Feb 18 1991

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Stanley G. Rosen, retired director of long-range planning for the U.S. Air Force Space Division in El Segundo, California, and vice president for public policy of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said the Persian Gulf War demonstrated the need for radar satellites. Such satellites could penetrate clouds and battlefield smoke as well as monitoring all troop movements and could possibly detect Scud missile launchers. (LA Times, Feb 18/91)

An editorial commended the guidelines for invigorating the commercial space industry developed by the National Space Council and signed by President George Bush. Although stating that the guidelines would be difficult to follow and tough to enforce, it found the government's definition of a commercial venture helpful as well as the expansion of cooperative programs between the government and the private sector in commercial space. (SP News, Feb 18-24/91; Av Wk, Feb 18/91)

William Lenoir, NASA Space Flight Chief, outlined the revised plans for the Space Station to the National Space Council on February 5. The revision would save $6 billion over five years and would cut in half the number of astronauts to live aboard as of September 1999. The new design would assemble the station in larger pieces on the ground, thus requiring 23 Space Shuttle flights to build instead of the original 34 flights. The plan is due to Congress on March 5 but may be extended to a later date. (SP News, Feb 18-24/91)

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered an independent engineering review of NASA's plans for the Earth Observing System to study global climate change. An Administration official said OMB wanted an assessment of the advisability of large, complex satellites and of the specific sensors and launch plans. (Av Wk, Feb 18/91)

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