Gorbachev Tells His Grief; Czechs, Poles See ‘Star Wars’ Link

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev today expressed sorrow over the Challenger shuttle disaster, but Polish and Czechoslovak papers said the seven astronauts died in a “Star Wars” program aimed at military domination.

West Germany postponed its hunt for new space travelers pending assurances on the safety of the shuttle program.

Gorbachev led a host of world dignitaries who voiced their shock and sorrow to President Reagan, the American people and relatives over the deaths of the astronauts.

China also sent its deepest sympathy after the explosion Tuesday, a tragedy given prominence on television screens and newspaper front pages in many Communist as well as Western countries.

In contrast with the secrecy usually surrounding the Soviet Union’s own space mishaps, the evening news program broadcast just two hours after the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded showed film of the tragedy to an estimated 180 million Soviet viewers.

One-Sentence Report by Tass

Soviets first heard of the disaster 30 minutes after it happened in a one-sentence report by the official press agency Tass, followed by more detailed reports.

Pope John Paul II today said the loss of the astronauts had caused profound sorrow in all people and asked for prayers for them and their families. Speaking at his weekly general audience in the Vatican, the Pope expressed his sincere solidarity with the American people.

Gorbachev dispatched a telegram to President Reagan saying, “We partake of your grief at the tragic death of the crew of the space shuttle Challenger,” Tass press agency reported. Gorbachev also expressed his sympathy to the people of the United States and the families of those killed.

And in an apparent tribute to the victims, Soviet state radio played three hits of the late bandleader Glenn Miller after a news broadcast which reported the accident.

However, Poland’s hard-line army newspaper Zolnierz Wolnosci struck a controversial note, commenting that the seven victims were part of a program of space domination to secure victory in a future battle on Earth.

Rude Pravo, the Czechoslovak Communist Party daily, said the explosion was a tragedy to be shared worldwide, although it said many of the planned 15 shuttle flights this year were to serve military purposes, mainly research on “Star Wars.”

‘German People Grieve’

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl sent a telegram to Reagan expressing his condolences to the relatives of the astronauts. “The German people grieve with you and all Americans,” he said.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who sent an overnight message to Reagan, said today that sacrifices caused by the quest for knowledge will continue.

“New knowledge sometimes demands sacrifices of the bravest and the best. I just felt we saw the spirit of America and the spirit of the American people.”

The shuttle disaster led West Germany to postpone indefinitely a recruitment drive for six new astronauts. The Research Ministry in Bonn said the search for civilian scientists for a 1988 shuttle mission, which has already brought in about 1,000 letters to the ministry expressing interest, was postponed until further notice.

The Arab world’s first astronaut, Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan ibn Salman ibn Abdulaziz, who flew on the shuttle Discovery last June, said he would go into space again tomorrow if asked, despite the Challenger tragedy.

“Such things, though tragic, are accidental. I am sure other astronauts will react the same way,” he said in Riyadh.