Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–3, Documents on Global Issues, 1973–1976

112. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the Chairman of the NSC Under Secretaries Committee (Ingersoll)¹ ²

Washington, July 15, 1975

SUBJECT:

• Establishment of a Standing Committee on Space Policy

The President has directed that a standing committee of the Under Secretaries Committee be established to address issues connected with our national space policy as it relates to the civil/military interface.

The committee should review the relationship between civil and intelligence space programs, the military significance of certain civil space programs, and any relevant international considerations. The committee should propose for the President’s consideration appropriate new policies or changes to existing policies, and be a forum for the interpretation and implementation of such policies.

The membership of the committee should include the members of the Under Secretaries Committee augmented by representatives of NASA, NRO, OMB, the President’s Science Adviser, and other agencies as appropriate to the particular issue under consideration. The committee should be chaired by the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

DOD and NASA have requested that at an early opportunity the committee examine the international political considerations of remote earth sensing, the protection of sensitive space technology, and the public release of space data and information.

Henry A. Kissinger

1. Source: Ford Library, National Security Council, Institutional Files, Box 72, NSC–U/SM–157, Standing Committee on Space Policy. Top Secret; Codeword. Forwarded as NSC–U/SM–157 on July 2 by Gathright to the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the President’s Science Adviser, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.
2. Kissinger instructed the Under Secretaries Committee to create an interagency Standing Committee on Space Policy to address potential issues of conflict between civil and military space operations.