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OCR for page 82
11
Preconditions and Infrastructure
Many developments in technology~ome of them extremely
challenging-will be needed if the program recommended here is to
be successful. Specific needs for each discipline are identified and
discussed in the individual task group reports. The steering group
endorses those recommendations.
This study focuses on large-scale scientific undertakings.
These cannot be implemented unless a certain set of precondi-
tions, listed below, are satisfied.
~ These undertakings must be built on a solid foundation of
supporting research and technology. This foundation must include
vigorous theoretical and ground-'oased laboratory studies. Scientific
progress does not begin and end with the construction of flight
hardware and the acquisition of data. Nor is it sufficient to con-
fine theoretical analysis or laboratory support to preparation for
specific missions or the interpretation of mission results. Theoret-
ical and laboratory studies establish the framework in which data
can be understood; they are not captives of specific missions, nor
can they be started and stopped at will. Stable funding for these
supporting activities will pay off handsomely.
~ For very similar reasons, smati-scale, exploratory Light ac-
tiv~ties such as the present Explorer, Observer, Spartan, and subor-
82
OCR for page 83
83
bital programs must be allowed to Fourth. The st - Hog Coup form
sees no qualitative change in the way progress ~ made in science.
Thus, we will continue to require missions with short implementa-
tion tunes. These missions may be designed to answer questions
of detail, exploit findings of larger projects, or attack targets of
special opportunity. Furthermore, participation in space science
by graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and young university
faculty members requires projects that can be completed In one
to three years. The steering Croup believes that progress in space
science criticality depends on the full participation of universities
because that Is where much of the reservoir of scientific talent Te-
~ides. The university space science community functions best in
a program that includes short-term, small-scale projects. Thus, in
order to foster space science and to ensure the viability and par-
ticipation of that community, the space science program should; be
structured to include such small-scale projects untie ready access to
space flight.
. .. . . . . . .
Balance in the research program must be maintained among
9TOUp~ at universities industrial laboratories, and government cen-
ters in conducting space research.
~ The laboratories used for space research should be amply
furnished with state-of-the-art equipment. Currently, the condition
of equipment in most university laboratories can only be described
as abysmal.
. A generic requirement in most of the fields covered by this
study is for detectors that are more advanced than those now
available. Advanced programs for detector technoloov should he
established and nurtured.
.
~ ,,
Computational facilities play ~ essential role in gathering,
storing, and analyzing data. They also enable theorists to develop
models and to test their models against experimental and obser-
vational data. Computer facilities in the space program must be
maintained at a state-of-the-aTt level, with regard to both hardware
and software.
As this report is being written, the nation's access to space
has been severely curtailed. This situation accents the need for
a sturdy, redunclant system of acquiring access to space. Launch
system* delivery mechanisms, space platforms, and other such
developments should never be looked upon as ends in themselves.
Rather, they should be treated as tools to support well-defined objec-
tives. The science objectives have been the subject of this report.
.
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84
If the conditions set forth in this chapter are met, the steering
group is confident that the nation wiD be prepared at the turn of
the century to embark on the scientific program recommended in
this report, and that the future of the national program in space
will be as bright as its past. Some of the participants In this
study were present when the space age in science began at White
Sands 40 years ago. The program designed here, along with the
achievements of the past four decades, Is a legacy they leave to
their children
.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
space research
