
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 20, 1991                   TAG: 9103200126
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

BOARD URGES ASTRONOMY FUNDING

The National Research Council on Tuesday called for an investment of $3.02 billion over the next 10 years to build and maintain the nation's astronomy instruments, satellites and telescopes.

In a report called the "Decade of Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics," a committee of the NRC proposed $2.5 billion worth of space-based astronomy projects, including a $1.3 billion orbiting instrument called the Space Infrared Telescope Facility.

It also sought $493 million for computer networks, new ground-based telescopes and refurbishment of major facilities, saying the loss of staff and deterioration of equipment has reached "critical dimensions and now poses a threat to the continued success of U.S. astronomy."

John Bahcall, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., and the chairman of the NRC astronomy committee, said bolstering support for the ground-based facilities is especially important.

The report said the National Science Foundation's support for ground-based astronomy programs "has deteriorated seriously in the last decade."

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility would be used to find new stars and galaxies by studying radiation from the heavens.

by CNB