Jun 12 1987
From The Space Library
In a major organizational shift, NASA announced the adoption of new post-Challenger era commercial activity policies. The released decision memoranda, covering the new policies, were signed by Deputy Administrator Dale D. Myers. The new policies resulted from the report of the Commercialization of Space Review Task Force and covered such general activities as joint endeavor agreements, microgravity research, secondary payloads on the Space Shuttle, expendable launch vehicles, and commercial activities.
According to the new policies, the Office of Commercial Programs would henceforth determine, in coordination with concerned Headquarters offices, whether NASA should participate in any proposed joint program. Responsibility for programs utilizing the microgravity environment was transferred from the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology to the Office of Space Science and Applications. Secondary payload space would be carefully allocated by the Deputy Administrator and implemented by the Office of Space Flight to accomplish specific NASA objectives. To encourage and facilitate as much as possible the private domestic access to space, NASA's Office of Space Flight would contract private industry for launch of Expendable Launch Vehicles. Finally, the Office of Commercial Programs would, to the fullest extent possible, facilitate the utilization of space for commercial purposes. (NASA Decision Memorandum on Commercialization Policy, June 12/87; NASA Decision Memorandum on Responsibility for Programs Utilizing the Microgravity Environment, June 12/87; NASA Decision Memorandum on Secondary STS Payloads, June 12/87; NASA Decision Memorandum on Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV's) Policy, June 12/87; NASA Decision Memorandum on Commercialization Policy, June 12/87; LA Times, June 13/87)
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