British Research and Star Wars

The morale of the British scientific community is at its lowest level ever, largely because of the low level of research funds. The total British government expenditure on R&D in 1987 is estimated to be 4.6 billion pounds ($6.5 billion), of which 52 percent is earmarked for military R&D and 21 percent for other government departments. Only 1.2 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) is left for nongovernmental researchers. Britons spend 12 times more on alcohol than their government allocates for nongover

Frank Barnaby

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Small wonder that some scientists are eager to grasp the SDI nettle. When former Defence Minister Michael Heseltine signed the Memorandum of Understanding in December 1985 .that marked Britain's entry into the Star Wars sweepstakes, he prophesied that $1.5 billion of SDI business would come Britain's way. For many, the Heseltine promise seemed like manna from heaven. Such an injection of funds could, it seemed, save many research groups from disbanding and a lot of scientists from unemployment.

Today it is clear that very little SDI money has come to Britain (only about $30 million so far) and that very little can be expected. It is clear, too, that SDI has done nothing to rekindle British research. That realization has helped fuel the debate over British participation in the SDI program.

At the time the Memorandum was signed, British participation was unpopular. Even some Cabinet Ministers, including Foreign Minister Geoffrey ...

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