    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 19 (Monday, May 16, 1994)]
    [Pages 1052-1053]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Message to the Congress Transmitting the Report on Aeronautics and Space

    May 10, 1994

    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 1993, 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 14 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 1993 brought numerous important changes and developments
    in U.S. aeronautics and space efforts. It included 7 Space Shuttle
    missions, 14 Government launches of Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELVs),
    and 4 commercial launches from Government facilities. Highlights of the
    Shuttle missions included the first in a series of flights of the U.S.
    Microgravity Payload that contained scientific and materials-processing
    experiments to be carried out in an environment of reduced gravity; the
    deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (a joint venture between
    the United States and Italy); the deployment of a Tracking and Data
    Relay Satellite; and, the second Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications
    and Science mission to study the composition of the Earth's atmosphere,
    ozone layer, and elements thought to be the cause of ozone depletion.
    The ELV missions carried a variety of payloads ranging from Global
    Positioning System satellites to those with classified missions.
        I also requested that a redesign of the Space Station be undertaken
    to reduce costs while retaining science-user capability and maintaining
    the program's international commitments. To this end, the new Space
    Station is based on a modular concept and will be built in stages.
    However, the new design

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    draws heavily on the previous Space Station Freedom investment by
    incorporating most of its hardware and systems. Also, ways are being
    studied to increase the Russian participation in the Space Station.
        The United States and Russia signed a Space Cooperation Agreement
    that called for a Russian cosmonaut to participate in a U.S. Space
    Shuttle mission and for the Space Shuttle to make at least one
    rendezvous with the Mir. On September 2, 1993, Vice President Albert
    Gore, Jr., and Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin signed a
    series of joint statements on cooperation in space, environmental
    observations/space science, commercial space launches, missile export
    controls, and aeronautical science.
        In aeronautics, efforts included the development of new technologies
    to improve performance, reduce costs, increase safety, and reduce engine
    noise. For example, engineers have been working to produce a new
    generation of environmentally compatible, economic aircraft that will
    lay the technological foundation for a next generation of aircraft that
    are superior to the products of other nations. Progress also continued
    on programs to increase airport capacity while at the same time
    improving flight safety.
        In the Earth sciences, a variety of programs across several agencies
    sought better understanding of global change and enhancement of the
    environment. While scientists discovered in late 1992 and early 1993,
    for instance, that global levels of protective ozone reached the lowest
    concentrations ever observed, they also could foresee an end to the
    decline in the ozone layer. Reduced use of ozone-destroying
    chlorofluorocarbons would allow ozone quantities to increase again about
    the year 2000 and gradually return to ``normal.''
        Thus, fiscal year 1993 was a successful one for the U.S. aeronautics
    and space programs. Efforts in both areas have contributed to advancing
    the Nation's scientific and technical knowledge and furthering an
    improved quality of life on Earth through greater knowledge, a more
    competitive economy, and a healthier environment.
                                                William J. Clinton
    The White House,
    May 10, 1994.