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as improved longer range weather forecasting and firm prediction of future climatic trends is entirely dependent on

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Allow me, briefly, to refer to a few other areas of inquiry in which our Space Science Board is engaged. A

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somewhat more detailed summary and discussion of these activities and the questions they raise will be found in a report to me by the Board's chairman, Dr. A. G. W. Cameron, provided as an attachment to this statement. the status of space plasma physics, now a mature science, is to be published shortly. Reports currently under preparation include a strategy for further exploration of the inner solar system, advice on planetary quarantine, and a summary of our summer study on space biology and medicine. Work is continuing on the formulation of an appropriate strategy for the program of space astronomy and astrophysics,

The Board has established a subcommittee on Earth Sciences to define scientific goals and objectives in this area, based upon studies carried out by various other elements of the National Research Council. A study is also to be initiated on the major scientific goals to be achieved by investigations of comets and asteroids.

In all of space science, success is first conditioned by the success of the launch and its precision in placing the instruments in the desired position and posture and, secondly, by the quality of the scientific instruments on board. Regrettably, in the past NASA has given much more attention

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to the former than to the latter. It is to be hoped that, in the future, NASA will provide adequate and appropriate support to early development of instruments of the highest possible quality for use in its Space Sciences Program.

I should now like to turn to an issue of great concern to our Board, one emphasized by its chairman in the attached communication. I refer to the continued absence of any formal, official statement of intent which outlines in a substantial way the goals for U.S. long-range scientific activities in space. The consequence of this deficiency was most dramatically illustrated during the recent struggle to win approval of the Jupiter Orbiter Probe mission. We recognize that the development of

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long-range goals and establishment of funding levels for any national activity must be preceded by extensive discussion and consultations among all the interested parties. Establishment of such goals for space science is imperative because of the long advance preparation time needed for these missions.

To date, there has been no explicit statement of intent from this Administration offering its view of the significance of the space program or its assessment of the relative priorities of space science within the total program. I trust, however, that the President's Budget Request may be taken as a fair indicator of the Administration's positive views

Our Board has operated on the premise that the conduct of space research remains a cardinal element of the space program as stated in the enabling legislation of the Space Act. The Board urges appreciation that long-range, balanced planning of

the entire program is required to maximize the return on and give guidance to science investigations, to focus the national industrial, technical, and scientific competence, and to make best use of the resources available. Fiscal considerations dictate that space science planning be conservative; our Board has been responsible in recognizing this reality. As a consequence, however, current strategies, designed to maintain an orderly, vigorous program, also constitute a minimum activity level, below which program coherence may become questionable. In the absence of a substantial commitment to agreed-upon goals, the strategies and related programs for space science can too easily become vulnerable to the vicissitudes of annual budgetary cycles. Strategies proposed by the Board are both broad-based and specific in terms of science goals and objectives and must be particularly conscious of the infrequent launch opportunities for certain planetary missions. Scientific strategies, however, can only be fulfilled by new flight mission opportunities which, in turn, are constrained by preparation both of planning and instruments which can consume a substantial portion of a

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decade We emphasize, therefore, that science strategies and mission planning are complementary efforts whose ultimate success and purpose are linked. We are doubtful that a coherent program can survive without a formal national, long-term commitment, in the absence of such commitment, the losses to science could be substantial and of national proportions.

I would like to turn now to the practical applications of space systems. The Space Applications Board of the National

Research Council is charged with helping to bridge the gap between space technology and the users of the services that space systems can provide. It consists of members of the aerospace community and of such potential user communities as those engaged in geological exploration, agriculture, education, water resource management, environmental conservation, and urban and state affairs. My comments are based in large part on the work of this Board over the last several years.

Communication

It is abundantly clear that space systems can provide services useful to man in his earthly activities. satellites are now an integral part of many domestic and international common carrier communication systems; NASA has essentially ceased to engage in satellite communications research related to the types of services that common carriers provide

If appropriate new technology can be developed and demonstrated, there appear to be promising possibilities for the use of satellites in the provision of certain public services such as search and rescue, hazard warning, position determination and health care delivery. Our ad hoc Committee on Satellite Communications, which included members from the common carrier communications industry, recognized that the private sector is unlikely to conduct the necessary research or to demonstrate the new technology that could help provide such services. The Committee recommended that NASA manage a program of research and technology for public service satellite

communications, including demonstration of the services, with
two provisos: first, that potential user agencies from
federal and state governments and from private organizations
where appropriate, be involved in the planning of the program
from its beginning; second, that from the beginning of any
work on such satellite systems, planning start for their orderly
transfer from NASA to other public agencies or to the private
sector, if and when they are successfully demonstrated.

Satellites have become an important part of weather monitor-
ing systems in this country and many others. In this field,
NASA and NOAA have developed an excellent cooperative relation-
ship. NASA continues to advance the technology while NOAA is
responsible for the operational satellites.

The transition from experimental to operational satellites, oth X.

was facilitated by the preexistence of suitable, capable
infrastructures -- in one case the common carrier communications
industry, in the other, the Weather Bureau which later became
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Satellites have also been proving their usefulness in a third area -- remote sensing of the earth's surface. The value of this capability will expand as measurement of surface temperatures becomes more precise Information derived from NASA's

experimental Landsats is today being widely used by the geological exploration industries as a tool in the search for minerals and petroleum. Landsat data are also being used for

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