USG-UAP-D002, Interagency Correspondence Concerning Space Fragments, 1962-1964

Official Conclusion

No settled policy framework resulted from the negotiations.

Official Description

This file contains a series of memoranda and correspondence exchanged among senior Executive Branch officials between October 2, 1962, and May 26, 1964, concerning the development of a policy framework and communications strategy for the recovery, handling, analysis, and disposition of materials associated with U.S. and foreign activities in space. Over the course of multiple drafts and revisions spanning nearly two years, the file documents efforts to establish jurisdictional boundaries based on the suspected origin and character of recovered material. In general, the proposed framework contemplated that material associated with a U.S. Department of Defense mission or equipment would be received, analyzed, and disposed of by the Department; that foreign space material would be turned over to the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), depending on the circumstances; and that the Department of State would coordinate with foreign governments to secure access to such material when recovered abroad. The correspondence also reflects efforts to assign responsibility for hazardous or radioactive materials to the Atomic Energy Commission. Various drafts alternated between assigning responsibility for handling materials whose origin could not be readily determined to the Department of Defense or to NASA. The correspondence also reflects concern with public perception regarding recovery activity and includes draft public statements describing the proposed framework. This public messaging included language designating NASA as the holding authority for foreign materials, while private correspondence described a parallel plan to exploit such materials for technical analysis. Ultimately, although these negotiations did not produce a settled policy framework, the correspondence illustrates interagency deliberations between senior officials in the context of the Space Race and the broader Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Key Findings

• →Correspondence spans October 2, 1962 to May 26, 1964 and documents multiple drafts and revisions of a proposed framework for recovered space materials.
• →The proposed framework would assign DoD-associated material to the Department of Defense, and foreign space material to DoD or NASA depending on circumstances.
• →The Department of State was to coordinate with foreign governments for access to material recovered abroad, and the Atomic Energy Commission was to handle hazardous or radioactive materials.
• →Drafts alternated between DoD and NASA as responsible agency for materials of undetermined origin.
• →Public draft statements designated NASA as holding authority for foreign materials, while private correspondence described a parallel plan to exploit such materials for technical analysis; no settled policy resulted.

Extracted Entities