1016 HISTORY OF THF COMMIT! II ON S< II \"( I AND TECHNOLOGY 



and later Karth, also concentrated their subcommittees on the speedier 

 development of weather, communications, navigation, and geodetic 

 satellites and radio astronomy. 



Chapter VIII 



Future planning was a recurrent theme which the committee 

 pushed in every area of its activity. The committee pressure for post- 

 Apollo space planning began several \ ears before the first Moon flight. 

 A deep bipartisan split developed in 1970, the first year NASA sought 

 funds for the Space Shuttle. The efforts of Karth and Mosher to slash 

 funding for the Shuttle lost only by a tie vote that year, although both 

 Members later swung around to support this new space transporta- 

 tion system. Throughout the 1970's, the committee took a particular 

 interest in the expansion of Earth resources and educational satellites, 

 and Fuqua exerted leadership in the areas of space industrialization, 

 the future development of solar power from satellites, and the estab- 

 lishment of an operational Earth Resources Information System. 



When Teague assumed the chairmanship in 1973, the committee 

 took a new lease on life. As chairman of the Democratic Caucus and 

 longtime Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman, Teague had built a 

 unique reputation in the House which was well-described by John 

 Walsh in the Science magazine of January 12, 1979: 



The House has us own hierarchy of values, and league's perceived virtues were 

 cardinal ones — personal integrity, concern for the House as an institution, and fairness 

 in exercising power. There was also respect for his toughness: the nickname "Tiger" 

 has stuck with him since high school and gives some inkling of one dimension of his 

 personality. And there was the direct, unassuming manner and the invisible ribbons 

 on his chest. 



Chapter IX 



Steady progress was made in the development of the Space Shuttle 

 to carry numerous payloads into space with a recoverable booster. In 

 1973, three groups of astronauts had successfully completed flights of 

 28, 59, and 84 days during which they performed valuable experiments 

 on Earth resources, astronomy, in medical, environmental and other 

 areas while visiting the orbiting laboratory named Skylab. But by 

 1979, unforeseen cost and scheduling problems surfaced with the 

 Shuttle, delaying its first launch. The effect of sun spots caused Skylab 

 to fall into the Earth's gravity sooner than expected, on July 11, 1979- 

 The pieces of Skylab fell harmlessly to Earth, primarily in isolated 

 areas of Australia. 



The committee continued to encourage NASA applications, spin- 

 offs, and technology utilization, and always funded more in these 

 areas than NASA requested. In addition to the direct benefits through 



