Exclusive Interview with Shuttle Pilot Robert Crippen

WashingtonLittle ProgressOn Fusion BudgetLittle progress was made in Congressduring April toward an agreementon the fiscal year 1982 budgetfor the magnetic fusion program. Althoughthe House authorizing committeehas marked up the budget,adding $14.7 million to the Departmentof Energy request of $460 million,the Senate has yet to take specificaction on the proposal.The budget required to carry outthe engineering phase of the MagneticFusion Energy Engineering Actof 1980 is $525 million.On April 29, Senator Pete Domenici(R-N.M.), chairman of the R&D subcommitteeof the Senate Committeeon Energy and Natural Resources,held hearings on the programs of theDOE Office of Energy Research,which includes the fusion program.The senator asked the DOE witness,Dr. Doug Pewitt, questions on manyother programs, but nothing aboutthe fusion budget. Pewitt, acting directorof the Office of Energy Research,in previous testimony hadcalled the 1980 fusion act "a permissivepiece of legislation."The committee staff has given nohint about Senator Domenici's thinkingon fusion, although he has beena supporter of fusion development inthe past.As of this writing, the worrisomeHouse Appropriations Committee hastaken no mark-up action on the fusionbudget, but staff members expectthe DOE bill to be considered beforethe summer. The Senate appropriationsprocess is considerably behindthat of the House and may not takeplace until September.MHD FacilityDedicatedU.S. Air ForceGeneral DynamicsJames A. Beggs (right) and Dr. Hans Mark, nominees for NASA administratorand deputy administrator.Reagan Nominates Strong Team to NASAPresident Reagan named James M.Beggs as NASA administrator and Dr.Hans Mark as deputy administrator inApril—a combination of an industryleader and a scientist that should considerablystrengthen NASA's visibilityon Capitol Hill.Beggs, a director of the GeneralDynamics Corporation, has been responsiblefor the Convair, Electronics,Fort Worth, and Pomona divisions ofthe company. The Convair Division isdeveloping superconducting magnetsfor the magnetic fusion program.NASA ExperienceBeggs also served in NASA's Officeof Advanced Research and Technologyin 1968-69 and as undersecretaryof transportation. Before joiningNASA, Beggs was with the WestinghouseCorporation.Mark was the secretary of the AirForce under President Carter and wasformerly head of NASA's Ames ResearchCenter. A physicist and nuclearengineer, Mark has worked with theacademic community and scientists inthe national laboratories.NASA supporters on Capitol Hill,who have tried to keep the spaceagency's funding at a level highenough to keep current projects onschedule as well as initiate new programs,are hopeful that this industrialscientificcombination will give themsome strong backup in the fightagainst the Office of Managementand Budget's budget cutting.A dedication ceremony in Butte,Mont, to mark the completion of theDepartment of Energy's magnetohydrodynamics(MHD) test facility tookplace April 24 in the middle of aWashington budget fight that mayend in the elimination of the MHDprogram.The new MHD Component Developmentand Integration Facility(CDIF) is a 50-megawatt thermal MHDgenerator built to do engineeringscaletesting of components for acoal-burning generator. MHD is aprocess to generate electricity directlyby passing high-temperature gasesfrom coal combustion through a magneticfield. The CDIF was designed tobe the first U.S. machine in which allMHD components are simultaneouslyfully operational.Although the dedication, whichmarks the readiness of the CDIF tobegin operation, is a milestone for theMHD program, it may be the lastone—unless the Reagan budget forMHD, now zero, is amended. CapitolHill sources indicate that Congresswill probably restore between $20 and$30 million to the program. The fundinglevel was more than $60 millionlast year.WashingtonAugust 1981 FUSION 49