breakthrough, but our rapidly advancing capabilities in economical space operations will make future space activities practical and economical, which are not competitive today. The security needs of our nation will demand continuing expansion of the scale and character of our ability to operate in space. The burgeoning use of space for communications, earth resources, navigation, and research calls for larger and more sophisticated space structures than we presently have. All of these trends, independent of an SPS program, will inexorably lead to new launch vehicles and propulsion systems for inter-orbit transportation, and to the construction of ever larger structures in space, and the establishment and operation of increasing numbers of semipermanent installations in both LEO and GEO. These are facts, not the dreams of a space buff. The privately owned and insured commercial satellites in space today already represent an investment of about one billion dollars. The SPS may be a natural evolution of our general social, economic and technical advance, with our increasing concern for environmental quality. If so, that adds another and more important dimension to the evaluation of the SPS. Let me conclude by admitting what you’ve probably surmised: I don’t know whether the country should proceed with an exploratory SPS development program over the next five years. Those of us on the NAS review committee have another year to conduct our review to better understand both the SPS and the alternative ways to meet the nation’s future needs for electric power. In our inquiries, we will draw on the best talent we can identify, wherever it may be, and we’ll take the broad national view. But don’t misinterpret my long list of issues and problems to be resolved as a sign of pessimism. The nation that carried out the herculean tasks of a global war in 44 months after Pearl Harbor, can accomplish vast and unprecedented tasks—and do them quickly. There were many more uncertainties in meeting Jack Kennedy’s goal of a safe lunar landing in the 1960s than we face today in an SPS program. Intelsat, Apollo-Soyuz, the Space-Shuttle/European Spacelab program and Land- sat all demonstrate our ability to organize effective international partnerships for global space systems. All we need is the vision, the resolve, and the leadership to solve our energy problems. I believe that America is getting tired of the defeatists, the alarmists, and the legalists whose indecision has led to our frustrating dependence on imported petroleum. Let’s lay out a sound technical program, reassert some national leadership, and once again give the world an abundance of safe, clean, reasonably-priced energy.
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