European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 3, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Plane bomber denounces top North koreans Page 9 the St a is and stripes authorize unofficial publication for the . Abmd vol. 47, no. 229 saturday december 3, 1988 Miu i & or d 8693 a shuttle lifts off on spy Mission the shuttle Allan is am id Clouds of smoke roars off he launch pad in Florida in a a St minute liftoff. Cape canaveral the shuttle at lantis and its classified military payload soared into orbit Over the Sovil Union on Friday Tor what sources said was a super High tech spy , whose flight was postponed thursday lifted off 86 seconds before its three hour launch period was to end. Launching Atlantis today was a Good Christma present. Thanks launch director Robert sick told his Kennedy space Center team before a traditional Post Blastoff serving of Beans and Cornbread. The orbiter making the second and last shuttle mis Sion of 1988, blasted away from its Oceanside Launchpad at 9 31 . And thundered off on a Steep North easter 1 course taking it parallel id the Atlantic sea Board. About s i minutes later it reached orbit which sources said was to be 242 Miles above the planet. The ascent for Atlantis was very clean by the num Bers nominal and Normal in every respect the National aeronautics and space administration s Brian Welch said from Mission control in Houston. No tech Nical problems were reported. But there was no Public word from the five military officers aboard Navy it nor. Robert Hoot Gib son 42 air Force cols. Ouy Gardner 40, and Richard Mike Mullane 43 air Force it. Col. Jerry Ross 40 and Navy cmdr William Shepherd 39. Atlantis coarse was a Clear sign that it was flying on a trajectory soured said would Laluc it us far North As,57 degrees High enough to take its payload Over Moscow and most of Floc soviet Union. The astronauts were expected to deploy their satellite widely reported to be a Craft code named i see shuttle on Back Page Aid boost urged to prevent troop Cut Badavi Tarrant staff writer Brussels Belgium As a two Day meeting of nato defense ministers ended Friday Secretary of defense Frank Carlucci warned that congressional failure to boast . Defense spending by 2 percent i fiscal 1990 could mean a reduction in . Troops in speaking at a news Confer ence after the meeting also joined nato Secretary general in praising a report issued by the allies the contribution of each nation to the defense of Europe. This report draws the most Complete picture on Alliance Burden sharing that we had Wilmer said. Its no meant to Point fingers at any particular member. Rather we have succeeded in taking this Issue and turning it into a positive joint Alliance Effort Carluci called the report s approval by the defense ministers a remarkablestep.". They unanimously approved a report that makes Clear that some of their nations Are not bearing a fair share of the common defense Burden he said. The report should draw a favourable reaction in Congress Carlucci Saij be cause it notes eroding Public support for defense programs among Many nation sin the Alliance and includes a recommendation for development and maintenance of the necessary Public support for defense and Security. Criticism in Congress in some cases has included Calls for . Troop reductions in Europe. The responsible members of con Gress with whom i be been talking about this Issue have been supportive of this process Carlucci said of the report. As Long As Congress perceives we Are dealing with this Issue fairly there will not be efforts per. Be to reduce our troop strength in however Carluci reiterated statements made earlier in the week in Washington that if Congress does not approve a 2 percent increase in the .defense budget for fiscal 1990, which be gins oct. I troop reductions in Europe could result our defense budget has been going Down in real terms for the past four years for a total rate of real decrease of 11 to 12 percent he said. Should Congress approve a Zero growth defense budget Force Structure could be affected he said if Force Structure is Cut further it puts a severe Strain on our commitments the ministers meeting ended Friday see Cut on Back Paga defense Secretary Frank car Eccl soviet Hijack Israel Tel Aviv. Israel a five armed soviet Hijack ers surrendered and freed a hostage flight Crew Friday ending a two Day drama that began when they seized a Busload of children in Southern Russia and demanded a plane out of the country.,-., the four men and a woman who said they wanted to flee the soviet Union stepped onto the Tarmac at Tel a Ivy Ben Gurion Airport carrying bags filled with rubles Worth s3 3 million. The Sovil government paid the Money As Ransom for releasing the youngsters and a teacher. Oit the plane be hijackers dumped the Cashon the ground Afi Roein asked to show Thev were not. Carrying explosives. Soldiers then helped the hijackers scoop up the Cash and the five held lightly to the bags As they were led off to the Abu Kabir jail near Tel Aviv. Defense minister Yitzhak Rabin said the plane and the Crew would be returned to the soviet Union but he did not indicate whether Israel would comply with Sovil wishes for the extradition of the hijackers. Foreign Akin lick said Israel would consider extraditing the hijackers once the Sovi ets presented a written request. The dramatic,.bid to flee the Sovil Union began thursday in the Soviel City of in the Southern part of the russian Republic. A group of armed bandits hijacked a bus with 30 schoolchildren and a teacher and demanded a plane to deliver them abroad Albert Vlasov head of the soviet news Agency no Vosti told a news conference i Moscow. The official news Agency Tass said the hijackers armed with three pistols and an automatic Rifle demanded a huge sum of Money and an Airliner for a flight out of the country in Exchange for the hostages. The bus was taken to the local Airport but there was not a big enough plane there so the hijackers look off from neighbouring Minera Loyye Vody Tass said. Israel radio said the hijackers included two rus sians two armenians and a resident of he Sovil of Sclia Republic near Turkey
