The Nation - News from April 29, 1987

NASA may lack the money to make the first post-Challenger space shuttle flight in early 1988 because of the high cost of permanent improvements required, the head of the agency said. James C. Fletcher said the space agency has money problems in trying to recover from last year’s explosion that killed seven crew members and brought the shuttle program to an abrupt halt. “We just don’t want to start the first flight and then have a big gap in the program,” because of insufficient funds, Fletcher said.