DECLASSIFIED B
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This memorandum reiiner and reducer, in volmos, thq inf ormation -provided in my memorandum of Uay 3 with respect to the national space program. The in£ormat ion in oogmized into five' paragrephe correrponding to the five questions rained in the Prcrident's memorandm of April 9, 1963. 1. COEIPARISON OF PROCW. The. only definitive way we have found to compare the program of the lart a~nistratiohwith that of . the present one ir to compare the last loag range plan prepared by NASA under the Eisenhwer Adahirtratioo (January 1961). and the first long range plan prepared by NASA der the prerent adminiatration (January 1962). Cwprriroar of tho kfor Hireion Tuget Dater ' (Enclosure 1) and of the Budget Projectim (Enclorute 2) of thre two plam are attached. ~eithe;. of thise had Presidential. approval, and there is . doubt that President Eisenhower wer fully approved more of NhSA's . long range plan than a run-out of the iterne lucluded in hie FT 1962 ' budget request for $1.159 billion. A. comparison of accomplirbmentcr under the 1961 and 1962 plans, baeed on the aseumption that both plane were succerrful, wouid not be . meaningful lu the, light of current knowledge. For .em&le, U'e studies in February and March 1961 rhowed that the Apollo vehLcle aMi the related boostere., ae ptwfouely planned, could not meet the technical requiremente of the. medlunar Iandfng. Furthermore, by the time the 1962 plan was formulated,, there had been delay8 fa achieving milestoner under the 1961 plan which'nece~ritated.a later. achedullng'under the 1962 plan of certain mileetoner caomon to both plans. It general, the principal advances under the 1962 plan are 8s f6llowe: '. , a. The advancement of the medlunar hndiag fran 80me time aft= 1970 to the 1967-1970 parid la, of courre, the major fornard rtep, and i. rerplble for th principal incrsllre in the erpend%hne forart6 t. t. DECLASSIFIED b. A new launch vehicl'e, the Saturn 5, was introduced in the 1962 plan. hie booster vill have ffve time6 the payload capacity of the largeet booster in the 1961 plan. It wfll be,capable of supporting manned lunar landings whereae the largest booster previouely planned, the Saturn 2, would not. b c. The introduction of the Gemini program will significantly - advance the country's erpert'eace with manned orbital operatione. It introduces the concept of orbital rendezvous, nof~envisionedby the previoue plan. d, In the area of Space Sciencee, the i962 plan activated - the program for large orbital observatories: the ,geophysidl, solar, . and aetronomical obeervatories. Satme of these were only in the .planning stage, and others were emrbioned cn a %educed scale Ln the 1961 program. e. In order.to aseure pre-eminenqe in space aver en . extended period, it is cowidered essential to hest in research and advanced technology looking tward the future. The aumnted iad more carefully planned prograe nw in being givee the nation a signifFcrntly greater thrust toward a round technological bcee on which' to proceed with difficult apace exploration mirrio~. % f. In *the program of Applicatiofis, the lw orbit . connnunicatioha and weather eatellitee vauld have 'been achieved under . either plan. The 1962 plan, however, introduced the synchronous eetellite which holds, great prmise for the ultimate -coamunications system. ! . The NASA long range plan of ~an&ry1962 not only prwided for an acceleration of the lunar landing and booster development programs, but also for eubetantial increases in the space'science and ap61icationa activities and flights. The supplemental requests sent to. the Congress jn May of 1961 started many of the .project8 vhich were reflected in . 1 that plan. Encloeure 2 is a canpa'rat+ve tabulation shaving: (1) originally projected funding requirements of the January 1961 program, (2) uprard revision of these funding requirements prepared in April 1961, and (3) origimlly projected funding requiranents of the January 1962 plan. / In the spring 'of 1961, Congress was informed that the cost of the manned lunar. program (up to the f iret blandFng) would range between ,' $20 billion and $40 billion. Current '(Hap 1963) ertinutzr rhaw tbat thLb program will be iccaupli8hed at or near the $20 billion figure. Thie vtfncludu apprminutelp $2.5 billion in capital facilities such am large tart rtandr, latmching facilitler, .nd iavertmemt itam -2- c *. t!uc vill be reqxlret :a hild, test,. and fly the large boosters and spcecrait fix sn-..