638 



future benefits over a wide range of applications. A NASA study in 

 1967 listed some of these as follows : 



hydrology (river forecasting and flood warning) 



tracking of migratory fish, animals, and birds 



iceberg reconnaissance 



mapping of land areas and ocean bottoms 



tsunami warning 



earthquake prediction 



air pollution monitoring and forecasting 



weather forecasting 



support for weather modification (precipitation enhancement, 

 hail and lightning suppression, fog dispersal, atid storm modifica- 

 tion) 



earth resources surveys (agricultural and mineral). 



WEATHER FORECASTING BY SATELLITE 



A measure of the possible economic advantages of weather forecast- 

 ing was deA^eloped by a panel of the National Academy of Sciences, in 

 1965, which suggested that upwards of $2 billion "could be saved by 

 farmers, fuel producers, public utilities, builders, and water managers 

 if they were equipped with better forecasting tools." ^° International 

 cooperation in this field has been quick to develop. For example, in a 

 letter to Chairman Khrushchev, March 7, 1962, President Kennedy 

 suggested "the joint establishment of an early operational weather 

 satellite system"' to provide global weather data for use by any nation. 



To initiate this service, [the President continued! I propose that the United 

 States and the Soviet Union each launch a satellite to photograph cloud cover 

 and provide other agreed meteorological services for all nations. . . . This im- 

 mensely valuable data vrould then be disseminated through normal international 

 meteorological channels and would make a significant contribution to the research 

 and service programs now under study by the World Meteorological Organiza- 

 tion in response to Resolution 1721 (XVI) adopted by the United Nations General 

 Assembly on December 20, 1961.^ 



Khrushchev agreed. In his reply, March 20, 1962, he said: 



Precise and timely weather prediction would be still another important step 

 on the path to man's subjugation of the forces of nature ; it would permit him 

 to combat more successfully the calamities of the elements and would give new 

 prospects for advancing the well-being of mankind. Let us also cooperate in this 

 field. °- 



Good progress appears to have been made in this subject. By April, 

 1967', the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was to 

 report : 



One of the political benefits of weather satellites has been in fostering coopera- 

 tion with other nations, particularly between the United States and the Soviet 

 Union. An example of this is the 1962 agreement with the United States and the 

 U.S.S.R. The agreement stated in part : "In the field of meteorology, it is im- 

 portant that the two satellite launching nations contribute their capabilities 



60 National Research Council. Committee on Oceanography. "Economic Benefits from 

 Oceanographic Research, A Special Report." (Washington, D.C., National Academy of 

 Sciences-National Research Council, 1964), page 37. (Publ. 1228.) 



SI Department of State Bulletin, (April 2, 1962), pages 536-7. 



s-U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. "Documents 

 on, International Aspects of the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, 1954-62." Staff report 

 prepared for the use of the .... (Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, May 9, 

 1963), page 250. 



