Dec 22 1991
From The Space Library
An article critical of NASA for emphasizing space at the expense of the domestic aviation industry appeared in the Los Angeles Times. An example cited was Boeing's need to use a wind tunnel research facility operated by the Royal Aerospace Establishment in Britain to test its new top-secret 777 passenger jet because NASA had shut its decrepit wind tunnel in Sunnyvale, south of San Francisco. The aeronautics community reportedly felt neglected because only 6 percent of NASA's budget was allocated to aeronautics. As a result, there was little government support for research and development in U.S. general aviation, which has suffered in relation to government support given by other countries to their aviation industries. (LA Times, Dec 22/91)
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Soviet space program was facing a difficult future. The main elements of the Soviet space program were concentrated in three republics: Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Rockets were built primarily in Ukraine, control centers and instrument manufacturing plants were mainly in Russia, and the principal launch facility, the Baikonur Cosmodrome, was in Kazakhstan. Marcia S. Smith, the Soviet space expert on the staff of the Congressional Research Service, said those three republics agreed in early October they could operate by themselves. However, the economic situation became worse, causing increasing criticism. Nevertheless, communications satellites were essential to produce foreign investments and maintain a link with the outside world. Space research had technological spinoffs in areas such as computers, transportation, communications, and propulsion. Therefore, U.S. experts did not believe the former Soviet states would allow the space program to die. (LA Times, Dec 22/91)
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