Office of Science and Technology Policy
For Immediate Release
Contact: 202/456-6108 |
February 8, 2000 |
FACT SHEET
WHITE HOUSE COMPLETES REVIEW ON SPACE LAUNCH RANGES
On March 29, 1999 the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs signed a memo to the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation, and Commerce, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the NASA Administrator. This memo initiated a White House-led interagency review on the management and use of the U.S. space launch bases and ranges. The interagency working group was co-chaired by NSC and OSTP and all U.S. space sectors had a voice in the process. The review examined modernization efforts and looked to the future to recommend areas where we can streamline policy and management arrangements to enable the launch bases and ranges to accommodate all U.S. space transportation users more efficiently. The report is available to the public on the world wide web at the following addresses: www.af.mil, www.hq.nasa.gov/osf, and www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/html/spaceranges.pdf.
The Report of the Interagency Working Group on Future Management and
Use of the U.S. Space Launch Bases and Ranges examines the current roles
and responsibilities of federal government agencies and the U.S. commercial
space sector and the major policy and management issues resulting from
the shift in launch base use from its historic government-dominated basis
toward more commercial, market-driven activities. The U.S. government
is already sharing substantial responsibilities with the commercial sector
and is pursuing a path to share significantly more responsibilities with
spaceports, state governments, and commercial operators in the future.
The report describes a strategy that builds on these changes with a series
of near-term steps that will enhance and expand the government-state-industry
partnership. These steps include: