Letter from George Low to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Regarding Possible Future Space Cooperation with the Soviet Union

AND 3797 3a the SPAC NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546 01594 the U.S.A OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR May 30, 1975 Honorable Henry A. Kissinger Secretary of State Washington, DC 20520 AUTHORITY RAC NLF-PAF. 12-3-1-81/11/06 an HR HLF, DATE 1/30/09 Dear Mr. Secretary: This is to report recent discussions of possible future space cooperation with the Soviet Union. I have just returned from a visit to the Baykonur launch site, and from a Joint Flight Readiness Review in Moscow which cleared the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project to proceed to its scheduled July 15 launching. On May 21 I met with Academician V. A. Kotelnikov, Acting President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, to discuss informally how the momentum which has been generated by cooperation in the Apollo-Soyuz flight might be preserved. Kotelnikov was replacing M. V. Keldysh, whose resignation as Academy President due to poor health was announced May 19. During the discussion, I took the lead by suggesting possible opportunities in the areas of manned space flight, unmanned scientific missions, and coordinated environmental monitoring. The results are summarized below: 1. The Soviets gave very positive indications that they wish to continue cooperation in manned flight. They are favorably inclined to joint studies of Shuttle/Salyut missions and of what might serve as an ultimate goal, an international space station established either as a US/USSR project or in association with third countries. NASA/Soviet Academy staff-level consultations will proceed with a view to possible agreement later this year on appropriate studies. Meanwhile, the Soviets will consider the possibility of pro- posing experiments for Shuttle/Spacelab flights in cases FORD CONFIDENTIAL OVERS A Jonns,