Here is the 25 June 59 mid~year review for LASL in which Bradbury begins by
PT
/
erence At,
noting that the LASL program faces formidable difficulties in view of the continued _—
state of international indecision regarding nuclear testing.
Nevertheless, it is
neither feasible nor desirable to permit programatic decisions at the laboratory
to drift or to be postponed during this situation.
Certain decisions must be made
based almost entirely upon human estimates of the probabilities of various outcomes
of the current Geneva discussions.
...
At the time of writing this program,
it
is believed that the probability of gresuming any nuclear testing whatsoever must
be regarded as roughly equal to the probability that it will continue to be
forbidden on either a temporary or permanent basis.”
Bradbury notes that the
laboratory must be careful to make its decisions and conduct its programs such that
they can be abruptly modified in either direction as the future course of testing
or no testing becomes apparent.
Generally along the lines of testing, he feels
that it is unlikely that the U.S. wari again tesi in the lower atmosphere under
the same circumstances and at the same rates as in the past and that any resumption
of testing will be either underground or at some extremely high elevation or in