US/Soviet Union Space Race

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Digital Library Collections This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections. Collection: Stucky, Edward: Files Folder Title: US/Soviet Space Race – AIAA Media Briefing Box: 12 To see more digitized collections visit: https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit: https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected] Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS 1010 16th STREET N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036 202/78S-0293 A/AA Media ' The US/Soviet Space Race: Today and Tomorrow July 15, National Press Club AMERIC~N INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS KIAA MEDIA BRIEFING JULY 15 1010 16th STREET N.W. WASHINGTON, O.C. 20036 202/78S-0293 Panelists: Ms. lv'.iarcia Smith Scierce Policy Research Division Congressional Research Service Library of congress Washington, D.C. (202) 28:7-7065 Dr. Burton Edelson NA.SA Headquarters Code AE-3 Washington, D.C. 20546 (202)453-8429 Mr. Nicholas Johnson Teledyne Brown Engineerir)3 1250 .Academy Park Loop Colorado Sprin;s, a:> 80910 (303) 574-7270 Mr. Charles walker M::Donnell Douglas Astronautics co. 1225 Jefferson Davis Hwy. tBOO Arlington, VA 22202 (703) 553-3814 Dr. Jerry Grey 1UAA 1633 Broadway New York, NY 10019 (212) 581-4300 BIOGRAPHY Marcia S. Saith Marcia Smith is a Specialist in Aerospace Policy f-0r the Congressional Research Service, a department of the Library of Congress, in Washington, D. C. At CRS, she serves as an adviser and consultant to the Members and committees of the U.S. Congress on matters concerning military and civilian space activities around the world, particularly Soviet space programs. She has been with CRS since 1975, first as an Analyst in Aerospace and Energy Systems, and since 1980 in her current position. She has also served as Section Head for Energy, Aerospace, and Transportation Technologies. Prom 1985-1986, Ms. Smith took a leave of absence in order to serve as Executive Director of the National Commission on Space. The Commission, created by Congress and appointed by the President, developed long term goals for the civilian space program. Its recommendations were published in the report "Pioneering the Space Frontier" which details proposed space activities through the year 2035. A graduate of Syracuse University, Ms. Smith is the author or co-author of over seventy reports and articles on space, nuclear energy, and telecommunications. Prior to joining CRS, she worked in the Washington office of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Ms. Smith is President of Women in Aerospace. She is Immediate Past President of the American Astronautical Society and serves on its Executive Committee. She is also a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, and an Associate Pellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). She is a member of AIAA's Public Policy Committee, International Activities Committee, and Space Systems Technical Committee, and has served as an AIAA Distinguished Lecturer since 1983. She is a Senior Member of the International Academy of Astronautics and a Life Member of the New York Academy of Sciences. She is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Institute of Space Law, the Washington Academy of Science, and Sigm~ Xi, the scientific research society. Ms. Smith is the daughter of Sherman K. Smith and the late Shirley (Schafer) Smith. Born on February 22, 1951 in Greenfield, Massachusetts, she now resides in Arlington, Virginia. The recipient of two Library of Congress Outstanding Performance Awards, she is listed in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in the East, American Men and Women of Science, and Jane's Who's Who in Aviation and Space. April 1987 MANNED SPACEFLIGHT AND LAUN:H VEHICLE'S Marcia Smith Sirx::e the Challenger tragedy, interest has been revived in the tra ditional rivalry between the United-'=States arrl Soviet Union in space activities, particularly those related to rranned spaceflight. Alth:>ugh the United States r5lla.ins ahead of the Soviets in many aspects of space, the Soviets clearly have an advantage in one specific area-the use of crews in Earth orbit. They also are developing nfM launch vehicles that in the future will give them the ability to launch very heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyorrl. Manned Spaceflight The Soviet lead in rranned space operations developed oot because of the Challel'Y3"er tragedy, but because of p:>licy decisions made in the U.S. iri. the mid seventies to launch no manned space missions between the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) and the first flight of the space shuttle in 1981. Dur.in; this six-year hiatus, the Soriets were redoubling their manned