the years to come our leadership in space exploration must have a new
dimension, something that perhaps our past Presidents could not foresee,
and this dimension will be a constant human presence in space. In fact, the
Russian station Salyut is the core of the Soviet program and what worries me
is what they are really doing up there. What are they planning to do? What
are their plans to dominate space? The American leadership for the coming
decades is at stake.
33
On January 25, 1984, Reagan gave a speech to the nation, announcing that the
US would, together with its allied countries, build a space station named Freedom
to strengthen liberty and friendship among peoples on Earth and in space and to
achieve extraordinary goals for all humankind.
34
Just a year later, he received congressional approval to fund the star shield within the Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), with an initial allocation of $26 billion. The first round of funding gave the
green light to start building an integrated network of control centres and satellites
capable of detecting Soviet missiles and guided countermeasures to destroy them
before their arrival on American soil.
35
At that moment, it was clear that the star shield was a real project carefully
designed by the Pentagon. Martin Anderson, one of Reagan’s closest assistants,
revealed in a book that during the election campaign, the future President had
secretly visited the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.
Anderson described the military base as:
The nerve centre of a worldwide network of radars able to detect any attack,
a multi-level maze of rooms and corridors deeply carved into the solid granite core of Cheyenne Mountain, full of thick steel doors protecting a control
room with a huge screen with a map of the US, where dozens of military
men and women were constantly checking monitors to detect the first signs
of a nuclear attack.
36
Yet there, Reagan apparently realized – with understandable dismay – that
despite the massive deployment of sensors and radars worldwide, in case of a
Soviet attack, NORAD could do nothing but follow the ICBM’s trajectories and
let the President decide on a possible retaliation.
33
NASA. 1983. Revised Talking Points for the Space Station Presentation to the President and
the Cabinet Council. In “Exploring the Unknown” by J. Logsdon.
34
President Ronald Reagan. 1984. Speech on the State of the Union. http://www.reagan.utexas.
edu/archives/speeches/1984/12584e.htm.
35
National Security Defense Directive NSDD 172: “Presenting the Strategic Defense Initiative”
(partially declassified), May 30, 1985.
36
Anderson, Martin. 1990. Revolution: The Reagan Legacy. Hoover Inst Press Publication.
Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle to the International Space Station 47
dimension, something that perhaps our past Presidents could not foresee,
and this dimension will be a constant human presence in space. In fact, the
Russian station Salyut is the core of the Soviet program and what worries me
is what they are really doing up there. What are they planning to do? What
are their plans to dominate space? The American leadership for the coming
decades is at stake.
33
On January 25, 1984, Reagan gave a speech to the nation, announcing that the
US would, together with its allied countries, build a space station named Freedom
to strengthen liberty and friendship among peoples on Earth and in space and to
achieve extraordinary goals for all humankind.
34
Just a year later, he received congressional approval to fund the star shield within the Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), with an initial allocation of $26 billion. The first round of funding gave the
green light to start building an integrated network of control centres and satellites
capable of detecting Soviet missiles and guided countermeasures to destroy them
before their arrival on American soil.
35
At that moment, it was clear that the star shield was a real project carefully
designed by the Pentagon. Martin Anderson, one of Reagan’s closest assistants,
revealed in a book that during the election campaign, the future President had
secretly visited the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.
Anderson described the military base as:
The nerve centre of a worldwide network of radars able to detect any attack,
a multi-level maze of rooms and corridors deeply carved into the solid granite core of Cheyenne Mountain, full of thick steel doors protecting a control
room with a huge screen with a map of the US, where dozens of military
men and women were constantly checking monitors to detect the first signs
of a nuclear attack.
36
Yet there, Reagan apparently realized – with understandable dismay – that
despite the massive deployment of sensors and radars worldwide, in case of a
Soviet attack, NORAD could do nothing but follow the ICBM’s trajectories and
let the President decide on a possible retaliation.
33
NASA. 1983. Revised Talking Points for the Space Station Presentation to the President and
the Cabinet Council. In “Exploring the Unknown” by J. Logsdon.
34
President Ronald Reagan. 1984. Speech on the State of the Union. http://www.reagan.utexas.
edu/archives/speeches/1984/12584e.htm.
35
National Security Defense Directive NSDD 172: “Presenting the Strategic Defense Initiative”
(partially declassified), May 30, 1985.
36
Anderson, Martin. 1990. Revolution: The Reagan Legacy. Hoover Inst Press Publication.
Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle to the International Space Station 47