National Air and Space Museum Archives

Office of Commercial Space Transportation Collection [Johnson]

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2020.0015
Creators:
United States. Office of Commercial Space Transportation
Johnson, Sara Madeline
Dates:
1986
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.79 Cubic feet
2 letter document boxes.
Repository:
This collection consists of documents relating to Madeline Johnson and her role as Director of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST).

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of documents relating to Madeline Johnson and her role as Director of the OCST, including agendas, memorandums, reports, presentations, her statements in front of Congress, and newspaper articles. Of special interest are the Economic Policy Council's Commercial Space Working Group documents and recommendations to President Reagan on commercializing satellite launches.

Arrangement

Arrangement
No arrangement.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
President Reagan signed Executive Order 12465 on February 25, 1984, designating the Department of Transportation to be the lead agency for commercial expendable launch vehicles. Later that year, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST) was established and placed in the Office of the Secretary. Madeline Johnson was selected by then Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole to be the Director of OCST in 1986. During her tenure, Johnson worked to build a cross-government coalition to persuade President Reagan to create the opportunity for a private-sector satellite launching industry; this was especially needed as the Challenger accident had grounded Space Shuttle missions. The OCST was moved from the Office of the Secretary and today resides with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The OCST now gives final approval of any commercial rocket launch operations involving a U.S. launch operator or a launch from the U.S.

Administration

Author
Patti Williams
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Estate of Sara Madeline Johnson, Gift, 2020, NASM.2020.0015
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Patti Williams, 2020.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Office of Commercial Space Transportation Collection [Johnson], NASM.2020.0015, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Astronautics and state Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rocketry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Space Shuttle Program (U.S.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Satellites Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Space industrialization Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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