space effort, focusing on the use of space stations. The world's first space station, Salyut 1, had been launched by the soviets in 1971. The Soviet program, like any high risk venture, encountered its share of problems arxi tragedy, however. The first crew to stay on board Salyut 1 was killed during reentry. The next b.c Soviet space stations failed before they could be occupied. During this period, while the United States was larrling crEMs on the Moon and usin; the Skylab space station, the Soviet manned program was in serious trouble. This chan;ed as the decade progressed. By the tine the U. S • had terrporarily stopped its rna.nne:i flights, the Soviets had successfully launche:i two rcore Salyuts. In 1977, they launched Salyut 6, a secorrl generation space station, and_ ushered in a na; era for their rna.nne:i program. Salyut 6 had two operational docking ports that penn:i.tted resupply flights to bring food, fuel and other consumables to the crews, arrl therefore to lengthen the duration of Soviet manned missions. Salyut 7, a replacement for Salyut 6 launche:i in 1982, continued this trend, an:l in 1984, a U...0- rna.n crew on Salyut 7 set the existing duration record of 237 days. During their stays on space stations, the erews rot only performed wide-ranging experiments, but daronstrated on-orbit repair arrl rraintenance of the space stations. These activities continue today on the third-generation space station, Mir (Peace) , which has six dockill3' ports. The b.Q-man crew that took up residency on Mir in February 1987 is expected to set a n.fM duration record, airl has already proved its value by solvil'Y3" a problem en::ountered when the Soviets docked an x-ray astrophysics m::xiule, •Kvant, to the Mir carplex. With Mir, the Soviets have created a flexible, versatile laboratory in orbit. Modules outfitted for specific tasks such as rerrote sensing or materials processing can be docked at the various ports for different periods of time. As research direction.5 change, the m:xiules can be Smith/2 replaced. It is a "lCM-tech" approach to spaceflight-they still do oot have the technology evidenced in the U.S. shuttle system, for example but their lack of sophisticated Western techn:>logy has rot slowed their acccrrplishments. An irrportant point to rernanber is that this lead did not happen because of the current problems in the u .s. program. Even when the u .s. shuttle r~ flight, the United States will still be behind since the shuttle can remain in orbit for only short periods of time. Not until the United States has its CMn space station will it be able to catch up with the Soviets in the use of crews in Earth orbit. New launch Vehicles In addition to their continued success in manned space activities, the Soviets have been develop.in:1 new launch systems. After the intro duction of the Proton launch vehicle in 1965, the Soviets went through a long period of having no DEM launch vehicles. Attempts to develop a Saturn-V class vehicle in the late 1960s failed. Recently, however, the Soviets have introduced two DEM launch vehicles. One, called SL-X-16, is rot particularly large canpared to the Proton, but apparently uses new technology for its liquid oxygen/kerosene engines. Of rrcre interest is the Energ,ta launch vehicle tested on May 15, 1987-the ·long-awaited Saturn-V class vehicle. Once Energia is oper ational, the Soviets will have the capability to launch heavy payloads into Earth orbit and beyond, including their version of a space shuttle. Not only in Energia big, but it uses liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen fuel for its engines. While the United States, Europe and China have used this high efficiency fuel combination for years, the Soviets have only now introduced it into their laurx:::h vehicle systans. Energia has captured the imagination of Western space observers, but it should be borne in mirrl that the Soviets have taken this giant step only to arrive at a point where the United States stood 20 years ago. It should also be reme:m:,ered that the May 15 test was a failure the payload larrled in the Pacific Ocean instead of reaching orbit. Still, Energia eventually will give the Soviets a capability the U.S. ro longer has. Conclusion In these trying tirres for the U.S. space program, overreaction to the Soviet lead in manned space operations am the introduction of the new launch systems is a danger. The United States is still considerably ahead of the Soviets in basic space techn:>logy, and in specific aspects of space activities such as space science and applications. To maintain the proper perspective in assessing the relative positions of both countries-the "who's ahead" question--the entire history of both pro grams shOul.d be reviewed, not just the present situation.

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