The Practical Values of Space Exploration - Report of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. - House of Representatives, Eighty-Sixth Congress, Second

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Title: The Practical Values of Space Exploration - Report of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. - House of Representatives, Eighty-Sixth Congress, Second - Session
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science and Astronautics.
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Practical Values of Space Exploration - Report of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. - House of Representatives, Eighty-Sixth Congress, Second - Session" ***

Union Calendar No. 928

86th Congress, 2d Session House Report No. 2091

THE PRACTICAL VALUES OF SPACE EXPLORATION

REPORT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
EIGHTY-SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION

PURSUANT TO

H. Res. 133

[Serial I]

July 5, 1960.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

58231° WASHINGTON: 1960

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS

OVERTON BROOKS, Louisiana, _Chairman_

John W. McCormack, Massachusetts
George P. Miller, California
Olin E. Teague, Texas
Victor L. Anfuso, New York
B. F. Sisk, California
Erwin Mitchell, Georgia
James M. Quigley, Pennsylvania
Leonard G. Wolf, Iowa
Joseph E. Karth, Minnesota
Ken Hechler, West Virginia
Emilio Q. Daddario, Connecticut
Walter H. Moeller, Ohio
David S. King, Utah
J. Edward Roush, Indiana
Thomas G. Morris, New Mexico
Joseph W. Martin, JR. Massachusetts
James G. Fulton, Pennsylvania
Gordon L. McDonough, California
J. Edgar Chenoweth, Colorado
Frank C. Osmers, JR. New Jersey
William K. Van Pelt, Wisconsin
A. D. Baumhart, JR. Ohio
Perkins Bass, New Hampshire
R. Walter Riehlman, New York

CHARLES F. DUCANDER, _Executive Director and Chief Counsel_
DR. CHARLES S. SHELDON II, _Technical Director_
SPENCER M. BERESFORD, _Special Counsel_
PHILIP B. YEAGER, _Special Consultant_
JOHN A. CARSTARPHEN, Jr., _Chief Clerk_
FRANK R. HAMMILL, Jr., _Counsel_
RAYMOND WILCOVE, _Staff Consultant_
RICHARD P. HINES, _Staff Consultant_
Lt. Col. FRANCIS J. DILLON, Jr., _Staff Consultant_
Comdr. HOWARD J. SILBERSTEIN, _Staff Consultant_

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
_Washington, D.C., July 1, 1960._

Hon. OVERTON BROOKS,
_Chairman, Committee on Science and Astronautics._

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I am forwarding herewith for your
consideration a staff study, "The Practical Values of Space
Exploration."

This study was undertaken pursuant to your request for information
covering the various utilities of the national space effort. The study
has been prepared by Philip B. Yeager and reviewed by other members of
the professional staff.

CHARLES F. DUCANDER,
_Executive Director and Chief Counsel._

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
_Washington, D.C., July 5, 1960._

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,
_Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C._

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: By direction of the Committee on Science and
Astronautics, I submit the following report on "The Practical Values of
Space Exploration" for the consideration of the 86th Congress.

OVERTON BROOKS, _Chairman_.

CONTENTS

Introduction 1

I. The unseen values 3
Some examples of the unexpected 3
The ultimate values 5
Steering a middle road 6
The time for space 7

II. National security values 9
The military uses 9
Our position in the international community 12
Space as a substitute for war 15

III. The economic values 17
U.S. expenditures on space 17
The spread of economic benefits 18
Creation of new industries 19
Research 19
New power sources 20
New water sources and uses 21
Noise and human engineering 22
High speed-light weight computers 22
Solid state physics 23
Economic alliances 24
Private enterprise in space 24
Jobs 27
Automation and disarmament 28

IV. Values for everyday living 31
Technological benefits 31
Food and agriculture 35
Communications 36
Weather prediction and modification 37
Health benefits 39
Education benefits 42
The demand 42

V. Long-range values 45
Trouble spots 45
Population 45
Water shortage 46
Soil erosion 46
Added leisure 47
Intensified nationalism 48
Limitations on space research 48
Fundamental knowledge about life 51
Psychological and spiritual values 52
Maturing of the race 53

THE PRACTICAL VALUES OF SPACE EXPLORATION

INTRODUCTION

This report has been undertaken for a special reason. It is to explain
to the taxpayer just why so many of his dollars are going into the
American effort to explore space, and to indicate what he can expect in
return which is of value to him.

Such an explanation, even after 2 years of relatively high-geared
activity in the space exploration field, appears to be warranted. There
is still a segment of the U.S. population which has little, if any,
notion of the values that the space program has for the average citizen.
To these people the expenditure of billions of dollars on missiles,
rockets, satellites, Moon probes, and other space activities remains
something of a mystery--particularly when so many other worthy projects
throughout the land may be slowed or stalled for lack of funds.

If, therefore, the practical value of the American space program is
being questioned, it is a question which needs to be answered.

It is interesting to note that the problem is not unique to the United
States. In the Soviet Union, which counts itself as the world's prime
investigator of space, there is likewise an element of citizenry which
finds itself puzzled over the U.S.S.R.'s penchant for the interplanetary
reaches.

"What do sputniks give to a person like me?" a Russian workman
complained in a letter which _Pravda_ published on its front page. "So
much money is spent on sputniks it makes people gasp. If there were no
sputniks the Government could cut the cost of cloth for an overcoat in
half and put a few electric flatirons in the stores. Rockets, rockets,
rockets. Who needs them now?"[1]

It goes without saying that the workman was severely chastised by the
Soviet newspaper, but his point was made.

No matter where taxpayers live they want to know--and are entitled to
know--what good a program of space exploration is to them.

During the 1960's it is expected that the U.S. Government will spend
anywhere from $30 to $50 billion on space exploration for all purposes,
civilian and military. It is the intent of this report to delineate in
lay language, and in terms which will be meaningful to those who have
not followed the American space program closely, the reasons for this
great investment and the probable returns.

[Illustration: FIGURE 1.--A single shot of the 8-barreled
Saturn of the future will cost millions of dollars, maybe tens of
millions. What makes it worthwhile for the taxpayer?]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Associated Press dispatch, dateline Moscow, June 12, 1960.

I. The Unseen Values

The United States has not embarked upon its formidable program of space
exploration in order to make or perpetuate a gigantic astronautic
boondoggle. There are good reasons, hard reasons for this program. But,
in essence, they all boil down to the fact that the program is expected
to produce a number of highly valuable payoffs. It not only is expected
to do so, it is doing so right now.

Many of the beneficial results can be identified.

Those already showing up are detailed in the sections of this report
which follow. They include the most urgent and precious of all
commodities--national security. Beyond that, they also include a
strengthened national economy, new jobs and job categories, better
living, fresh consumer goods, improved education, increased health,
stimulated business enterprise and a host of long-range values which may
ultimately make the immediate benefits pale into relative
insignificance.

Practical uses such as those just listed mean the taxpayer is more than
getting his money's worth from American space exploration--and getting a
sizable chunk of it today.

Nevertheless, if we can depend on the history of scientific adventure
and progress, on its consistent tendencies of the past, then we can be
reasonably sure that the greatest, finest benefits to come from our
ventures into space are yet unseen.

These are the unpredictable values, the ones which none of us has yet
thought of.

Inevitably they lag behind the basic research discoveries needed to make
them possible, and often the discoveries are slow to be put to work
after they are made. Investors, even governments, are human, and before
they invest in something they normally want to know: What good is it?

We can be sure that many American taxpayers of the future will be asking
"what good is it?" in regard to various phases of the space program.

There was an occasion when the great Scottish physicist, James Clerk
Maxwell, was asked this question concerning one of his classic
discoveries in electromagnetism. Maxwell replied: "What good is a baby?"

Now, as then, it takes time for new knowledge to develop and become
useful after its conception and birth.

SOME EXAMPLES OF THE UNEXPECTED

A graphic illustration of "unseen" benefits in regard to atomic energy
has been expressed by an experienced researcher in this way:

I remember a conversation I had with one of our nuclear scientists
when I was a member of the Weapons Systems Evaluations Group almost
10 years ago. We were talking about the possible peaceful
applications of fission. We really could think of little that
could be done with it other than making fissionable material into a
form of destructive power. There had been some discussion about
harnessing the power of fission, but this seemed to us to be quite
remote. It seemed difficult to conceive of the atomic bomb as
anything but sheer power used for destructive purposes. Yet today
the products of fission applied to peaceful uses are many. The use
of isotopes in industry, medicine, agriculture are well known. Food
irradiation, nuclear power reactors, now reactors for shipboard
use, are with us, and it is hardly the beginning. I frequently ask
myself, of late, what 10 years from now will be the commercial,
shall we call it, applications of our missile and rocket
programs.[2]

There are innumerable examples of the way in which invention or
discovery, or sometimes just simple human curiosity, result in useful
payoff. And frequently no one suspects the direction the payoff finally
takes. The point, of course, is that _any_ knowledge eventually pays
dividends. The things we learn from our national space program will
produce benefits in ways entirely unrelated to missiles or
interplanetary travel. (See secs. III and IV.) The reverse is also true;
knowledge gained in areas quite remote from outer space can have genuine
value for the advance of space exploration.

Investigation into the skin of a fish provides a good case in point.

A German inventor who migrated to California after World War II had long
been interested in ways to reduce the drag of friction produced by air
or water on the surface of objects passing through them. One day, while
watching a group of porpoises cavort past a speeding ship with the
greatest of ease, it occurred to him that the skin of these animals, if
closely studied, might shed light on ways of cutting surface friction.
It was many years before the inventor was able to enlist the aid of
aquarium managers in securing porpoise skins for study. In 1955,
however, he obtained the necessary skins and found that dolphins, in
fact, owe much of their great speed to a unique skin which markedly
reduces the effect of turbulence against it. From this knowledge has
come the recent development of a diaphragm-damping fluid surface which
has real potential not only for underwater high-speed bodies, such as
submarines, torpedoes and underwater missiles, but for any vehicle where
fast-moving gases or fluids may cause drag.[3]

The implications of this knowledge for satellites near Earth or for
reentering spacecraft are obvious.

Sometimes a reverse twist in reasoning by a speculative mind will result
in enormous practical utility.

In Cambridge, Mass., a sanitary engineer teaching at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology began to wonder about the principles of
adhesion--why things stick to each other. Do they only stick together
because some sticky substance is holding them, or are there other
reasons? "If a person is sick," he asked himself, "is it because a cause
of sickness is present or because a cause of health is absent? We now
know that in infectious diseases the first alternative is true; the
patient is ill because he harbors pathogenic germs. The opposite case
prevails in deficiency diseases, where necessary vitamins are absent
from food and illness is brought about by this absence. To which of the
classes does adhesion belong? When we cannot produce a dependable bond,
are we dealing with the lack of some adhesive force or with existence of
an obstacle to sticking?"

Operating on the theory that adhesion might result not only from the
presence of a sticky agent but from the removal of all impediments to
sticking, this scientist has now managed to produce strong adhesion
between the least sticky of substances--polyethylene plastics. He has
done it by studying the molecular structure of polyethylenes and
removing all impurities which normally find their way into the
manufacture of such material. The next step: "We hope to prepare
adhesive joints in which a noble gas acts as an adhesive. Noble gases
are the least active substances known to chemistry; if they can adhere,
it is clear that no specific forces are needed for adhesiveness."[4]

No great imagination is required to perceive the meaning which this new
knowledge, if proved out, will have for our everyday lives--to say
nothing of its usefulness in the making of astronautic equipment.

THE ULTIMATE VALUES

In any event, it is apparent that where research is concerned--and
especially space research with its broad scale of inquiry--we cannot
always see the value of scientific endeavor on the basis of its
beginning. We cannot always account for what we have purchased with each
research dollar.

