European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday january 29, 1688 the stars and St Lopes Page 3 memorial dedicated to challenger Crew at of station in Italy memorial totes pow to in skirt set ene  r Crew members in front of the Chap at sin Vita.  Mediterranean Bureau san v1to Dei Normanna As Italy american and italians dedicated a memorial thursday honouring the seven . Astronauts who died two years ago during the launch of the space shuttle challenger the memorial a gift to the american people from an italian charitable Organiza Tion is topped by a life size statue of Arabad Man gazing skyward with Amis upraised. The statue s Pedestal is inscribed in memory of the seven heroic Amer ican astronauts who perished on the 28th of january 1986 on Mission aboard the space shuttle challenger in the name or Progress for All  the Pentagon has cancelled a $480.6 million Star wars contract with Mcdonnell Douglas astronautics co. Citing Overall cuts in the strategic defense initiative budget. We did a careful examination of the program and had to make some hard decision la. Col. Edwina Palmer chief Pentagon spokeswoman for ski said wednesday. Officials at Kimland fab s space technology Center which oversaw the contract said ii was a major pan of the project. At the Lime ii the contract was awarded it was the largest single ski contract and we believe it still is  said set. Walt Johnson an no at the Center s Public affairs office. Rick Garcia Public affairs director at  the contract was cancelled tuesday and Mcdonnell Douglas was notified. The contract was awarded last May to the Hunting Lon Beach. Calif com Pany by the air Force contract management division at Kirtland John son said. The project was a particle beam Piper Imant he said. The contract called for the designing fabrication integration and testing of a space based High Energy Neutral particle beam device. It was scheduled to be launched in 1990. John son said. The Star wars program formally called the strategic defense initiative is a research Effort to develop lasers and other exotic weapons that would be placed on the ground and in space. The weapons would be designed to automatically shoot Down nuclear mis Siles fired Al the United Stales or its allies. Earlier this month it was announced that an ski project in Southern new Mexico would be scaled Back because expected Federal funding in fiscal i98s, which began oct. 1, 1987, was Cut 60 percent. On Jan. 22, the Pentagon awarded a five year s50s million contract to a subsidiary Osmanin Marietta corp. To develop a huge computer network to lest the targeting and control system thai would be needed to fight a War in space. The Mcdonnell Douglas contract was a Way of exploring future technologies Palmer said while the Martin Marietta program is a major initiative., to help test All the components together in Simu