the high-power, high-frequency regimes, are
being provided by German and Japanese technology more
advanced than that which United States industry has
been able to sponsor with its own resources. Similarly,
new national services made possible and economical
because of space technology are ready to be deployed
to improve the quality of life and the sense of
security of every citizen. Recognition of a Federal
responsibility for the health and progress of the
private United States telecommunications industry
is, in itself, a significant policy initiative.
The Next Five Years. For the competitive advancement
of civil space communications technology and the
development of practical new commercial services --
such as personal mobile telecommunications, remote
health care delivery, direct broadcast to individual
receivers, or expanded electronic mail -- joint
development and demonstration programs with the
electronics and communications industries would
establish an American beachhead in high-power, high-
frequency satellite technology. The demonstration
systems, once developed, could then be leased to
commercial operators to amortize the Government's
technology investment.
A more immediate new application of space communications
services -- search and rescue -- would be demonstrated
in 1981 for some $30 million. A key problem in the
past has been the unambiguous location of an emergency
distress signal. Satellites in conjunction with the
new software and aircraft and shipboard emergency
transmitters would overcome these limitations. Full-
scale operational deployment following the demonstra-
tion would be in 1984.
5
2. Another major goal is the permanent beneficial occupancy
of space to promote the national interest, to assure that
space will be kept an open resource for all peaceful
purposes of free peoples, and to forbid the foreign
domination of space.
Current United States programs are focused on the Shuttle
and Spacelab systems, critical elements in expanding the
scope and capability of short duration space activities
at low recurring costs. The next generation of capability,
building on the experience developed in the first phase
of space utilization, would have the development of the
commercial utility of space as a major thrust. This
industrialization of space would create new markets, new
products and new economic strength for the United States.
The position the United States holds in space technology
and the investment the United States has made in space
capability must be fully exploited to maintain United
States world leadership. The key element would be a
permanent manned orbital center to service new commercial
devices and industrial processes that take full economic
advantage of the unique space conditions -- weightlessness,
access to a near-perfect vacuum, and solar energy.
The same center would serve as a construction base for the
assembly, test, and maintenance of the very large orbital
structures required in the future for information acqui-
sition, communications, and energy management. As a
research and development laboratory, the center would house
experimental and operational research instruments --
telescopes, antennas, biological instrumentation, physics
and chemistry facilities -- for continuing investigations
under essentially shirt-sleeve conditions.
Serviced by the Shuttle, the space center would be the most
important test of future opportunities which may prove
critical to man's continued development: long-duration
manned planetary expeditions, space colonization, and
expansion of human civilization into the solar system.
6
The Next Five Years. Technology programs using the Shuttle
and Spacelab will foster the development of the orbital
techniques and methods required for the space center.
Spacelab manufacturing and processing experiments -- taking
advantage of the space environment to create such new
materials as unique crystals, semiconductors, integrated
circuits, or pharmaceuticals -- will be intensively
pursued in conjunction with United States industry beginning
with the earliest Shuttle flights in 1979. Major new
milestones, presuming an investment level for these elements
growing toward $900 million by 1983, are:
--- By 1982, the first experimental large space structure --
perhaps a 100-meter antenna supporting the expanded space
communications effort -- would have been assembled in orbit
by crews operating from the Shuttle to demonstrate space
construction and maintenance techniques.
-- By 1984, the first permanent space center -- a 4-to-6-
man space station --- would be in operation, together with
the first commercial manufacturing and processing facili-
ties which would be expected to repay their costs early
in this phase of space utilization. The space center
would use an evolutionary modular design initially based
on the technologies developed for Skylab, Shuttle, and
Spacelab. Space center operations would rely on the
Shuttle for transportation and service, and the center
would be designed to permit major expansion in size and
function without encountering technological obsolescence.
--- By 1986, a small-scale prototype of a solar power
energy system would be in operation, initially converting
solar energy to electrical power for use within the space
center. If necessary, this technology could be later
expanded to provide beamed energy from space to earth
for commercial use; this would also require expansion of
the space center to a 12-man station and development of
synchronous visit and operations capability.
