The Nation - News from July 19, 1988

“Freedom” is the name chosen by President Reagan for the planned space station. “The yearning for freedom is a basic human emotion, and freedom of the individual is a value shared by all the nations that will work together to build and use the space station,” a statement read by White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said. Fitzwater said that segments of the permanently manned station being developed by the United States, Canada, Japan and member nations of the European Space Agency are to be launched by the space shuttle and assembled in orbit beginning in 1995. Fitzwater said Reagan had selected the name from among 700 suggestions from NASA employees, contractors and citizens in participating nations.