The Government stated this proposition when it first undertook to put
the space program on a priority basis:

Scientific research has never been amenable to rigorous cost
accounting in advance. Nor, for that matter, has exploration of any
sort. But if we have learned one lesson, it is that research and
exploration have a remarkable way of paying off--quite apart from
the fact that they demonstrate that man is alive and insatiably
curious. And we all feel richer for knowing what explorers and
scientists have learned about the universe in which we live.[5]

In this statement there is political support for what the historian, the
anthropologist, the psychologist consider to be established fact--that
some innate force in the human being makes him _know_, whatever his
formal beliefs or whatever his unconscious philosophy, that he _must_
progress. Progress is the core of his destiny.

This is a concept which, in connection with space exploration, has been
recognized for many years. One of the earliest and most perceptive of
the space "buffs" stated it before the British Interplanetary Society in
1946 in these words: "* * * our civilization is no more than the sum of
all the dreams that earlier ages have brought to fulfillment. And so it
must always be, for if men cease to dream, if they turn their backs upon
the wonder of the universe, the story of our race will be coming to an
end".[6]

[Illustration: FIGURE 2.--In the years immediately ahead, the
orbiting observatory or the manned satellite will uncover crucial
information about the nature of the universe.]

STEERING A MIDDLE ROAD

In any endeavor which is as futuristic as space exploration it is not
difficult to become lost in the land of the starry-eyed prognosticators.
Conversely, it is also easy to find oneself lining up with the debunkers
and the champions of the status quo, for their arguments and views give
the impression of being hard-headed, sensible.

If one must err in either direction, however, it is probably safer,
where space is concerned, to err in the direction of the enthusiasts.
This is because (and subsequent parts of this report will show it) the
Nation cannot afford not to be in the vanguard of the space explorers.

Events today move with facility and lightning rapidity. Today, more than
ever, time is on the side of the expeditious. We can no longer take the
risk of giving much support to the scoffers--to that breed of
unimaginative souls who thought Robert Fulton was a fool for harnessing
a paddlewheel to a boiler, who thought Henry Ford was a fool for putting
an internal combustion engine on wheels, who thought Samuel Langley was
a fool for designing a contraption to fly through the air.

There are always those who will say it cannot be done. Even in this era
of sophisticated flight there have been those who said the sound barrier
would never be broken. It was. Others said later that space vehicles
would never get through the heat barrier. They have. Now, some say men
will never overcome the radiation barrier in space. But we can be sure
they will.

It is undoubtedly wise for the layman, in terms of the benefits he can
expect from the space program in the foreseeable future, to steer a
reasonable course between the two extremes. Yet one cannot help
remembering that the secret of taking practical energy from the atom, a
secret which the human race had been trying to learn for thousands of
years, was accomplished in less than a decade from the moment when men
first determined that it was possible to split an atom. It is difficult
to forget that even after World War II some of our most respected
scientists sold short the idea of developing long-range missiles.
Impractical, they said; visionary. But 6 years after the United States
went to work seriously on missiles, an operational ICBM with a
9,000-mile range was an accomplished fact.

THE TIME FOR SPACE

All of the glowing predictions being made on behalf of space exploration
will not be here tomorrow or the next day. Yet this seems less important
than that we recognize the significance of our moment of history.

We may think of that moment as a new age--the age of space and the
atom--to follow the historic ages of stone, bronze, and iron. We may
think of it in terms of theories, of succeeding from those of Copernicus
to those of Newton and thence to Freud and now Einstein. We may think of
our time as the time of exploiting the new fourth state of matter:
plasma, or the ion. Or we may think of it in terms of revolutions, as
passing from the industrial cycle of steam through the railroad-steel
cycle, through the electricity-automobile cycle, into the burgeoning
technological revolution of today.

However we think of it, it is a dawning period and one which--in its
scope and potential--promises to dwarf much of what has gone before.
Those who have given careful thought to the matter are convinced that
while some caution is in order, the new era is not one to be approached
with timidity, inhibited imagination or too much convention. Neither is
there any point in trying to hold off the tempo of this oncoming age or,
in any other way, to evade it.

Mark Twain once listened to the complaints of an old riverboat pilot who
was having trouble making the switch from sail to steam. The old pilot
wanted no part of the newfangled steam contraptions. "Maybe so," replied
Twain, "but when it's steamboat time, you steam."[7]

Today is space time and man is going to explore it.

[Illustration: FIGURE 3.--The versatile Atlas can be used
either for launching man into space or to carry a nuclear warhead as far
as 9,000 miles.]

FOOTNOTES:

[2] Gavin, Lt. Gen. James M., U.S. Army (retired), speech to the
American Rocket Society, New York City, Nov. 19, 1958.

[3] Kramer, Max O., "The Dolphins' Secret," New Scientist, May 5, 1960,
pp. 1118-1120.

[4] Bikerman, Dr. Jacob J., reported in New Scientist, Mar. 3, 1960, p.
535.

[5] "Introduction to Outer Space," a statement by the President, the
White House, Mar. 26, 1958.

[6] Clarke, Arthur C., "The Challenge of the Spaceships," Harper &
Bros., New York, 1955, p. 15.

[7] Related by T. Keith Glennan, Administrator, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, in an address before the Worcester (Mass.)
Economic Club, Feb. 15, 1960.

II. NATIONAL SECURITY VALUES

There is no longer doubt that space exploration holds genuine
significance for the security and well-being of the United States as a
nation.

It does so in at least three ways. One results from the uses which our
Armed Forces can make of the knowledge gained from space exploration. A
second results from the influence and prestige which America can exert
within the world community because of her prowess in space exploration.
A third results from the possibility that space exploration, eventually,
may prove so immense and important a challenge that it will channel the
prime energies of powerful nations toward its own end and thus reduce
the current emphasis on developing means of destruction.

The first two values definitely exist. The third seems to be a
reasonable hope.

THE MILITARY USES

From the beginning it has been recognized that space exploration, the
research connected therewith, and the ability to operate therein is of
more than passing interest to the military.

Congress recognized the fact when it passed the National Aeronautics and
Space Act of 1958 and directed that "activities peculiar to or primarily
associated with the development of weapons systems, military operations,
or the defense of the United States * * * shall be the responsibility
of, and shall be directed by, the Department of Defense."[8] In the
amendments to the Space Act proposed in 1960, this directive was
strengthened: "The Department of Defense shall undertake such activities
in space, and such research and development connected therewith, as may
be necessary for the defense of the United States."[9]

It is possible to argue, and indeed it has been argued, that ballistic
missiles such as IRBM's and ICBM's are not really "space" weapons, that
they are simply an extension of the traditional art of artillery. For
the purposes of this report, however, the argument appears to be largely
a semantic one. Such missiles do traverse space, they are guided through
space, and they employ the same engines and principles which are
presently used for purposes of scientific space exploration. While more
advanced "space" weapons may evolve in the future, the missile as we
know it today cannot very well be divorced from our thinking about space
and its practical uses.

Going on this assumption, and casting an eye in the direction of the
Iron Curtain, it is obvious that the Soviet Union is going all-out to
exploit space for military purposes.

Military men have known for years that the tremendously powerful booster
which the Soviets have been using to launch their massive sputniks was
originally designed to carry the primitive heavy version of the A-bomb
across continents.

If there was ever doubt of the extent to which the Soviets intend to
make space a selected medium for military purposes it was erased when
Premier Khrushchev made his address to the Supreme Soviet early in 1960.
He commented in part:

Our state has at its disposal powerful rocket equipment. The
military air force and navy have lost their previous importance in
view of the modern development of military equipment. This type of
armament is not being reduced but replaced. Almost the entire
military air force is being replaced by rocket equipment. We have
by now sharply cut, and it seems will continue sharply to cut and
even discontinue the manufacture of bombers and other obsolete
equipment. In the navy, the submarine fleet assumes great
importance, while surface ships can no longer play the part they
once did. In our country the armed forces have been to a
considerable extent transferred to rocket and nuclear arms. These
arms are being perfected and will continue to be perfected until
they are banned.[10]

While it is difficult to assess the actual extent of the Soviet
preoccupation with missiles, it has been reported that the Russians are
building upward of 100 IRBM and ICBM bases to be manned by about 200,000
men. Most of these, at least the intermediate range bases, are said to
be along Russia's Baltic coast, in East Germany, in the southern Ukraine
and in the Carpathian Mountains.[11]

In any event, the space age is clearly "here" so far as the military are
concerned, and U.S. forces--particularly since the development of the
much lighter atomic warheads--have been likewise diligent in their space
efforts. This is because many military minds are now agreed that:

We are moving inevitably into a time of astropower. We face a
threat beyond imagination, should events ever lead to open conflict
in a world of hypersonic velocities and a raging atom chained as
our slave. We must be strong, we must be able to change to meet
change. What may come against our beloved America will not be
signaled by one light from the North Church steeple, if they come
by land, or two, if they come by sea. Never again. They will come
through space, and their light of warning will be the blinding
terror of a thermonuclear fireball.[12]

It is important to note, in connection with military matters, that pure
rocket power, is not the only avenue to success in space use. The
American Atlas missile, for example, which can carry a nuclear warhead
and which operates on considerably less thrust than the powerful Soviet
boosters thus far demonstrated, has nevertheless shown the capability of
negotiating a 9,000-mile trek and landing in the target area. This is
about 1,500 miles farther than any Soviet shots revealed to the public
in the 2-1/2-year period following the first sputnik. It is also a
sufficient range to permit reaching almost any likely target on the
globe.

From the military point of view, the meaning thus brought out is that
sophistication of missiles together with reliability and ease of
handling is more important than pure power.

When we begin to consider both the civil and military aspects of space
use in the decades ahead, however, rocket power acquires fresh
importance. It is, as one expert says, "the key to space supremacy."[13]
Not only is much heavier thrust required for ventures farther out into
space, but probably thrust developed by different means as well, such as
atom, ion, or even photon power.

This suggests the possibilities of weapons which today are considered to
be "way out" or "blue sky"--in short, farfetched. Yet they include the
ideas of men with solid scientific training as well as vision. For
example, Germany's great rocket pioneer, Prof. Hermann Oberth, "has
proposed that a giant mirror in space (some 60 miles in diameter) could
be used militarily to burn an enemy country on Earth. For peaceful
purposes, however, such a space mirror could be used to melt icebergs
and alter temperatures."[14] Another reputable German scientist who has
been working for a number of years on photon (electromagnetic ray) power
as a source of propulsion, declares that if such power is possible so is
"the idea of a 'death ray,' a weapon beam which burns or melts targets,
such as enemy missiles, on which it is trained. The idea has been
familiar in science fiction for a long time and has been scorned often
enough. Yet, if the photon rocket is possible so is the ray gun."[15]

Still another proposal, one made to the Congress, involves use of the
Moon as a military base. "It could, at some future date, be used as a
secure base to deter aggression. Lunar launching sites, perhaps located
on the far side of the Moon, which could never be viewed directly from
the Earth, could launch missiles earthward. They could be guided
accurately during flight and to impact, and thus might serve peaceful
ends by deterring any would-be aggressor."[16]

In spite of the fact that ideas such as these are being sponsored by
competent and responsible scientists, other scientists equally competent
and responsible sometimes cry them down as impractical, impossible or
even childish. One engineer, for instance, describes maneuverable manned
space vehicles as having "no military value," bases on the Moon as
having no military or communications use, and the idea of high velocity
photon-power for space travel as "a fantasy strictly for immature
science fiction." He also characterizes the reconnaissance satellite,
which U.S. military authorities have long since programmed and even
launched, as being "definitely submarginal * * *. A fraction of the cost
of a reconnaissance satellite could accomplish wonders in conventional
information gathering."[17]

Controversies such as these are difficult for the person who is neither
a scientist nor a military expert to judge. One is inclined to recall,
though, the treatment received by General Billy Mitchell for his
devotion to nonconventional bombing concepts; the fact that the utility
of the rocket as developed by America's pioneer, Dr. Robert H. Goddard,
was generally ignored during World War II; the fact that it took a
personal letter from Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt to get the
Manhattan Project underway.

Yet today the bomber, the missile, and the nuclear weapon form the
backbone of our military posture.

In other words, history seems to support the proposition that no matter
how remote or unlikely new discoveries and approaches may first appear,
the military eventually finds a way to use them.

