12 quotes
In the long haul, our safety as a nation may depend upon our achieving “space superiority.”
In my opinion, World War II could not have been won without air superiority. So airpower today, is the predominant means of applying military force.
Speech at the USAFA Military Space Doctrine Symposium (1981)
You have Stealth technology. That's going to last for a long time, but there will be some breakthroughs on that on the other side from a defense standpoint.
I am deeply engrossed in man's first concerted attempt to penetrate outer space. The compelling motive for the development of space technology is the requirement for national defense.
However, before man can be committed to space vehicles, a tremendous amount of human factors research will be necessary.
We have to make investments in technologies that provide a positive asymmetry. And only the military, only the national security, warrants the expenditure of huge funds that have pay-offs in the far distant future.
Speech at the USAFA Military Space Doctrine Symposium (1981)
We always talk about technology and what the capabilities are, but very seldom do we talk about the management that is necessary to do the job.
Speech at the USAFA Military Space Doctrine Symposium (1981)
But the Sputnik did one thing that was very much a plus: it woke us up and it concerned the American people very much that they [Soviet Union] beat us to the draw in getting the first satellite into orbit.
Perhaps not only initially but for all time, space technology will include as its most characteristic problem the need for going from the surface of one celestial body to another with successful passage through the atmosphere of each.
Consequently, my prognoses … go from those which are reasonably firm to those which might be considered visionary. Fortunately, there is a considerable overlap between the advances in the state of the art which are required for firm and for visionary military needs.
Space capabilities provide reconnaissance, surveillance, communications, weather and navigation. They greatly augment our warning and intelligence capabilities. If we fail to deter war, space systems will improve our ability to deliver weapons, and to assess damage.
Speech at the USAFA Military Space Doctrine Symposium (1981)
Our development philosophy includes two elements: a philosophy of testing and a dual approach. Stated simply, the test philosophy requires a great deal of component reliability testing at the earliest possible test level in order to insure reliability of components before proceeding to subsystem testing, captive system testing, and on to launch.