Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN 59
implications and importance to many segments of the communication industry over and
above its great significance to your own company.
Last night I took your letter home and read the attachments. Your letter of December
14th to Dr. Glennan does state, on page 3, that you would
“. . . like to offer the following specific proposals:
[3] “a. That NASA and we join in the setting of performance specifications for the
first experimental active satellite.
“b. That we develop and build the first satellite taking advantage of research
already done and developments well under way. We are prepared to pay for
this work in its entirety, or for such part of the expense as would reflect our
respective interests in the project.
“c. That NASA launch its first satellite and provide tracking data from its
Minitrack stations. In this connection, we are willing to bear the whole cost
of launching and tracking or to share these costs with NASA in any way you
feel will properly reflect our respective interests in the project.
“d. That the existing ground station at Holmdel be made available and modified
at our expense for the purpose of making the necessary communications
tests. (This station is, of course, compatible with the communications network
of this Company.)
“e. That, taking advantage of our long established working relations with overseas
communications operating agencies, arrangements be made with at least
one of them for more overseas ground stations.
“f. That other common carriers be invited to use the satellite circuits experimentally
when such circuits are operational.
“g. That full information on satellite performance be made available to NASA.
[4] I am told that your letter of December 14th was delivered by a number of your associates,
that an extended conference ensued, and that it was made clear that NASA would
not permit your company, or any other, to pre-empt the program of the United States in
this area. [handwritten highlighting in margin] Later, in a letter dated January 17th, 1961,
your proposal (e) as amplified in your telegram of January 12th, to undertake negotiations
for overseas land stations on behalf of NASA was not accepted, but instead negotiations
were initiated and completed by NASA, with the technical advice of your company.
On January 4, 1961, as indicated in your attachment No. 4, March 26, 1961, the letter
from your Mr. C. R. Smith to our Procurement and Supply Division, we requested proposals
in accordance with our own performance specifications for an experimental lowaltitude,
active communication satellite. With the letter of Mr. Smith, you submitted a
proposal to meet our performance specifications.
I believe you will agree that our request for proposals was not an acceptance of your proposal
of December 14th, but was instead the first step toward a policy of permitting all companies
interested in this project to furnish competitive proposals rather than limiting the
development of the satellite to arrangements that would be made only with your company.
You will recognize that all of the above either took place before or was underway at
the time I took the oath of office on February 14th. It is background for the position I have
taken publicly, and mentioned above, “to have a good hard look at this before making
commitments.” I assume part or all of this falls into the category you have called “events
which have taken place during the past few months,” and needs to be considered in addition
to the “specific events” to which you refer in your letter.
With further reference to the record of my press conference, you will note on page 12
that the question which Dr. Dryden answered related to a presentation by your com-