Will it be any different with space exploration?

OUR POSITION IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Like the military values of space research, the practical value of space
exploration in terms of world prestige has also been acknowledged almost
from the beginning of the satellite era.

The White House, in its initial statement on the national space program,
declared:

It is useful to distinguish among (the) factors which give
importance, urgency, and inevitability to the advancement of space
technology (one of which) is the factor of national prestige. To be
strong and bold in space technology will enhance the prestige of
the United States among the peoples of the world and create added
confidence in our scientific, technological, industrial, and
military strength.[18]

Only recently, however, has the full impact and meaning of this phase of
our national space program come to be widely recognized. It has been
stated, perhaps in its most forceful and succinct form, by an American
official in a unique position to know. The Director of the U.S.
Information Agency, part of whose job is to keep track of the esteem in
which America is held abroad, has told Congress:

Our space program may be considered as a measure of our vitality
and our ability to compete with a formidable rival and as a
criterion of our ability to maintain technological eminence worthy
of emulation by other peoples.[19]

This element of space exploration takes on particular significance in
light of the current international struggle to influence the minds of
men, in light of the rising tide of nationalism throughout the world,
and in light of the intensification of the cold war as demonstrated by
the now-famous U-2 incident and the hardening attitude of oriental
communism.

In the words of an influential newspaper:

Wholly apart from the intellectual compulsions that now drive man
to move higher and higher into the high heavens, it seems clear
that our country can be niggardly in this field only at the risk of
being completely and forever outclassed by Russia--a gamble that
could have the most fearful political, economic, and military
consequences.[20]

Incidentally, there is another prestige factor to be considered. This is
what might be called the chain-reaction factor: the likelihood that
technological preeminence in the space field will attract top talent
from other parts of the world to the banner of the country which
develops it, and thus constantly nourish and replenish the efforts of
that country. It is a consideration which has not received general
attention, although it has been discussed before some of the world's
leading space scientists.[21]

Here again, as with the military situation, the Soviets are making every
effort to exploit their dexterity in space. They are pursuing the
prestige gambit directly and indirectly. In the first category, for
example, they give top priority to space exhibits in important public
forums--as their duplicate sputniks strategically placed at the world's
fair and the United Nations attest. Premier Khrushchev's delight in
making gifts to foreigners of miniature Soviet pennants similar to that
carried in Lunik II--which hit the Moon--is another instance.[22]

The indirect drive for prestige via space technology is far more
important. It has been described by a congressional committee as
follows:

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the Soviet Union in
the last several years has demonstrated a great skill in
coordinating its progress in missilery, its success in space
missions, and its foreign policy and world image. Shots seem to
have been timed to maximize the effects of visits of Soviet leaders
and to punctuate Soviet statements and positions in international
negotiations. This is not to equate their space activities with
hollow propaganda. Empty claims do not have a positive effect for
long. Nor is there any firm evidence that it has been possible for
political policymakers to call their shots at times inconsistent
with good scientific and technical needs. The conclusion is rather
that the many elements of scientific, technical, military,
political, and psychological policy are all weighed, and tests
which make a full contribution to such a combined strategy are
carried out and supported with appropriate publicity.[23]

There is also evidence that scientific endeavor by the Russians for
prestige purposes is having repercussions on internal policy. Great
emphasis is currently being placed on the demonstrable usefulness of
scientific effort--to the extent that Soviet colleges, research
institutions, examining boards, and academies of science have been
directed to be more exacting in conferring scientific degrees and
titles. Newness and usefulness are requisite, but, at the same time,
degrees may now be awarded for other than dissertations; inventions and
textbooks of major importance may also earn a degree for their
authors.[24]

Within the prestige context, it is true that the United States must
labor under certain handicaps because of the nature of its democratic
system.

No effort is made in the American space program to hide the failures
which result from its highly complex character. Our burnups, misfires,
explosions, fizzles, and lost or wayward vehicles are well publicized.
Those of the Soviet Union rarely are. Even though most nations are well
aware that the Russians must be having their troubles, too, the
appearance of uniform success fostered by the U.S.S.R. inevitably
contributes to an image of scientific superiority. In addition, the
Soviets have developed a habit of striving for spectacular "firsts,"
most of which undoubtedly are undertaken almost as much for prestige
reasons as for scientific ones.

[Illustration: FIGURE 4.--Symbolic of the American effort in
space is this Thor-Able rocket, shown here launching the Tiros weather
satellite into a near-perfect orbit. This same vehicle, which launched
the record-breaking 23 million-mile communication probe--Pioneer V--has
contributed enormously to U.S. prestige abroad.]

Still, the United States has not done badly from the prestige angle. So
far as the world's scientific fraternity is concerned, it may even be
well in the lead.

In the first 30 or so months following the opening of the space age, as
signaled by the launching of Sputnik I in October 1957, the United
States put 21 satellites into orbit out of 42 attempts. Two out of five
deep-space probes were successful. The degree of success for all major
launchings ran better than 50 percent. The American effort has been
based on a broad scope of inquiry and includes long-range
communications, weather reporting, navigation and surveillance vehicles,
as well as information-gathering satellites.

During the same period the Soviets launched four Earth satellites, one
deep-space probe, one lunar-impact probe and one satellite into a much
elongated Earth orbit which circled and photographed the Moon. Most of
their vehicles have been substantially heavier than those launched by
the United States, although complete information on their scientific
purposes and the result obtained has never been disclosed.

The world political value of such programs cannot be discounted. To the
extent that the welfare of the United States depends upon its stature in
the eyes of the rest of the world (which is believed considerable) and
to the extent that the scientific capability of the United States
influences such stature (which is also believed considerable) our space
venture has very marked practical utility. It may even mean the
difference between freedom and dictatorship, between survival and
oblivion.

SPACE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR WAR

A natural outgrowth of the military and prestige facets of space
exploration is the question of whether this activity, in time, will
replace the forces which have historically driven nations into armed
conflict.

Any number of social scientists and historians have speculated that this
might occur. The theory is that the conquest of space may prove to be
the moral equivalent of war by substituting for certain material and
psychological needs usually supplied through war; that the absorption of
energies, resources, imagination, and aggressiveness in pursuit of the
space adventure may become an effective way of maintaining peace.

Put another way, nations might become "extroverted" to the point where
their urge to overcome the unknown would dwarf their historic desires
for power, wealth, and recognition--attributes which have so often led
to war in the past.

The fact that the United Nations, late in 1959, agreed to set up a
permanent Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space attests to the
hopes and potential of such a development.

Of course, whether this condition will actually develop is anybody's
guess. But in a world where brute force is becoming increasingly
dangerous and catastrophic, the bare possibility of such a result should
not be ignored by those who may be contemplating the values of space
exploration. It could be the highest value of them all.

[Illustration: FIGURE 5.--Today's assembly lines for
automobiles and aircraft are being supplemented by the growing
astronautics industry, here shown turning out capsules for manned space
flight.]

FOOTNOTES:

[8] Public Law 85-568, 85th Cong.

[9] H. Rept. 1633, 86th Cong., 2d sess., p. 6.

[10] Speech to the Supreme Soviet, Jan. 14, 1960.

[11] Associated Press dispatch, dateline London, Dec. 2, 1959.

[12] Scott, Brig. Gen. Robert L., USAF (retired), Space Age, February
1959, p. 63.

[13] Ostrander, Maj. Gen. Don R., USAF, before the American Rocket
Society, Los Angeles, May 10, 1960.

[14] Cox, Donald and Stoiko, Michael, Spacepower, John C. Winston Co.,
Philadelphia, 1958, p. 16.

[15] Saenger, Dr. Eugen, New Scientist, Sept. 10, 1959, p. 383.

[16] Boushey, Brig. Gen. H. A., USAF, Hearings before the House Select
Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, Apr. 23, 1958.

[17] Pierce, Dr. J. R., "The Dream World of Space," Industrial Research,
December 1959, p. 58.

[18] 5 supra.

[19] Allen, George V, testimony before the House Committee on Science
and Astronautics, Jan. 22, 1960.

[20] Editorial in the Washington Evening Star, Apr. 4, 1960.

[21] Remarks of Hon. Aubrey Jones, Minister of Supply, to the
International Astronautical Federation, London, Sept. 1, 1959.

[22] Associated Press dispatch, dateline Rangoon, Feb. 18, 1960.

[23] "Space, Missiles, and the Nation," report of the House Committee on
Science and Astronautics, May 18, 1960, p. 53.

[24] The New Scientist, Mar. 3, 1960, p. 547.

III. THE ECONOMIC VALUES

We in the United States believe that we have the world's highest
standard of living. Our current wealth, prosperity, consumer goods and
gross national product are at a peak hitherto unreached by any country.

Nevertheless, economists who see the steady preponderant outflow of
goods and capital from the United States and who study the rising rate
of economic capability in other countries can find little room for
complacence in the present status of things. They are also well aware of
the Soviet Union's announced intent of beating the United States at its
own game: economic expansion.

Military historians are likewise aware that even strong economies, when
they become static, do not guarantee safety. On the contrary, they seem
likely to induce a dangerous national apathy.

This syndrome is familiar in history. Carthage suffered from it.
Carthage enjoyed enormous prosperity and was flourishing when she
was destroyed by her Roman competitor. Much later, Rome had a gross
national product without precedence. Her wealth and splendor were
unsurpassed when the Vandals and Visigoths began their onslaughts.
Neither Rome's great engineering skills, its architectural
grandeur, its great laws, nor, in the last analysis, its gross
national product, could prevail against the barbarians. Their GNP
was negligible; nevertheless they ransacked the mighty Roman
Empire.

The gross national product is no insurance of survival. It is not a
sign of military strength, and indeed, it may not even be
sufficient for the economic battle.[25]

Thus from the point of view of economic stimulus and continued
commercial dynamism, space exploration should be--and is proving to
be--a godsend.

U.S. EXPENDITURES ON SPACE

It is impossible to arrive at accurate figures which might help indicate
the extent of this effort in dollars and cents. But we do know that the
U.S. Government is presently putting about $3.5 billion annually into
the research and development phases. How much more may be going into the
purchase of completed space hardware is difficult to say; certainly it
is a higher figure still. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, in presenting its 10-year plan to Congress recently,
indicated that this agency alone expects to average between $1.5 and $2
billion a year during the next decade.

The amount of effort going into space-related programs on the part of
private industry, measured in dollars, again can only be roughly
estimated. But it is a sizable figure and is known to be growing. It may
amount to half the governmental research and development outlay.

These figures add up to a very important segment of the national
economy, and the fact that they represent a highly active and
progressive segment is particularly heartening to the economic experts
of the Nation.

THE SPREAD OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS

One of the most useful characteristics of the space program is that its
needs "spread across the entire industrial spectrum--electronics,
metals, fuels, ceramics, machinery, plastics, instruments, textiles,
thermals, cryogenics, and a thousand other areas."[26] The benefits from
space exploration thus have a way of filtering into almost every area of
the American economy, either directly or indirectly. "Perhaps the
greatest economic treasure is the advanced technology required for more
and more difficult space missions. This new technology is advancing at a
meteoric rate. Its benefits are spreading throughout our whole
industrial and economic system."[27]

A graphic example of the manner in which the technological and economic
benefits from the space program can grow may be seen from the
development of the X-15. This rocket craft, designed to "fly" beyond the
Earth's atmosphere at altitudes up to 100 miles, is the product of 400
different firms and contractors.

Inasmuch as other nations, those which generally have lagged behind the
United States in technical know-how, are now rapidly bringing their
technology up to date--this windfall from our space program is
especially opportune. It is providing the incentive to American industry
to remain in the world's technological van. And it is emphasizing that
economic leadership is a dynamic thing, that U.S. mass-production
techniques which have enabled the Nation to compete so well in foreign
markets are no longer, of themselves, sufficient guarantee of superior
economic position.

