Lunar base or space station? (1984)

In December 1983, the National Science Foundation's Division of Policy Research and Analysis enlisted Science Applications Incorporated (SAI) of McLean, Virginia, to compare the science and technology research potential of an Earth-orbiting space station and a base on the moon. In its report, which was completed on January 10, 1984, SAI cautioned that, because its study was performed "in a very short two-week period," it could offer only "a preliminary indication" of the relative merits of a space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and a lunar base. Though SAI did not say so, the study had a short turnaround time because its results were meant to be made available to the White House ahead of President Ronald Reagan's planned announcement of a NASA space station program during the January 1984 State of the Union Address. SAI explained that its study had used a four-step approach. First, the study team had judged which science and technology disciplines could best be served by an LEO space station and which by a lunar base. Next, the team had developed a lunar base conceptual design capable of serving the disciplines it identified. It then had developed a transportation system concept for deploying and maintaining ...