[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
[May 24, 1995]
[Pages 743-744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report on Aeronautics and Space
May 24, 1995

To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit this report on the Nation's achievements in 
aeronautics and space during fiscal year 1994, as required under section 
206 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 2476). Aeronautics and space activities involve 15 contributing 
departments and agencies of the Federal Government, as this report 
reflects, and the results of their ongoing research and development 
affect the Nation as a whole in a variety of ways.
    Fiscal year 1994 featured many important developments and changes in 
U.S. aeronautics and space efforts. It included 7 Space Shuttle missions 
successfully completed, 15 Government launches of Expendable Launch 
Vehicles (ELVs), and 4 commercial launches from Government facilities. 
Among notable developments in the ELV area were the launch of the Deep 
Space probe, Clementine, initial use of the Titan IV Centaur upper 
stage, and the first launch of the Taurus launch vehicle. Highlights of 
the Shuttle missions included the highly successful servicing mission 
for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which replaced several faulty 
parts and installed a sophisticated package of corrective optics to 
compensate for the spherical aberration in HST's primary mirror. Also, 
the flight of the Space Radar Laboratory began to provide information on 
environmental change, and a mission with a Russian astronaut, Sergei 
Krikalev, as a member of the crew signalled the beginning of a three-
phased cooperative program in space between Russia and the United 
States.
    In a year of tremendous accomplishments for the international Space 
Station, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) developed 
an initial set of specifications that included Russian elements as part 
of the design. Russia's agreeing to join the 12 original participating 
nations as a partner resulted in the expansion of the existing Shuttle/
Mir program into Phase I of the international Space Station program, 
which officially began with Sergei Krikalev's flight on the Shuttle. All 
of the partners held a successful systems design review in Texas in 
March, and in June Russia and the United States signed an interim 
agreement on the Space Station and a $400 million contract for Russian 
space hardware, services, and data. In August, the program completed a 
vehicle architecture review and in September, the Space Station

[[Page 744]]

Control Board ratified the recommendations it included. The redesigned 
Space Station costs $5 billion less than Space Station Freedom and still 
offers increased research capability and user flexibility.
    In aeronautics, activities included development of technologies to 
improve performance, increase safety, reduce engine noise and other 
environmental degradation, improve air traffic management, lower costs, 
and help American industry to be more competitive in the world market. 
For example, high-speed research continued during fiscal year 1994 to 
focus on resolving critical environmental issues and laying the 
technological foundation for an economical, next generation, High Speed 
Civil Transport (HSCT). In this connection, the United States reached 
agreement with Russia to use the Tu-144 supersonic transport as a 
testbed for HSCT development. In addition, efforts in advanced subsonics 
focused on reducing aircraft and engine noise levels, on development of 
wind shear sensing devices, and on creating technologies that will 
improve general aviation aircraft.
    In space science, astronomers using HST's revitalized optics 
discovered disks of protoplanetary dust orbiting stars in the Orion 
Nebula, suggesting that the formation of planets in the Milky Way and 
elsewhere may be relatively common. Also, HST's revelation of helium in 
distant constellations provides valuable information about the 
conditions in the universe during its initial evolution. The Spacelab 
Life Sciences-2, U.S. Microgravity Payload-2, and International 
Microgravity Laboratory-2 greatly increased our understanding of the 
role of gravity on biological, physical, and chemical processes. In 
biology, we learned that gravity affects the function of the neural 
connections between brain cells; this can have profound implications for 
rebuilding damaged brain cells due to strokes and disease. In Earth 
science, the Space Radar Laboratories-1 and -2, plus the Lidar In-Space 
Technology Experiment payload, used powerful radar and laser technology 
to penetrate cloud cover and map critical factors on a global scale. 
Also, the highly successful launch of the Clementine Deep Space Probe 
tested 23 advanced technologies for high-tech, lightweight missile 
defense. The relatively inexpensive, rapidly-built spacecraft 
constituted a major revolution in spacecraft management and design; it 
also contributed significantly to lunar studies by photographing 1.8 
million images of the surface of the Moon.
    Additionally, on May 5, 1994, the White House announced that the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department 
of Defense, and NASA were establishing a joint program to effect the 
convergence of civil and military polar-orbiting operational 
environmental satellite systems into a single operational program. Other 
White House announcements during the year included a policy for 
licensing U.S. firms by the Secretary of Commerce to operate private 
remote sensing systems and sell their images to domestic and foreign 
entities and a national space transportation policy that will sustain 
and revitalize U.S. space transportation capabilities by providing a 
coherent strategy for supporting and strengthening U.S. space launch 
capabilities to meet the growing needs of the civilian and national 
security sectors.
    Thus, Fiscal Year 1994 was a highly successful one for the U.S. 
aeronautics and space programs. Efforts in both areas have contributed 
significantly to furthering the Nation's scientific and technical 
knowledge, international cooperation, a healthier environment, and a 
more competitive economy.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,

May 24, 1995.