While America's space exploration program, on a formal basis, came into
being as recently as October 1958, its impact on the national economy
has probably been sharper than that of any single new program ever
conceived. For there are now at least 5,000 companies or research
organizations engaged in the missile-space industry. And more than 3,200
different space-related products have been required and are being
produced to date.[28]

One can only speculate on the economic effect which the space program is
having on investments or on investors who have no other connection with
it. It seems significant, however, that the stock market pages in recent
months have come to devote a good deal of attention to "space issues."
Financially speaking, space has thus become a major category. That it
has done so in such a short period would seem to have marked
implications for the future.

In brief, space exploration is becoming almost an industry in itself,
and there are those who believe it destined to become the largest
industrial spur in the Nation before too many years have gone by.

One expert, an experienced hand not only in astronautics but in the
business world as well, describes the outlook in this fashion: "A great
industrial change is taking place in the United States. The aircraft
industry, which long considered missiles as a small department, now
finds itself becoming a part of the large missile and space flight
industry. It is an elemental evolution. An industrial change is upon us
comparable to the advent of mercantilism."[29] He has predicted that
within a decade or so the astronautics industry will be larger than the
automotive industry of the entire world.

While such predictions may be overly optimistic, they can scarcely be
dismissed as irresponsible in the light of what has already happened.

[Illustration: FIGURE 6.--Booster engines of tomorrow, such as
this mockup of the 1,500,000 pound thrust single engine, will place
broad requirements on men and materials.]

CREATION OF NEW INDUSTRIES

Whether or not we think of the missile-space business as being a
self-contained industry, the requirements and exigencies of space
exploration can be expected to result in the creation of new or greatly
strengthened industrial branches, for example:

_Research_

This phase of the American economy is having a phenomenal growth. Not
only have many established industries now placed research high on their
organizational charts, but hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new
businesses are springing up which are entirely devoted to research and
development. R. & D., as it is called, is their stock in trade, their
only product. And space exploration appears to have given them their
greatest boost.

One recent study on the subject regards research as the fourth major
industrial revolution to take place in American history, following the
advents of steam mechanization, steel, electricity-and-internal
combustion engines.

The fourth industrial revolution, ours, is unique in the number of
people working on it, its complexity, and its power to push the
economy at a rate previously impossible.

Today between 5,000 and 50,000 _technical entrepreneurs_ (top R. &
D. engineers, leading scientists, and highly effective technical
managers) are directly analogous to an estimated 50 to 500 men in
all of the first three periods. Thus about 100 times the effort in
terms of qualitative (effective, creative, patent-producing)
manpower is being spent on the fourth revolution as on the other
three combined.

Total manpower, of course, is much more than that: there are
probably 700,000 engineers and industrially oriented scientists in
the United States today, as against 2,000 even as late as Edison's
first high voltage light bulb. Whereas Edison worked with 20 to 100
scientists in his laboratory, and Fulton labored alone, there are
5,000 industrial laboratories today employing from 20 to 7,300
technical men each.[30]

_New power sources_

One of the greatest demands of spacecraft of the future will be for new
sources of power. While rocket propulsion power is part of this picture,
the power needed to operate space vehicles after launching may prove to
be the larger and more important need. Progress has already been made in
this direction by use of special kinds of batteries and solar cells
which convert the sun's rays into electric current. But these will need
supplementing or replacing eventually as greater power becomes
necessary.

It would be rash to predict the outcome of this complicated field, but
certain very promising methods can be listed.

One is the fuel cell, which converts fuel directly into electric power
without the necessity for machinery or working parts. Much progress has
been made on the fuel cell in recent months. In England a 40-cell unit
has been used to drive a forklift truck and to do electric welding. It
develops up to 5 kilowatts.[31] In the United States a 30-cell portable
powerplant developing 200 watts has been delivered to the Army and
Marine Corps,[32] while a 1,000-unit cell has been developed in the
Midwest which provides 15 kilowatts and drives a tractor.[33]

Another method is plasma power, or power generated through the use of
hot ionized gas. Such gas acts as a conductor of electricity and when
employed as a "magnetohydrodynamics" generator it can be used for a
variety of purposes. It has the advantage of being simple, rugged, and
efficient. Some day it may also prove very economical. Already 10
municipal areas along the Mason-Dixon line are preparing to experiment
with electric power derived from this source.[34] It has been estimated
that "as much as 1 million watts could be generated by shooting a stream
of plasma at speeds three times that of sound through a magnetic field
only 3 feet long and with the magnetic poles 6 inches apart."[35]

[Illustration: FIGURE 7.--The possible power source for space
ships of the future, the ion jet, has significant counterpart uses for
the commercial world.]

Another possible source is photoelectric power. While a number of very
difficult problems block the practical generation of this kind of power,
the astronautics research division of one American company has now
succeeded in increasing the efficiency of photoelectric cells by a
factor of more than 300.[36] So the possibilities in this area are
looking up. As discussed in section II, photon power derived from the
ejection of electromagnetic rays may someday prove a source for
accelerating vehicles once they have escaped from Earth's gravity.

Another possibility, of course, is atomic energy about which much has
been said and written. If, as some scientists believe, extensive space
exploration by manned crews will depend on harnessing this great source
of energy--both for booster purposes and for operating spacecraft in the
distant parts of our interplanetary system--this fact alone may assure
that the obstacles to practical nuclear energy are overcome faster and
more completely than would otherwise be the case. It is interesting to
note that the science of controlling nuclear fusion (as opposed to
fission) has come so far in the past several years that 11 private power
companies are pooling their resources to advance this state of the
art.[37]

_New water sources and uses_

A look into the future indicates very strongly that water will become a
major world problem, possibly by the beginning of the 1970's, which is
likely to be another "dry" decade. Present water supplies, coupled with
the increasing population and the many new uses for water, are barely
adequate now. In another 10 years the situation could be critical.

Part of our national space program includes studies on how to use and
reuse water to the best advantage of the human in space. A number of
avenues are being followed, including vaporization of volatiles in
biological wastes.[38]

From research of this kind it is more than possible that knowledge will
evolve which will prove useful in the practical production of fresh
water from other chemical compounds or mixtures, including seawater.
More than that, it could lead to new ways for extracting much needed
materials from the sea. Seawater contains 40 basic elements, 19 in
relatively copious amounts. These elements run from 18,980 parts parts
per million of chlorine to 0,0000002 part per billion of radium. Yet, so
far, we have learned to extract only bromine and magnesium in useful
amounts.[39] Conversely, the study of how marine animals extract rare
elements from the seawater, such as the extraction of copper compounds
by the octopus, could provide astronautic researchers with important
clues for keeping man alive in space.

_Noise and human engineering_

This is a field in which research has been going on seriously for only a
few years. Most of it has developed since World War II. Human
engineering is involved primarily with the reaction of people to their
immediate surroundings and how to arrange those surroundings in order to
permit the most comfortable and efficient functioning within them.

The noise aspect of human engineering, as it may develop from the
problems of astronauts operating in a silent world, could lead to a
variety of innovations for improving the performance of workers or even
the general attitude of people living in urban areas. In today's world,
where humans are subjected to so many different kinds, degrees, and
sources of noise, psychologists consider the matter to be of no small
importance.

_High speed-light weight computers_

Space vehicles now need electronic computers for determining the
moment of launch, for fixing orbits, for navigation, and for
processing collected data. Computers will precede man into space.
They will take over guidance and decision functions beyond limits
of human physiology, psychology, versatility, and reaction
time.[40]

The trend in this direction is marked and space exploration is
accelerating it. Because of weight and size limitations, and due to the
genius of research, the giant electronic brain of today will soon
disappear and be replaced with an apparatus only a small fraction of its
present size. The implications for the business and professional world
are great. And a not inconsiderable side effect, according to many
modern technicians, will be the flood of brainpower released from
time-consuming chores and thus made available for more basic, creative
thought.

[Illustration: FIGURE 8.--The needs of tomorrow's spacemen will
lead to marked advances in human engineering and psychology.]

_Solid state physics_

Few areas of effort are advancing this extremely promising art faster
than space exploration, which places a premium on light weight and small
size. The miniaturization of equipment being placed in U.S. satellites,
for example, has been one of the contemporary wonders of the world of
science.

A big part of this march toward tiny equipment is in the field of
electronics, where the process is called microminiaturization, molecular
electronics, micromodular engineering or a number of other terms. In
essence it refers to the greatly reduced size of equipment through
"integrated circuits," coupled functions, the building of complicated
components into a single molecular design and so on.

The art has proceeded to the point where complete radios can be reduced
to the size of a lump of sugar.

Clearly, this trend holds almost unlimited utility for the home, the
factory, the marketplace, the highway, the hospital or just about any
other arena one cares to name. So great is the promise that virtually
every electronics company in the country is undertaking "to take the
state of the art into fundamentally new areas" and there exploit its
many possibilities.[41]

ECONOMIC ALLIANCES

It may be that our national space exploration program will also result
in stronger economic alliances, not only within our own national borders
but on an international basis. Interesting speculation to this effect
has been advanced by a prominent official of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration:

I think we may expect that the combined influence of jet aircraft
and satellite communications systems will enable us to integrate
the now somewhat distant States of Hawaii and Alaska with the rest
of the States as thoroughly as the East and West are already
integrated. Second, and in many ways a more intriguing possibility,
is the prospect of developing a truly international economic
organization. It is quite apparent that even today a large fraction
of the economy of the United States is dependent upon foreign
trade. Some nations of the world, such as England or Japan, are
almost entirely dependent upon foreign trade for their basic
standard of living; however, current foreign trade practices are
necessarily based on a somewhat leisurely pattern enforced by our
current communications capacity. Whether we will be able to
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our activities in
foreign trade through the use of the new communications facilities
now foreseen will of course depend upon our political ability to
work out viable arrangements for our mutual benefit with our
oversea friends.

One of the lessons of history in the fields of communications is
that an increase in capability has never gone unused. The
capability of doing new things has always resulted in it being
found profitable to use this capability in all fields, both
commercial and governmental.[42]

PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN SPACE

Up to now space exploration has been more or less the exclusive domain
of the Federal Government. It seems likely that this situation will not
change much in the near future. But the question finally arises: Is the
nature of space such that the traditional American concept of private
enterprise can have no place in it?

On this score there is debate. Recently, however, there have been
indications that businessmen feel they will be able to conduct certain
business operations and services in space.

The space frontier will inevitably increase the scale of thinking
and risk taking by business. When we are dealing with space, we
are dealing with a technology that requires a planetary scale to
stage it; decades of time to develop it; and much bigger
investments to get across the threshold of economic return than is
customary in business today. Business must now think in
international terms, and in terms of the next business generation.
It must step up to the big risks with the same vision that enabled
an earlier generation of builders to push railroad tracks out
across the wilderness and lay the foundations of our modern
economy.[43]

Incidentally, it should be pointed out that space exploration is already
encouraging the formation of business of all sizes. Myriads of small
businesses have sprung up, many of them "suppliers of specialty
equipment for the larger concerns that have responsibility for major
components and systems."[44]

To what extent will private enterprise become involved? Here is one
view:

As the years pass by, and space apparatus becomes more reliable,
and the work of obtaining scientific data from space acquires a
more routine character--certainly many of the necessary operating
facilities could be put on a self-liquidating, private-industry
basis.

Probably the first opportunities for private investment will come
in the commercial use of satellites. Looking even further into the
future of space exploration, perhaps there would be economic
justification for a privately owned launching service that would
put objects into space for the peaceful purposes of friendly
governments, international agencies, industry, and the
universities.

The base itself, from which the commercial launching service would
operate, might be modeled after a port authority. Such a
nonmilitary, international space port could develop as a center for
many private enterprises related to space operations. These might
include service and maintenance facilities; data-processing
services; space communication centers; laboratory facilities;
standardized equipment for satellites and other space vehicles;
fuel supplies; medical services; biological services; and general
supplies.

Moving away from the idea of a commercial space port, must all
future tracking stations, observatories, and data-processing
stations be Government owned? How about experimental stations for
the simulation of space environments? How about laboratories and
stations actually constructed in space? Or will privately owned
facilities one day offer these services on an international basis
to governments, industries, universities, and international
agencies?

