Letter of Submission to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from the Contractor

The Brookings Institution,

Washington, D. C., November 30, 1960

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HON. JOHN A. JOHNSON,
Chairman, Committee on Long-Range Studies,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. JOHNSON : I am pleased to transmit herewith a report on Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs, which has been prepared for your Committee on Long-Range Studies of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, pursuant to Section 102(c) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.

This section specifies that the aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be so conducted as to contribute materially to several objectives, among which is (4) establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful
and scientific purposes.

In seeking assistance in carrying out the objectives of this section, NASA, through your Committee, and the Brookings Institution agreed that there was a wide range of studies in the social sciences that could be made of the potential benefits and problems arising from the peaceful use of space. In fact, the full range of possible studies was so great that some guidelines bad to be established to aid in the orderly selection and proper support of those studies that would contribute most effectively to the policies and purposes of the Congress as stated in the National Aeronautics and Space Act. It was believed, therefore, that if a program of such studies were to be developed, NASA would be in a better position to discharge its statutory responsibilities. The attached report is designed to assist in the development of that kind of comprehensive and long-term program of research and study. The report recommends for the consideration of NASA a wide range of studies regarding the social, economic, political, legal, and international implications of the use of space for peaceful and scientific purposes.

The agreed upon multiple objectives of the report would be well served if it generates research activities within as well as outside of NASA, in accordance with the interests of those in the academic community, private research organizations, industry, and other government agencies. Therefore, some material is included which, while familiar to NASA, is felt to be necessary background for those who have not been close to some of the problems discussed.

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The Brookings staff members and the consultants responsible for the study collaborated through a series of monthly two-day conferences. In addition, over 200 people were interviewed throughout the course of the project. These persons by contributing their experience, imagination, and critical insight have been of great assistance in the preparation of this report. Throughout the preparation of the report the Institution has bad the wholehearted cooperation of your Committee on Long-Range Studies, whose assistance the Institution acknowledges with gratitude.

Midway in the project, the views of the staff were evaluated and enhanced by the participation at a 2-day conference of Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Director, United Nations Project, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; George Clement, Assistant to the President, the RAND Corporation; Deane Davis, Project Engineer, Centaur, Convair Astronautics, Alfred J. deGrazia,
Director, Center for Applied Social Research, New York University; Joseph M. Goldsen, Senior Staff, the RAND Corporation; H. Field Haviland, Jr., Director of Foreign Policy Studies, the Brookings Institution; Bert F. Hoselitz, Director, Research Center in Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago; Melvin Kranzberg, Editor, Technology and Culture, Case Institute of Technology; Daniel Lerner, Professor of International Communications, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jiri Nebnevajsa, Professor, Department of Sociology, Columbia University; Jack C. Oppenheimer, Executive Secretary, NASA Committee on Long-Range Studies,, Harvey Perloff, Director, Program of Regional Studies, Resources for the Future; Henry W.. Riecken, Head, Office of Social Science, National Science Foundation; and Oscar Schachter, Director, General Legal Division, United Nations.

The study was directed by Donald N. Michael, who is primarily responsible for the interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations in, and the final drafting of this report. Collaborating with him were Jack Baranson and Herbert E. Striner of the Brookings Institution : Raymond A. Bauer, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration; Richard L. Meier, Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan; Aaron B. Nadel, Technical Military Planning Operation, General Electric Company; Herbert A. Shepard, Professor of Behavioral Science, Case Institute of Technology; and Christopher Wright, Executive Director, Council for Atomic Age Studies, Columbia University. Substantial contributions in the form of work papers on specific topics were made by Jack Baranson and Mary E. Robinson of the Brookings Institution; Curtis H. Barker, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Earl W. Lindveit, Washington, D. C.; and Messrs. Nadel, Wright, and Bauer (with Edward E. Furash, Assistant Editor, Harvard Business Review). Research assistance was provided by Ruth Darmstadter, Leonard Schwartz, and Jane Webbink. Charles Clapp, Robert W. Hartley, H. Field Haviland, Jr., Bert G. Hickman, Mark Massel, and Ralph R. Watkins, all of the Brookings staff, reviewed sections of the report; appreciation is expressed to them as well as to Kathleen Sproul, who edited the transcript. The study was made under the general supervision of James M. Mitchell, Director of the Conference Program on Public Affairs.

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The Brookings Institution is particularly indebted to the following people who took time out of their busy schedules to review specific sections of the draft report: Lloyd V. Berkner, President, Associated Universities, Inc.; Scott Buchanan, Consultant, Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions; John J. Corson, Director, McKinsey and Company; Cora Du Bois, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University-, Morton M. Grodzing, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago; Caryl P. Haskins, President, Carnegie Institution of Washington; James R. Killian, Chairman of the Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Herbert E. Krugmen, Director of Research, Raymond Loewy Associates; Nathan Maccoby, Professor, Mass Communications, Stanford University; Margaret Mead, Associate Curator of Ethnology, American Museum of Natural History; Rhode Metraux, Associate Directori Project on the Factor of Allopsychic Orientation in Mental Health, American Museum of Natural History; Charles Morris, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Florida; Oscar Schachter, Director, General Legal Division, United Nations; Gerald W. Siegel, Lecturer on Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration; and Stephen B. Witbey, Director, Public Affairs Studies, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan.

Finally, it should be noted that the time available for the completion of this report has been short in view of the broad range of subjects and the new areas of research to be considered. The authors have made a pioneering exploration into new fields of investigation in the attempt to foresee types of research which space activities make desirable. The treatment, findings, and recommendations are those of the authors and, in accordance with usual procedures, do not necessarily reflect the views of other members of the Brookings staff, its administrative officers, or members of its Board of Trustees.

Robert D. Calkins, President

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