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et Cosnos of November 23 middot lso envisaged leadiTg in middot satelliteo 11 These develop-middot

-E managers lltrere still tmdeshye and homiddot these will be I of the claims made for the jrefore be useful at this f

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HANOL l ~G INCICATOf~ NO

TO Depaltment of State

D-IFO BONN LONOON BRUSSELS

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UBJECT Communic ations Satellite SYMFrlONIE vlhat is it

EF ~~) A-~4~ ~1866 B) STATE 150~~26~~~-r ~- i_~j ~ C) PARIS 224)) 101568 D) STATE 26lt426 103168

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SC-1 - lULl-lt I Li-ltroduct i on

The Iltranco-Germa1 SYJIJPHONIE satellite consortium CIFPSl met on November 1) 1968 to revj_eH i ndustrial arrrugements for the conshystruction of the satellite and to approve certain changes in the satellite IS antenna patterns and hence the earth aleas they Hill covero In repo~ing the rreeting Air et Cosrros of November 23 noted that other rrodifications are also envisaged leading in fact to a certain redefinition of the satellite 11

0 These developshyments indicate that even the SYNPHONIE managersmiddot middotere still undeshycided as to what its func tions Hi11 be andmiddot hol these will be accomplishedo A brief revi ew of some of the claims made for the satellite during recent years may therefore be useful at this time~

This satellite project was first disclosed to the French public in 1965 under the name SAFRON o Subsequently it middotas renamed 11SAFRON II then SAROS I and SAROS II 11

o Finally the French

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UBJECT Communic ations Satellite SYMFrlONIE vlhat is it

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The Iltranco-Germa1 SYJIJPHONIE satellite consortium CIFPSl met on November 1) 1968 to revj_eH i ndustrial arrrugements for the conshystruction of the satellite and to approve certain changes in the satellite IS antenna patterns and hence the earth aleas they Hill covero In repo~ing the rreeting Air et Cosrros of November 23 noted that other rrodifications are also envisaged leading in fact to a certain redefinition of the satellite 11

0 These developshyments indicate that even the SYNPHONIE managersmiddot middotere still undeshycided as to what its func tions Hi11 be andmiddot hol these will be accomplishedo A brief revi ew of some of the claims made for the satellite during recent years may therefore be useful at this time~

This satellite project was first disclosed to the French public in 1965 under the name SAFRON o Subsequently it middotas renamed 11SAFRON II then SAROS I and SAROS II 11

o Finally the French

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PARIS- -gt 2__ CONlIDEHIIAL Page 2

project vas merged with the German nOLYImiddot1PIA 11 satellite study For a fei-f days after the Frarico-GermM agreement it was called 11 ATHOS 11 and finally emerged under its present narneJ SYMPHONIEo

From its inception as a French project the intended function of this satellite was to relay com_J1UTltcations~ At first only telephony and radio broadcasting were mentioned Later television relay Has added

he geographic areas of coverage Lmnolinced for the satellite also changed ith these successive redefinitions so that at various times the emphasis as on co1Tll11Unications relay with the Near East then Africa the French uiana space launch base the French Antilles and recently Quebeco

hese redefinitions probably resulted from efforts of French space and elecommunica~ions satellite officials to make the project attractive

md thereby gain approval aLd funds by relating it to the French politi shyal objectives then in vogueo The initial project studies probably ncluded enough opt ions to allow nev functions services and areas of overage to be aruoru1ced as convenjent or opportune Nithout requirilg complete project redefinition

From the incelnion of this comr~catio~s satellite project it was desshyribed as an operational system~ Of course it was implicit that SYMPHONIE muld bG experimental in the sense of being the first French or

Franco-German satellite of its type but the present emphasis on the ord 11 experinrmtal 11 seems to date from the ennunoiationof middot the condi- ions under which the UampS e Hould be prepared to launch a foreign communishyations satellite (the Vallotton reply refo B) The Aubiniere~Mayer etter (refo C) inquiring of NASA the application of this UoSG policy o SYMPHONIE describes the satellite as 11 experimental 11

o Tne NASA reply (ref D) takes proper account of the need for a mutual understanding n what SYIgt1FrlONIE is 1 and Hill be used for should a US launch be rovided

he successivbullJ redefinitions of the SYMPHONIE project and the various cench ends Hnch the satellite could serve (space telecommunications echnology cultural and information exchange military broadcasting ropaganda) reflect a spectrum of French lnterests in the possibility f usiflg such a satellite for other than purely experimental rt purbullposes o attempt will be made herein to divine bullThat the current French intershyretation of the term 11 experimental 11 might be~ However the follOvling xcerpts from various sources are of interest

