Shot Down

Shot down in flames by the Pentagon last week: the Air Force's brand-new Directorate of Astronautics, launched only three days before to plan the Air Force's space and space-weapons projects, e.g., contramissiles, space satellites, space platforms. The Air Force, charged the Pentagon's Missile Chief William M. Holaday, had "jumped the gun" and had been trying to "grab the limelight and establish a position." Air Force Secretary James H. Douglas admitted that the Directorate of Astronautics had indeed been set up "prematurely" and "contrary to assurances." oint was that the Pentagon intends soon ) set up its own Advanced Research Projects Agency (TIME, Dec. 16) designed both to develop fantasy weapons id to minimize service rivalries and headline-grabbing. The Air Force will wait, said Secretary Douglas, until its own space plans can be "coordinated with the specific plans for the new agency."

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