EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL SPACE SYSTEMS There appears to be three phases of space system evolution that are occurring and will occur between 1960 and 2020. The first phase featured an expandable space system which grew out of the military missile capability of World War II and the following decade of ballistic missile development. This period was dominated by the development of the Apollo technology which culminated with man's landing on and safe return from the Moon. During the first phase there was a steady growth in the use of space for communication and observation systems, which resulted in a movement to the second phase: The development of the Shuttle and orbital assembly capability that will allow the U. S. to greatly extend the communication and observational role of space systems at reduced cost. The third phase will be the development of large global utility systems, like Powersat, which will provide a worldwide capability for the orderly increase in the total world standard of living. Because of the long development time for Powersat and great potential benefit, it offers a focus for our space activities that will allow an orderly development of the space transport and orbital assembly tools necessary for a wide variety of space applications.
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