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60 



Several factors seem to underlie the success of the Super-Phenix 

 project (Beckjord, 1984) : 



o The French provided strong project management and systems 

 engineering on an extensive base of technology. 



o The French have majority control, and the other participants 

 are junior partners. Management decision making was clearly 

 drawn from the beginning, with lines of authority established 

 from the utility customer to the reactor developer and designer 

 and to the component manufacturers. 



o The commitment of the parties stems from their lack of 



indigenous fossil fuels and natural uranium, providing an 

 imperative, as they perceive it, to develop breeder technology, 

 which can make far more efficient use of natural uranium than 

 can light water reactors. 



o There was a need to pool resources in such a large undertaking. 



o The Super-Phenix project developed against a background of 



other major cooperative efforts in Western Europe — in science, 

 in aerospace and other multi-national business ventures, and in 

 economic union — that served as trail markers. 



Space Technology 



In space technology the agreement between the United States and Japan 

 as to the availability of space launch facilities is an example of 

 limited international cooperation. The Apollo-Soyuz spacecraft 

 rendezvous in orbit is an example of cooperation instituted by 

 high-level political agreement. The actual conduct of that project 

 illustrated the need for extremely detailed agreement on project 

 management procedures when two countries of vastly different language 

 and culture decide to cooperate. Current efforts of the U.S. National 

 Aeronautics and Space Administration to obtain joint participation in 

 the manned space-station project is another example of large-scale 

 collaboration. This cooperative proposal has not developed far enough 

 to provide any lessons for fusion; however, the space-station effort 

 should be watched carefully for useful ideas. 



International Telecommunications Satellite Organization 



The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) 

 is perhaps the most successful large-scale international venture in an 

 institutional, operational, and commercial sense. Early on, a 

 fundamental decision was made to reject bilateral agreements in favor 

 of the multilateral introduction of satellite communications 

 technology for global use in order to achieve its full benefits. Such 

 a decision had to overcome vested interests in alternative modes of 

 telecommunications, for example, undersea cables. Nevertheless, these 



