I have long held the opinion that science and technology, particularly that concerned with aeronautics and space science and exploration, may well hold the key to our future existence -- to
the very survival of freedom in the world of tomorrow.
Perhaps my acute awareness of the importance of these activities stems from the fact that
I am privileged to be the ranking Republican member of two Senate Committees and the second
ranking Republican of a third Committee, each having a degree of cognizance over the United
States' efforts in aeronautics and space. I am referring, respectively, to the Senate Armed
Services Committee, the Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee and the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Defense.
A review of the significant developments in aeronautics and space in the past decade
parades many wondrous and thrilling achievements.
I believe the present status and future potential of aviation is a testimonial to the value of
aeronautical research and development. The most distant lands are now merely hours away;
Americans accumulate a collective one trillion miles in intercity travel; and the aviation industry,
which ranks seventh among the Nation's leading industries, is considered by economists as a key
factor in our sustained national economic growth.
Our space science and exploration efforts, which are still in their infant stage when
compared with the age of aviation, nevertheless also have produced many notable achievements.
The United States space efforts have resulted in the development of effective meteorological
weather forecasting and global communication satellite systems; brought about an acceleration
of industrial technology in other fields through the development of new exotic metals and other
materials; and demonstrated that complex computer systems can be used to solve a variety of
social and economic problems. Moreover, from a military standpoint, our space efforts to date
have shown that a strong national program to explore and use outer space may well be essential
to our security and to our position of world leadership.
In my mind, however, the most significant achievement directly attributable to space
exploration is that it has, in so short a time, challenged and stimulated our youth at all
educational levels in the quest for scientific knowledge. This new attitude should produce a
much needed increase in both the quantity and quality of our future manpower resources,
Despite the achievements made to date, I firmly believe we are only at the brink of the
new discoveries and developments which will evolve from space science and exploration and
which will be of significant benefit to all mankind. The final determination of whether our
continued efforts in space will produce the dividends many of us perceive probably will not be
made for several decades.
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