European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Hers for . Satellites policy and National Security. It s not in the us. National interest to Issue Export licenses for satellites because Western technological secrets might All Inlo Soviel hands said Robert b. Mantel an official in the slate department s Bureau of political military a lairs. Rep. Bill Nelson. D-fla., who Heads the House space subcommittee and whose District includes the Kennedy space Center the West s largest spaceport said the deeper Issue was whether Freedom to use russian rockets would doom the fledgling commercial rocket Industry in the United Stales. I m astounded that people think of russian rockets As an  he said. That would blast any Chance of a commercial launch Industry succeeding Here. The solution is to get american vehicles to be competitive in Price if necessary with subsidies from the american  Nelson s subcommittee recently held hearings on the health of rocket and satellite industries. The current dispute is fuelled by the continuing repercussions of last year s space disasters which temporarily ended the nation s ability to Send Large payloads into space. After the space shuttle challenger exploded president Reagan ordered an end to the launching of commercial Sal Elliles by the reusable space shuttles. Two other types of americans rockets also exploded upon Takeoff last year grounding another key pan of the. Rocket Fleet used to Send satellites aloft. Although some smaller rockets Are lying again and Large new Ripen Date rockets Are starting to Roll of he nation s production lines so far these Are mostly for military missions the Pentagon recently announced an expansion of its program to acquire new rockets. Experts say it could be several years before the nation forms a private rocket Industry thai can catch up with the demand for commercial launch rings. While a few american companies Are developing private launching services and some including Martin Marietta and Mcdonnell Douglas Are even signing up customers none have built any rockets. Ii will to 1989 at the earliest before they can begin to fulfil the contracts experts said. The main Soviel space Agency. Gfa Kosmos has stepped up efforts to sell launching on seven different types of Soviel rockets including the Proton the Workhorse of the Soviel Fleola. The Price of a Proton launching about $30 million is half the Cost of similar launching in the weal. The Soviel offers have been greeted Wilh resin men by american Rockel makers who want Protection from Competition and time to form a new commercial launching Industry and with eager approval by makers and marketers of satellites who Are losing new orders because current contracts cannot be fulfilled. General of Elri a whose americos division markets Sells communications Sal Elliles recently told Nelson s subcommittee that the government ban should be reconsidered because Access to soviet rockets would help the Industry survive the current problems o american rocketry and lower soaring costs the . Should serious investigate whether commercial satellite operators should be allowed to use the services of the Proton Eugene f. Murphy be s senior vice president for communications and services told the subcommittee. He dismissed fears Hal High technology would fall into soviet hands saying. We believe these concerns can be overcome and Hal us. Satellites can be satisfactorily fitted and launched without giving away hard won technological knowhow " the world s largest maker of communications satellites Hughes aircraft co which is owned by pm the world s largest corporation echoed those sentiments going round and round in space by Howard Benedict associated press Here Are 337 functioning Salt lilies orbiting Iho Earth and nearly halt of inem arc on military missions the soviet Union has 146 operating  i and the Unildo Stales 129. We c the remaining 62 arc owned by 13 other nations and International organizations. The federation of american scientists release the space summary at Cape canaveral Flain connection with Lse 30lh anniversary of the world s nest Man made satellite. Hes Ovici sputnik 1, launched ocl 4, 1957. Of the 337 orbiting satellites. 165. Or 49 Peic enl arc military it said the report said thai two thirds of the soviet satellites and More than Hall of the american payloads Luve military assignments such As reconnaissance navigation electronic intelligence gathering Twilight missile warning and communications. This clearly demonstrates Iho military space Printies of the unwed slates and soviet Union said Lohn Pike. Iho federation s associate director or space policy who prepared Iho report i m disturbed by the priorities in shows. The military civilian space balance is out of whack he said Pike estimated the defense department is spending Between $15 billion and $20 billion this year on space projects compared Wilh Nasa s fiscal 1987 Burtle of $8.9 billion. He said it is difficult to estimate Soviel spending on military space but if we ined to do what they do with their great number of launches it would be about 130 billion in our  the soviets have been launching about 100 space missions a year compared to lower than 20 Lor the United states. One reason the soviets launch so Many payloads is that belter american technology provides a longer Orbital life Lor . Satellites. Pike said the oldest soviet operational satellite was launched in 1979, while some american satellites Are still functioning after More than 20 years since sputnik t was launched. The Soviel Union Nas dispatched 2,322 payloads into space the Unildo states 1,094, and other countries and International organizations 214. Most of them have burned up in the atmosphere dragged Down by atmospheric inaction. Alter serving useful lives. But Many still Orbil Sil Cully As use Ess hulks the  space command in charge of America s space surveillance currently tracks nearly 7,000 orbiting objects the size of a baseball or larger. Most Aie thousands of Iraq meals a scaled by the unintended breakup of More than 90 satellites and Booster rockets  and organizations Wilh operating satellites Are the International telecommunications satellite organization 15, Japan 14. European space Agency 8. Canada 5. Australia and France 3 each and Britain India China. Brazil Indonesia Mexico and the Arab satellite organization 2 each. Forty eight of these 62 Are communications Sal Ellinw. None is Mit Ilary. Of 69 . Military satellites. 26 Are used to gainer electronic intelligence such As eavesdropping on radio and Telephone communications 19 Are for communications and 12 Tor navigation. More than half. 52. Of the soviets 96 military Saleff Les Are used Lor communications. There Are 19 navigation and 11 electronic intelligence payloads. The United Stales has 42 civilian satellites Lor such things As communications Earth and sea resources surveys weather observation and technology development and 18 scientific payloads the Sociol Union operates 40 civilian satellites and Lour scientific packages. There is Only one manned payload in orbit the soviets Mir space station occupied by two cosmonauts one of whom last week broke the old manned space endurance record of 237 Days. October 26,1967 the stars and stripes Page 15