The State of the US Science and Space-Research Programs

How ironic that the Monitor printed both the editorial "Don't Derail Maglev Development" and the news clip "House Votes Funds for Space Station," July 31. The status of these two projects illustrates the massive misdirection of the United States scientific and technological effort.

The space station is the biggest boondoggle ever foisted onto the American public in history. Why do we need humans in space? We don't need them to launch satellites and monitor experiments; these tasks can be done with much less cost and hazard using machines.

Now is the time for our nation's leaders to rethink this "manifest destiny" notion as it applies to space. Do we really belong there? Not while there are good reasons, such as the maglev project. Pamela Logan, Los Angeles

I read with enthusiasm the pro and con sides to "Can the US Afford the Super Collider?," Aug. 11. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston was ardently for the super collider and Sen. Dale Bumpers was against it. After checking the Voters Self-Defense Manual, approximately 29 percent ($418,350) of the total political action committee (PAC) money received by Mr. Johnston ($1,425,158) from a total of 12 PACs in 1985-90 was from energy PACs.

It appears that Johnston has vested interest in satisfying the energy industry. Mr. Bumpers, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any major contributors. R. Jay, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The editorial "Scientific Partnership," July 27, is scientifically unsound. Scientific experiments still require verification and corroboration. The super collider is no new exception to the rule of the scientific process. Raymond Kenneth Petry, Honolulu The future of the Olympics

Regarding the sports article "Time, TV Redrawing Olympic Roster," Aug. 6: I'm surprised nobody has suggested the obvious solution to the overcrowded summer-games schedule - moving traditionally indoor sports such as basketball, gymnastics, and fencing, which are played predominantly in the winter, to the winter games.

This would give greater weight to the winter games - always the runner-up in prestige - while allowing the summer games to retain or add such obligatory sports as rowing and softball. This would preclude any future basketball "Dream Teams," since the winter games are held during the NBA season. Eric J. Klieber, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Limited hunting

Regarding the Home Forum column "Respect the Moose Who Comes to Call," Aug. 7: I have spent some of my 50 years hanging around deep forests, and I have seen a lot of moose. Deep forests are what moose need, and the decline of this species in the New England woods has more to do with agriculture and forestry practices than with managed hunting.

How many moose do we really want, anyway? More than before, you can bet. But there must be a limit, and I say the great state of Maine is on the right track with ecologically sound limited-entry hunting. Kent Saltonstall, Woodway, Wash. The QE2 in Boston

Regarding the news article "Queen Elizabeth 2 Comes to Rest in Boston While Undergoing Repairs and Investigations," Aug. 14: Good reporting is making the reader "see it," and here's a reporter who knows how to do it. This piece was not a great event story, but it was so well written that the reader had to follow the report to the bottom line. Now that's what news writing is all about. O. C. McDavid, Jackson, Miss.