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Message to the Congress Transmitting the Annual Report on Aeronautics and Space

June 04, 1991

To the Congress of the United States:

It is with great pleasure that I transmit this report on the Nation's achievements in aeronautics and space during 1989 and 1990, as required under section 206 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2476). Not only do aeronautics and space activities involve 14 contributing departments and agencies of the Federal Government, as represented in this report, but the results of this ongoing research and development affect the Nation as a whole.

In 1989 and 1990 we successfully conducted eight space shuttle flights, deploying the Magellan Venus probe, the Galileo Jupiter probe, the Syncom IV Navy communications satellite, and the Hubble Space Telescope and retrieving the Long Duration Exposure Facility. The successful launch of 28 expendable launch vehicles put into orbit a wide variety of spacecraft including the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Roentgen satellite. In addition, many ongoing activities contributed to the period's achievements. The Voyager 2 encounter with Neptune capped off the highly successful 12-year Voyager program; the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System became fully operational; the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored a commercially developed first launch of the Pegasus Air-Launched Space Booster; the Department of Commerce continued studies on ozone, cloud occurrence, and snow cover -- factors critical to our study of climate change; the Federal Aviation Administration strengthened aviation security by deploying the advanced Thermal Neutron Analysis system for detecting explosives in baggage; the Smithsonian Institution contributed greatly to the public's understanding of space research and conducted programs to improve pre-college science instruction; and we helped Soviet Armenians in need of medical assistance by establishing the Telemedicine Space Bridge between U.S. doctors and hospitals in earthquake-struck Armenia. These are just a few of the many accomplishments produced by our 1989 and 1990 budgets for space ($28.4 billion and $31.8 billion, respectively) and aeronautics ($10.6 billion and $11.4 billion, respectively).

The years 1989 and 1990 were successful ones for the U.S. aeronautics and space programs. Not only did these lead to significant accomplishments in scientific knowledge, but also to improvements in the quality of life on Earth through benefits to the economy, to the environment, and in the defense of freedom. Our mission must be to provide stability in aeronautics and space leadership in an ever-changing international environment.

George Bush

The White House,

June 4, 1991.

George Bush, Message to the Congress Transmitting the Annual Report on Aeronautics and Space Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/265688

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