mrb1@cbnewsh.att.com (maurice.r.baker) (09/12/90)
Hi --- There's a very interesting article in the August issue of "R&D (Research and Development)" magazine. It's entitled 'Shuttle Science: Is It Paying Off?' and discusses some of the scientific experiments which have flown on Space Shuttle missions. Particular attention is paid to the Getaway Specials and Crystal Growth activities. Some of its key points: Official records of Spacelab experiments often overstated the number of scientific successes. NASA fails to maintain adequate records of past experiments that could help researchers learn from previous mistakes. NASA packs incompatible experiments together in cramped lockers aboard the shuttle, often ruining results. Although preflight testing has been proven to increase the chances of success in space experiments, NASA has only one test plane and does not mandate its use for shuttle-bound experiments. NASA has no plans to buy or lease another test plane. (Those are direct quotes from the article) Even though it could appear to be a "muck-raking" type of article at first glance, I thought that it was well done and included interviews with Byron Lichtenberg, Bonnie Dunbar, Taylor Wang, etc. The entire article is about 7 pages long. Of course, everyone should make up their own minds (and not based entirely on a single author's perceptions) but I would look it over if at all possible. The magazine is a Cahners Publication, free to 'qualified' subscribers. I suspect that many technical/industrial/university libraries would have access to it. The magazine offices are at 708-635-8800. Here's hoping some other sci.space.shuttle folks read it, too, and we can get some productive discussion going. M. Baker homxc!jj1028 -or- jj1028 at homxc.att.com