DOCUMENT RESUME ED 265 053 SE 046 354 TITLE International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C. Office of Technology Assessment. REPORT NO OTA-ISC-239 PUB DATE Jul 85 NOTE 475p. AVAILABLE FROMSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Reports - Research /Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC19 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Communications Satellites; *Competition; Federal Legisla'.on; *Foreign Policy; *International Cooperation; *Policy; *Space Exploration; *Space Sciences; Technology; Transportation IDENTIFIERS *Remote Sensing ABSTRACT This report assesses the state of international competition in civilian space activitiln, explores UnitedStates civilian objectives in space, andsuggests alternative options for enhancing the overall U.S. position inspace technologies. It also investigated past, present, and projected internationalcooperative arrangements for space activities and examines their relationshipto competition in space. In keeping with the internationalfocus of this assessment, the report discusses the relationship betweenspace policy and foreign policy. It analyzes domesticpolicy issues only as they affect the U.S. ability to sell goods and servicesabroad or to cooperate effectively with other nations. It does notassess policies related to the military and intelligencespace programs except to the extent that they affect international civilian activitiesin space. The report consists of 10 chapters. Chapter1 is an executive summary; chapter 2 is an introduction. Topic areas in chapters3 to i0 are, respectively: internationalspace cooperation; competition; space transportation; satellite communications;remote sensing from space; materials processing in space; space science; and policy alternatives. Each of these chapters includesa table of contents. Five appendices are provided, which includethe text of Public Law 98-365 the "Land Remote-Sensing CommercializationAct of 1984" and Public Law 98-575 the "Commercial Space LaunchAct." (JN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by SCRSare the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** SE6 351 r p?9 153 , II Office of Technology Assessment Congressional Board of the 99th Congress TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman MORRIS K UDAl L, Arizona, Vice Chairman Senate House ORRIN C HATCH GEORGE E BROWN, JR Lah California CHARLES McC MATHIAS, JR JOHN D DINGELL Maryland Michigan EDWARD M KENNEDY CLARENCE E MILLER Massachusetts Ohio ERNEST F HOLLINGS COOPER EVANS South Carolina Iowa CLAIBORNE PELL DON SUNDQUIST Rhode Island Tennessee JOHN H GIBBONS (Nonvoting) Advisory Council WILLIAM JPERRY, Chairman CLAIRE T. DEDRICK CARL N. HODGES H&Q Technology Partners California Land Commission University of Arizona DAVID S POTTER, Vice Chairman JAMES C. FLETCHER CHARLES N. KIMBALL University of Pittsburgh Midwest Research Institute EARL BEISTLINE S DAVID FREEMAN RACHEL McCULLOUCH Univer:ity of Alaska Consultant University of Wisconsin CHARLES A BOWSHER GILBERT GUDE LEWIS THOMAS General Accounting Office Library of Congress Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Director JOHN H GIBBONS The Technology Assessment Board approves the release of this report The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the Board, OTA Advisory Council, or of individual members thereof. SE International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities OTA Reports are tne principal documentation 0"3 rmal assessment projects. These projects are approved in advance by the Technology Assessment Board. At the con- clusion of a project, the Board has the opportunity to review the report, but its release does not necessarily imply endorsement of the results by the Board or it_ individual members. ligkCONO. I'M OT THE UNITED STATES Once el Technology Assessment was p , t,, X,,,, . ..l Recommended Citation: International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities (Washington, DC. U.S Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTA-ISC-239, Jul,,, 1985) Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 84-601087 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 C.; Foreword The nature of global space activities has changed radically over the last decade. No longer are the United States and the Soviet Union the only countries capable of placing satellites into Earth orbit or sending interplanetary probes into deepspace. Europe and Japan now have substantial space programs and have developed commercially competitive space systems. Several newly industrialized countries are well along in building their own space programs. In addition, the U.S. private sector has recently expanded