kallis@pen.DEC (04/18/85)
As one who once was involved in the space program, I can see some logic in the restriction. There may be equipment that, though used in a CETI environment, uses classoffied hardware. Some facilities may have a classified component, even though the particular application isn't. Case in point: even though Apollo was a civilian project, you neded a clearance to work on elements of it. Same here. There is a tendency to overclassify things, true. And there are enough paranoid types who suspect the government is Holding Back things (UFOs, structures on moon, Very Close Encounters [>:-)]) that overclassification looks like an Evil Plot. On the other hand, just when does something become sensitive? there's no easy answer.