Most likely the first businesses suitable for commercial operation,
using space technologies, will be worldwide communication by
satellite, private weather forecasting, and high-speed Earth
transport by rocket.[45]

[Illustration: FIGURE 9.--The electric and electronic needs of
the space program are requiring more and more skilled labor.]

JOBS

There probably is no reliable way to gage the number of Americans who
are employed today because of the national space effort, nor to estimate
accurately the number who are likely to be employed in the years ahead.

This much can be said, though. They already number in the tens of
thousands, probably in the hundreds of thousands.

The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
has reported that his agency presently employs 18,000 persons. And he
adds "in spite of the size of this organization, we estimate that
approximately 75 percent of our budget will be expended through
contracts with industry, educational institutions, and other
nongovernmental groups."

Thus the number of persons privately employed who are working on NASA
projects is, of itself, a high figure. The number employed in, by, or
for the Department of Defense on missiles or space-related projects is
undoubtedly higher.

In addition to these must be added the men and women employed by private
industry in a capacity not directly related to the space program but
whose jobs have been created nonetheless by its stimulus.

The fact is that the military and peaceful needs of the space
program are already employing a significant percentage of the
industrial work force, and will make up an even larger proportion
of total employment and production of the country as the years go
by. The aircraft industry, for example, is broadening its scope to
include missile and space technologies. Much of the electronics
industry is devoted to missile and space needs. The communications,
chemical, and metallurgical industries are increasingly involved.
These industries are already among the largest employers in the
United States, and they are the major employers of the Nation's
technical manpower. Hence we are not speaking of a minor element in
the national economy, but of its leading growth industries.[46]

This phase of the space program's value should not be eyed merely from
the standpoint of scientists and the labor market. It has major
significance for the professions--for doctors, lawyers, architects,
teachers, and engineers. All of these will be vitally concerned with
space exploration in the future. The doctor with space medicine and its
results; the lawyer with business relations and a vastly increased need
for knowledge in international law; the architect with the construction
of spaceports and data and tracking facilities; the teacher with the
booming demand for new types of space-engendered curricula.

As for the engineer--

In this pyramid of scientific and engineering effort there will be
found requirements for the services of almost every type of
scientist and engineer to a greater or less degree. In the
forefront, of course, are the aerospace and astronautical engineers
but the development of the Saturn launching vehicle has also
enlisted the cooperation of civil, mechanical, electrical,
metallurgical, chemical, automotive, structural, radio, and
electronics engineers. Much of their work relates to ground
handling equipment, special automotive and barge equipment,
checkout equipment, and all the other devices needed to support the
design, construction, testing, launching, and data gathering.[47]

AUTOMATION AND DISARMAMENT

Finally, an economic value of extreme importance could be the ultimate
role of the space program in modifying the threat to labor which is
inherent in automation and disarmament. Space exploration, opening up
new and profitable vistas, could take up much of the slack thus imposed
and do it at a higher and more intellectual job level.

Automation, as we know, is already in the process. In agriculture alone
it has bitten deeply into the laboring force and yet produces greater
crops than ever.[48] It is gathering strength in many other fields.

Disarmament is a long way from being a reality. But all nations of the
world are striving for it, or at least giving lipservice to its
principles, so it may one day emerge as a reality. If this happens,
space exploration again may be a most important element in taking up the
slack which a prominent reduction in defense activity could not help but
bring about.

Indeed, there are some who already foresee a complete substitution of
space for defense, and who prognosticate that in the 1990's "the economy
of nations is now based on the astronautics industry, instead of
war."[49] Certainly, some new economic force would be crucial to nations
deprived of the need for devising and manufacturing weapons.

[Illustration: FIGURE 10.--A host of new materials, skills, and
engineering techniques are bound up in the construction of rocket
engines such as this first stage booster.]

FOOTNOTES:

[25] Gavin, James M., address to the International Bankers Association,
Bal Harbour, Fla., Dec. 2, 1958.

[26] Mitchell, Hon. Erwin, in the House of Representatives, June 2,
1960.

[27] Dryden, Dr. Hugh L., Deputy Administrator, NASA, Penrose lecture
before the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Apr. 21, 1960.

[28] Missile-Space Directory, Missiles and Rockets, May 30, 1960, pp.
86-359.

[29] Haley, Andrew G., general counsel and past president of the
International Astronautical Federation, "Rocketry and Space
Exploration." Van Nostrand Co., Princeton, N.J., 1958 p. 156.

[30] Ruzic, Neil P., "The Technical Entrepreneur," Industrial Research,
May 1980, p.10.

[31] Bacon, F. T., "The Fuel Cell, Power Source of the Future," New
Scientist, Aug. 17, 1959, p.272.

[32] Science Service dispatch, dateline Lynn, Mass., Apr. 25, 1950.

[33] Sharp, James M., "The Application of Fuel Cells in the Natural Gas
Industry," Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Tex., Mar. 4,
1960, pp. 2-3.

[34] Lear, John, "Towns To Be Lit by Plasma," New Scientist, Nov. 19,
1959, p. 1006.

[35] Pursglove S. David, Industrial Research, March 1950 p. 19.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Ibid., p. 18.

[38] Space Business Daily, June 13, 1960.

[39] Cox, Dr. R. A., "The Chemistry of Seawater," New Scientist, Sept.
24, 19459, p. 518.

[40] Hines, L. J., Space Age News, Apr. 25, 1960, p. 4.

[41] Gaertner, W. W., "Functional Microelectronics," Missile Design and
Development, March 1960, p. 34.

[42] Stewart, Dr. Homer J., address to the American Bar Association,
Miami Beach, Aug. 25, 1959.

[43] Cordiner, Ralph J., "Competitive Private Enterprise in Space,"
lecture at U.C.L.A., May 4, 1960

[44] Ibid.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Ibid.

[47] 27 supra.

[48] See "The Problem of Plenty," U.S. News & World Report, Apr. 13,
1959, p. 97.

[49] Markuwitz, Meyer M., and Gentieu, Norman P., "The Rocket, A Past
and Future History," Industrial Research, December 1959, p. 78.

IV. VALUES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

The so-called side effects of the space exploration program are showing
a remarkable ability to produce innovations which, in turn, improve the
quality of everyday work and everyday living throughout the United
States.

In setting forth specific ways and means in which the space program is
producing practical uses, it must be kept in mind that no attempt is
made here to separate uses resulting from the civil phases of the
program from those developed by the military phases. Inasmuch as the two
are closely intertwined, it would seem impractical to do so. And, in
instances where the same or similar research is being conducted by a
single contractor on behalf of both phases, it is usually impossible to
do so.

TECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS

This category of the practical uses of the space program is impressive
indeed.

Most of us are familiar with the plans which the United States has for
using artificial satellites in ways which will be beneficial to all
mankind. These include the satellite used for worldwide communications,
for global television, for quick and accurate navigation, and for much
improved weather prediction and weather understanding.

Here, however, is a summary of space-related developments about which
the American public has heard considerably less:

First, there is the high-speed computer. Developed initially to
meet military demands for faster calculation, the computer is an
integral part of American industry, making it possible to do many
operations with a high degree of efficiency and accuracy.
Thermoelectric devices for heating and cooling, now adapted for
commercial applications, were originally designed to provide energy
sources for space vehicles. The glass industry, as a result of work
done during and after the Second World War on lenses and plastics,
promises substantial gains in the consumer fields of optics and
foods. Pyroceram, developed for missile radomes, is now being used
in the manufacture of pots and pans. Materials suitable for use in
the nuclear preservation of food may make us even better fed than
we already are.

Medical research, and our health problems, can use such things as
film resistance thermometers. Electronic equipment capable of
measuring low-level electrical signals is being adapted to measure
body temperature and blood flow. In a dramatic breakthrough,
illustrating the unexpected benefits of research, it has been found
that a derivative of hydrazine, developed as a liquid missile
propellant, is useful in treating certain mental illnesses and
tuberculosis.

Of course, the aeronautics industry has benefited tremendously.
Engines, automatic pilots, radar systems, flight equipment, capable
of meeting the high standards required by space vehicles represent
a great improvement over our already excellent aircraft.

A plasma arc torch (has been) developed for fabricating ultrahard
materials and coatings by mass production methods. The torch, an
outgrowth of plasma technology, develops heats of 30,000 degrees
and can work within tolerances of two-thousandths of an inch.
Another application from the missile field, which shows real
possibilities, is a reliable flow meter that has no packings or
bearings. This was first developed for measuring liquefied gases
and should have a very wide industrial usefulness. It may even lead
to improvements in marine devices for measuring distance and
velocity.

Ground-to-air missiles that ride a beam to their targets must
measure the distance to the target plane with an accuracy of a few
feet in several miles. This principle, now being applied to
surveying techniques, has revolutionized the surveying industry.

The solenoid valve, which seats itself softly enough to eliminate
vibration, has been applied very satisfactorily to home-heating
systems.

The use of the jet drilling for mining is another, and worthy of
amplification. Missiles are already working the economically
unminable taconite ore of the Mesabi Range, have helped build the
St. Lawrence Seaway, and are bringing down costs in quarrying.

It is estimated that taconite will be supplying about a third of
our ores in less than 20 years. Until 1947 we were unable to mine
this very hard rock, and then suitable rotary and churn drills were
produced. Jet drilling, now available, cracks and crumbles stone
layers by thermally induced expansion and is somewhere between 3
and 5 times faster than rotaries.

Jet piercing can take us far deeper into the earth than we have
been able to go so far, to new sources of ore and hydrocarbons.

In stone quarrying, jet spalling and channeling are proven
techniques. Stone quarrying has been expensive and wasteful
heretofore. Rocket flame equipment allows cutting along the natural
cleavage planes, or crystal boundaries--hence cuts stone thin
without danger of cracking and, in addition, produces a fine finish
that cannot be obtained when cutting by steel or abrasive tools.

Scientific literature is beginning to contain speculations on using
the principle of the missile engine to save unstable intermediate
products of the chemical processes. The high heats achieved in the
rocket engine can, perhaps, be utilized to produce desired products
that would be lost by slow cooling. But the high rate of cooling
accomplished by expanding gases through the engine nozzle, it is
thought, would save these unstable compounds.

Infrared has come into its own through missile electronics.
Infrared--since it cannot be jammed--appears to be challenging
radar for use in guidance devices, tracking systems, and
reconnaissance vehicles. Infrared is being used industrially to
measure the compositions of fluids in complex processes of chemical
petroleum refining and distilling. Infrared cameras are used in
analyzing metallurgical material processing operations, to aid in
accuracy and quality control. The entire infrared field should be
significantly assisted in its growth and application through our
missile-space programs.

Another very promising outcome from missile development is a
computer converter that can quickly transform analogue
signals--such as pressure measurements--into digital form.

In the near future, when guidance devices permit soft landing,
rocket cargo and passenger transport will become feasible. Mail may
become almost as swift as telephone.

We are making rapid progress in the economics of space travel:
payload costs for Vanguard were about $1 billion a pound; for the
near future launchings, payload cost should be about $1,000 per
pound. When payload costs are about a hundred dollars a pound we
may expect commercial space flight.[50]

Hundreds of other examples of the space program's value for everyday
living could be cited.

One with wide possibilities is a new welding process by using a
high-powered electron beam gun, developed for the fabrication of
spaceships and other space vehicles. This method permits welding joints
capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3,000° F.; it can be used on
metals such as molybdenum and pure tungsten. And, its developers say, it
results in welded joints that have deep penetration and narrow weld
beads that are virtually free of contamination.[51]

Another ingenius application, resulting from the Navy's space research
program, has significant utility for medicine and surgery. This is a
glass fiber device which, when placed in the mouth during dental work or
in the area of surgical incision, permits a much magnified televising of
the operation. It holds considerable promise for teaching techniques in
many fields.[52]

Another example is a finely woven stainless steel cloth designed for
parachuting space vehicles back to Earth. The cloth is made of fine wire
of great strength which can withstand tremendous temperatures and
chemical contamination. The wire from which the cloth is woven is about
one-fifth the thickness of a human hair and is believed to have marked
potential for industry and consumers alike.

