    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [June 4, 1991]
    [Page 604]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting the Annual Report on Aeronautics
    and Space
    June 4, 1991

    To the Congress of the United States:
        It is with great pleasure that I transmit this report on the
    Nation's achievements in aeronautics and space during 1989 and 1990, as
    required under section 206 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of
    1958, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2476). Not only do aeronautics and space
    activities involve 14 contributing departments and agencies of the
    Federal Government, as represented in this report, but the results of
    this ongoing research and development affect the Nation as a whole.
        In 1989 and 1990 we successfully conducted eight space shuttle
    flights, deploying the Magellan Venus probe, the Galileo Jupiter probe,
    the Syncom IV Navy communications satellite, and the Hubble Space
    Telescope and retrieving the Long Duration Exposure Facility. The
    successful launch of 28 expendable launch vehicles put into orbit a wide
    variety of spacecraft including the Cosmic Background Explorer and the
    Roentgen satellite. In addition, many ongoing activities contributed to
    the period's achievements. The Voyager 2 encounter with Neptune capped
    off the highly successful 12-year Voyager program; the Tracking and Data
    Relay Satellite System became fully operational; the Defense Advanced
    Research Projects Agency sponsored a commercially developed first launch
    of the Pegasus Air-Launched Space Booster; the Department of Commerce
    continued studies on ozone, cloud occurrence, and snow cover--factors
    critical to our study of climate change; the Federal Aviation
    Administration strengthened aviation security by deploying the advanced
    Thermal Neutron Analysis system for detecting explosives in baggage; the
    Smithsonian Institution contributed greatly to the public's
    understanding of space research and conducted programs to improve pre-
    college science instruction; and we helped Soviet Armenians in need of
    medical assistance by establishing the Telemedicine Space Bridge between
    U.S. doctors and hospitals in earthquake-struck Armenia. These are just
    a few of the many accomplishments produced by our 1989 and 1990 budgets
    for space ($28.4 billion and $31.8 billion, respectively) and
    aeronautics ($10.6 billion and $11.4 billion, respectively).
        The years 1989 and 1990 were successful ones for the U.S.
    aeronautics and space programs. Not only did these lead to significant
    accomplishments in scientific knowledge, but also to improvements in the
    quality of life on Earth through benefits to the economy, to the
    environment, and in the defense of freedom. Our mission must be to
    provide stability in aeronautics and space leadership in an ever-
    changing international environment.

                                                                 George Bush

    The White House,
    June 4, 1991.