White House Fact Sheet on the National Space Policy

On November 2, 1989, the President approved a national space policy that updates and reaffirms U.S. goals and activities in space. The updated policy is the result of a review undertaken by the National Space Council. The revisions clarify, strengthen, and streamline selected aspects of the policy. Areas affected include civil and commercial remote sensing, space transportation, space debris, Federal subsidies of commercial space activities, and space station Freedom. Overall, the President's newly issued national space policy revalidates the ongoing direction of U.S. space efforts and provides a broad policy framework to guide future U.S. space activities.

The policy reaffirms the Nation's commitment to the exploration and use of space in support of our national well-being. United States leadership in space continues to be a fundamental objective guiding U.S. space activities. The policy recognizes that leadership requires U.S. preeminence in key areas of space activity critical to achieving our national security, scientific, technical, economic, and foreign policy goals. The policy also retains the long-term goal of expanding human presence and activity beyond Earth orbit into the solar system. This goal provides the overall policy framework for the President's human space exploration initiative, announced July 20, 1989, in which the President called for completing space station Freedom, returning permanently to the Moon, and exploration of the planet Mars.

These and other aspects of U.S. national space policy are contained in the document entitled "National Space Policy."