European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Para 10 the stars and stripes columns . Apple or. Americans cheer comeback of space program St. Ignace Mich. Thirty two month ago when the confidently ascending vapor Trail on millions of american television screens suddenly and sickeningly disintegrated into chaotic squiggles plummeting Back toward Earth the United slates was cast into National mourning. A failure in a relatively minor part had destroyed the rocket carrying he Chal Lenger spacecraft before the eyes of a nation made complacent by Success after Success in space and quite unprepared in Ronald Reagan s newly buoyant time for such a shattering blow. The deaths of the challenger s seven passengers were an unwelcome reminder of such past failures As Vietnam the watergate affair and the imprisonment of american diplomats in Tehran. Reagan promised in one of his most moving speeches that the United slates would return to space and thursday morning he was Able to announce excl tartly in the White House Rose Garden that it had done so. Across the country watching television or listening to radios in cars and shops people held their breath As the rocket carrying the discovery spacecraft climbed past the 73-Sccond Mark at which its predecessor had met its dire Fate. They watched und listened intently As the five astronauts sped toward and then reached the relative safety of orbit after eight minutes. Such a Short time As one listener in Michigan commented but so tar beyond the challenger s  the rocket was launched of course from Cape canaveral into the Florida skies where summer still benignly reigns. It seemed a world away from the upper Peninsula of Michigan where the Trees Are ablaze with the red and Gold that foretell the arrival of Winter and the Roadside stands Are Selling cider. But of course in the Era of instantaneous communication it was not a world away to those who twisted a dial. And i another sense too this Remote Region near the Canadian Border understood what was going on. Here in St. Ignace within sight of the mighty suspension Bridge Over the Straits of Mac Mac is buried father Jac ques Marquelle the Jesuit priest who founded a Mission Here and then set off into the uncharted wilderness in 1673 with Louis Joliet to map Lake Michigan and the Mississippi Valley. The United slates was discovered by explored by and built by people like Marquelle and Joliet Lewis and Clar Kand the almost unimaginably Gritty pioneers who pushed their wagons across the Plains and Over the mountains. This is a More conservative country now a Mote cautious people More in tent on saving what they have than their forebears probably because they have so very much More to save. All the same however there is a Streak in the american character less evident in the National Middle age but still there that admires and even idolizes the Young the Brave and the bold. Hence the passion for sports in this country matched in Only a few others. The historian Frederick Jackson turn or saw us All however Urban and settled As children of the Frontier. John f. Kennedy looking for a metaphor called his administration the new Frontier and seized upon space As the greatest Challenge of the Era. He sent Alan Shepard and John Glenn hurtling beyond the Earth s atmosphere and saw them and other Early astronauts become National heros. There were those As Ever who were unmoved by the Success of the discovery launch and by its message that the Perse Verance of politicians the hard work of engineers and the nerve of astronauts could turn failure Back into Success. A Bookstore clerk in Harbor Springs South of Here could manage nothing better upon hearing the news than to mutter More billions of dollars Down the  few Are Likely to agree with him. Peo ple love a comeback whether by a Boxer or a ballplayer by a George Bush after a trouncing in the Iowa caucuses or a Michael Dukakis after an ignominious de feat in his first bid for a second term As governor of Massachusetts. They love a comeback because of course it signals 10 them that they or their kids or their country can still succeed after a setback. None of the Crew members of the Dis covery it seems Safe to say will become household names like Shepard or Glennor Neil Armstrong the first Man to step onto the surface of the Moon. Those first dramatic nights Are part of the past to us though another generation May be Able to Hail the first person to reach Mars. But the flight that began thursday will be remembered providing of course thai its last three Days Are As successful As its first As proof that the United stale still has the moxie to pick up the pieces and keep forging ahead. That is precisely the kind of impression that Ronald Reagan has always wanted the world and americans to have of America. As he prepares to give up the role of National cheerleader a role he often seemed to relish most in the presidency it is hard to imagine an event that would have afforded equal satisfaction to this Man who put patriotism so High on his isl of National imperatives. " Ham Yort Tom Nat Santo John Marks and Burt Edelsen . Has been flying Solo in space too Long the United states was once the Only superpower that was open about its space program. From the beginning . Launches were shown live on television. While full disclosure had embarrassing and tragic moments it added greatly to the effect of successes. It also promoted support for space activities and recognition of american leadership in the years when the United slates was ahead. Now the soviet Union has started to practice glasnost or openness in space. Not Only have the soviets started to televise their liftoff but also in recent weeks they have Given extensive publicity to two missions thai got into serious trouble a near disaster that occurred in bringing two cosmonauts Back to Earth followed by the failure of an automated spacecraft that was launched in july to probe the Moons of Mars. In both in stances soviet officials quickly acknowledged error. This soviet Candor is Welcome to those of us who believe that the United slates and the soviet Union should work together in exploring space. Yet it is also coming at a Lime when the uni cd states is delaying and cutting Back on the open Sci Lilu portion of its space program and emphasizing the Mili tary Side instead. In the aftermath of the challenger Accident our civilian space Agency has placed increasing priority on military payouts. The National Aero Paulics and space administration currently plans for nearly half the space shuttle launches during the next two years to be Pentagon missions. Although it has not launched a major i scientific Mission in 10 years Nasa keeps v delaying its most important space exploration projects. For example the Hubble space icle scope which will significantly expand scientific understanding of the uni verse will not be launched before 1990 40 months later than originally scheduled and the Mars observer Mission has been postponed until 1992. Certainly there arc National Security and budgetary reasons for defer ring some of i desc civilian missions. The grounding of inc shuttle since 1986 left a huge backlog of in launched military and intelligence satellites arms control agreements with the soviets require More than Ever an improved verification capability provided by satellites. Vet there is also a huge backlog of . Civilian satellites waiting for launch. This month the european space Agency s Arian rocket orbited iwo american communications satellites. In another irony China s Long March missiles will soon Stan launching american built satellites. While some americans Are obviously distressed by Reliance on foreign space programs we see it As a positive development in International space co operation. The soviet Union would also like some of this . Civilian business. Yet the Reagan administration so far has for Bidden american corporations from launching satellites on soviet boosters fearing that valuable technology will leak ifs vict services Are used. Still the United states would seem to have at least As much to gain As to lose in dealing with the soviets. The United slates clearly trails the soviet Union in space operations and it is quite unlikely that in this time of huge budget deficits. Congress will foot the Bill to catch up. We strongly believe that the time has come to take a fresh look at space exploration particularly because financial reality rules out major movement for Ward under current policies. An important firs step would be to make a Clear separation Between military and civilian space programs. For the foreseeable future the . Government will need to maintain space based surveillance and support activities related to National Security. Neither a Bush nor a Dukakis administration is about to renounce the military use of space. The new president would be Wise to follow a policy thai enables him to Deal with the military Side of space from a keep up the guard adversarial stance while treating the civilian aspects in cooperative Mode. Fortunately the Sovi ets have repeatedly said that they do not want to compete and they have offered to cooperate with the United Stales both in exploring Mars and in placing Ameri can experiments on Board their Mir space Slation. The United Stales has accepted neither proposal even though the soviets arc Way out in front in both planetary exploration and orbiting space Sla tons. In would seem that the Reagan administration has gotten itself into the no win position of being unwilling to Coop Erate yet and Loo poor to consider the alternatives. The next administration would be Wise to make a virtue out of necessity and adopt a space policy that stresses International cooperation not Competition. In this Way the United states can maximize the limited resources available for space exploration and take advantage of the considerable achievements of the other space faring nations particularly the soviet Union. John i i h to in cow anon of Smi to common Taura. Burt Edolyn i Long no flu u to opinion expressed la the column and cartoons on this Page rep rant Hoof the minors and Are in now a to by considered As reprinting the twi of the stars Tod Stripe or the United stain government