EWTILENI@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Eric Tilenius) (02/18/88)
The following is out of Democratic Presidential candidate Paul Simon's
official "position book" and was obtained from the Simon campaign. This
statement was written on 11/12/87.
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PAUL SIMON ON NASA AND SPACE POLICY
"The 1986 Challenger disaster has forced us to reexamine our previous
directions in civilian space policy. Now that we are building a replacement
shuttle, we have to make decisions about America's long-term access to space.
We need different launch vehicles so that we're not caught again in the
present situation of not being able to get into space in a timely fashion.
"Budgets will continue to dominate the space agenda. The space station,
for example, will be very costly if we adopt a go-it-alone attitude. An
international effort will reduce costs and ensure that it will be used only
for peaceful ends. We should also pursue joint U.S.-Soviet research and
planetary missions, as well as missions with other nations, as an alternative
to placing weapons in space.
"Our space science efforts have lagged. We should study our solar system
and galaxy, through such missions as the Mars Observer, Magellan, Galileo,
and Ulysses. We should study comets and asteroids up-close, as we are now
able to do. We should not rule out manned missions, but neither should we
allow them to continue to drive NASA's major programs. As a rule, it is more
cost effective and efficient to conduct missions without people aboard.
"NASA should be restored to its original mission of studying the universe.
NASA should not be forced to use its scarce resources to carry out the
Pentagon's military space missions. NASA can reclaim its legacy of excellence
in research.
"As President, I will chart a long-range civilian space policy that will
provide technological and research leadership into the 21st century."
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For more information, write to: Paul Simon for President, 302 Fifth Street,
NE, Washington, D.C. 20002.
- ERIC - * Another proud CoCo 3 user * ______________
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