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ACADEMY PANEL PROPOSES BOLD COURSE FOR SPACE SCIENCE IN 21ST CENTURY.

Authors :
Goodwin, Irwin
Source :
Physics Today; Dec88, Vol. 41 Issue 12, p83-87, 5p, 1 Illustration
Publication Year :
1988

Abstract

This section presents an update on U.S. space programs as of December 1988. When the cheering stopped for the near-perfect four-day flight of the space shuttle Discovery in early October 1988, the science program of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was still sitting on the launch pad. The flight of the reusable Discovery revived the nation's dreams of heroic astronauts exploring the solar system, but it did not restore the hopes of scientists that their space experiments will soon be in space. Scientists, by contrast, consider themselves among the casualties of Challenger. Only in recent months did NASA give in to the arguments of scientists that alternatives to the shuttle need to be found for their experiments. The Cosmic Background Explorer, originally planned for the shuttle, and future planetary missions will be flown from Delta rockets. Since the Challenger debacle, public support for the nation's space program has been increasing. To the surprise of many within NASA, who had braced for cuts in the fiscal 1989 budget, Congress in August 1988 reduced some social and environmental programs to give $10.7 billion for the space program. The appropriation kept hope alive for space research. INSET: Missions on the NASA manifest..

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00319228
Volume :
41
Issue :
12
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Physics Today
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
8902200170
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2811661