Here is an additional list of examples:[53]

Microminiature transmitters and receivers--used by police and
doctors.

Target drone autopilot--used as an inexpensive pilot assist and
safety device for private aircraft.

Inert thread sealing compound--- used by pump manufacturers serving
process industries.

Satellite scan devices--used in infrared appliances, e.g., lamps,
roasters, switches, ovens.

Automatic control components--used as proximity switches, plugs,
valves, cylinders; other components already are an integral part of
industrial conveyor systems.

Missile accelerometers, torquemeters, strain gage equipment--used
in auto crash tests, motor testing, shipbuilding and bridge
construction.

Space recording equipment automatically stopped and started by
sound of voice--used widely as conference recorder.

Armalite radar--used as proximity warning device for aircraft.

Miniature electronics and bearings--used for portable radio and
television; excessively small roller, needle and ball bearings used
for such equipment as air-turbine dental drills.

Epoxy missile resin--used for plastic tooling, metal bonding,
adhesive, and casting and laminating applications.

Silicones for motor insulation and subzero lubricants--used in new
glassmaking techniques for myriad products.

Ribbon glass for capacitors--used widely in electronics field.

Radar bulbs--used in air traffic control equipment.

Ribbon cable for missiles--used in the communications industry.

Automatic gun cameras--used in banks, toll booths, etc.

Fluxless aluminum soldering--used for kitchen utensil repair,
gutters, flashings, antennas, electrical joints, auto repairing,
farm machinery, etc.

Lightweight hydraulic pumps--used in automated machinery and
pneumatic control systems.

Voice interruption priority system--used for assembly line
production control.

Examples such as the foregoing, it might be pointed out, do not
generally emphasize an area in which space exploration is making
one of its greatest contributions. This is the creation of new
materials, metals, fabrics, alloys, and compounds that are finding
their way rapidly into the commercial market.

Less demonstrable but equally (and perhaps more) significant areas
which may expect to benefit from space exploration are set out
beginning on page 35.

[Illustration. FIGURE 11.--Vital information about the forces
which cause weather can be learned from meteorological satellites such
as these. Even a slight increase in the accuracy of weather prediction
will be worth millions of dollars annually.]

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

An extremely difficult problem bound up with space travel of any
duration is that of food. Astronauts will not be able to take large
supplies of food on their voyages and probably will have to reuse what
they do take. Learning how to do this is no easy matter. Some doubt if
it can be done. Others are optimistic.

The body of scientists now working directly on space feeding and
nutrition is working effectively at a rate only attained by high
motivation. But this motivation suffices and their efforts will
ultimately provide at least a partially closed space feeding system
by the time it is critically needed and, eventually, an ideal one
for long voyages of man into the remoter reaches of outer
space.[54]

If the optimists are right, it is conceivable that the information gamed
from this research will have profound influence on food and agricultural
processes in the future. The use and growth of synthetics or new foods,
and their effects on the soil, could prove invaluable as the worlds
population climbs and the demand for food multiplies. Better
understanding of weather processes, as provided through space
exploration, will also be valuable in terms of agriculture. Long-range
accurate weather prediction would be worth millions of dollars in proper
crops planted and crop damage avoided.

Meanwhile, as in other technological areas, space research is providing
specific new tools for the food and agriculture industry. Infrared food
blanching, for instance, is highly effective in preparing foods for
canning or freezing. The development of a new forage harvester based on
principles of aerodynamics uncovered by missile engineers is another
example.

COMMUNICATIONS

This is a field of enormous promise, and its practicality has already
been demonstrated to the extent of placing satellites into precise
orbits, such as Tiros (weather) and Transit (navigation), and of
communicating at long distances--23 million miles in the case of Pioneer
V. As a result:

Government and industry technicians are rapidly developing new
Earth satellites to beam not only television programs but radio
broadcasts and phone conversations to every spot on Earth that's
equipped to receive them. Thus this space project, far more than
most, will touch the ordinary citizen. The goal: a workable,
worldwide communications system in space before this decade is
over. It will be, declares one researcher, "the ultimate in
communications."[55]

Incidentally, the first worldwide communications system of this type,
and whether it is conducted in English or Russian, may have crucial
prestige and propaganda ramifications.

Such facilities should be possible through a system of carefully placed
satellites so that radio signals can be relayed to any part of the globe
at any time.

Moreover they appear to be essential when one considers that within the
next 20 years existing techniques are apt to be stretched beyond
reasonable economic limits by demands for long distance communications.
It is difficult to see how transoceanic television will otherwise be
possible when it is realized that there is presently a capacity of less
than 100 telephone channels across the Atlantic and a single television
channel is equivalent in band width to 1,000 telephone channels. It
appears that a system utilizing satellites is the most promising
solution to this problem.[56]

More esoteric communications systems may also arise from space research.

In some future year when a cruising space vehicle communicates with
another space vehicle or its orbiting station, it may use a beam of
light instead of conventional radio. Not that radio will be
inoperative under the airless conditions of space--rather the
reverse--but there is reason to believe that communication by
sunlight not only will be cheaper but will entail carrying much
simpler and lighter equipment for certain specialized space
applications. (The Air Force) is developing an experimental system
that will collect sun rays, run them through a modulator, direct
the resultant light wave in a controlled beam to a receiver. There
the wave will be put through a detector, transposed into an
electrical impulse and be amplified to a speaker. Depending on the
type of modulator used, either the digital (dot-dash) message or a
voice message can be sent.[57]

Might not such a system find practical usage on Earth, particularly in
sunny, arid lands?

WEATHER PREDICTION AND MODIFICATION

Meteorological satellites should make possible weather observations over
the entire globe. Today, only 20 percent of the globe is covered by any
regular observational and reporting systems. If we can solve the
problems of handling the vast amounts of data that will be received,
develop methods for timely analysis of the data and the notification of
weather bureaus throughout the world, we should be able to improve by a
significant degree the accuracy of weather predictions. An improvement
of only 10 percent in accuracy could result in savings totaling hundreds
of millions of dollars annually to farmers, builders, airlines,
shipping, the tourist trade, and many other enterprises.

Perhaps even greater savings will come from warning systems devised for
hurricanes and tornadoes.

The slight knowledge which humans actually have of weather forces can be
seen from the fact that at present we do not even know exactly how rain
begins.[58] Learning to predict it and to modify it, through space
application, might help slow down the soil erosion of arable land--that
"geological inevitability * * * which man can only hasten or
postpone."[59] It is noteworthy that the two leading nations in space
research, the United States and the U.S.S.R., are among the most
affected by soil erosion.

The "leg up" which the United States has in this particular phase of
space research is illustrated by the acute photographic talents of the
Tiros satellite and their meaning to weather experts. The following
description of some of the earliest pictures by the Director of the
Office of Meteorological Research, U.S. Weather Bureau, is illuminating.

This picture, labeled "No. 1," was the storm that was picked up in
the early orbits of Tiros on the first day of launch, April 1. This
shows the storm 120 miles east of Cape Cod, with dry continental
air streaming off the United States, not shown by clouds, and off
the coast the moist air streaming up to the north, counterclockwise
around the center, producing widespread clouds and precipitation as
far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

On that same day mention was made of a storm in the Midwest. That
is illustrated by photograph No. 2. This was centered over
southeast Nebraska, a rather extensive storm. Again, we have a
clear air portion shown by a dark area, the ground underneath,
which has less brightness than the clouds, the cold air from Canada
streaming into that area, not characterized by clouds, and to the
east the moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, in this general
neighborhood, streaming around into that center and producing
rather widespread rains. In this case near the Gulf of Mexico,
where the cloud is extremely bright, indicating that the clouds are
very high, thunderstorms were found in that area.

[Illustration: FIGURE 12.--Storm center over Nebraska
photographed by the first U.S. weather satellite, Tiros, on April
1, 1960. The extent of the picture can be seen from the
accompanying weather map.]

It is a sort of situation in which tornadoes are to be found in
this very bright cloudy area, especially this time of year in the
Midwest.

A third vortex was observed, also April 1, in the Gulf of Alaska,
500 miles southeast of Kodiak Island. The vortex circulation is
clearly evidenced by the clouds which form in a circular array, and
the large clear area in the center of the storm.

No. 4 picture refers to a very big storm 1,500 miles in diameter
located 300 miles west of Ireland on April 2. This is a very old
storm which was whirling around, had no fronts associated with it.
It has long since wound up around the center. There is a rather
well-marked structure to the clouds that you can see. It is quite
different from the pictures in the first two. These are storms
mostly over the continental area or just off the coast. The storms
over the oceans seem to show more of a banded structure. By that I
mean circular bands of clouds, of width perhaps ranging from 20
miles to a few hundred miles, spiraling around the center in a
counterclockwise manner.[60]

HEALTH BENEFITS

Of all the problems contingent upon space flight it is doubtful if any
are more perplexing than the biological ones. In fact, it now appears
quite likely that the limiting factor on manned space exploration will
be less the nature of physical laws or the shortcoming of space vehicle
systems than the vulnerability of the human body.

In order to place humans in space for any extended period, we must solve
a host of highly complicated biological equations which demand intensive
basic research. The other side of the coin, however, is that when
scientific breakthroughs do occur in this area, they will probably be
among the most beneficial to come from the space program.

An idea of what is going on in the space medicine field can be obtained
from this summary:

Engineers already have equipped man with the vehicle for space
travel. Medical researchers now are investigating many factors
incident to the maintenance of space life--to make possible man's
flight into the depths of space. Placing man in a wholly new
environment requires knowledge far beyond our current grasp of
human biology.

Here are some of the problems under investigation: The
determination of man's reactions; the necessity of operating in a
completely closed system compatible with man's physiological
requirements (oxygen and carbon dioxide content, food, barometric
pressure, humidity and temperature control); explosive
decompression; psychophysiological difficulties of spatial
disorientation as a result of weightlessness; toxicology of
metabolites and propellants; effects of cosmic, solar, and nuclear
ionizing radiation and protective shielding and treatment; effects
on man's circulatory system from accelerative and decelerative g.
forces; the establishment of a thermoneutral range for man to exist
through preflight, flight, and reentry; regeneration of water and
food.[61]

In addition, intensive efforts are being brought to bear on such
problems as the effect on humans who are deprived of their sensory
perceptions, or whose sensory systems are overloaded, or who are exposed
to excessive boredom or anxiety or sense of unreality, or who must do
their job under hypnosis or hypothermia (cooling of warm-blooded
animals).

A recent space medicine symposium heard this theory advanced by a
prominent medical scholar:

Attractive, indeed, for the space traveler would be the choice of
hibernating during long periods when there was nothing he had to
do. With the increase of speeds and the lowering of metabolism,
consideration of flights running several hundred or even thousands
of years cannot be offhandedly dismissed as mere fantasy. During
prolonged flights of many months or years there will be very little
to see and that of negligible interest. The most practical way of
dealing with the problem might well be to have the pilot sleep 23
of the 24 hours.[62]

Lowering the body temperature would be one way of inducing the necessary
deep sleep.

Another possibility of handling some of the biological problems of space
flight, suggested by another physician, would be for astronauts to
discard the 24-hour Earth day and establish a longer rhythm for their
lives.[63]

At any rate, and while we may not now see just how it will come about,
knowledge gained from experiments such as these may result in important
medical and psychological advances.

In the drug and technological area of medicine, concrete benefits have
already resulted from the national space program. These include, as
already mentioned, a drug developed from a missile propellant to treat
mental ills, a means of rapidly lowering blood temperature in
operations, and a small efficient valve which could replace the valve in
a human heart.

Particularly gratifying, from the standpoint of medical value is the
Army's work toward an anti-radiation drug which could be taken before
exposure to reduce the biological effects of radiation.[64] Such a drug,
which is of special interest to astronauts who might be required to
subject themselves to varying belts of radiation, might be of even
greater use in the cause of civil defense.

