Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

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operational functions, minor or trivial projects, anything in which industry or government
already has a heavy investment and on-going work, anything lacking a direct
link to NASA skills and experience, undertakings lacking definable goals and with a
very long-range payoff, and projects without a reassuring prospect of success for the
overall (not only the technological) objectives.
VIII - Observation
NASA has a very creditable record of interagency cooperation and coordination.
Some innovative and imaginative initiatives have been taken by Headquarters and by the
Centers but have not exhausted the possibilities for further development of technology
transfer arrangements.
[8] Recommendations
1. NASA should critically examine its current work for other government agencies with
a view to trimming it down to significant, challenging, and promising efforts for which
NASA has a unique capability. We should not be a generalized R&D job shop for other
agencies, nor should we do in-house work that can be purchased on contract from
industry or universities.
2. NASA should broaden its policy of interagency cooperation to accommodate a spectrum
of modes to satisfy different needs and conditions. I would include:
a) On-the-job training of personnel from other agencies on NASA activities—an
excellent start has been made with the Army.
b) Dedication of specialized personnel to specific tasks for other agencies.
c) Transfer of facilities and operating staff under certain conditions to other agencies.
d) Exchange personnel with other agencies by sabbaticals and training assignments.
e) Joint creation with other agencies of special-purpose research institutes. (For
example, possibilities might be aircraft structures, urban systems engineering,
crime technology, building systems research, highway safety, synthetic food
research, and air traffic control.)
f) Creation within NASA of cadre R&D organizations to work on technology problems
of other agencies with a commitment to transfer a productive, mature and
viable activity to the other agency after a number of years. Although many administrative
problems will be encountered, I believe they can be solved if the basic
policy enjoys strong management support.
IX - Observations
SPACE AS AN INVESTMENT IN ECONOMIC GROWTH
1. One hears a frequent criticism that spinoff from the space program has done little or
nothing for business. I take a dim view of prospects of dramatic success in this area. In
general, small business is not interested in knowledge per se, it merely wants a specific
product or production technique problem to be solved. Our [Technology
Utilization] program, which dispenses knowledge, information and reports finds an
unresponsive recipient in small business, in spite of its many innovative attempts to
identify, package and push its product. Since we cannot send [9] government or contract
engineers to small business to solve their specific problems, we will continue to
hear their complaints for many years. Until small business realizes that it must develop
the recipient capability either by individual or group initiatives (industry or trade associations),
it will look longingly and grudgingly at government R&D expenditures.
Nevertheless, government must continue to try to develop, by every feasible means, its