The Committee found no reason to revise its conclusions as |
expressed in the Minutes and Chairman's Report of the 40th Meeting.
The present problem appeared to be one of emphasis, and of the best
organizational arrangements for achieving. the desired ends.
It was
tentatively decided that the Reactor Subcommittee would study the
situation, and visit Oak Ridge and GE, before the next meeting.
The following two paragraphs convey an idea of the discussion
which took place.
Dr, Rabi said that he had changed his opinion on the urgency of
thig development in view of the way the Air Force now understands its mission,
He cited a discussion which Dr. Fisk and he had hac with |
General Bunker on the need for a long flying alr platform, one aspect
being its possible use in very early warning,
Long range rockets may
not come in in time for the air field demolition missions,
Mr. Whitman
felt that one way missions would be inevitable, and therefore that
chemically powered planes would serve. Dr. von Neumann said that it
will be seven or eight years before intercontinental missiles furnish
& slight retaliatory capacity, ten years before they supplant manned
planes,
Therefore another generation of manned planes is needed,
Nuclear fuel will be an important supplement to chemical,
Dr, Rabi wonderedwhether the proposed organizational arrangements,
involving Oak Ridge, GE, and NDA, really would give the best way to get
the best effort behind a high priority program,
Would a special
organization set up for the purpose be more effective?
He. worrled that
a eollection of little projects would tend to dissipate effort, and