A final and far-reaching phase of the health side of space exploration
deals with the basic nature of biology itself--how and under what
conditions life grows. Up to now biological science has been largely
"the rationalization of particular facts and we have had all too limited
a basis for the construction and testing of meaningful axioms to support
a theory of life."[65] Through research made possible by the space
program it may be possible to alter this condition. "The dynamics of
celestial bodies, as can be observed from the Earth, is the richest
inspiration for the generalization of our concepts of mass and energy
throughout the universe. The spectra of the stars likewise testify to
the universality of our concepts in chemistry. But biology has lacked
tools of such extension, and life until now has meant only terrestrial
life."[66]

[Illustration: FIGURE 13.--Biological reactions uncovered in
space medicine studies, such as this centrifuge experiment, may lead to
important health discoveries.]

The secrets which this research may divulge and their meaning for human
health can only be imagined. But they certainly would not be minor.

EDUCATION BENEFITS

No enterprise has so stirred human imagination as the reach of man
toward the exploration of space. New worlds to explore. New distances to
travel--3,680 million miles to Pluto, the outermost planet of our solar
system, 8 years journey at 50,000 miles per hour when we attain such a
capability. Innumerable problems ahead. New knowledge needed in almost
every branch of science and technology from magneto fluid dynamics to
cosmology, from materials to biology and psychology.[67]

"New knowledge needed" means better and stronger education is essential.
And not only in the physical sciences. In the social sciences and the
arts as well.

Certainly man's space adventure can help profoundly to make a finer
creature of him, but only if his adventures on Earth can do so as
well. Essentially what this means to a social psychologist is that
we must somehow raise our level of education to the point where
most men most of the time can appreciate and actively absorb the
implications of knowledge and developments in all areas
sufficiently to let them enrich their personal philosophies.
Obviously this kind of education is only in part a scientific
one.[68]

Moreover, the technical and management aspects of the space program
involve collaboration with nonscientific persons such as businessmen,
bankers, and public officials in assessing worthwhile objectives and in
judging the technical and economic feasibility of projects designed to
accomplish these objectives.[69] Consequently each type must educate the
other in his own specialty if an effective, stepped-up space program is
to be achieved.

_The demand_

Apparently the demand for specific formal education in the science of
astronautics is increasing faster than it is being supplied. Although
many colleges and universities have been setting up courses dealing with
astronautics, the state of the art does not seem to have crystallized to
the extent that it permits fashioning a career in the field at the
educational level. Of course, discontent is created. One publication has
editorialized:

We have received a surprising number of letters from young people
who actually want to know how and where they can get started in a
career in astronautics. These, for the most part, are high school
students--and, evidently, they couldn't get the information they
wanted from their own school. * * * Isn't the age of space yet
important enough for all the high schools to sponsor interest in
our space programs and to point out the need for a constant flow of
young brains?[70]

The answer undoubtedly is that such grassroots demand will bring about
increased academic curricula in astronautics in direct proportion to its
magnitude.

Meanwhile, the availability of work for persons with a background in
space-related subjects can be gaged to some extent by observing the
variety of personnel requirements on major space exploration projects.

A single American firm, for example, uses 49 different professional
specialists in its work for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration and in its space work for the Department of Defense.[71]
Multiplied by the thousands of companies which are doing similar work,
the list gives an idea of the astronautic demand confronting the
Nation's educational institutions:

Acoustician
Aerodynamicist
Aeronautical engineer
Agricultural engineer
Astrodynamicist
Astronomer
Astrophysicist
Biochemist
Biophysicist
Ceramics specialist
Chemist
Computer specialist
Crystallographer
Development engineer
Doctor of medicine
Electrical engineer
Electronic engineer
Experimental physicist
Flight engineer
Gyroscopics specialist
Hydraulic engineer
Information theory analyst
Inorganic chemist
Logical designer
Magnetic device engineer
Mathematician
Mechanical applications engineer
Mechanical engineer
Mechanisms specialist
Medical electronic engineer
Metallurgical engineer
Methods engineer
Nuclear physicist
Oceanographer
Organic chemist
Physical chemist
Pneumatic engineer
Process engineer
Production engineer
Project engineer
Psychologist
Reliability engineer
Sociologist
Solid state physicist
Structural engineer
System analyst
Theoretical physicist
Thermodynamicist
Transducer engineer

[Illustration: FIGURE 14.--Exploration within the solar system
means a wealth of new knowledge which could lead to learning the secrets
of life.]

FOOTNOTES:

[50] 25 supra. See also address to the American Bankers Association,
Oct. 28, 1958.

[51] Space Business Daily, June 17, 1960.

[52] Feldman, George J., cited in a letter to the House Committee on
Science and Astronautics, Apr. 29, 1960.

[53] From Michelson, Edward J., "How Missile-Space Spending Enriches the
Peacetime Economy," Missiles and Rockets, Sept. 14, 1959, pp. 13-17.

[54] Tischer, R. G., "A Search for the Spaceman's Food," Space Journal,
December 1959, p. 46.

[55] Kraar, Louis, Wall Street Journal, May 4, 1960.

[56] 7 supra.

[57] Release No. 38-60, Air Research and Development Command, May 2,
1960.

[58] Lear, John, "Where Does Rain Begin?" New Scientist, Mar. 24, 1960,
p. 724.

[59] "Wind and Soil," New Scientist, May 26, 1960, p. 1327.

[60] Wexler, Dr. Harry. Press conference conducted by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Apr. 22, 1960.

[61] Lockheed, Missiles and Space Division, medical research, Sunnyvale,
Calif.

[62] Lewis, Dr. F. J., before the Space Flight Symposium, San Antonio,
Tex., May 28, 1960.

[63] Kleitman, Prof. Nathaniel, before the Space Flight Symposium, San
Antonio, Tex., May 26, 1960.

[64] Taylor, Lt. Col. Richard R., USA (MC), testimony before the House
Committee on Science and Astronautics, June 15, 1960.

[65] Lederberg, Joshua, "Exobiology-Experimental Approaches to Life
Beyond Earth," Science in Space, ch. IX, National Academy of Sciences,
Washington, D.C., February 1960.

[66] Ibid.

[67] Dryden, Dr. Hugh L., speech before the Engineering Society of
Cincinnati, Feb. 18, 1960.

[68] Michael, Donald N., "Space Exploration and the Values of Man,"
Space Journal, September 1959, p. 15.

[69] 67 supra.

[70] Space Age, August 1959, p. 3.

[71] Minneapolis-Honeywell, Military Products Group.

V. LONG-RANGE VALUES

In assessing the _practical_ values of space exploration it does not
seem logical to limit considerations to those values which are immediate
or near-future ones. The worth of a present activity may be doubled or
trebled because of its long-range potential.

Such values may not be practical within the context of today's usage,
but they may be extremely practical if we are willing to concede that
those of us living today have an interest in and a responsibility for
what happens on Earth in the decades and centuries to come.

TROUBLE SPOTS

Thinking along these lines it is not difficult to conjure up a picture
of some of the difficult physical and social problems which will be
facing the Earth in the years which stretch ahead. The foregoing
sections of this report, for example, have already indicated extensive
difficulties inherent in at least five major categories.

(1) Bursting population.
(2) Acute water shortage.
(3) Soil erosion and disappearance.
(4) Too much leisure.
(5) Intensified nationalism.

In each area it is probable that space exploration will ultimately play
an important role.

_Population_

Social scientists have been warning for years of the drastic social
upheavals which must inevitably accompany an "exploding" population. It
is a problem the complexity of which grows in geometric progression as
time goes on. In the United States nearly 300 years were required to
produce 90 million people. In the past 60 years this number has doubled.
The implications are obvious. They are only too plain to urban and
suburban planners who endeavor to cope with the antlike construction and
activity of the human race as it burgeons with each succeeding year.

Of course, this is not a domestic matter but a global one. Its
seriousness has been described as follows: "Projection of the post-World
War II rate of increase gives a population of 50 billions (the highest
estimate of the population-carrying capacity of the globe ever
calculated by a responsible scholar) in less than 200 years."[72] A
European professor of medicine adds that any surge in human longevity at
this time is quite undesirable from the standpoint of making elderly
persons useful or cared for. "The problems posed by the explosive growth
of populations * * * are so great that it is quite reassuring to know
that biologists and medical men have so far been unsuccessful in
increasing the _maximum_ lifespan of the human species * * * and * * *
it would be a calamity for the social and economic structure of a
country if the mean lifespan were suddenly to increase from 65 to 85
years."[73]

Some anthropologists pessimistically wonder if man is going to prove
like the locust by populating himself into near extinction from time to
time.

Without subscribing to this view, one must nevertheless take notice of
the difficulties posed by population increase, not merely those of food,
shelter, education, and the like but also those resulting from cellular,
cramped, close living.

Whichever phase of the problem is studied, it seems not unreasonable to
conclude that space research will help find a solution. New ways to
produce food, new materials for better shelter, new stimuli for
education--all of these are coming from our space program. As for the
matter of adequate living room, space research may result in ways to
permit an easy and efficient scattering of the population without
hurting its mobility. This might result from the development of small
subsidiary types of craft, or "gocarts," originally designed for local
exploration on other planets. Such craft, whether they operated by air
cushion, nuclear energy, gravitational force, power cell, or whatever,
conceivably would permit Earth's population to spread out without the
need for expensive new roads--which, by the way, take millions of acres
of land out of productive use.

A development of this sort, together with new power sources to replace
the fossil fuels on which factory, home, and vehicle now depend, might
also all but eliminate the growing smog and air-pollution blight.

_Water shortage_

A direct result of the population increase, multiplied by the many new
uses for which water is being used in home appliances, etc., and plus
the greatly increased demand for standard uses such as indoor plumbing,
irrigation, and factory processing, is the likelihood that water
shortage will be high on the list of future problems. Ways to conserve
and reuse water, together with economical desalting of sea water, will
be essential in the decades ahead. Space research may provide part of
the answer here, too. (See New Water Sources and Uses, sec. III.)

_Soil erosion_

The Russian steppes of Kazakhstan are providing the world with a great
contemporary dust bowl, reminiscent of the middle 1930's when dust from
the Great Plains stretched from Texas to Saskatchewan. Questionable
agriculture policies, drought, and strong easterly winds are among the
forces blamed for the trials of southern Russia.[74] So great is the
extent of this disturbance that the dust cloud has been identified in
photographs taken by American weather satellites.

Of course, "wind erosion is only one of the processes whereby the
Earth's arable land is diminishing and the deserts increasing; erosion
by water can also sweep away the soil."[75] But insofar as the current
dust bowl of the Soviet steppes has "diminished food resources at a time
when the number of mouths to feed is increasing so rapidly, the world is
the poorer."[76]

What can space research do about this vital trend, which again seems
destined to accelerate in the future?

While we cannot be sure, we can conjecture that improved soil
conservation might turn out to be the greatest benefit of weather
understanding and modification. Agriculture policies might be adapted to
the long-range patterns uncovered by weather satellites and, eventually,
through better understanding of the making of weather, it may be
possible to modify weather forces in a manner which will preserve the
soil.

In a more remote vein, it may be that knowledge gained from a first-hand
study of the Moon or other planets in the solar system will eventually
contribute to the conservation of soil on Earth in ways as yet
unimagined.

_Added leisure_

Acquiring more time for leisure sounds good. Very much more leisure than
most people now have, however, is apt to present trouble in itself.
Since it appears that the time is not far away when those living in the
highly developed countries will no longer have to concentrate their
prime energies on the traditional quest for food, clothing, and shelter,
a potentially dangerous vacuum may be the result. At least the
psychologists seem agreed that people must feel a useful purpose in
their lives and have ways to pursue it.

Above all, leisure makes a challenge to the human spirit. Athens,
in her Golden Age, displayed a genius for the creative use of
leisure which can be seen as complementary, and indeed superior, to
her genius for military and commercial ventures. There have also
been such periods of all-pervasive inspiration in the history of
other peoples * * *. The doubling of our standard of living will
present a growing challenge to the human spirit and produce graver
consequences, should we fail to meet it. We neglect the proper use
of leisure at our peril.[77]

In other words, the answer to the problem does not lie solely with the
golf course, the yacht club, the theater, or the lengthened vacation.
Much more will be required.

