WASHINGTON, -- President Reagan has approved a new space policy that could lead to a return to the moon and eventual manned flights to Mars, a magazine reports.
Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine reports in its Jan. 18 edition that Reagan approved the new policy in early January and that he is expected to announce it during his State of the Union address Jan. 25.
'The policy endorses two key goals -- maintaining U.S. pre-eminence in manned Earth orbital flight and extending U.S. manned operations beyond Earth into the solar system,' the magazine said.
Pre-eminence in Earth orbital flight implies continuing support for NASA's budget-crippled space station as well as an endorsement of deep space missions such as a flight to Mars.
Aviation Week said the White House has given the National Aeronautics and Space Administration permission to begin a long-term program in 1989 to develop 'pathfinder' technologies necessary for a return to the moon by the end of the century and for manned flights to Mars early in the 21st century.
Funding for fiscal 1989 will total $100 million with the total cost of the pathfinder program estimated at $1 billion, Aviation Week said.
'The new policy initiatives were unanimously approved by the Senior Interagency Group for Space in late December and forwarded to the president for his signature,' the magazine said.
'NASA managers believe the policy represents a major victory for the embattled space agency, which fought hard against opposition from the Office of Management and Budget and other agencies, especially on key points regarding manned flight policy,' the magazine said.
Aviation Week also said the Reagan administration has approved a fiscal 1989 NASA budget request of $11.5 billion, $3 billion above the 1988 level. The magazine said the budget request includes funding for development of an advanced solid-fuel booster.
Aviation Week said engineers in Houston have developed preliminary mission concepts for a return to the moon that would include three manned landings around the end of the century by vehicles that could carry four astronauts and 48,000 pounds of cargo.
Eventually, a moon base could provide the raw materials needed for a manned Mars mission along with serving as a major science installation.