~i - a s?xc opera=ions.. These will have value over a long pcriod oP zi~.eas a zajor tutioiu? capability ,to operate in space. Enclosure 3 tabl;l-r;ccs by years :he currently estimated ~u'h-out of SASX's 1964 bud=ct ?lus funding estizutes for possible c,ew prograns at qn annual $6 bill l~nbutget level. The Appendix to Ecclosure 3 is 3 detalled report c~z:?aring accon?lis,hents, both planned and actual, under tha 1961 an& 1963 Iragrzxs in :he xajor areas of: Xanned Space Tiigb~,S?ace Sciences, Advanced Xesaarch and Technology, and Xppl icat ions. C 8 The capability of ;Icteozological satellite system to prevent iniilions of dollars of Iropcrty d-ge and loss of life by providing advance warn\ijlg of severe stoms has been derhonstrat@. - I '1n addition to providing infohation immediately useful in weather forecasting, Pe iacrezsed understanding of weather processes will cake possible better and longer range forecasttng to pernit better piamins in many areas of the nation's economy and perhaps may ulti- ixitely lead to ne~hodsof werther control ot modification. Comunicatlon -satellites 7rovide another 'immediate applicztion. Intercontinental co~anicatioasare grcwing so rapidly that the present planaed trxsoceanic r'acilit ies will not be 'capable of satisfying che need by 1965 or 1366. Comunicatim sztellites to provide increased worlcwide .comunfca~io~swill not uiily establish a new industry in itself, but wil resuit in new econoaies and patterns in trade through- out the world. & \ 1' l.!e can look forward ta navigatLon satellite systems which will provide substantizl Sezeiits and economies to the varGus transportation industries. ' We can alsa look forward Eo the use of satellites for the,' -collection of data an 3 global'bzsis. Such satellites could.:provide for the collection of data iron weather balloons,' oceanographic buoys, tLdal warning stations, and perhaps even chart the co-urses of wildlife. These. f pplkations will result Lit mediate economic ebenef it- to the nation but they are o3ly radz possible because of-the present understanding of basic science and technology which was painstakingly accumulated in the past, ' bb SCLENTLFIC KNOWLEDGE J ECecent history ehows clearly that advinces in fundamental understanding of natural phenomena-aa in the understanding of thee atom--produce major effects in the economic aphere, though these effects are not initially foreseen. Space exploration by means of space probes and satellites offers the opportunity to obtain fundamental understanding in four broad areas of current sciantific intereat: .. (I) the sun and its influence on the earth, including the nature of the interplhetairy space environment, ' (2) origin and nature of the solar system, (3) astronomy, and d (4) theoriginof life. E Scientific advance on the scale of the current space program must inevitably open new advances in technology end thrur new avenue8 of economic use. It is in tenoa of the broad, basic, scientif ic advance and the accompanying technological advance that the science of space will hve its greatest economic impact: Earth and Sun" The sun. is one of the most important objects for man to study. The sun is the majot source of energy in the salar system. %tcontrols the weathehon earth; supp6rts or disrupts comaunications depending' uponsolar activity; and determines the interplanetary environment, A major portion of the NASA effort iq directed toward a better under- . staading' o4 the sun and its influence on the earth. Observatorias above the earth's atmosphere make it possible to investigate the sun and its activity with a thoroughness not possible from the ground, The uitzaviolet, X-ray, radio, and infrared radiations are absorbed %the upper atmosphere.and control the properties of that region. They do not reach the groud but can be observed and measured from space platforme, They provide a great deal of new and very valuable information on the properties of the solar chromosphere and the corona; on the nature of sunspots; and on the processes which take place in solar flares, I Satellites and sounding rockets have shown that the upper - , atmosphere and ionoephere are erceedingly complex regions, nubject to ! gross and suddea cbangea, dependent on activity on tha nun. Large . 1 I- L temperzture changes occur between day and nigh$, and between sunspot maximum qd sunspot min+m, The compo.sition , ionization, temperature and the density are controlled by solar el!ec.kromagnetic and particle radiations, The atmosphere is important bewuse it comprises the source and substance of our everyday weath,er. The ionosphere is impor- tant because, it furnishes the means :by whikh radio waves may be reflected beyond' the horizon, thereby,making it ppscible to comunicate around the world. Correlated measurements.:with sounding rockets arid satellites of solar activity, the properties of the. upper atmosphere, and conditions . on the surface should determine the mechanism by which solar activity affects the surface weather on earth: . I. ' .. Y i Beyond the sensible amsphere of the earth, above about 500 Km, is a region of space whose properties are controlled by .the earth's magnetic field. This region is called the magnetosphere. The Van Allen Belts are contained within the magnetosphere. .. Satellite-borne Instruments plot out;the earth's magnetic field; measure the"radiati6n levels in the Van Allen belts; and record the particles whfch create the auroras in the far North and South.