7
3. A third goal is the integrated scientific exploration
of the Universe: to push back its frontiers, to discover
its origin, evolution, and future; to probe and master
its dynamic processes; and to understand its relationship
to life on Earth and elsewhere.
A new element in NASA's continuing science work is the
development of a program that brings together in a new
core the traditionally separate disciplines and approaches
of classic space research. It is necessary to relate the
atmospheres of far planets to our own, the mechanisms of
our sun to those of other stars, the tectonics of Earth to
those of Mars and Venus and Mercury, the geochemistry of
the Moon to that of the terrestrial planets and asteroids
and major satellites.
Exploration falls into two large classes: in remote
exploration, man uses instruments to observe and measure
phenomena at great distances; in direct exploration, man
or his instruments operate at the site of the phenomenon.
Remote exploration is characterized by the orbital telescope,
operating for extended periods in selected spectral bounds
to study the Sun, far stars and galaxies, nearby planets
and moons. Direct exploration within the solar system
starts with initial reconnaissance, followed by detailed
study for extended periods, and in special cases,
atmospheric and surface samples must be returned to
Earth for analysis. The ultimate steps may include
temporary or permanent human occupancy, supported by a
planetary environment tailored to human needs.
Connecting remote and direct exploration of the solar
system and the Universe to life on Earth is the translation
of new knowledge of extraterrestrial phenomena -- energy
generation and transmission, internal star dynamics,
planetary atmospheric activity -- into clearer under-
standing of our own life support system of sun, air, and
oceans. It is this understanding -- and the wise long-
term management of the Earth that can stem therefrom --
that will guarantee a continued safe habitation for man
on his home planet.
8
The Next Five Years. The total space science and
exploration program, covering as it does a multiplicity
of targets and many disciplines, is not readily summarized.
The major elements noted below are only a part of an
overall program estimated to require some $600 million per
year. There would need be augmentation beyond this
level if, for example, it becomes necessary to follow up
the discovery of life within the solar system or of
intelligence within the galaxy.
The most critical and immediate need in remote exploration
capability is the 2.4-meter Space Telescope, a permanent
man-tended orbital facility that can quadruple the reach
of man into the Universe, can find planets around nearby
stars, can look back into time some 15 billion years,
and can help decipher the now unexplained energy-generating
mechanisms of stellar systems and objects. The Space
Telescope would be delivered into orbit by the Shuttle in
1983 and maintained thereafter by routine service flights.
Other remote exploration needs would be met by a 1981
solar mission to view the Sun's poles, thought to be
sources of particles escaping to galactic space, by
continuing Spacelab flights starting in 1982 and carrying
such instruments as 1-meter solar and infrared telescopes,
and by a second generation of refurbishable high-energy
observatories operating in 1983.
The most critical and immediate new capability for direct
exploration of the planets would be embodied in a long-
duration orbital planetary laboratory carrying multiple
atmospheric probes. This mission would first be launched
to Jupiter in 1981 to analyze the unique atmosphere of
that giant planet and to define its magnetosphere and
radiation belts. A similar mission would be launched to
Saturn in 1984.
Exploration of the terrestrial planets would rely on a
geophysical/geochemical long-duration orbiter, the first
deployed around the Moon in 1981 and another around
Mercury in 1983. The pervasive cloud layer of Venus
9
requires an orbital radar mapper to investigate the
surface; this mission would be launched in 1983. The
findings of the 1976 Viking surface exploration of
Mars will define critical follow-on investigations; a
major step would be the automated return of surface
samples to Earth for analysis.
4. The final goal is to reestablish United States dominance
in aeronautical technology and, concomitantly, to assure
United States preeminence in civil aviation markets at
home and abroad. Civil aviation, comprising aircraft
manufacturers and airline operators, has been among the
most successful of the United States commercial sectors.
The historical reasons for this success have been three-
fold: a reliable base of Federal research and technology,
consistently supported since 1915, responsible for managing
national aeronautical facilities as well as for technical
advances in aviation; a steady demand for new aircraft
types for military purposes and their subsequent deployment
into the civil sector; and a healthy condition of compe-
tition for both domestic and foreign markets among the
United States airlines and manufacturers.
