SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS IN THE 1970'S 35I 



as well as relationships with host nations. The committee also ex- 

 amined the proposed new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, 

 a leased system which enabled better transmission and reception of 

 data through what were essentially two network satellite stations in 

 synchronous orbit. 



In general, the thorough oversight investigation gave the NASA 

 tracking network high marks for efficiency and economy of operation. 

 It also strengthened the subcommittee's ability to field any and all 

 questions which had been popping out of the blue concerning the 

 program. But in 1974, NASA revealed the details of the new financing 

 proposal for the planned new satellite relay tracking network. NASA 

 asked that the basic 1958 Space Act be amended to give them authority 

 to enter long-term leasing arrangements. NASA attempted to prove 

 that leasing would be cheaper, but the subcommittee produced its own 

 figures to show that it was far cheaper to buy the services outright. 

 New hearings, investigations, and conferences wrestled with this issue 

 during the early months of 1974. Finally, the subcommittee came up 

 with a compromise which amended the authorization bill in 1974, and 

 required NASA to come back for committee approval after the RFP's 

 (requests for proposals) had been circulated to the bidding contractors. 

 This brief summary covers many weeks of sweating out an extremely 

 complex series of decisions, clearly demonstrating the impact of the 

 committee on public policy — albeit not as spectacularly dramatic as 

 being present at the creation of the Apollo program. 



When the subcommittee presented its proposal in 1974, there was 

 a universal rush by both Republicans and Democrats to praise the 

 care and attention given in protecting the interest of the taxpayers. 

 At Hechler's request, NASA also produced a written promise to speed 

 up its cost-benefit analyses in such a way as to give the authorizing 

 committee in the spring of 1975 a clearer roadmap for the future. 

 The subcommittee was still slightly troubled that the central NASA 

 argument for leasing instead of purchasing was that it would stretch 

 out the total expenditures over many years instead of lumping them in 

 one year. But the subcommittee agreed that the compromise procedure 

 would give Congress one more crack at it in 1975. 



Contrary to the buffeting which the subcommittee took in 1973 

 when they tried to save $10 million, in 1974 the complex compromise 

 went through unanimously. The extensive hearings and staff work 

 on the tracking and data acquisition program certainly confirmed 

 the fact that knowledge is power. 



In 1975, jurisdiction over the tracking and data acquisition 

 program passed to the Fuqua Subcommittee on Space Science and 

 Applications. In presenting the tracking authorization to the House 

 on April 9, 1975, Fuqua reported the successful data obtained from 



