SPAC1 SCIENCE APPLICATIONS, AND ADVANCED RESEARCH, 1963-69 263 



To those of you out there on the network who made all of the electrons go to the 

 right places, at the right time — and not only during Apollo XI — I would like to say 

 thank you. 



Teague and Mosher both put it more succinctly. In separate- 

 statements at different times, they commented that those involved in 

 the tracking and data acquisition program were "the unsung heroes of 

 our space program." 



FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL MANKIND 



If there were one theme which dominated the committee's think- 

 ing in relation to the entire space program, it was the strong deter- 

 mination that practical applications growing out of NASA's work 

 should be made available quickly and effectively to American industry 

 and consumers. The very first sentence in the National Aeronautics and 

 Space Act of 1958 stipulates: 



The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the United States that activi- 

 ties in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind. 



On July 5, I960, the committee published its first report on "The 

 Practical Values of Space Exploration." It became one of the most 

 popular publications the committee produced, and it was reproduced 

 by the thousands under different titles such as "For the Benefit of All 

 Mankind." 



Organizationally, NASA seemed almost determined to hide or 

 down-grade many of its efforts on behalf of the average man in the 

 street. The Space Act also provided, and NASA was directed to — 



provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information 

 concerning its activities and the results thereof. 



To the distress of committee members, NASA seemed to overlook some 

 of the obvious opportunities to tell the world that going to the Moon 

 meant something far more to the American people than bringing back 

 a load of Moon rocks. 



Press releases and brochures were available through the NASA 

 Public Information Office to send to those who asked, and by far the 

 greatest number of inquiries came from school pupils. But it took the 

 initiative of the committee to produce and distribute the publication 

 on "The Practical Values of Space Exploration," a chore which NASA 

 shunned for many years. 



When Morton J. Stoller, Director of the Office of Applications, 

 testified before the Hechler subcommittee on March 5, 1962, the 

 bulk of his testimony was devoted to weather and communications 

 satellites — two areas which clearly were devoted to practical applica- 

 tions, and which throughout the committee's history received strong 

 support from the Congress. Included in a statement which ran 32 



