Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Cracks Showing Up on Space Memorial

Less than two weeks after its dedication at Cape Canaveral, the $6-million stone monument to America’s fallen astronauts is crumbling. The six polished granite panels, carved with the names of 14 in the space program who have died, have developed cracks and officials of the sponsoring Astronauts Memorial Foundation said it will cost about $12,000 to replace them. Architect Alan Helman, a foundation director, said that cutting through the granite may have weakened the stone. Debbie Laing, a foundation spokeswoman, said the plastic that fills the letters and conducts light through the names may have expanded.