its interest and investment in space technology. As this report makes clear, these changes have strong policy implications for the U.S. Governmentspace program and for the U.S. private sector. This report presents the major findings of an assessment requested by the House Comm'ttee on Science and Technology and the Joint Economic Committee, on inter- national cooperation and competition in civilian space activities. The United States still enjoys a strong competitive position in most space technologies and in space science. There continues to be broad support for a long-term public commitment to civilian space activities. But precisely because of our achievementsand those of other space-far- ing nationsthe number of opportunities (and associated costs) that lie before us re- quire a thoughtful articulation of space goals and objectives.* Such goals shouldre- flect a broad public consensus, including, but not limited to, those with obvious stake holdings in the space program. Defining these goals may be essential if the United States hopes to maintain its position of leadership at a reasonable cost. The newly appointed National Commission on Space, which OTA proposed as one option inan earlier re- port (Civilian Space Policy and Applications), could help to focus the national debate. Maintaining a space program well integrated with other national objectives will also require attention to the quantity and quality of cooperative internationalspace projects. This report makes clear that the United States must cooperate in space in order to stay competitive. In the course of this assessment OTA completed two technical memoranda, pre- pared at the request of congressional committees. UNISPACE '82: A Context for Co- operation and Competition, was requested by the House Committee on Science and Technology and the Joint Economic Committee. Remote Sensing and the Private Sec- tor: Issues for Discussion was requested by the House Committee on Science and Tech- nology and the House Committee on Government Operations. Some material in this report is discussed in more detail in these technical memoranda. A list of these and other related OTA reports appears on the next page. In undertaking this assessment, OTA sought the contributions of a wide spectrum of knowledgeable and interested individuals. Some provided information, othersre- viewed drafts of the report. OTA gratefully acknowledges their contributions of time and intellectual effort. For an initial suggested list of such goals and objectives, see Civilian Space Stations and the U S Futurein Space (Washington, DC U S Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTASTI-241, November 1984) JOHN H. GIBBONS Director III 6 Related OTA Reports Civilian Space Civilian Space Stations and the U.S. Future in Space. OTA-STI-241, November 1984. GPO stock #052-003-00969-2. Civilian Space Policy and Applications. OTA-STI-177, June 1982. GPO stock #052-003-00878-5. Radiofrequency Use and Management: Impacts From the World Administrative Radio Conference of 1979. OTA-CIT-163, January 1982. GPO stock #052-003-00863-7. Solar Power Satellite Systems and Issues. OTA-E-144, August 1981. NTIS order #Pb 82-108 846. Technical Memoranda U.S.-Soviet Cooperation in Space. OTA-TM-STI-27 (in press). Remote Sensing and the Private Sector: Issues for Discussion. OTA-TM-ISC-20, March 1984. GPO stock #052-003-00945-5. Salyut: Soviet Steps Toward Permanent Human Presence in Space. OT A-TM-STI-14, December 1983. GPO stock #052-003-00937-4. UNISPACE '82: A Context for International Cooperation and Competition. OTA-TM-ISC-26, March 1983. GPO stock #052-003-00962-5. Space Science Research in the United States. OTA-TM-STI-19, September 1982. NTIS order #PB 83-166 512. Military Space "Anti-Satellite Weapons, Countermeasures, and Arms Control" (scheduled for publication summer 1985) "B ".stic Missile Defense Technologies" (scheduled for publication summer 1985). Arms Control in Space-Workshop Proceedings. OTA-BP-ISC-28, May 1984. GPO stock #052-003-00952-8. Directed Energy Missile Defense in Space-Background Paper. OTA-BP-ISC-26, April 1984. GPO stock #052-003-00948-0. International Competitiveness Commercial Biotechnology: An International Analysis. OTA-BA-218. January 1984. GPO stock #052-003-00939-1. An Assessment of Maritime Trade and Technology. OTA 0-220, October 1983. GPO stock #052-003-00931-5. U.S. Industrial Competitiveness-A Comparison of Steel, Electronics, and Automobiles. OTA-ISC-135, July 1981. NTIS order #PB 81-235 749. Technology and Steel Industry Competitiveness. OTA-M-122, June 1980. NTIS order #PB 80-208 200. International Competitiveness in Electronics. OTA-ISC-200. November 1983. GPO stock #052-003-00933-1. NOTE