The intellectual stimulus of space exploration and research, which
undoubtedly will divide into numerous branches like capillary streaks
from a bolt of lightning, should be markedly useful in helping to fill
this vacuum. Space research would seem particularly applicable in this
role since it deals with fundamental knowledge and concepts which are
satisfying in terms of psychological needs and sense of purpose.

_Intensified nationalism_

Ever since World War II the era of colonialism has been on the wane.
Many nations have proclaimed, won, or wrested their independence during
that period. Others appear to be on the verge of doing so. At any rate,
it is clear that in the decades ahead the world is going to see the rise
of even more independent nations with strong nationalistic feelings.

History implies that developments of this sort are often accompanied by
international unrest--because of the normal ebullience of national
adolescence and the desire to be accepted by the world community, as
well as a variety of concomitant political and economical upheavals.

For whatever trials may lie ahead on this score, space exploration may
prove to be much needed oil on rough water.

Ambitious, advanced, sophisticated space exploration in the future is
almost certain to require a high degree of international cooperation and
perhaps even a pooling of resources and funds to some degree. Already
America has found it expedient, in some cases mandatory, to depend on
facilities in other countries for her ventures into space. A good
example is the close cooperation between the United States and tracking
bases located in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and elsewhere. An even
better one is the important part played in U.S. efforts by England's
giant radio telescope at Jodrell Bank. Most of our launches are followed
by this equipment and much of the best scientific information gained
from it. In the case of Pioneer V, Jodrell Bank was essential to keep in
touch with the satellite at the longer distances and, moreover, was
actually required to separate the fourth stage of the launch vehicle and
direct the payload toward its Venus orbit.

Mutual need and cooperation thus fostered by space exploration can be
expected to siphon off some of the political tensions of the future,
especially as more and more nations become interested in space and
inaugurate complex programs of their own.

LIMITATIONS ON SPACE RESEARCH

There are some who are convinced that the exploration of space is
rigidly limited and that the landing of men on extraterrestrial bodies
other than the Moon is quite improbable. They are sure that extensive
travel outside the solar system is impossible.

Admittedly, the problems of such travel are enormous. But are they
incapable of solution?

Twenty-six million miles to Venus, 49 million miles to Mars, 3,680
million miles from the Sun to Pluto at the outer edge of the solar
system. The nearest of the stars is 25 million, million miles away,
and travel to it at 10 miles per second would require 80,000 years.
Is the travel of man to the stars a futile dream? Each generation
of man builds on the shoulders of the past. The exploration of
space has begun; who now can set limits to its future
accomplishments?[78]

[Illustration: FIGURE 15.--Need for international cooperation
in the U.S. space program is illustrated by this map showing the areas
from which help must be procured for projects already planned or
underway.]

That is the thought of one of the Nation's most expert space scientists.

_"Who now can set limits * * * ?"_

It seems to mesh curiously well with one of the most interesting
phenomena of our day--the emergence of a breed of engineers,
technicians, teachers, and scientists who do not recognize limits and
who refuse to concede that something cannot be so because it fails to
fit conventional patterns or conform to the physical laws of the
universe as we now know them. Of this there is growing evidence.

For many years it has been an accepted "fact," for instance, that the
Moon is a dead world with no life upon it. The suggestion made by the
great 16th century mathematician, Johannes Kepler, that some life might
exist on the Moon was debunked into silence long since. Yet today a
fellow of the British Royal Astronomical Society writes that the first
men to arrive on the Moon may find not only plant life but possibly
animal life. "The fact that terrestrial organisms may be unable to
survive in the surroundings of another planet is by itself no more
significant than that fishes and other marine animals die when exposed
to the air. From their point of view air is uninhabitable because they
have failed to equip themselves with lungs."[79] And he adds that his
surmise "leaves out of account the possibilities of the Moon's
underground world, which are incalculable, for there water, the vital
gases, congenial temperatures, and increased pressures will all be
present. Only sunlight is absent."

Then there is Project Ozma, the search for life on other planets or in
other star systems, which began in April 1960 at Green Bank, W. Va. It
is being undertaken by the National Radio-Astronomy Observatory and
consists of carefully directed listening by radio-telescope for signs of
intelligent broadcasts originating outside Earth.

At Stanford University another astronomer is concentrating the efforts
of part of his laboratory on behalf of a similar idea. The chances are,
he believes, "that the superior races of other planets in other galaxies
have already developed a communications network among themselves, and
have entered a joint program to scan all the other solar systems looking
for signs of awakening civilization among the backward planets. Each of
the advanced communities might pick as its probe assignment a single
other solar system--and one such probe may well be circling our Sun
right now on a routine check for life."[80] Unexplained delayed echoes
of earthly radio transmissions received in the past, it is thought,
could be evidence of such a scheme.

Are goings-on such as these nonsense?

Here is the answer given by one hard-headed science writer:

Centuries may pass before there is any sign of intelligence outside
the Earth. But the advantages of communication with another
civilization that has survived our present dilemmas are far too
great to permit the experiment to be abandoned.[81]

The results of recent and more orthodox experiments have already done
much to shake the complacency of scientists in regard to their concepts
of space. Investigations have disclosed that, far from being a complete
vacuum, space is relatively full of matter and energy. Hydrogen gas,
radiation belts, cosmic particles, solar disturbances of unknown nature,
micrometeorites--and, from Pioneer V, proof of a 5-million ampere
electromagnetic ring centered about 40,000 miles away.[82] The director
of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass.,[83] has
said that more and more startling astrophysical information was gathered
during the first few weeks of the space age than had been accumulated in
the preceding century.

In brief, it is becoming the vogue in science to refuse to say
"impossible" to anything. On the contrary, the watchword for tomorrow is
shaping up as "take _nothing_ for granted."

FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LIFE

Everything learned from space exploration thus far indicates that the
knowledge lying in wait for those who manage to observe the universe
from outside Earth's atmosphere will be far grander than anything
uncovered to date.

We may finally learn the origin of our universe and the method of its
functioning. A good part of this knowledge may be no farther away than
the next 3 to 5 years. Satellite telescopes now under construction are
expected to elicit far more information than even the 200-inch giant at
Mount Palomar. One such observatory satellite, to be launched in 1963 or
before, "will permit a telescope of about 10 feet in length to point at
heavenly bodies within a tenth of a second of arc for periods up to an
hour. Present plans call for an orbit between 400 and 500 miles, as a
lifetime of at least 6 months is required to observe the entire
celestial field."[84]

Perhaps, and sooner than we think, we shall find a clue to the destiny
of all intelligent life.

Perhaps the theory advanced by a noted eastern astronomer will turn out
to be true--that biological evolution on the habitable planets of the
universe may be the result of contamination left by space travelers
arriving from (and leaving for) other worlds. In other words, the
fruition of life on the various planets of the millions of solar systems
might be the product of a wandering group of astronautic Johnny
Appleseeds who leave the grains of life behind them. "Space travel
between galaxies has to be possible for this, but of course this needs
to be only quite a rare event. In a time of about 3.3 billion years, the
most advanced form of life occurring in a galaxy must be able to reach a
neighboring one."[85]

The notion seems fantastic.

But when we look clear to the end of Earth's road (and assuming the
astrophysicists are right in their theories about the evolution and
ultimate death of our solar system) we know that Earth will one day
become uninhabitable. Life on Earth must then perish or move elsewhere.
If we further assume that mankind will not want to die with his planet
and if we acknowledge that other worlds may have been through this
entire cycle in eons past--perhaps the notion is not so unreasonable
after all.

Whatever the truth is on this score, space exploration will certainly be
of "practical" value to our descendants when that dim, far-off day
arrives.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES

Long before the arrival of that millennium, however, the knowledge and
understanding awaiting us through the medium of space exploration is
certain to have profound effects on the human race psychologically and
spiritually.

It already has had effects on humans of all ages.

Adults, who are paying the taxes to support the space exploration
program and reaping its practical values, are also thinking of
themselves, their country, and their world in broader, more
knowledgeable terms.

In a sense, children may be even more deeply involved.

There is a special group which may play a useful role in spreading
the new values growing from the exploration of space, and this is
the children who play at spaceman today. Whether or not they take
this interest with them beyond childhood remains to be seen.
However, the unique fact in the present situation is that never
before have children rehearsed a role that really will not exist
until they are adults. To be sure all of them will not fulfill this
childhood role, but the fact that the reality lies ahead rather
than in the past (as with cowboys and Indians) may stimulate them
to retain a sensitivity for the various meanings man in space can
have for our future.[86]

Put it another way--if it is true, as a modern Chinese philosopher has
said, that the search for knowledge is a form of play, "then the
spaceship, when it comes, will be the ultimate toy that may lead mankind
from its cloistered nursery out into the playground of the stars."[87]

[Illustration: FIGURE 16.--Space vehicles of the future may
look like this artist's drawing of an electrical propulsion craft. The
nuclear reactor is located at the extreme left, followed by a neutron
shield, heat exchanger, gamma-ray shield and propellant. The center tank
houses turbogenerating equipment. Excessive heat is dissipated in the
large radiator. At the extreme right are two crew cabins, landing
vehicle and a ring-shaped accelerator.]

MATURING OF THE RACE

The psychological and spiritual changes necessitated by this evolution
may be at a cost far beyond dollars--because many of us will be hard put
to negotiate them, especially if they come too rapidly.

Nevertheless, negotiating them must also be placed in the category of
"practical" values--for in the long run it seems to be an essential part
of the maturing of mankind.

The years ahead will face us with many sputniks and thereby will
require of our citizens stern, costly, and imaginative
participation in programs to meet and surmount the many complex
challenges with which our growing technology confronts us. To
succeed in space and to succeed on Earth, we must somehow learn to
make the larger world of ideas, so brilliantly exemplified by the
satellites, the immediate environment of the individual. There is a
race we must run--the race for an enlightened and involved
public.[88]

So if we can accept the wrenches which space exploration is apt to apply
to our time, pocketbook, energy, and thinking, the values and rewards as
outlined in this report should gather headway and grow continuously
greater.

Space technology is probably the fastest moving, typically
free-enterprise and democratic industry yet created. It puts a
premium not on salesmanship, but on what it needs
most--intellectual production, the research payoff. Unlike any
other existing industry, space functions on hope and future
possibilities, conquest of real estate unseen, of near vacuum
unexplored. At once it obliterates the economic reason for war, the
threat of overpopulation, or cultural stagnation; it offers to
replace guesswork with the scientific method for archeological,
philosophical, and religious themes.[89]

Such conclusions seem a bit rosy. But sober study indicates that they
may not be too "far out" after all.

FOOTNOTES:

[72] Hauser, Philip M., "Demographic Dimensions of World Politics,"
Science, June 3, 1960, p. 1642.

[73] Bacq, Prof. Z. M., "Medicine in the 1960's," New Scientist, Jan.
21, 1960, p. 130.

[74] 59 supra.

[75] Ibid.

[76] Ibid.

[77] "The Challenge of Leisure," M. G. Scott, Ltd., London, August 1959,
p. 20.

[78] 27 supra.

[79] Firsoff, Dr. V. A., "The Strange World of the Moon," Basic Books,
London, 1959.

[80] Reported by David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 1960.

[81] Lear, John, "Is Anybody There?," New Scientist, Apr. 14, 1960, p.
933.

[82] Aviation Week, May 9, 1960, p 32.

[83] Whipple, Dr. Fred L.

[84] Western Aviation, June 1960, p. 16.

[85] Gold, Dr. Thomas, "Cosmic Garbage," address to the Space Scientists
Symposium, Los Angeles, December 1959.

[86] 68 supra, pp. 12, 13.

[87] 6 supra, pp. 3, 4.

[88] Michael, D. N., "Sputniks & Public Opinion," Air Force, June 1960,
p. 75.

[89] Industrial Research, December 1959, pp. 8, 9.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Practical Values of Space Exploration - Report of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. - House of Representatives, Eighty-Sixth Congress, Second - Session" ***

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