President Eisenhower I believe stands in the same position, and it was only last January when he wrote, in one of his letters to the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union:

I propose that we strengthen the United Nations. This organization and the pledges of its members embodied in the charter constitute man's best hope for peace and justice.

His proposal earlier this month that 12 nations, including all the "Big Five" except China, meet this year to agree upon internationalization of Antarctica, was a forward step. Even though the United Nations was not proposed as the vehicle for reaching the agreement that he believes these nations ought to reach, there are no doubt perfectly good reasons for this and they do not foreclose an agreement which would bring this territory under the jurisdiction of the U. N. for the peaceful purposes the President foresees.

Shouldn't we do much the same thing with outer space-so different in degree but not in kind? There are some people in this country who would like to push the United Nations itself into outer space and leave it there. The American Association for the United Nations, on the contrary, urges putting outer space into the orbit of the United Nations, for the protection of ourselves as well as other nations. That, sir, is all I have as a statement.

Senator SYMINGTON. Senator McClellan, do you have any questions? Senator MCCLELLAN. I have no questions, Mr. Chairman.

Senator SYMINGTON. In my opinion, this is a very constructive document that you have presented. In some way, we have to get a brotherhood of man in this nuclear age, or else we are all going to end up under the domination of a particular group who consider that the citizen is a servant of his state, instead of its master, or we are going to be eliminated from the earth entirely.

Thank you very much, Doctor. We appreciate having the advantage of your testimony, and we are grateful to you for coming down. Dr. VAN WAGENEN. Thank you, Senator Symington.

Senator SYMINGTON. Without objection, I would like to ask permission of the committee to include in an appropriate place in the committee hearing record certain letters received from Government officials, and statements submitted by interested persons and groups on the subject matter of these hearings.

(The material referred to appears in the appendix.)

Senator SYMINGTON. The hearing will now adjourn, subject to the call of the Chair.

(Whereupon, at 12:05 p. m., the committee adjourned, subject to the call of the Chair.)

APPENDIX

Hon. LYNDON B. JOHNSON,

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,

THE GENERAL COUNSEL OF COMMERCE,

Washington, D. C., May 21, 1958.

Chairman, Special Committee on Space and Astronautics,
United States Senate, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: ***

As you know, the Chief of the Weather Bureau, Dr. Reichelderfer, was unable to be present to testify because of the change in the committee's schedule. Dr. Reichelderfer has since returned from Europe and has prepared the attached statement, which he would like to have included in the committee's record.

We appreciate the opportunity we have had to help the committee in its deliberations, and if there is any other material which we could supply, please let us know.

Sincerely yours,

J. ALLEN OVERTON, Jr.,
Deputy General Counsel.

STATEMENT OF DR. F. W. REICHELDERFER, CHIEF, UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU

In his testimony before this special committee, the Chairman of the NACA, Gen. James H. Doolittle, referring to use of satellites and space platforms has stated that "one of the most obvious, and immediately valuable (uses) has to do with meterology." This statement is well supported by facts already known. In fact, one is justified in going much further with reference to the significance of artificial earth satellites in exploring the atmosphere to discover and measure those elements and features which are all-important to a full understanding of weather and climate. Not only is a full understanding necessary to accuracy in predictions of weather conditions, it is also indispensable to intelligent development of weather modification and control, whatever their practical possibilities may be. Certainly, the practical possibilities of weather control are still unknown and they can be brought out only by better understanding of the complex interrelationships between the energy from the sun, the heating of the atmosphere and the many feedbacks involved in the atmospheric mechanisms which produce weather and climate. This is not the place to go into detail as to the possibilities and the consequences of various forms of weather control. It is sufficient to say that while there are many problems in meteorology still to be solved, we may be sure that there are consequences of weather control which must be reckoned with. We know that there are some possibilities which would turn out to be cases of a cure worse than the disease.

I do not imply that meteorological observations of the atmosphere and its cloud systems viewed from above by means of telemetering devices on artificial satellites would solve all meteorological problems of weather prediction and "control." Even with the benefit of continuous monitoring of storm development as seen from the top of the atomosphere, it will still be necessary to develop and improve our system of observations of what goes on within the atmosphere, particularly within the troposphere where most of the severe storms are formed. One small illustration will show the value of observations from a satellite. About 4 years ago a photograph was made available to us by the Office of Naval Research showing the cloud systems over Texas and other Southwestern States and part of the Gulf of Mexico, as viewed from an altitude of about 100 miles by means of a camera carried aloft by a V-2 rocket from White Sands. This picture gave meteorologists their first information that a veritable hurricane had developed at a height of 1,500 or 2,000 feet above the ground. The network of weather observations on the ground and the data from upper air sounding balloons had been

insufficient to identify the existence of this cyclone aloft. It accounted for heavy rains that could not be explained from data normally available. No one knows how frequently there are significant and often determining factors in the circulation of the atmosphere that escape detection in observations made from the surface of the earth. This photograph from a rocket shows vividly and conclusively how much more we would know about the atmosphere if we had continuous pictures of the clouds telemetered from the satellite above the "top" of the atmosphere.

There are meteorological elements other than clouds that can be measured accurately by means of artificial satellites and other devices for exploring the outer atmosphere. For example, variations in the intensity and spectrum of radiation from the sun may have an important influence on atmospheric circulation and the weather. Changes in the ozone content at high altitudes would doubtless modify the "greenhouse" effect on the radiation balance in the earth's atmosphere and this could cause great changes in weather and climate. are still other meteorological features.

