‘Humans in Space’

The tragedy of Challenger ought to make it clear that in spite of our nearly 30 years of space exploration experience fatal errors still occur.

Yet we are asked to invest in a system, the Strategic Defense Initiative, which is many times more complex than Challenger, and we are asked to believe that that system will function perfectly the first time it is put into operation. That’s like asking us to believe that elephants can be trained to dance on a high wire, after we’ve just witnessed the Flying Wallendas crash to the dirt floor.

SDI is an idea whose time should never come. It is pure folly.

JOSEPH TREPIAK

Altadena