Office of the Historian

33. Information Memorandum From the Acting Director of the Office of International Scientific and Technological Affairs (Pollack) to Secretary of State Rusk1

Washington, July 29, 1965.

SUBJECT

  • U.S.-West German Cooperative Satellite Project

NASA and the West German Ministry for Scientific Research announced agreement last week on a joint outer space project which it is hoped will culminate in 1968 with the launching by the U.S. of a German-built satellite to investigate the earth’s radiation belts and solar proton phenomena. This is the first significant bilateral cooperative space project with West Germany and is, in fact, the first major project undertaken by the Germans as a national space activity.

NASA has already carried out cooperative satellite projects with the U.K. (Ariel I, 1962; Ariel II, 1964); with Canada (Alouette, 1962); and with Italy (San Marco, 1964). Additional projects involving foreign satellites are scheduled over the next two years: one with France (late 1965) at least two with Canada (1965 and 1967), another with Italy (1966 or 1967), a third with the U.K. (1967), and two with the European Space Research Organization (both in 1967).

  1. Source: Department of State,SCI Files: Lot 68 D 152, SP 1–1 USSR 1965. Unclassified. Drafted by M.F. Smith (SCI). A notation on the source text indicates that the Secretary saw the memorandum.↩