There

Their

In the past weather and climate have often been taken for granted. determining role in human affairs may be overlooked except when extremes of drought or flood, cold wave or prostrating heat or destructive storms upset the entire economy of a region or a locality and cause heavy loss of life and property damage. The importance of weather in military operations should also be remembered. Even in modern times the outcome of many a military engagement has depended in large part upon weather conditions and in the past the course of history has more than once been changes as result of "defeat" caused by storms rather than by opposing military forces.

There can be no doubt that the science of meteorology is at the threshold of important developments. Advances in the technology of electronics, etc., have opened up possibilities never available to the meteorologist before. The frequent inadequacies of weather forecasts are well known but these are not due to indifference or inaptitude on the part of the meteorologists; they are due to lack of basic data of meteorological elements and to still inadequate techniques for treatment of larger volumes of data. But the solutions to these problems are in sight. The research and the facilities visualized under the legislation now being considered by your committee are among the essential steps toward keeping the United States in the forefront in meteorology and its applications in weather prediction and weather modification or control. In my opinion, the establishment of a civil agency in the proposed NASA is the best way to advance our capabilities in aeronautics and space exploration in the outer atmosphere and in the many aspects related to other fields of science, such as meteorology.

FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS,
Washington, D. C., May 13, 1958.

Hon. LYNDON B. JOHNSON,

Chairman, Special Committee on Space and Astronautics, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR JOHNSON: We wish to call to your ment of views on space research and development, council at its annual spring meeting here on May 3. body of the FAS.

attention the enclosed stateauthorized by our national The council is the governing

We urge the committee to consider the council's views and hope that the complete text of our statement can be included in the printed record of the hearings now being conducted by your committee.

Respectfully yours,

AUGUSTUS H. Fox, Chairman, 1958–59.

TEXT OF STATEMENT ON THE NEED FOR A CIVILIAN SPACE AGENCY IN THE UNITED STATES AND FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP TO FOSTER INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THIS FIELD

(Authorized by the national council of the Federation of American Scientists at its meeting in Washington, D. C., May 3, 1958)

The imagination of men everywhere has been fired by the recent satellite launchings, which have taken us across the threshold to outer space. The opening of this new area of technology poses a challenge to United States planning as profound as the advent of atomic energy in 1942. That challenge was met by Congress

through passage of the McMahon Act, establishing a completely civilian commission to direct the atomic-energy program.

Legislation of comparably creative character is required to realize the potential benefits of the space age. Although the initial development of atomic energy was under the Manhattan project, the Congress wisely placed the permanent responsibility for its direction in civilian hands. Under this leadership, the military uses of atomic energy have been energetically pressed. Moreover, both military and civilian uses of atomic energy have prospered in an atmosphere more conducive to scientific progress than that typically available under military direction.

Mindful of this precedent, and of the failure of the Pentagon leadership to foresee the impact of the first satellites in the popular imagination, we urge immediate establishment of a civilian space agency. This organization should be entrusted with full responsibility for the conduct of space research and development of space vehicles. Suitable provision should be made for the transfer of appropriate existing research projects to the new agency.

We further urge that the Congress prepare to seize the opportunity for American leadership in this frontier area by fostering international cooperation in space research and exploration. We can best improve our national security by initiating cooperative programs which will draw together the peoples of the world in the joint conquest of outer space. It would be tragic if the challenging task of space exploration were carried on in the competitive nationalistic pattern under which it has begun.

The general armaments race has now produced a perilous stalemate which it is in the interest of no nation to continue. Mankind now faces a choice between increasing this peril by militaristic space conquest or relaxing world tensions through the cooperative peaceful exploration of space.

Travel to the moon and beyond must now be faced in its political aspects. We look with disfavor on the developing race to establish national bases on the moon and on the planets. We would much prefer to think that men, divided though they have been on their own planet, can at last unite in the inspiring task of exploring the universe. We do not wish to see the satellites of Mars or Jupiter become satellites of the Soviet Union or possessions of any other country. We think that a united and coordinated international effort should be attempted under the authority of the United Nations. We therefore urge that the Congress prepare the way for this international effort by placing our space program under a truly civilian agency which can serve the national security and interest in the broadest sense.

THE PROBLEMS OF CONGRESS IN FORMULATING OUTER SPACE LEGISLATION 1 (By Eilene Galloway, special consultant, Senate Committee on Space and Astronautics)

I. THE NEW FRONTIER

The successful launching of an earth satellite by the Russians on October 4, shortly followed by a second and much heavier sputnik on November 3, 1957, was a dramatic announcement to the world of scientific progress which opened up new realms for man's exploration of outer space. While the United States was caught unawares by this evidence of Soviet mastery of science and technology, it was not far behind in sending its Explorer into orbit on January 31, 1958.

The repercussions of this situation upon the Congress can only be understood in the context of the extreme complexity of outer space exploration and control. A basic knowledge of science and technology is required in order to determine the relationship of outer space development to national and international law, national defense, foreign relations, education, communications and navigation, weather control, medical research, and the organization and administration of the Government for handling such a combination of subjects. The scientific facts which can be established at the present time, supplemented by our constant increase in knowledge and experience, are essential to the determination of what is feasible and what is impracticable; of those aspects of outer space which can be adequately covered by a national law and those which will require international cooperative arrangements.

1 This report was written at the request of Hon. John W. McCormack, chairman, House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, March 7, 1958, by Eilene Galloway, national defense analyst, Legislative Reference Service, the Library of Congress.