Goals of the PUSH Foundation.

The Push Foundation was set up to encourage, support and if necessary organize activities in space for the benefit of all mankind, especially to help solving worldwide problems such as clean energy, climate changes, natural catastrophes, material's shortages, risky research, etc.

A second objective is to approach the organization of space projects in a new way, to avoid the traditional problems of too much bureaucracy, changing budgets and scope of projects, continuous (political) interference with the design process etc. which characterize the way large organizations do space programmes today. By completely separating clients and contractors, by establishing escrow accounts at the beginning of a project and by giving the contractor full freedom of design together with full responsibility for performance of simply and well defined objectives it is intended to establish a new, clean approach to space projects that is appealing to very many participants.

The above approach, initiated and organized by a foundation in a small, neutral country, should avoid political leadership and industrial power struggles. Any undertaking should be goal oriented and not technology or industrial policy driven. If however the competing contractors sweeten their offers (with or without help from their home countries) with lowered price offers, faster execution and/or superior performance, that is advantageous for the customers. It does not increase their risk since the contracts are of the "firm fixed price type" with a clear and overriding "no cure - no pay" clause. Thus space activities will become goal driven and the means to achieve them will be left to free competition like most terrestrial and already some (e.g. telecom) space activities are. By involving all countries via direct, relatively small contributions an old goal of the UN should be achieved, namely real and equal involvement even of small and/or poorer countries.

The PUSH FOUNDATION DECLARARTION of 19 April 1997.

Summary Goals.

The PUSH Foundation has the goals to:

- support and organize space activities that benefit all humanity,

- support and organize useful space related terrestrial activities,

- pioneer novel ways of financing and managing space activities,

- cooperate in a nondiscriminatory way with all nations and peoples,

- receive unrestricted donations and project dedicated funds.

Detailed Goals.

The space goals of the PUSH Foundation are to stimulate, motivate, facilitate, encourage, support and organize activities in space for the benefit of all humankind, especially those activities that help to alleviate worldwide problems such as shortage of abundant clean energy, detrimental climatic changes, natural and manmade catastrophes, materials shortages, dangerous wastes, risky research, etc. as well as the more traditional space activities such as earth observations, telecommunications, navigation etc.

The terrestrial goals of the PUSH Foundation are to support and organize educational programmes for the advancement of scientific knowledge and terrestrial activities that are complementary to space activities, e.g. development of robotics on behalf of space missions, hard- and software to ease access to space observation products, legal work to foster fair utilization of space resources, fusion research to use lunar He3, bio-engineering to support terraforming of planets etc. All space or terrestrial work shall also aim at overall minimal environmental damage.

The above statements shall be interpreted by using the widest possible meaning of the words used.

Another objective of the PUSH Foundation is to promote or do the financing and organization of space projects in innovative and creative ways. For instance by separating clients and contractors, by establishing escrow accounts at the beginning of a project and by giving the contractor freedom of design together with full responsibility for the performance (no cure - no pay) of simply and well defined objectives and deliverables it is intended to establish a new, clean approach to space projects that should be appealing to many potential participants. Setting prizes and awards for international competitions to achieve ambitious goals in the space related domains is another way to foster progress etc.

The PUSH Foundation is set up in a small, neutral country, to minimize political leadership and industrial power struggles. Any undertakings will be goal oriented and not technology or industrial policy driven. For instance by inviting all interested countries to participate with direct, relatively small contributions one of the goals of the United Nations could be achieved, namely real and equal opportunity of involvement even for smaller and/or emerging countries. Cooperation rather than dominance and dependency shall be a strong guideline in all undertakings.

The PUSH Foundation shall accept unrestricted donations to its general capital and funds directed to specific activities such as a given project, prize or award. The operating costs of the Foundation shall be paid in part or fully from the interest earned on the escrow accounts and on the Foundation capital as well as from specific activity related contracts.

Signed by the first Members of the Board on 19 April 1997 in Zug, Switzerland:

Siamak Khorram, Stas Klimov, Rudolf C. Meiner, Wolfgang Nellessen and Marcello Weber.