Verbatim excerpts from the media on the conduct of science.

Underwriting Science

"I think it's probably true that we've been living off the investments we made in technology years ago," says Sally Ride, the young astronaut who became highly visible in the agency's [NASA's] management after serving as a member of the Rogers Commission. "We've recognized this in the last year, and realized the need for NASA to start investing again in basic R&D…."

Other observers wonder whether Star Wars will replace space exploration as the government's principal means for funneling tax dollars into technology. "The role of government is to build technological infrastructures, which should be flexible at the leading edge,' says Jerome Simonoff, a Citicorp vice president who specializes in aerospace investment. He hypothesizes that no one, except maybe the President, believes SDI will actually work. But he says it represents the only consensus on how to underwrite...

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