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70 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COOPERATION 



and to science. Even the scientific objectives . . . were of interest and 

 possible value to the military. "^ Added to this "dual use" character of 

 space technology and some areas of space science was the role of space 

 achievement as an area for superpower political competition, par- 

 ticularly after the United States launched the Apollo program in 1961. 

 The scientific activity involving the use of space systems took place in 

 a highly charged political and military environment. By carefully defin- 

 ing the conditions under which cooperative activities would be initiated 

 and carried out, NASA was able to conduct an international program 

 that has been relatively free from distortion for political purposes and 

 from limitations because of military sensitivities. Even so, with respect 

 to space cooperation "a clear duality dogs both the history and the pros- 

 pects of international partnerships."^ 



NASA GUIDELINES AND OBJECTIVES FOR 

 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 



When NASA announced to the ICSU's Committee on Space Re- 

 search (COSPAR) in March 1959 that it would assist COSPAR members 

 in launching scientific experiments and satellites, the agency had 

 already under development a set of policy guidelines for such coopera- 

 tion. Those guidelines have survived periodic reexamination and re- 

 main in force today. They reflect "conservative values "^ with respect to 

 the conditions under which cooperation is desirable; shaping those 

 values were both the recognition of the political significance ot space ac- 

 tivities and the strong personalities of such individuals as Newell and 

 Arnold Frutkin, who directed NASA's international program from the 

 agency's earliest months until the mid-1970s. 



The essential features of NASA guidelines are: 



• Cooperation is on a project-by-project basis, not on a program or 

 other open-ended arrangement. 



• Each project must be of mutual interest and have clear scientific 

 value. 



• Technical agreement is necessary before political commitment. 



• Each side bears full financial responsibility for its share of the 

 project. 



• Each side must have the technical and managerial capabilities to 

 carry out its share of the project; NASA does not provide substantial 

 technical assistance to its partners, and little or no U.S. technology is 

 transferred. 



• Scientific results are made publicly available.^ 



