European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 1, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday March 1, 1986 Elui Tiivi Tom Wicker Nasa s Aura of invincibility has gone up in smoke after the explosion of he shuttle challenger and in the outpouring of emotional tribute to the seven astronauts lost in that fearful fireball most americans probably believed the cause would be found in some bloodless malfunction of technology a failure of hardware betraying the Genius and judgment of human engineers. Who could believe More properly who wanted to believe that the National aeronautics and space administration a nearly Universal icon of contemporary american experience the same Nasa that put men on the Moon could Bear equal or greater responsibility owing to human error or flawed judgment that has not yet been established. But the president s investigating commission after beginning its work As if under the general impression that Only the hardware need be reviewed has put Nasa officials on notice that the decision making process leading to the fatal shuttle launch also will be a target of inquiry. That s a Sharp but necessary turnaround from the earlier Atti tude exhibited by the chairman William p. Rogers. When a Nasa budget analyst suggested to the com Mission that the solid fuel Booster rocket seals the so called o rings had aroused safety concerns among Nasa engineers that might have justified delaying further shuttle launches Rogers line of questioning seemed to reflect doubts that the analyst was qualified to make such statements. Later however Nasa officials confirmed that they had waived a backup requirement for the o rings and had considered the Bud get analyst s warnings overstated although he Only reflected what the officials knew qualified Engineer were telling him. Since then photographic and other evidence has focused on the o rings As the immediate cause of the explosion which in turn raises hard questions about Nasa officials did they pay insufficient heed to warnings dating Back at least to 1982? did they abdicate their own better judgment possibly for budgetary reasons in waiving a backup system for the o rings did they fail to take proper account of the cold weather on the morning of the fatal launch since they knew Low temperatures could affect performance of the rings was their judgment on such questions influenced by a political or Public relations need to keep the shuttle program moving ahead or had the very Success of previous shuttle flights induced in responsible officials a deadly sense of routine that dulled once sensitive precautionary instincts press inquiries which appeared to be the most Exten Sive and intensive since watergate also Are laying stress on the possibility of human error faulty judgment and lax administration at Nasa. A report in the new York times first brought the o rings to Public attention. Nasa to its credit appears so far to be reasonably William Buckley w Shych rocket in posters Posa the Tel he i in our astronauts forthcoming under investigative pressures but Rogers commission was clearly Correct in warning the Agency against letting the same officials who made vital judgments now review and evaluate those judgments. William j. Broad of the times has reported for exam ple that after Nasa began using lighter weight casings and higher powered engines for the solid fuel Booster rockets in 1983, the frequency of of ring erosion and dam age reports increased. Only one such problem had been reported before the changeover but six afterwards. A backup safety system for the o rings was waived before the decision to use a More powerful engine in a lighter skinned rocket. But the More frequent damage reports had not caused either decision to be rescinded before the challenger was launched. Nasa had ordered design changes however to solve the of ring problem that was known to exist and the manufacturer Morton Thi Okol inc., was at work on these changes at the time of the explosion. Should a matter that serious the Rogers commission surely will want to know have caused Nasa officials to hold up shuttle flights until a solution was reached other serious questions that involved the judgment and administrative Zeal of Nasa officials include whether they sufficiently monitored the performance of private contractors and whether the Chain of command allows relatively Low level warnings like that of the budget analyst on the o rings to reach top management. The Aura of invincibility of near magical techno logical capacity that once surrounded Nasa its computers and its engineers probably could not have survived in any Case the fireball that consumed the challenger and its Crew. But the Rogers commission and the press seem to have recognized the shattered icon sooner rather than later now they can move on to Root causes and True responsibility. C new York times sexual revolution Breeds prob Ems Nof children Bill movers Fine documentary on the problem of Black illegitimacy has alerted Many to a problem they elected not to think about never mind that think ing about Black illegitimacy does not to Piso reduce Black illegitimacy. But in the wide wide world of the sexual revolution there Are problems among non Blacks that Are lost in the misty celebrations of that sexual revolution. They Are discussed by George Gilder in the forthcoming new edition of his Book sexual  a few raw figures. There Are Many More single men than single women Between the Ages when people tend to marry 20 to 40. One and a half million More single men than women which Means using those figures alone that single men seeking a Bride begin with statistical difficulties. But enter now into the buyers Market divorced or separated men Between the Ages of 40 and 55. Statistics Bear out intuition that such men tend to look for younger women because As or. Gilder re minds us male eroticism has forever been associated with Fertility and whereas men Are Fertile into late in life women s Fertility declines sharply at 40. There Are nearly 3 million men in this last category and where As the great majority of them will remarry the great majority of women divorced after the age of 40 will not do so. The number of divorced women nearly tripled during the 1970s and Early 1980s. Between the Ages of 35 and 65, there Are some 2 million or 40 percent More divorced or separated women than divorced or separated  the sexual revolution yields unexpected ancillary data. Though they Are More promiscuous in the younger age groups single men have about one fifth As much sexual activity As married men and less than half As much sexual activity As  now the objective shortage of Young unmarried women willing to marry Young unmarried men so Many of them electing instead to marry older successful men Breeds not children but social problems. Though obviously this is not so of the majority the single Man Gilder s researches show is disposed to criminality drugs and violence. He is irresponsible about his debts alcoholic Accident prone and susceptible to  he is three times As prone to nervous breakdowns As single women or married men. And the most remarkable statistic 22 times More Likely than married men to be committed for mental disease. Moreover lacking the stimulus of responsibility to wife and Chil Dren the single Man tends to be less successful in the marketplace. Add to this the proliferation of homosexuality. The most crucial cause of the Rise in homosexuality in America in recent decades is the emancipation of men from  the sexual Revo Lution has Given us something on the order of polygyny More than one female mate per Man. The effects of the result ing shortage of nubile women Are says Gilder simply undeniable. The annals of anthropology offer few examples of a Cor relation so Complete As that Between human societies that tolerate polygyny and societies with conspicuous practice of  he cites As the most obvious example the Arab countries where a Man is permitted up to four Legal wives not counting concubines. Never mind that sodomy and pederasty Are capital of lenses they Are known to flourish. So then what Are our second thoughts about the sexual revolution Gilder shrewdly observes that the Only undeniable winners in the sexual revolution Are powerful men. Under a regime of sexual liberation some men can fulfil the Par amount dream of most men everywhere. They can have the nubile years of More than one Young  Gilder is not a dogmatism in the matter of divorce and goes so far As to say that Many divorces particularly those among Young couples without children 50 per Centre relatively harmless As to social consequences. But monogamy is the Cen trial institutional Ideal in a society that respects the rights and the perquisites of both sexes. Monogamy is egalitarianism in the realm of  the society that encourages men in their 40s and 50s to abandon their wives in search of fresh and fresher wives begets an abandoned class of women for whom the sexual revolution is hardly cause for Celebration. Their sexual lives Are now in most cases ended and they Are without husbands and in All but 11 percent of the cases without prospective husbands. Is there a role Here for government no though one supposes those states that put financial penalties on divorce Are use Ful. Is there a role for the moralist yes if you can stand it. Universal press Syndicate