Friday, 5 Feb 1993 Washington, DC
1. FLASH! SSC AND SPACE STATION CANCELLATION IS BEING
CONSIDERED
by the Clinton Administration, according to
congressional sources quoted by the Associated Press. In a story
that just came in over the newswire, one source said the cuts
were first proposed at a Camp David retreat. Treasury Secretary
Benson, who is from Texas, reportedly opposed cutting the
Supercollider. Clinton supported both projects during his
campaign. Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary told reporters yesterday
that she "does not feel passionately" about the Supercollider:
"The issue becomes, can we afford this?"
2. HUGE SPACE STATION COST OVERRUNS RECHARGE DEBATE IN
CONGRESS!
Within a month, an expected overrun of $500M on contracts for the
station soared to $1.08B, mostly in the Johnson Space Center
portion of the program. Congressional aides indicated yesterday
that the overruns will be a major focus of NASA reauthorization
hearings. The hearings are on hold awaiting the Clinton budget,
due about mid-March. The overruns must also concern the White
House, which is looking for excuses to cut costly programs.
3. HUBBLE'S TROUBLES SPILL OVER INTO THE SPACE STATION
DEBATE!
The capture of an errant communications satellite
in May was a NASA public relations godsend (WN 15 May 92), but it exposed a
serious flaw in preparing for such missions: astronauts train in
swimming pools, which can simulate zero gravity--but not zero
viscosity. If you have trouble fixing satellites, how are you
going to build a space station? To demonstrate its proficiency,
NASA decided to repair Hubble in orbit, rather than bring it back
for overhaul. In addition to corrective optics, the telescope
needs a new computer memory, new solar arrays to eliminate jitter
from temperature changes, and two new gyroscope units. The repair
mission is scheduled for 2 December 93. To ensure success, four
separate NASA review teams are scrutinizing preparations--with a
General Accounting Office team looking over their shoulders.
4. STEVEN WEINBERG AND LEON LEDERMAN STEP ON EACH OTHER
TOES
with new books! Whether by accident or design,
Weinberg's "Dreams of a Final Theory" and Lederman's "The God
Particle" were released within days of each other. Both dream of
a "theory of everything" (TOE), or as Lederman puts it, "the laws
of physics reduced to a formula so simple and elegant that it
will fit easily on the front of a T-shirt." Both begin with
Democritus and end up in Waxahachie with the search for the Higgs
boson. Both justify the SSC on the grounds that to stop now,
with the TOE in sight, would be unthinkable. Both concede that
physicists could still find rewarding work after the TOE is in
place by tackling complexity. Lederman's sappy title
notwithstanding, neither author has any patience with
psychokinesis, creationism, cold fusion, Eastern mysticism or New
Age wackos. What's different? They both begin each chapter with
a selection from "Barlett's"; but Weinberg's taste runs to John
Donne, while Lederman prefers Jay Leno.
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