Page 11 - Engineering the International Space Station - Building by Design

STRAIGHT TO THE
SOURCE

In his State of the Union Address on January 25,
1984, President Ronald Reagan announced his desire

for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) to build a space station:

We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working
in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight,
I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space
station and to do it within a decade.

A space station will permit . . . leaps in our research in science,
communications, in metals, and in lifesaving medicines which
could be manufactured only in space. We want our friends to help
us meet these challenges. . . . NASA will invite other countries to

participate so we can strengthen peace, build prosperity, and
expand freedom for all who share our goals.

Source: Ronald Reagan. “Address Before a Joint Session of
the Congress on the State of the Union—January 25, 1984.”

The American Presidency Project. University of California,
Santa Barbara, 2017. Web. Accessed May 2, 2017.

What’s the Big Idea?
Take a close look at this passage. How does
President Reagan feel about space exploration?
What details support his point?

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