302 HISTORY OF THE < OMMITTEE ON S< II N< I AND TECHNOLOGY 



option for a fifth orbiter also passed the Senate, thereby insuring its 

 inclusion in the final conference committee action. In addition, the 

 committee persuaded the Appropriations Committee to include the 

 $4 million increase to lock it in. 



THE SHUTTLE IN PERSPECTIVE 



Because millions of people throughout the Nation did not share 

 in the same commitment to the Space Shuttle as they had to the Apollo 

 program when it first started, it is remarkable that the committee 

 successfully managed to push the program through the Congress 

 throughout the decade of the 1970's. It is true that in areas closer to 

 Vandenberg Air Force Base, Kennedy Space Center, and the various 

 contractors, people flocked by the thousands to see and support this 

 new development in space transportation. Yet the committee shoul- 

 dered a major educational burden in convincing the Congress that over 

 $5 billion should be invested in a bird which would not fly until after 

 1979- In the early 1970's the argument was used that tremendous 

 savings would result from bringing down the launch costs. As time 

 went on, the justification for the Shuttle continued to emphasize 

 savings, and also stressed the versatility of missions which the Shuttle 

 could perform. 



The leadership of Tiger Teague, first as chairman of the Subcom- 

 mittee on Manned Space Flight, then as chairman of the full committee 

 from 1973 through 1978, was a major factor in the successful progress 

 of the Shuttle. Teague initiated the practice of annual visits to the 

 contractors and space installations, which was carried on by Don 

 Fuqua when he succeeded to the subcommittee chairmanship and 

 to an even greater extent as full committee chairman in the 96th 

 Congress. The active participation and support of leading Re- 

 publican Members like Jack Wydler, Larry Winn, and Lou Frcv 

 were vital in paving the way toward smoother progress for the Shuttle. 

 Aggressive oversight by the committee, through repeated hearings, 

 field trips, queries and published reports, also was an important feature 

 of the legislative process. The annual reports which the committee 

 developed on the Shuttle, supplementing the formal hearings record, 

 show how this incredibly complex mechanism was developed and 

 pushed forward despite many obstacles and delays. 



Looking hack on the many milestones of the past decade, the 

 day after he was chosen as the new Chairman of the Committee on 

 Science and Technology, Congressman Don Fuqua reflected that one 

 of the Shuttle's biggest technical and administrative problems had 