CONFIDBTPIAL

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CmSFIDHltIAL Page 3

Excerpt~

On April 19 1968 in PlRIS 12883 ioe~ prior to conclusion of the SYMPHONIE Accord with Germany the Embassy reported a conversation Hith the member of (then) Science Ministet Schumann 1s office resposible for space affairs The official said France would ldsh to retain the right to use STI1YHONIE operationally if it 1lt1ere still active after its experimental period was completed

Page 45 of the CNES annual report for mid- 1967 to mid-1968 states

The SYJitHONIE program is a cooperative program behreen the Federal Republic of Germany and France which envisages placing in orbit an experimental telecomnnmications satellite intended to middotdistribute radio and television programs (in particular the djstribution of the Olympic Games of 1972 in Munich) to provide telephone and telegraph cormnunications and fol data transmission

British lleeXly Iltlight International a magazine sirrilar to Aviation Week in its Septemoer 19~ issue carrmiddotied an article by J L Blonstein reportilg on a papal presented to the United Nations Space Conference of August 1968 stated

rrThe pa~1er proposed blandly that the satellite (SYl1PHONIE) vrould be launched by ELDO~ The authors could haPdlymiddot say anything else f or it is undecstood that the Americans have already refused to l aunch SYVLPHONIE which the French Ofeuronly and frankly admit will be an operational system with intercontinental capabilitybull

Mro Blonstein of course was in error middotin reporting the US had refused to launch SYMPHONIE (he could have picked this up from s eve ral French writers)

Tne Paris daily Le f1Jnde of September 13 lst)8 in des cribing the (then) r ecently signed Fr anco-German convention for the copstruction of SYM PHONIE stated

11 Concern1ng the use of the satelHtes and (g round) stations the conventton provides that the program fill include periods of joi nt testing and pe riods left to the exclusive use of one of the t HO c otmtries It also provides that if both flight rrodels function Hell one of the parties Nill be able to obtain exclusive use of one of the tim (satellites)o 11

CONPIDENrtIAL

__ _

PARIS- - ~~middot middot ~~c ~

COifFIDJlltTPIAL Page 4-middot

~~re recentlyJ the Paris daily Le Figaro of November 1 1968 in an unsigned ar-ticle describing a projected Fra11co-Quebec satellite stated

nM Gautier (Jacques Gautier Vice President of Radio Quebec) recalled that during a visit to Paris M Johnson (Daniel Johnson former PCime Minister of Queb~c) requested of Fra1ce the inclusion of Quebec in the coverage of the SYMFHONIE This would be the method for involving teclmicians from Quebec in this ne1v advanced technoloey SYMPHONIE 1middotlill bting us (Quebec) tNo principal advan~ tages 1) It vill permit us (Quebec) to receive experimental transmissions and to transmit toward Europe and Africa and thereby to have an outlet 2) It 1-1ill give us the pOSsibility of involving technicic~ from Quebec in the construction of SY-iYriONIE Six or seven techniciB-llS will go to ltranee beginning this autunm as soon as the Centre National d 1Etudes Spatiales (C-ltES) will have made its proposals 11

Comment

Some of the above statemerct s will require clar ification in the event the SYMFHONIE management seek a UoSG latulCh for SYr1PHONIEo

SHRIVERCjf

middot

PARISshy -y rmiddot- ) middotmiddot ~-)

CmSFIDHltIAL Page 3

Excerpt~

On April 19 1968 in PlRIS 12883 ioe~ prior to conclusion of the SYMPHONIE Accord with Germany the Embassy reported a conversation Hith the member of (then) Science Ministet Schumann 1s office resposible for space affairs The official said France would ldsh to retain the right to use STI1YHONIE operationally if it 1lt1ere still active after its experimental period was completed

