R
richalex
Guest
Washington Post has an interesting article on a major ISS scientific instrument that took 500 scientists 12 years to build, but may never see the light of day. <br /><br />"'We are very excited about the launch of Columbus and believe this will be a major step forward for the international space station,' said Martin Zell, who is involved with the European space laboratory as head of research operations for the European Space Agency, and is also a coordinator for development of the cosmic ray project. <br /><br />"But if the [AMS] does not make it to the station, it will be a very great setback for the space community and the ISS," Zell said. "It would be the most visible, perhaps the most exciting, experiment on the station." <br /><br />IMO, the best line in the Post article is from Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, a theoretical physicist at the University of Texas: <br /><br />"If the instrument were ferried to the station, he said, its study of cosmic rays 'would be the only significant science ever done on the space station.'"<br /><br />Washington Post: Lab for Space Station Puts NASA Priorities in Question<br /><br />