ssrt roll out speech ssrt rollout speech delivered by col simon p worden the deputy for technology sdio mcdonnell douglas huntington beach april most of you as am i are children of the s we grew up in an age of miracles inter continental ballistic missiles nuclear energy computers flights to the moon but these were miracles of our parent s doing for a decade and more the pundits have told us you ve lost it the me generation is only living on the accomplishments of the past you and i have even begun to believe the pessimists we listen in awe as the past generation tells of its triumphs living history they are we are privileged to hear those who did it tell of it a few weeks ago some of this very team listened in awe as general bernie schriever told of his team s work and yes struggle to build this nation s intercontinental ballistic missile what stories can we tell blurry eyed telescopes thousand dollar toilet seats even our space launch vehicles hearken only of that past great time they are and seem destined to remain gen schriever s icbms i find it hard to swell with pride that the best new space lifter idea is to refurbish old minuteman and poseidon ballistic missiles well the pessimists are wrong the legacy is continuing this event is proof to our technological parents we ve listened to your stories we ve caught your enthusiasm and can do spirit and we ve learned from your achievements and your mistakes let me honor one of you who was part of that history and the impetus behind this history max hunter you are one of the greatest engineers of the firts great age of space exploration your insight and discipline built the thor icbm later incorporated into today s most successful launch vehicle the delta you told us in the s that a new form of launch vehicle a single stage reusable rocket can and should be built you advocated this idea tirelessly it was elegantly simple as are all great breakthroughs you showed us how to build it you convinced us it could be done you are working by our side to weld its components into place most important you reminded us of a prime engineering principle undoubtably one you learned from the generation before you the generation that built transcontinental aviation in the s and s build a little and test a little and max you passed all of this on to people like pat ladner who started this program for the sdi douglas aircraft didn t start with a dc they didn t even start with a dc our grandfathers built a little tested a little even sold a little and made a little money before they moved on to the next step they didn t take a decade or more before putting the first rubber on the road max hunter you didn t take ten years to build thor and by god we re not going to take ten years to show that low cost single stage reusable aerospace transportation is real we ended the cold war in a few short years it took the same team here today but a few years to show through the strategic defense initiative that the cold war must end we you and us launched a series of satellites the delta experiments in about a year apiece this more than anything else signaled our commitment to end the impasse between ourselves and the soviet union those who made the decisions on both sides have underscored the importance of our work in bringing about a new international relationship but it is the same team which is now putting in place the framework for an aerospace expansion that is our legacy for the next generation we will make space access routine and affordable we built this magnificent flying machine in two years this summer a true rocket ship will take off and land on earth for the first time then we can and surely will build in the next three years a reusable sub orbital rocket it will allow us to use space rapidly affordably and efficiently as no other nation can and yes we ll make a little money off it too then and only then we ll spend another three years to build a fully reusable single stage to orbit system the dc of space will be a reality we may even be able to use some of the rocket propulsion breakthroughs of our former cold war adversaries what a wonderful irony if this sdi product and russian efforts to counter sdi merge to power mankind s next step to the stars to be sure we must guard against the temptations to leap to the final answer robert goddard s first rockets weren t saturn v s if we succumb to the temptation to ask for just a few extra dollars and a few more years to jump immediately to a full orbital system we will fail max hunter and his colleagues showed the way three years and a cloud of dust in our case rocket exhausts there is no short cut if we expect to reshape the world again we must do it one brick at a time minds on tasks at hand this project is real the torch of american technological greatness is being passed we are americans this machine is american let s go fly it
