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MR. KONNYU. All right. From the White House to Sally Ride.

First of all, Dr. Ride, I want to thank you for coming here and for this presentation. I think it's very important for America's future that NASA takes this kind of direction and that you have created this kind of what I redefine as realistic vision. I think it's very important to America.

Of course, your past history has been very important to my family. Through your dad, Dr. Ride, I have been able to get an autographed picture of you, and I have three college graduate daughters who are in business and who want to take advantage of America's opportunities and your successes gave them, in part, reassurance that they can make it in this world. So you've been a very important example not only to my family but obviously in many American families, especially families of women who aspire to create successes in this country. So I want to compliment you on your life and your leadership in America.

DR. RIDE. Thank you.

MR. KONNYU. With respect to the specifics, this realistic vision, of course, costs money. My colleague from Pennsylvania, Mr. Walker, discussed that in part. As part of how to fund these missions, I hear an absence of the defense-related capabilities of the United States and what we need to meet in the future as part of this planning process. Now, that's characteristic of NASA and I understand it.

Yesterday in an article I was reading about the mirror space station that the Soviets have, where they have tracked through laser capability missle warheads through space, so they're justifying the expenses of mirroring, in part, by the defense-related capability that it has and lends to the Soviet Union.

Have you gave any parallel or corollary thoughts about-in financing these four missions, how DOD's mission could be intertwined and thereby lessening the cost burden on the Government as it relates to the pure science research of it?

DR. RIDE. No, we haven't given any thought to that. And you're absolutely right, that the Soviet space program is an integrated civil and military program. They really don't draw distinctions. I'm not familiar with the article that you cited. But it's well known that the military side of their space program is a very important side and that it's really integrated with the civilian space program. So that on any one of their space stations, they may have a combination of military and civil experiments or payloads.

We don't-we don't do things that way. We've very specifically got a civilian space agency and a Department of Defense space capability, and although the civilian side of the space agency-or the civilian space agency, because we develop national resources and national assets, we fly Department of Defense payloads when asked. Really, tht is the extent of the intertwining.
I think it's very appropriate that we keep those two separate and that we have a strong and very visible civil space program and that we have a strong and very visible civil space program that can carry out the national security interests of the country.

MR. KONNYU. So, therefore, the cost sharing is-and I was impressed with the realism of your vision as displayed in your four