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Memo for the President (1/26/2000)
Establishing a Vision for Space Exploration and Development in the 21" Century
Paul Wieland, P.E. (256-539-8976)
A clearly stated, broadly supported vision of space activities in the 21" century is needed. Space
exploration and development in the 21" century holds the promise of rich rewards that will
enhance the economy and improve the lives of all Americans. Continued cooperation with other
nations on space activities will also help to ensure a safe and secure future. The benefits,
currently, of our space activities are many, and are integral parts of our lives, so much so that
most people don't realize that products and services they use incorporate "spin-offs" from space-
related activities, nor the degree to which space policies affect international relations.
Predictions about activities in space in the 21" century commonly include such goals as
settlements on the Moon, research laboratories and manufacturing facilities in space, human
missions to Mars, mining of asteroids, telescopes capable of imaging Earth-sized planets around
other stars, miniature robotic spacecraft, exotic high-power propulsion systems, robotic missions
to other stars, etc. All of these goals may very well be achieved but whether these goals are
accomplished or not, and how quickly they are accomplished, largely depends on the policies
and goals established by the US Government. As the head of the US Government, the vision
presented by the President will guide the policies and goals, and the course of future activities.
To be successful, the vision must be broadly supportable, yet unify diverse activities, and it must
also be sufficiently focused to indicate a course of action. Therefore, the vision must consider
current social, political, and economic circumstances, as well as technological realities. This is a
tall order, yet it has been done in the past with great success and can be done again.
In 1961, in the depths of the cold war, John Kennedy proposed the goal of "sending a man to the
moon and returning him safely to the Earth" and that goal was successfully realized by the
Apollo program. The vision which was the basis for that goal was to show the Soviet Union that
our technology was better than theirs, and the benefits of doing so were clear and tangible to the
public. But the cold war is now over, and the task of establishing a vision is more challenging.
More recently, Ronald Reagan and George Bush proposed goals for Space Station Freedom and
for human exploration of Mars. The space station program is proceeding, albeit with significant
reorganization due to non-technical difficulties, but Bush's Human Exploration Initiative was
aborted. These programs are no more technically challenging now than Apollo was in the
1960's, so why are these programs having such difficulty? Partly it's due to the nature of the
programs (long-term versus single event), but, more significantly, times have changed (the cold
war is over) and the underlying vision (rooted in the cold war) did not reflect the change and, so,
was not supportable over the duration of the project. This does not mean that such grand plans
cannot be realized. On the contrary, I believe the opportunities now are better than ever,
however, the vision and goals must fit the times.
The successful goals in space exploration during the 20th century addressed the concerns of the
20th century. The advances made, along with ongoing research and development efforts, will
serve as the foundation for the space initiatives of the 21" century. To successfully achieve the
goals of the 21" century space initiatives and to achieve the greatest benefits by reaching these
goals, the underlying vision must address the major concerns of the 21" century. Other people
are more knowledgeable regarding sociological trends and forecasting, but since predicting the
future involves some "crystal-ball-gazing" I will make an attempt here.
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"ocrText": "Memo for the President (1/26/2000)\nEstablishing a Vision for Space Exploration and Development in the 21\" Century\nPaul Wieland, P.E. (256-539-8976)\nA clearly stated, broadly supported vision of space activities in the 21\" century is needed. Space\nexploration and development in the 21\" century holds the promise of rich rewards that will\nenhance the economy and improve the lives of all Americans. Continued cooperation with other\nnations on space activities will also help to ensure a safe and secure future. The benefits,\ncurrently, of our space activities are many, and are integral parts of our lives, so much so that\nmost people don't realize that products and services they use incorporate \"spin-offs\" from space-\nrelated activities, nor the degree to which space policies affect international relations.\nPredictions about activities in space in the 21\" century commonly include such goals as\nsettlements on the Moon, research laboratories and manufacturing facilities in space, human\nmissions to Mars, mining of asteroids, telescopes capable of imaging Earth-sized planets around\nother stars, miniature robotic spacecraft, exotic high-power propulsion systems, robotic missions\nto other stars, etc. All of these goals may very well be achieved but whether these goals are\naccomplished or not, and how quickly they are accomplished, largely depends on the policies\nand goals established by the US Government. As the head of the US Government, the vision\npresented by the President will guide the policies and goals, and the course of future activities.\nTo be successful, the vision must be broadly supportable, yet unify diverse activities, and it must\nalso be sufficiently focused to indicate a course of action. Therefore, the vision must consider\ncurrent social, political, and economic circumstances, as well as technological realities. This is a\ntall order, yet it has been done in the past with great success and can be done again.\nIn 1961, in the depths of the cold war, John Kennedy proposed the goal of \"sending a man to the\nmoon and returning him safely to the Earth\" and that goal was successfully realized by the\nApollo program. The vision which was the basis for that goal was to show the Soviet Union that\nour technology was better than theirs, and the benefits of doing so were clear and tangible to the\npublic. But the cold war is now over, and the task of establishing a vision is more challenging.\nMore recently, Ronald Reagan and George Bush proposed goals for Space Station Freedom and\nfor human exploration of Mars. The space station program is proceeding, albeit with significant\nreorganization due to non-technical difficulties, but Bush's Human Exploration Initiative was\naborted. These programs are no more technically challenging now than Apollo was in the\n1960's, so why are these programs having such difficulty? Partly it's due to the nature of the\nprograms (long-term versus single event), but, more significantly, times have changed (the cold\nwar is over) and the underlying vision (rooted in the cold war) did not reflect the change and, so,\nwas not supportable over the duration of the project. This does not mean that such grand plans\ncannot be realized. On the contrary, I believe the opportunities now are better than ever,\nhowever, the vision and goals must fit the times.\nThe successful goals in space exploration during the 20th century addressed the concerns of the\n20th century. The advances made, along with ongoing research and development efforts, will\nserve as the foundation for the space initiatives of the 21\" century. To successfully achieve the\ngoals of the 21\" century space initiatives and to achieve the greatest benefits by reaching these\ngoals, the underlying vision must address the major concerns of the 21\" century. Other people\nare more knowledgeable regarding sociological trends and forecasting, but since predicting the\nfuture involves some \"crystal-ball-gazing\" I will make an attempt here."
}