i	
1		viewpoinl	■5		performance	-		sporis	
N S	!;j;	Action by League of Women			George Michael’s opening			Women’s volleyball coach	
1		Voters hurts electorate.			night concert at the Forum			Chuck Erbe keeps right on	
D		See page 4.			reviewed. See page 10.			winning. See page 20.	
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Volume CVII, Number 20	_________________University of Southern California	Tuesday, October 4, 1988
‘Discovery, welcome back’
trojan
JOHN URATA/DAILY TROJAN
In what a NASA official called “an absolutely stunning success,” the space shuttle Discovery returned to earth at Edwards Air Force Base Monday morning, completing a four-day mission. Discovery’s voyage was the first shuttle trip since the Challenger exploded over Florida 33 months ago.
Shuttle landing: ‘Great ending to new beginning’
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — The shuttle Discovery returned to a star-spangled welcome from more than 400,000 people Monday after a post-Challenger shake-down mission that NASA called "an absolutely stunning success."
"Discovery, welcome back," Mission Control told commander Frederick H. Hauck as he guided the ship to a picture-per-fect landing after a four-day, 1.6-million mile mission cited as "a great ending to the new beginning" of the manned space program.
The national anthem was playing as the white ship, with its stubby Delta-shaped wings, leveled out and rolled to a smooth stop on the center line painted on the hard-packed sand of this desert air base. It was precisely on time, at 9:37 a.m. PDT.
The crowd cheered and waved small American flags for the successful completion of a mission that ended a 32-month period in which no manned ship bearing the American flag went into space.
"This is a banner day for all of us," said NASA administrator James C. Fletcher.
"An absolutely stunning sue-
Date chosen for McCarthy, Wilson debate despite conflict
By Karen Denne
Staff Writer
A televised debate between incumbent-Sen. Pete Wilson and his challenger, Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 17, despite Wilson's scheduling problems that forced the League of Women Voters to withdraw its sponsorship of the debate about one month ago.
A spokesman for the Wilson campaign said the problem stemmed from the League's lack of flexibility over dates for the debate.
"We began debate negotiations with McCarthy well before the League of Women Voters made their offer," said Otto Bos, Wilson's campaign manager. "They wouldn't budge between two dates we couldn't possibly accept because Senate is in session.
cess," said shuttle chief Richard Truly.
But Truly balked at a question that implied that with the new success, the trauma of the Challenger explosion had been overcome.
"It does an injustice if one candidate has to fit a debate in between phone calls and floor activities in the United States Senate. McCarthy has no duties as lieutenant governor," Bos said.
However, a League of Women Voters representative said the involvement of the League in the debate ended only because Wilson's campaign officials would not budge.
"Even when we've flown a few flights, we are not going to forget the Challenger accident," he said. "For the people who work in the program, that's going to be on their minds for a long time."
"We regretfully are no longer involved because Senator Wilson could not free his schedule to participate in a CBS-carried debate on either Oct. 11 or 13," said Carol Federighi, president of the League of Women Voters of California.
"We were even willing to go to Washington, D.C., to film the debate," Federighi said. "But the senator's campaign declined (See Candidates, page 6)
Truly, a former astronaut, said from cursory inspection the ship appeared to have suffered little damage from the rigors of launching and returning through the atmosphere: A few (See Shuttle, page 3)
Space program: Students voice mixed emotions
By Kyra Phillips
Staff Writer
The space shuttle Discovery, carrying five astronauts, landed at Edwards Air Force Base at 9:37 a.m. Monday, marking what officials called a "new era" in space exploration.
Americans held their breath as the four-day shuttle mission ended in success. Three years have passed since the nation experienced the shock of the space shuttle Challenger's explosion.
"NASA has a strong triumph under their belt," said Richard Kaplan, professor of aerospace engineering. "It's been a great recovery. Now we need to make a steady commitment in order to stay in the game with Russia and some of the other players."
Discovery blasted into orbit last Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The mission enabled Discovery's crew to deploy NASA's second tracking and data relay satellite within six hours after the launch.
Despite the success of the flight, students said they believe the project does not compare with America's earlier achievements in space.
(See Reaction, page 6)
MICHAEL KIM / DAILY TROJAN
Sen. Pete Wilson (left) and his Democratic challenger, LL Gov. Leo McCarthy, have tentatively agreed to debate on Oct. 17. The League of Women Voters withdrew its sponsorship of the face-off after Wilson rejected the organization’s proposed dates.
Presidential debate sponsor withdraws
Second political face-off is in question
By Karen Denne
Staff Writer
A second scheduled presidential debate became questionable Monday when the League of Women Voters withdrew its sponsorship of the Oct. 13 debate between presidential candidates George Bush and Michael Dukakis.
"We were presented with terms and conditions by the two parties on Sept. 28 — just two weeks before the scheduled debate — that were unacceptable to us," said Judith Palarz of the League of Women Voters.
"We were given no input into the format, the moderator selection, the panelist selection, the types of questions asked or the composition of the audience," said Palarz, the Los Angeles coordinator for the presidential debates. "We were not given any planning input.
"If the debate has our name on it, we have to help plan," she said. "Everything was going to be determined by the campaigns, not by the fair, bipartisan way we like to do debates."
Officials from both campaigns predict the second debate, scheduled to be held at the Shrine Auditorium, will take place as planned in Los Angeles, although it remains unclear who will sponsor the event.
"We're hoping we can make sure the debate as originally planned can go forward and that Mr. Bush will not use this as an excuse to not have the second debate," said Steve Hopcraft, press secretary for the
(See Debate, page 6)