Aviation is still growing; 800 billion revenue passenger
miles per year are predicted by 1986, or double current
world levels. Through 1986 there will be a world-wide
market of $50 billion for civil transports, and demand
is growing for efficient and profitable short-haul
aircraft, helicopters, and general utility aircraft.
The United States aviation industry today, however, is not
in a position to capitalize on opportunities for new
markets: the airlines' economic difficulties, driven by
fuel costs and the problems of operating an aging fleet,
are deferring orders for new aircraft; the manufacturers
cannot finance the development of new systems for lack
of capital and because the needed new technologies have
not been exercised to the point of being ready for new
10
aircraft at reasonable risk; and for the first time,
aggressive state-supported foreign competition is
threatening to penetrate former United States markets and
to seize a disproportionately large share of new markets
now just opening.
In supersonic passenger service, in helicopters, and in
quiet short-haul transports, the Europeans already are
ahead of the United States. In military aviation, United
States superiority is no longer assured. United States
leadership can be regained only by a purposeful injection
of high technology tailored to the specific economic and
transportation environment of the mid-'80's and beyond.
The Next Five Years. Current estimates suggest that
an increase in aeronautical research and technology
investment over the current $200 million per year level
would be necessary if the United States is to regain --
and maintain -- a position of leadership in world
aviation through the end of the century. Advanced
aeronautical facilities and a sustained government-industry
technological partnership are important ingredients of
that leadership. Significant areas of effort would include:
-- An integrated energy-efficient technology package to
improve new models of current aircraft within the next
five years and to permit the wholly new aircraft of the
mid-eighties to operate at half today's fuel consumption.
-- A focused effort on quiet, efficient supersonic
transport technology to place United States industry in
a position by 1985 to respond to the Franco-British and
Soviet initiatives in this area.
--- Developments for high speed vertical take-off aircraft
with important military as well as civil applications.
-- Design and engineering advances for quiet, comfortable,
economical helicopters that have a wide domestic and
foreign market.
11
-- Technology and systems engineering to improve the
economics of agricultural aviation services.
SUMMARY
The goals and challenges sketched above together represent
the opportunity that now lies before the United States:
-- To capitalize on prior investment in space and
aeronautics.
-- To establish new thresholds of national strength
and creativity.
-- To regain an unquestioned position of world leader-
ship in high technology deployed in the public
interest.
June 4, 1976
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 8, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR:
FROM:
JIM GLENN CANNON SCHLELDE Jhenn
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENTIAL MEETING WITH
DR. FLETCHER
Attached are the Talking Points as approved
by Bob Orben's office for the 2:00 p.m.
meeting today.
Attachment.
(Butler)
September 8, 1976
THIRD DRAFT
TALKING POINTS FOR SPACE SHUTTLE ENTERPRISE, WEDNESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 8, 1976
Thank you, Dr. Fletcher.
Let me say first that you and your associates at NASA,
together with their colleagues in American industry and academic
life, have earned the praise of all Americans for your many
successful missions in space. The two Viking landings on Mars
are only the latest examples, and the space shuttle model you
have presented to me represents still another exciting chapter
in space exploration.
Next week, NASA will unveil the first space shuttle
orbiter in Palmdale, California. The orbiter represents a
major breakthrough in space technology, because it is re-usable.
Upon completion of its space mission, it will be piloted back to
earth for use in subsequent flights.
This major advance in the space program is the product
of many years of hard work, experimentation and invention by
thousands of dedicated Americans. It represents the determination,
the skill, and the quest for new knowledge which have always
-2-
characterized Americans.
A great many people have written to me in recent months,
suggesting one name in particular for this spaceship, which
will carry us not only into space but into the future.
It is a distinguished name in the annals of American
history, with a long tradition of courage and endurance. It is
also a name familiar to millions of faithful followers of the
science fiction television program "Star Trek. "
To explore the frontiers of space, there is no better
ship than the space shuttle and no better name for that ship
than the Enterprise.
That is the name I have suggested to Dr. Fletcher,
and it is the name he has agreed to use.
So we await with a special interest the first mission
of the space shuttle, and I congratulate you once again,
Dr. Fletcher, and your associates for a job well done.
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