European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday july 26, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 7 team claims discovery of extrasolar planet by the Washington Post. Washington a astronomers search for planets beyond our solar system has turned up a bizarre new candidate about 10 times the mass of Earth. The planet if it exists is in orbit around a pulsing dead and dark to str 33,000 Light years from Earth. A team led by British astronomer Andrew g. Lyne announced the discovery in thursdays Issue of the journal nature. If Independent observers confirm the finding the planet will win a place in history As the first discovered around a Star other than the Sun. It could also upset mainstream theories about How dead stars get that Way and about their life after  the putative planet was found by Lyne Matthew Bailes and set Nam Shemar of the University of Manchester a Nuffield radio astronomy laboratories at Jodrell Bank England. A assessments of the report were a bit cautious. Dis covery of the first extrasolar planet is one of the holy grails of astronomy. Other scientists have reported preliminary evidence of such a prize but in every Case the finding has been proven wrong or remains unconfirmed. The newest supposed planet is too far away too Small and too dark to be seen by optical telescopes. Instead the team deduced its presence by measuring unexpected fluctuations in the radio signals that emanate from the Star around which it orbits. The Star is a Pulsar a Type of rapidly rotating dead Star in which the matter of a massive Star has been compressed into an object Only about 20 Miles or less in diameter. According to theory Large stars reach this end after they have burned All their nuclear fuel collapsed and then exploded into a Supernova. Scientists believe such an explosion would dislodge from orbit or seriously disturb any nearby planets. As the Pulsar rotates it sends out radio Waves that sweep the Earth like the beam from a Lighthouse Beacon in rhythmic a pulses. This Pulsar makes three Complete rotations every second about average for its ilk. The observers detected tiny deviations in the predicted arrival times of those pulses indicating that something was disrupting the spin in a very regular Way. The most Likely explanation for the deviations they said is that the gravitational tug of a planet size companion object is causing the Pulsar to wobble. The data indicate the planet is in a neat circular orbit just Over two thirds As far from its Star As Earth is from the Sun they said. This raises questions about How the planet could have survived the violence that scientists believe it takes to create a Pulsar. Other possibilities Are that it May have been created after the stars explosion or there May have been no  . Space plan to focus on rockets instead of shuttles the United states has abandoned the building of More space shuttles like Atlantis pictured Here wednesday at the Kennedy space Center in Florida and instead will concentrate on a new family of Booster rockets. Washington a the Bush administration said wednesday it will build no More new space shuttles but will concentrate on creating a new family of rockets As successors to the 30-year-old technology now in use. The new a National space launch strategy announced by vice president Dan Quayle also envisions converting some unspecified defense missiles into satellite launchers. A in All probability we have purchased the last space shuttle a Quayle said in a speech at Vandenberg fab Calif. A the space launch policy proposes to extend the life Span of the shuttle Fleet to maintain the capacity to produce spare parts and to operate the system conservatively. But the policy does not envision acquiring new orbiters a Quayle said. The announcement formalized some actions that already were in the works. Nasa and the department of defense have been working jointly to design a new National launch system Nasa had asked to buy a new orbiter in the next fiscal year and was turned Down and the air Force has been studying the release of surplus ballistic missiles for civilian use. President Bush and soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev next week will sign a treaty in Moscow to reduce their country a respective Long Range nuclear weapons by approximately 30 percent. The number of missiles that will be available for conversion to civilian use potentially is in the hundreds but the policy specifies that a due regard to economic Impact on the commercial space sector would come into play. Three rocket builders now form the Core of americans commercial launch Industry. A it is time for a new phase in space launch a said Quayle who Heads the National space Council. A i am Here to announce that As of today we have entered that new  the Cost of developing a new family of launch vehicles a capable of carrying medium and heavy payloads into orbit a has been estimated As High As $11.5 billion. The aim is to reduce current launch costs ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 a Pound to about $300 a Pound. The technology Effort said the strategy statement will go into All phases of a launch system from engines structures and materials to such exotic concepts As the National aerospace plane and a sin Gle stage to orbit rocket. The space launch strategy Aims to develop unmanned vehicles that can be qualified later to carry astronauts. It will actively consider commercial space launch needs and the directive said Nasa and the defense department a should actively explore having private Industry take part in the new rocket plans. A 10-Ycar plan is due from the two agencies and the department of Energy by dec. 1. The administration said it does not intend to phase out the shuttle Fleet which will increase to four vehicles when endeavour begins flying next year. A the production of spare parts should continue in the near term to support the existing shuttle Fleet and to preserve an option to acquire a replacement orbiter in the event of an orbiter loss or other demonstrable need a the policy  cites excessive Levels of pollution in Waterways Washington apr blaming ineffective ant pollution programs congressional investigators said excessive amounts of toxic substances linked to cancer and heart disease Are entering americans Waterways. A general accounting office report placed part of the blame on the environmental Protection Agency saying it acted too slowly to set stricter controls on toxic materials. The Gao an investigative Arm of Congress also heavily criticized states for failing to Check the Quality of More than half the nations Waterways. The report said the Epa has ordered accelerated cleanups of just 529 of 18,770 severely polluted Waterways a All of which could have been targeted under the fast track program required by 1987 amendments to the clean water act. The Epa disagreed contending its authority under the Law was much narrower than the Gao believed. The report was requested by rep. Michael l. Synar d-okla., chairman of the House government operations subcommittee on the environment Energy and natural resources. The panel was to hold a hearing thursday on the findings. A existing water pollution programs Are not effectively controlling excessive Levels of toxic chemicals and heavy metals getting into the nations Waters a the Gao said. It said the Epa has been a slow to revised its guidelines on release of contaminants into the nation s Waterways and has been tardy in developing new guidelines to cover toxic substances. The states meanwhile have assessed the water Quality of Only 29 percent of their River Miles and 41 percent of their Lake acreage the report said. A Zepa and states Are Uncertain of the water Quality of the remaining 71 percent of River Miles and 59 percent of Lake acres a the report said. The nations clean water Law requires states to Monitor their Waters but does not Tell them How to do it. Monitoring is largely confined to areas where known problems exist the report said