Page 45 of the CNES annual report for mid- 1967 to mid-1968 states

The SYJitHONIE program is a cooperative program behreen the Federal Republic of Germany and France which envisages placing in orbit an experimental telecomnnmications satellite intended to middotdistribute radio and television programs (in particular the djstribution of the Olympic Games of 1972 in Munich) to provide telephone and telegraph cormnunications and fol data transmission

British lleeXly Iltlight International a magazine sirrilar to Aviation Week in its Septemoer 19~ issue carrmiddotied an article by J L Blonstein reportilg on a papal presented to the United Nations Space Conference of August 1968 stated

rrThe pa~1er proposed blandly that the satellite (SYl1PHONIE) vrould be launched by ELDO~ The authors could haPdlymiddot say anything else f or it is undecstood that the Americans have already refused to l aunch SYVLPHONIE which the French Ofeuronly and frankly admit will be an operational system with intercontinental capabilitybull

Mro Blonstein of course was in error middotin reporting the US had refused to launch SYMPHONIE (he could have picked this up from s eve ral French writers)

Tne Paris daily Le f1Jnde of September 13 lst)8 in des cribing the (then) r ecently signed Fr anco-German convention for the copstruction of SYM PHONIE stated

11 Concern1ng the use of the satelHtes and (g round) stations the conventton provides that the program fill include periods of joi nt testing and pe riods left to the exclusive use of one of the t HO c otmtries It also provides that if both flight rrodels function Hell one of the parties Nill be able to obtain exclusive use of one of the tim (satellites)o 11

CONPIDENrtIAL

__ _

PARIS- - ~~middot middot ~~c ~

COifFIDJlltTPIAL Page 4-middot

~~re recentlyJ the Paris daily Le Figaro of November 1 1968 in an unsigned ar-ticle describing a projected Fra11co-Quebec satellite stated

nM Gautier (Jacques Gautier Vice President of Radio Quebec) recalled that during a visit to Paris M Johnson (Daniel Johnson former PCime Minister of Queb~c) requested of Fra1ce the inclusion of Quebec in the coverage of the SYMFHONIE This would be the method for involving teclmicians from Quebec in this ne1v advanced technoloey SYMPHONIE 1middotlill bting us (Quebec) tNo principal advan~ tages 1) It vill permit us (Quebec) to receive experimental transmissions and to transmit toward Europe and Africa and thereby to have an outlet 2) It 1-1ill give us the pOSsibility of involving technicic~ from Quebec in the construction of SY-iYriONIE Six or seven techniciB-llS will go to ltranee beginning this autunm as soon as the Centre National d 1Etudes Spatiales (C-ltES) will have made its proposals 11

Comment

Some of the above statemerct s will require clar ification in the event the SYMFHONIE management seek a UoSG latulCh for SYr1PHONIEo

SHRIVERCjf

__ _

PARIS- - ~~middot middot ~~c ~

COifFIDJlltTPIAL Page 4-middot

~~re recentlyJ the Paris daily Le Figaro of November 1 1968 in an unsigned ar-ticle describing a projected Fra11co-Quebec satellite stated

nM Gautier (Jacques Gautier Vice President of Radio Quebec) recalled that during a visit to Paris M Johnson (Daniel Johnson former PCime Minister of Queb~c) requested of Fra1ce the inclusion of Quebec in the coverage of the SYMFHONIE This would be the method for involving teclmicians from Quebec in this ne1v advanced technoloey SYMPHONIE 1middotlill bting us (Quebec) tNo principal advan~ tages 1) It vill permit us (Quebec) to receive experimental transmissions and to transmit toward Europe and Africa and thereby to have an outlet 2) It 1-1ill give us the pOSsibility of involving technicic~ from Quebec in the construction of SY-iYriONIE Six or seven techniciB-llS will go to ltranee beginning this autunm as soon as the Centre National d 1Etudes Spatiales (C-ltES) will have made its proposals 11

Comment

Some of the above statemerct s will require clar ification in the event the SYMFHONIE management seek a UoSG latulCh for SYr1PHONIEo

SHRIVERCjf