[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.