SSWG statement on the proposed 1989 NASA budget

The Space Science Working Group applauds the leadership evident in the February 1988 Presidential Directive on National Space Policy and in the President's proposed NASA budget for fiscal year 1989. The National Space Policy outlines a series of broad goals to guide the planning of ongoing and future U.S. programs in space, including the need “to expand knowledge of the Earth, its environment, the solar system, and the universe,” and “to preserve the United States preeminence in critical aspects of space science.“ Our new space policy is the result of a careful planning process that recognizes the need for immediate action to revitalize the U.S. space science enterprise. For the last several years, and particularly since the Challenger accident, the SSWG has maintained that this nation must act to correct the serious erosion in the health of U.S. space science. In its testimony to Congress last year the SSWG presented four overarching issues that must be addressed to resolve the present crisis: frequent and assured access to space for scientific exploration, the vitality of the space science infrastructure, particularly at universities, the timely development of advanced technologies, and the continuing pursuit of new science.