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NSIAD-96-90R 1 (1996-02-06)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaclbn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: United States GAOJ General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 National Security and International Affairs Division B-270955 February 6, 1996 The Honorable Phil Gramm United States Senate Dear Senator Gramm: As requested, we are responding to concerns expressed to you about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) involvement in the French Government's Ariane 501 Cryogenic Main Stage Reentry Measurement Project (also known as the Clipperton Project). Your constituent asked numerous questions related to (1) the nature and rationale for NASA's assistance to a foreign government in developing a launch vehicle that could compete with those of U.S. companies, (2) the extent to which appropriated funds are supporting NASA's assistance to the French, (3) U.S. government officials' payments for meals and entertainment expenses provided by the French, and (4) the extent of the U.S. Navy involvement in this project. NASA'S ASSISTANCE TO THE ARIANE 5 PROGRAM IS LIMITED TO A SAFETY ISSUE To minimize the potential for adverse impacts on life and property, NASA has used a radar system developed at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) to study the breakup of the U.S. space shuttle's external tank as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere to validate predictions of where its fragments might fall. The French space agency, Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), requested NASA's assistance in validating reentry predictions of main stage components of its new Ariane 5 launch vehicle.1 NASA agreed to assist the French providing that, among other things, its assistance would be limited to safety-related issues. Under the agreement, a JSC team will deploy the radar along the Ariane 5's projected reentry path. The radar system will gather data on the vehicle's main stage breakup as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere. NASA will provide CNES a 'The first flight of the Ariane 5, originally scheduled for November 1995, has been delayed until May 1996. GAO/NSIAD-96-90R NASA's Clipperton Project fo b OG