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The identification, acquisition, and utilisation of scientific and technical information is of paramount importance to the efficiency of the research and development (R&D) process. With the advances in information technology and information management, increased international participation in the aerospace field, and the realities of scarce resources for every nation, the strategies and benefits for international cooperation and resource sharing are readily apparent. With this in mind, a Working Group was established in 1994 to examine the issues, strategies, and actions required to develop a mechanism for improving the access to, and use of aerospace and aerospace‐related information by developing a self‐sustaining, worldwide network of partner organisations committed to sharing their data and information resources. The Working Group decided that the Internet would be the most suitable vehicle to provide such a mechanism and developed a prototype International Aerospace Information Network (IAIN) Web site, providing a catalogue of aerospace information sources from which information searches can be launched.

Scientific and technical information (STI) is a valuable resource that represents the results of large investments in research and development (R&D) and the expertise of a nation. NASA and its predecessor organizations have developed and managed the pre‐eminent aerospace information system. We see information and information systems changing and becoming more international in scope. In Europe, consistent with joint R&D programs and a view towards a united Europe, we have seen the emergence of a European Database concept. In addition, the development of aeronautics and astronautics in individual nations has also led to initiatives for national aerospace databases. Considering recent technological developments in information science and technology, as well as the reality of scarce resources in all nations, it is time to reconsider the mutually beneficial possibilities offered by cooperation and international resource sharing. This paper raises for consideration new possibilities for unifying the various aerospace database efforts towards a cooperative international aerospace database initiative that can optimize the cost/benefit equation for all participants.

Federal attempts to stimulate technological innovation have been unsuccessful because of the application of an inappropriate policy framework that lacks conceptual and empirical knowledge of the process of technological innovation and fails to acknowledge the relationship between knowledge production, transfer, and use as equally important components of the process of knowledge diffusion. This article argues that the potential contributions of high‐speed computing and networking systems will be diminished unless empirically derived knowledge about the information‐seeking behavior of the members of the social system is incorporated into a new policy framework. Findings from the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project are presented in support of this assertion.

The Air Navigation regulations require that the certification of an aircraft before flight shall be made, in respect of the airframe, by an aircraft engineer licensed in Category “A” and in respect of the engines by an aircraft engineer licensed in Category “C”.