Science Wars Over Star Wars

Archive Report

Scientists Divided Over Star Wars

The cuts that Congress has proposed in President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars” program signal a new mood on Capitol Hill. In 1984 and 1985, buoyed by the President's enthusiasm and the optimism expressed by SDI officials and scientists, Congress approved sharp funding in-creases for the program1 This year, however, the budget request for SDI took a beating in both the Senate and House Armed Services committees. While Congress is considered unlikely to enact a fiscal 1987 budget before the November congressional elections, it almost certainly will settle eventually on a figure of about $3.5 billion for Star Wars—about $1.3 billion less than Reagan requested.2 Still, many members of Congress complain that even that cut is not ...

locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles