May 29 1978
From The Space Library
Av Wk reported that President Carter had signed a policy directive establishing a unified policy for all U.S. military and civilian space programs that would broaden the civilian role in both military and civilian areas. Civilian space programs had not previously benefited from military R&D because of security restrictions; the new policy would reduce restrictions on technology transfer from the military to the civilian sector. Civilian space projects and users of civilian space technology (such as the Dept. of Agriculture) that had not had access to data from military programs (such as imagery from U.S. photoreconnaissance spacecraft) would be able to use in the civilian sector data gathered by military spacecraft. Space programs on weather and climate, land use, and earth resources could now use military data where applicable.
The directive had named presidential science adviser Frank Press to head a U.S. space program coordinating committee of users and suppliers of space data. The committee would oversee development and coordination of both military and civilian programs. The policy also attempted to identify and reduce stresses among the four major U.S. space programs: intelligence-community programs using spacecraft such as Lockheed's "Big Bird" high-resolution reconnaissance satellite; DOD space programs using spacecraft such as the defense satellite communications system (Dscs) vehicles; civilian/government space programs using vehicles such as those flown by NASA and NOAA; and civilian/private program spacecraft users such as commercial communications-satellite operators, and possibly future commercial remote-sensing companies. (Av Wk, May 29/78, 23)
Av Wk reported that the Soviet Union had launched its 15th killer satellite test since 1968, less than a mo before the scheduled start of antisatellite-limitation talks with the U.S. The USSR had launched on May 19 an interceptor, Cosmos 1009, toward a target, Cosmos 967, launched Dec. 13, 1977, which had also been target for the USSR's 14th unsuccessful killer-satellite test Dec. 21, 1977. (Av Wk, May 29/78, 23)
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