U.S. announces space station concept 25 years ago

William Atkins
Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:23

Science - Space

Twenty-five years ago, on January 25, 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced in his State of the Union Address the plan of the United States to build a permanently manned space station "within the decade."


The initial concept was first called Space Station Freedom and turned eventually into the International Space Station, which is still not finished in 2009, but is still a shining example of international cooperation.

Then-President Reagan said in his speech about the U.S. vision to build a space station in orbit about the Earth: "We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful economic and scientific gain.”

Excerpts from Reagan’s speech that day concerning the space station is found on the NASA website “Excerpts of President Reagan's State of the Union Address, 25 January 1984.”

He stated, “Tonight, I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade.”

Reagan concluded his remarks about this next great adventure into space by saying, “Just as the oceans opened up a new world for clipper ships and Yankee traders, space holds enormous potential for commerce today. The market for space transportation could surpass our capacity to develop it.”

He added, “Companies interested in putting payloads into space must have ready access to private sector launch services. The Department of Transportation will help an expendable launch services industry to get off the ground.”

And, “We'll soon implement a number of executive initiatives, develop proposals to ease regulatory constraints, and, with NASA's help, promote private sector investment in space.”

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