Sep 19 1996
From The Space Library
The White House released a new national space policy, the first such directive since the Cold War. White House policy advisors constructed the plan over an 18-month period, amidst government-wide calls for tightening NASA's budget. The policy statement called for controlling costs by using private-sector industry to build, develop, and operate selected space technologies. The directive also advocated drawing together civilian and military space activities, and forging closer ties with foreign countries conducting space research. The Clinton administration reversed several decisions of President George H. W. Bush, most noticeably the former President's call to land an astronaut on Mars. Space experts called the initiative too costly and dangerous. Instead, the Clinton plan relied on robots to explore Mars and targeted the ISS as the hub of human-based space exploration, as well as enshrining the "faster, better, cheaper" mantra of NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin. Congress planned to hold a funding summit in the months following the release of the policy, to bring together key political, military, and science officials.
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