News In Brief

It's time for manned station in space, President writes

President Reagan writes in an article to appear in the September issue of Popular Mechanics that the economic benefits of America's space program far outweigh the cost and that it's time for the United States to take ''the next bold step'' in space: construction of a permanently manned space station. Such a station, to be in orbit by 1992, is expected to cost $8 billion. The space-station request for $150 million in the 1985 fiscal year has been approved by Congress and signed by Reagan.