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Letter and Envelope formal note of appreciation from
George A. "Jay" Keyworth II, who served as the Science Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1986. Dated May 5, 1982, it is addressed to Lawrence (Larry) Fritz, an expert in remote sensing who was transitioning from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Key Figures and Context
G. A. Keyworth II: A nuclear physicist from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Keyworth was known as Reagan’s "personal Merlin" and was a staunch advocate for the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars").
Edward Teller: The letter references a "quite complimentary letter" from Teller, a renowned theoretical physicist often called the "father of the hydrogen bomb". Teller was a mentor to Keyworth and a primary architect of the Reagan-era defense policies.
Lawrence Fritz: Larry Fritz was a prominent figure in the field of photogrammetry and remote sensing. He later served as the President of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS).
Significant Topics Mentioned
The letter highlights Fritz's technical contributions to major satellite programs that remain critical today:
Landsat: A series of Earth-observing satellites that began in 1972, providing the longest continuous record of Earth's land surface from space.
Metsat: Meteorological satellites (weather satellites) operated by NOAA for environmental monitoring.
Cabinet Council on Commerce and Trade: Keyworth credits Fritz with "untangling" difficult issues for this council, likely related to the commercialization and operational management of satellite data during the early 1980s. |
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