Word: launchful
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...United States is procuring and deploying the hardware--the neutron bomb, cruise missile, B-1 bomber and Pershing II--that will enable it to fight at the intermediate rungs. Most frighteningly, the Reagan Administration is also actively pursuing the Holy Grail of nuclear war-fighting: the capacity to launch a pre-emptive first strike that would destroy the Soviet Union's own second strike capability...
Japan is off to a slow start as a result of the American ingredients in its rockets. Licensing agreements allow the Japanese to launch their own satellites, but not to go into the business of launching payloads for other countries. That situation will soon change. Japan hopes to replace all American-made parts in its rockets with homemade hardware by 1992, clearing the way for its entry into the commercial launch business...
...that time the field could be overcrowded. Although the number of Western commercial satellite launches -- about 25 a year before the shuttle accident -- is expected to return to that level by 1992, the number of competitors who are eager to launch them is growing rapidly. Observes Morton Langer, who follows aerospace companies for the investment firm Bear, Sterns: "The fundamental question facing the commercial launchers is whether there will be enough satellite launches to support all the companies that have entered the business. Right now there is more romance than answers...
...size of the business, American space companies may need some kind of federal assistance to stay in the race. Space programs are matters of national prestige, and all foreign space operators enjoy generous government subsidies. Help from Washington might take the form of giving American firms preference on Government launch business and space-support services...
...American companies can build upon NASA's experience, they are likely to have an edge in the launch market. Despite the shuttle accident, the U.S. has the best reliability record for space shots. Moreover, American firms may benefit because the U.S. makes nearly 70% of the world's satellites. Most customers prefer to send up their satellites from the country of manufacture, because of lower costs and greater technological compatibility with the launching service. Says Andrea Caruso, director general of the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization: "Most Europeans would still prefer to launch with the U.S., but the U.S. is going...