and buffet given by Mr. Daikichiro Mori, President of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences. Here old acquaintances were renewed and new ones made. Monday morning at 7:30 and on the following days there were breakfast briefings for speakers, each session at a separate white-clothed table. The Congress opened with a plenary ceremony on Monday at 9 a.m., complete with an orchestra in splendid red uniforms. Dr. Masao Yoshiki, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Congress, welcomed the participants on behalf of the host organizations, the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, the Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers of Japan, the Japanese Rocket Society, the Japan Astronautical Society and the Space Activities Promotion Council of Keidanren, and expressed pride in hosting the first congress in the 30 year history of the IAF to be held in the Orient. Roy Gibson, President of the IAF, issued a special welcome to the visitors from the Peoples’ Republic of China (their first time at an IAF Congress); called for a moment of silence in memory of academician Boris Petrov (USSR), a wise and friendly participant in many previous congresses who died suddenly a few weeks ago; urged active participation on all delegates; and encouraged attention to the job at hand irrespective of political considerations. Other speakers at the Opening Ceremony were Kimitomo Takahira, Vice-Minister for Science and Technology speaking for Ichiro Nakagawa, Minister of State for Science and Technology; Prof. Daikichiro Mori, President, Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences; and Dr. A. Padang, a representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations speaking for Hon. Peter Jankowitch, Chairman, COPUOS. After the opening ceremony, Michel Bignier, Manager of the Spacelab Program, European Space Agency (ESA), Paris, delivered the 11 th IAF Invited Lecture. His subject was "Economic Effects of Space Developments.” The effects, he said, were more readily determined in some instances than in others, as was evident from discussion at the International Conference in Strasburg last April 28-30, held jointly with the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council, ESA, and the Pasteur Institute of the University of Strasburg. The benefits of communication via satellite, he said, can be easily costed, but the benefits of TV broadcasting and weather forecasting with the aid of satellites are more difficult to analyze. Energy from space will undoubtedly supplement energy from fusion and from fast breeder reactors, but when and how much will probably not be clear for 10 years. The economic profit from technical fallout from space research and development is even more difficult to determine, as is the contribution of space activities to world peace. Activities in space have produced new management and financial techniques of great complexity. Characterizing himself as an optimist, Mr. Bignier looks forward to a period of innovative and peaceful cooperation in developing the resources of outer space. The Forum on the Economic Effects of Space Developments which followed Mr. Bignier’s Invited Lecture was chaired by Dr. Dietrich Koelle, MBB(FRG). It covered “Economic Effects of Communication Satellites” by Santiago Astrain, Director General of INTELSAT (Chile), “Economic Effects of Earth Observations from Space” by K.P. Heiss, President, Econ, Inc. (USA), which was presented by William A. Good, Earth Space Transport Systems Co. (USA), “Long-Range Economic Effects by Promotion of Science, Technology and Exports” by M. Curien, CNES (France) and “Space and Energy— Problems and Economics” by George E. Mueller, Science Development Corp. (USA).
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