Office of the Historian

282. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Secretary of State Rogers and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Fletcher)1 2

Washington, June 1, 1972.

SUBJECT:

  • Post-Apollo Relationships with the Europeans

The President has carefully studied the rationale and recommendations of your memoranda of April 29, 1972 and May 5, 1972 respectively, and has decided:

1.
That we actively encourage European development of research application modules, as well as participation in payload development and shuttle utilization, both manned and unmanned.
2.
That we discourage but not preclude European participation in the tasks in the development of the Shuttle already identified by NASA, conditioned on a prior commitment by the European Space Conference (ESC) that it will undertake the subsequent development of one or more research application modules. In informing the Europeans of this position, the U.S. delegation should do so with the understanding that these tasks will be conducted without exchange of funds, and any cost growth, whether due to overruns or changes of scope, will be assumed by the ESC, in order to avoid acrimonious disputes over cost allocations.
3.
That the Tug should be U.S.-built.
4.
That future joint programs should stress joint payload and utilization activities and that joint development and production in the non-payload area not be undertaken.

Henry A. Kissinger
  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970-73, SP 10 US. Confidential; Noforn. The text of Fletcher’s May 5 memorandum is printed in Logsdon (ed.), Exploring the Universe, Vol. II, External Relations, Document I-27. Rogers’ memorandum is Document 279. In transmitting these two memoranda to Kissinger, John B. Walsh of the NSC staff disagreed with David’s recommendation that discussions concerning European participation in Shuttle tasks should be terminated on the basis of cost and management complications. Walsh thought the tasks were simple and represented minimal fulfillment of implied U.S. commitments. (Ibid., Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 393, Subject Files, Space Programs, 1972)↩
  2. Kissinger transmitted President Nixon’s decisions on the extent of European participation in the post-Apollo program.↩